Sure enough, upon hearing Fang Chenyi’s question, the uncle and aunt both sighed. The uncle began to explain:

"Sigh... Your aunt and I aren’t sure what happened either. Mengyao suddenly came running home last night, locked herself in her room, and hasn’t come out since."

As he spoke, the uncle’s face was a mixture of anger and worry. No matter what, that was his daughter. She hadn’t eaten for a day and a night. Even if she had made a terrible mistake, he was still worried about her.

He sighed and continued,

"It was already quite late when she got back. After calling out to her a few times, your aunt and I didn’t think much of it and just went to bed, figuring she and her husband had just had a fight. But then this morning, a little after seven, Chen Xi suddenly showed up. He came in and just threw a set of divorce papers and a debt agreement at us."

With that, the uncle reached under the coffee table, pulled out the two documents, and handed them to Fang Chenyi.

Fang Chenyi frowned as he began to look them over, while the uncle continued to speak.

"Your aunt and I were completely stunned. Why the sudden talk of divorce when everything seemed fine? But when we asked Chen Xi, all he said was that we should ask ’my dear daughter’ before he stormed out and slammed the door. And when we try to ask Mengyao, the stubborn girl just refuses to say a word. Sigh! We have no idea what’s really going on."

Fang Chenyi glanced at the divorce agreement and set it aside. Other than demanding Bai Mengyao leave the marriage with nothing, it contained no other useful information.

Picking up the debt agreement, he saw it stated that because Bai Mengyao had spent 6.17 million yuan during the marriage, it was considered a joint liability. Adhering to the law that post-nuptial finances are shared, Chen Xi was willing to bear half the cost. The other half, 3.085 million, was to be compensated to Chen Xi by Bai Mengyao. However, out of respect for their marriage, he was waiving the remainder and only asking for three million flat.

Fang Chenyi’s brow furrowed as he read this. The agreement didn’t specify what Bai Mengyao had used this enormous sum of over six million for.

"Uncle, don’t worry. It’s only three million; it’s not worth getting so worked up over. How about this, Menghan, you go ask your cousin to come out and eat something. Her health is the number one priority, after all."

Hearing this, Bai Menghan nodded, stood up, and walked toward her cousin’s bedroom.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK...

"Sis, it’s me, Menghan. Please open the door. Whatever happened, we can all figure out a solution together. Not eating is just being childish. Come on, open up."

CREAK... A few seconds after Bai Menghan finished speaking, the door opened from the inside.

Immediately, Bai Mengyao, looking haggard, threw herself into Bai Menghan’s arms.

"SOB, SOB, SOB... Menghan, I was scammed! Someone scammed me!"

In truth, Bai Mengyao had been waiting in her room for Bai Menghan’s arrival—or to be more precise, for Fang Chenyi’s.

It wasn’t that she thought Fang Chenyi could repay her debt, but rather that she knew how capable he was. Only he could help her get that money back.

Seeing that Bai Mengyao had finally opened the door, everyone quickly rose to their feet, especially the uncle and aunt, their concern written all over their faces.

They started to move forward but were stopped by Father Bai, who gestured for them to let the two cousins talk.

Bai Menghan gently patted Bai Mengyao’s shoulder and comforted her.

"Sis, don’t rush. Chenyi and I came in such a hurry that we haven’t eaten either. Let’s eat first, and we can talk about everything afterward."

Bai Mengyao nodded and said,

"I’m sorry for dragging everyone into this... In that case, let’s eat first."

Hearing this, the uncle and aunt quickly got up and went to the kitchen to bring out the meal they had already prepared.

Even though there were urgent matters at hand, an empty stomach helps no one. Fang Chenyi and Bai Menghan made sure Bai Mengyao ate a full meal first.

After the meal, Bai Menghan led her cousin by the hand to the sofa and finally began to ask,

"Sis, you said you were scammed. What exactly happened? Tell us everything, nice and slow, and then we’ll all figure out a solution together."

"Yes, Mengyao, what on earth happened? Your mother and I have been worried sick," her father added.

She looked tearfully at her parents, then at Bai Menghan, before finally speaking in a low voice.

"I was scammed. The man who scammed me is named Mu Linsen. Here, look at this. You’ll understand everything."

As she spoke, Bai Mengyao reached into her bag and pulled out a thick stack of papers.

Bai Menghan took them, and the others all gathered around to look.

"An investor agreement for Sanqiang Entertainment Media Co., Ltd.? Sis, did you use the six-million-plus yuan to invest in the filming of a web series called ’Good Daughter-in-law of the Tang Dynasty’? If that’s the case, then it was just an investment, right? How is that a scam?"

After looking it over, Bai Menghan handed the investor agreement to Fang Chenyi and started reading the documents underneath, which contained an introduction to Sanqiang Entertainment.

The uncle and aunt had been worried their daughter had used the six-million-plus for something illicit, so upon hearing Bai Menghan say it was an investment, they breathed a small sigh of relief.

But Bai Mengyao let out a long sigh. "Sigh... If it really was an investment, I would have accepted the outcome, whether I made money or lost it. But the agreement is a fake. I went to Sanqiang Entertainment. They’ve never even heard of anyone named Mu Linsen, and they deny ever receiving my six million."

Fake??

Fang Chenyi, Bai Menghan, and everyone else were stunned. Bai Mengyao sighed, grabbing her head as she continued her story.

"It all started when Chenyi helped Mengjie enroll at Qinhuang Sunshine, and I drove her there. Chen Xi and I figured that the students at that school are all from rich and powerful families, and we didn’t want Mengjie to be looked down on by her classmates. So, I took the Mercedes that Chen Xi uses for receiving clients at his company. It was during that trip to drop Mengjie off that I met this Mu Linsen guy at the school gate."

As she said this, Bai Mengyao seemed to remember something and reached into her bag to pull out a business card. It read: Mu Linsen, Talent Scout, Sanqiang Entertainment Media Co., Ltd.

After handing the business card to Bai Menghan, Bai Mengyao continued her story.

"This Mu Linsen guy said he was also there dropping off his child. Then he told me he was a talent scout and that, based on my looks and overall presence, I was a perfect fit for the third female lead in their new show."

Bai Menghan couldn’t help but frown as she listened, then she asked,

"You didn’t actually believe him just because he said he was a talent scout, did you?"

"No, of course I didn’t believe him at first. But then I saw his car... and I did."

[To be continued...]