Divorced at fifty, I embarked on my path to success.

Mei Yusheng stood frozen, phone in hand. She hadn't expected Chen Yue to say he wanted a divorce from her brother; perhaps it was just a form of coercion. But once the word "divorce" was uttered, it was like a sharp knife plunged into the heart of the marriage, causing irreversible damage to both parties.

While she was still in a daze, the phone rang again. She thought it was Chen Yue again, but Yue Guangzhi's voice came through the receiver.

"Mom, are you happy now? Satisfied? Seeing Dad and me in such a mess, being pointed at and scolded by everyone, makes you feel relieved and satisfied?"

Yue Guangzhi launched into a barrage of questions, but Mei Yusheng remained surprisingly calm and listened quietly.

"Mom, I never thought you were so heartless. Are you only satisfied when you've driven Dad and me to ruin?" Yue Guangzhi's tone was filled with anger and grievance. "Dad worked hard for thirty years to build up the company, supporting our whole family and our relatives, including my uncle and aunt's family. If it goes bankrupt because of your recklessness, have you thought about the losses for so many people?"

"And me! I'm your son! Didn't you think about me before you did anything? Are you even my real mother?!"

"You still acknowledge me as your mother?" Mei Yusheng sneered. "When you were helping your father kidnap your maternal grandmother, did you ever think about me being your biological mother?"

"I..." Yue Guangzhi's voice faltered. "That wasn't kidnapping! We just brought Grandma out so the family could have a reunion dinner, and we wanted her to persuade you to return the account book. You knew perfectly well that if that account book were leaked, Dad and I would face imprisonment. How could Dad and I sleep at night? Don't blame us for doing this to coerce you. If it weren't for Grandma, would you have returned the account book? Maybe it wouldn't just be a matter of public opinion now; Dad and I would already be in jail!"

Mei Yusheng gave a cold laugh: "You all have reasons for doing things, yet you demand unconditional understanding and forgiveness from others. But what did you do? If it wasn't kidnapping, what was it? You took your grandmother out without warning and brought her to a secluded house. If I hadn't discovered it early, when were you planning to tell me? How did you intend to treat your grandmother during this time?"

"You know perfectly well that your grandmother is old, in poor health, and mentally unstable, yet you still make her live in fear! If something happens to her because of this, wouldn't you be the murderers?" Mei Yusheng trembled with emotion. "You make it sound so nice, a family reunion dinner? Why don't you bring your grandmother home?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone; Yue Guangzhi was speechless after being questioned.

"Mom, I was wrong, I know I was wrong, okay? Please don't get agitated, don't be angry, listen to me!" Yue Guangzhi's tone softened, with a hint of pleading. "Now the internet is full of people cursing my dad for being untrustworthy and a hypocrite. My dad's reputation is completely ruined!"

"He deserves it!" Mei Yusheng gritted her teeth. "If he dared to do it, he shouldn't be afraid of being scolded!"

"Mom, you've vented your anger now, and Dad has paid the price. So, could you clarify things online again..." Yue Guangzhi cautiously probed.

"Clarify what?" Mei Yusheng suddenly understood the purpose of Yue Guangzhi's call to her, and a chill ran through her heart. "Clarify that he didn't cheat on me, and that I'm framing him?"

"No, no, I'll just say that Aunt Han is my dad's childhood sweetheart. My dad only helped her because of our past relationship and didn't intend to divorce you."

Mei Yusheng's eyebrows shot up: "What nonsense are you talking about? You mean your dad is loyal and righteous, he was just helping his first love, and he didn't betray me, and I misunderstood them?"

"Uh..." Yue Guangzhi couldn't continue, pausing for two seconds, "Mom, for the sake of our company, for me and Xuanxuan, please clarify this. Dad has already agreed to divorce you. As long as you say online that you've cleared up the misunderstanding, divorced peacefully, and that Dad is sincerely repentant and has given you enough compensation, okay?"

"I'm definitely getting a divorce. As for any bullshit clarifications, don't even think about it!" Mei Yusheng said, and immediately hung up the phone.

"Rain!" Xie Mingqi called to her, "The locksmiths have arrived!"

Mei Yusheng steadied herself and hurried over.

Xie Mingqi sized her up for a moment, asked nothing, and showed her the locksmith's credentials with her.

The workers went off to work, and Xie Mingqi said, "I'll go buy a new lock. You and Auntie stay here and watch over things. I'll be right back."

Mei Yusheng nodded and pushed the wheelchair into the villa.

He Qingmin observed her expression: "Has something happened?"

Mei Yusheng smiled calmly: "It's alright, Mom, don't worry."

……

Yue Jiangting buried himself in the chair, pressed his throbbing temples, closed his eyes, and felt as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

His phone kept ringing, with all sorts of calls coming in. Some were asking about gossip, some were gloating, and there was also Han Caiyu's nagging and complaining, which annoyed him even more, so he simply put it on silent.

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes, knowing full well that there were no good things to say online, but still went to check it out with a sliver of hope and wishful thinking.

The online comments were overwhelming, too many for him to read. A few that caught his eye were so infuriating that he almost fainted.

The hanging heart finally died.

Besides the insults, some people have also dug up the reason why he broke up with Han Caiyu back then. It's probably someone he knows. Who is it?

His head ached even more from thinking, but he still couldn't find the suspect.

"General Manager Yue's mistress is the divorced wife of a certain official's son. I heard that the official's family went bankrupt, and she ran away with the last bit of money. She probably saw that the poor boy from back then suddenly became rich, so she went back to him."

The man even revealed the name of a second-generation official, making Yue Jiangting both believe and doubt.

He had no energy to think about what was really going on with Han Caiyu, and instead tortured himself by reading through the comments one by one. In the end, his mouth mechanically read them out, like a text from school, the words passing through his mouth but not through his mind.

The office door was kicked open. He looked up at the noise and saw Mei Zichen storming in.

Yue Jiangting's eyes sharpened, and he asked in astonishment, "What are you doing here? To laugh at me?"

Mei Zichen was stunned for a moment and noticed that Yue Jiangting looked dejected, pale, and sickly.

"Did you install the camera in the house?" Yue Jiangting finally found an outlet for his anger, staring at him like a cobra. "You and your sister are equally ungrateful. The money I've spent on you over the years would have been enough to feed a dog, and it would have wagged its tail at me."

"What did you say?" Mei Zichen's eyes widened in anger. She grabbed Yue Jiangting by the collar and pulled him out of the chair. "So you've never considered my sister as your wife? You've always looked down on us siblings?"

"Heh heh, how could I possibly respect you?" Yue Jiangting sneered, forcefully pulling Mei Zichen's hand away. "Respect your sister for being a haggard housewife who only knows how to do housework? Respect your whole family for relying on me to get into the company so you can barely make a living? Ha, if I had applied the open recruitment standards, would you have even gotten in? Would you have been able to secure good positions? Would you have been able to earn over ten thousand yuan a month?"

"And your daughter, Mei Zi, we searched everywhere but couldn't find anyone to take her in, so in the end, wasn't it me who took her in? Every penny you receive comes from my money!" Yue Jiangting stretched out a finger and sucked on Mei Zichen's chest, doing everything he could to humiliate her. "You're all traitors! Helping Mei Yusheng scheme against me? Have I been too good to you, making you forget your place?"

Mei Zichen was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot, and he cursed, "F*** you!" He punched Yue Jiangting in the nose.

Yue Jiangting felt a sharp pain in his nose, paused for a moment, then felt a warm liquid flowing from under his nostrils. He yelled, "Help! Help! Arrest this madman! I'm calling the police! Call the police!"

Two people rushed in from outside. One of them was Secretary Li. Seeing that Manager Mei was raining punches on the boss, whose face was covered in blood and who was powerless to fight back, he hurriedly rushed over and grabbed Mei Zichen's arm. The other person stood in front of Yue Jiangting.

Amidst the chaotic tearing and rigging, Chen Yue stepped in from outside, glanced around the room, and immediately understood the situation.

Enraged, she rushed up to Mei Zichen and slapped him hard across the face.