Madam, Please Behave

Looking into her daughter’s eyes, Ye Rong suddenly felt a surge of guilt—for reasons she couldn’t explain. But just as quickly… that emotion, one she believed she had no right to feel, vanished without a trace.

The hand that had just slapped her daughter curled into a fist and slowly dropped back to her side. Ye Rong stared at the stunned expression on Li Wanran’s face and coldly said,

“I don’t remember teaching you to talk back to me.”

“……”

Li Wanran stayed silent, offering no response.

Ye Rong continued talking on her own,

“You should know very well—when you were little, who was always there for you, taking care of you…”

“……”

Seeing her daughter remain mute, Ye Rong chose not to go on.

What began as a tiny crack was now slowly, steadily widening.

Impossible to mend.

As she looked into her daughter’s eyes, she saw the last trace of familial warmth disappear, replaced by the look one gives a stranger.

With just a glance, Ye Rong turned around without a shred of sentiment and walked out of the house.

Still stunned by the slap, Li Wanran’s mind went blank.

She could only hear the last sentence her mother said before leaving:

“You know what you need to do.”

That sentence echoed in her ears.

Until Ye Rong had left her apartment completely, and the large, empty room was quiet except for her own breathing.

Her gaze tilted downward.

Li Wanran silently stared at the divorce agreement she’d thrown onto the floor just moments ago.

She… suddenly felt like her life…

Had lost all color.

Li Chongming hung up the phone.

His hand holding the phone dropped down, and he turned to look at Chu Fang sitting on the couch, visibly uneasy—extremely uneasy.

His eyes instinctively shifted to her belly. Realizing his child was growing inside her, the stern look on Li Chongming’s face slowly softened.

He hesitated for a moment, then walked toward her, sat beside her, and gently wrapped an arm around this anxious woman.

He spoke in a comforting tone,

“Don’t worry. I already promised you—nothing will go wrong.”

“……”

Chu Fang didn’t respond immediately.

She turned to look at him, opened her mouth to speak—but seemed to lose her nerve.

After a long pause, she finally asked the question that had been weighing on her heart.

“Why are you so sure they won’t come after you behind the scenes? What if something happens to you… what’ll happen to me and this child I’m carrying?”

When she brought up the baby, a wave of comfort welled up in Li Chongming’s chest.

As the saying goes—what you don’t yet have is the most precious.

He didn’t truly dote on the woman in front of him, but because she was pregnant with his child, Li Chongming was willing to be patient, to soothe her emotions with a softer tone.

“Anyway, you don’t need to worry about those things. Once the divorce is finalized and I get my share of the money… we’ll emigrate.”

“But…”

“That’s enough. Just relax.”

As he said this, Li Chongming’s hand moved up and gently rested on Chu Fang’s head, pressing it softly against his chest.

It seemed like he really enjoyed being relied on this way.

Feeling her lean against him, Li Chongming slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

As long as his bloodline continued…

Meanwhile, beneath Chu Fang’s fragile expression, something else was brewing.

One year ago.

Chu Fang’s parents and younger sister had planned a visit to relatives in another city. She hadn’t gone with them because of work.

It was supposed to be a simple visit.

But what she ended up waiting for… was a nightmare.

A car accident shattered what had been a comfortable, middle-class family overnight.

Her father died on the spot. Her mother, upon waking up and learning the truth, suffered a mental breakdown.

Her beloved little sister—paralyzed from the waist down.

Though recovery might be possible, the chances were slim with current medical technology.

The person responsible?

Li Chongming’s driver.

He hit and ran. Later, he turned himself in—but it didn’t spare him from criminal charges.

Even so, after such a devastating blow to her family, Chu Fang didn’t plan to let it go.

She quit her job and began—intentionally or not—approaching the driver’s family.

At first, progress was slow.

But one day, when the driver’s child was playing outside alone, she coaxed some shocking words out of him through casual conversation.

Chu Fang would never forget that child’s proud little face, eating the ice cream she bought, saying:

“My daddy made big money!”

From there… Chu Fang followed the thread, digging deeper and deeper, slowly piecing together the truth.

Eventually, all signs pointed to one person—

The original owner of the car.

Li Chongming.

Later, Chu Fang joined Li Chongming’s company.

After getting close with a few female employees, she heard over lunch that during the time her family had their accident, Li Chongming had been absent from work for quite a while.

Some said he was abroad on business. Others claimed he went on vacation.

In any case, the stories didn’t match. No one really cared enough to track the boss’s personal life. They only knew vague bits and pieces.

In order to give her sister the best treatment, the family had blown through all the compensation money in a short period. Strapped for cash, Chu Fang began to harbor a dark thought—revenge.

Even though she had no solid proof… whether Li Chongming was directly responsible for the accident—

Still, just like a drowning person grasping at anything to stay afloat,

Chu Fang clung to her own belief.

She pinned the entire tragedy on one man: Li Chongming.

If it weren’t for that crash,

Her family would still be the same as before—

When she came home from work, she’d see her parents and little sister happily watching TV together.

Not like now…

Where the only thing waiting at home was her mentally shattered mother…

Sitting like a soulless shell, blankly staring at the TV—

A TV that hadn’t even been turned on.

Her hand clenched tighter.

With her eyes shut, Chu Fang repeated silently in her heart:

Take it slow… Don’t rush…

Only by earning his complete trust, bit by bit,

Could she one day learn the truth about that accident straight from the source.