Chapter 23 — My Husband Brought His Ex Home

The blonde-haired streamer’s facial expression shifted dramatically. The live-stream chat room was still scrolling endlessly with furious and mocking comments. I calmly retrieved my phone from my pocket and tapped the screen to play an audio recording. The crisp, distinct voice of Lan Chi rang out clearly through the tiny speaker.

Little Hue is pregnant now, so my mother and I decided we should just let her move in here to take care of her pregnancy.

In case the child truly turns out to be his in the future, the Han family cannot simply abandon our own bloodline.

Immediately following that, the shrill voice of little Hue chimed in.

She said that the woman Xia's family has plenty of money and owns real estate, yet the woman herself is easy to manipulate and control.

She told me that as long as I moved in first, after staying long enough, that woman would have absolutely no legal or practical way to evict me.

The hallway fell into a stunned, suffocating silence. The arrogant smirk on the blonde streamer’s face froze instantly, turning into a grimace of pure panic. I pressed my finger down again to play the second recording. It captured the raspy voice of the bald-headed loan shark speaking right at the entrance of the residential compound.

Old man Hai told his son to keep hiding inside that apartment, and sooner or later, his daughter-in-law will fall right into our trap.

Young women are always too proud of their pride and reputation; just frighten them a little bit, and they will hand over the property ownership certificate without a second thought.

The comment section on the live stream visible to the naked eye was completely blowing up, flooded with shock and outrage. The blonde man instinctively reached out his hand, trying to frantically shut down the broadcast. I stepped forward, blocking his path, and said in an icy tone: Do not turn it off.

Didn't you just claim that you were here to speak up for the vulnerable and uphold justice?

Now, continue your live stream right here.

The hands of the blonde man trembled violently, and the screen shook in the dark. At that precise moment, several police officers stepped forward from the shadows of the corridor.

We require you to cooperate fully with our investigation.

He panicked completely, his voice cracking.

I was only hired and paid to shoot a few short videos!

I do not know anything about this scheme!

My gaze grew colder still.

Then tell me, exactly who paid you?

The eyes of the blonde man darted back and forth nervously. A police officer lowered his voice in a stern warning: Speak. Finally, the pressure became too much, and the blonde man broke down.

It was an old man from the Han family.

He gave me two thousand yuan and told me to make the footage look as tragic and pathetic as possible.

He also instructed me that it would be best if I could provoke her father to come out and catch me on camera making a physical move against him.

My father jerked his head up in sudden realization and disbelief. As for me, I felt no surprise whatsoever. When old man Hai had hidden in the stairwell filming videos the previous night, his intention was never just to vent his frustrations. From the very beginning, he had meticulously planned to crucify us on the public internet, using the overwhelming tide of public opinion to seize the house on his behalf, forcing me to bow my head through sheer cyberbullying. Unfortunately for him, he severely underestimated the power of concrete evidence. Attorney Lin stepped forward and immediately published a formal legal declaration right on the spot. The document contained no flowery or evasive language; it merely listed the stark facts in black and white. The apartment had been fully paid off before the marriage took place. Signature forgery. Unauthorized registration of entry cards and biometric fingerprints. Sneaking a third party into the private residence. Stealing jewelry and master keys without permission. Fake mortgage arrangements. Creditor intimidation. Orchestrated cyber violence. Attached directly to the bottom of every single item was a verified evidence code with official notarization. Half an hour later, the trending topics on the local rankings completely flipped directions. The accounts that had originally shared the crying, manipulative videos began frantically deleting their content. Netizens quickly dug up the secondary accounts associated with peaceful river breezes and exposed a trail of revealing old statuses. Someone discovered that two months prior, little Hue had heavily hinted in her comment sections that she was soon returning home to reclaim everything that rightfully belonged to her. Someone else even managed to unearth a photograph of the silver suitcase she had boasted about, accompanied by a status update declaring: A new life begins the moment I move into his city. The tide of public opinion rapidly reversed.

So it turns out the new wife was actually the one being brutally bullied all along?

The first love gets pregnant, brings her dog into someone else's newlywed home, and even steals their earrings?

The parents-in-law use their daughter-in-law's house to clear their own debts and even hire internet streamers to launch a cyber-attack?

This entire family is truly terrifying.

My father stared at the rapidly scrolling comments flashing on the phone screen, his hands finally relaxing their tense grip. But I did not allow him to look at it for too much longer. I reached out and pressed the screen, turning the phone completely dark.

Dad, the so-called justice on the internet is never real justice.

The genuine debts that need to be settled are still waiting for us ahead.

Right at that moment, Attorney Lin's phone rang. He listened intently for a few seconds before turning his gaze toward me.

Hai has already confessed to everything.

The red paint and the streamer were both arranged directly by him.

Furthermore, the signature sample of yours that he used to forge the documents was obtained from a copy of the marriage registration certificate provided by Hao.

A sharp jolt rippled through my chest. Hao. In the end, he had once again chosen to stand at the furthest possible distance from me.

When Hao finally sought me out, the night had already grown heavy. My father and I had just stepped out of the local police station after completing our formal depositions. He stood silently under the harsh glare of a streetlamp, looking as though his entire world had collapsed overnight. Upon seeing me approach, he took two hesitant steps forward before abruptly stopping in his tracks.

Xia.

My father immediately stepped forward, shielding me behind him.

Why on earth have you still come here?

Hao’s voice was so hoarse and battered that it was barely audible.

I came here to apologize.

I looked straight into his eyes.

For what exact reason?

His face was pale and drained of all color.

For everything.

I let out a cold, bitter laugh.

Saying everything is far too vague.

Are you apologizing for lying to me about working overtime?

Or are you apologizing for bringing little Hue into my private home?

Or are you apologizing for authorizing her fingerprint access?

Or are you apologizing for handing copies of my personal documents over to your father?

Or are you perhaps apologizing because when your father used my house as collateral for his debts, you clearly knew all about it yet chose to remain utterly silent?

With every single question I posed, his face grew paler still. Finally, he lowered his head in utter defeat.

I truly did not know they would take things this far.

I shook my head, my voice cutting like a knife: You were simply the one who handed them the blade.

And as for how deeply they chose to stab, you claim you knew nothing.

His lips trembled pathetically, unable to utter a single word of rebuttal. My father spoke in an icy, unforgiving tone: Hao, get away from my daughter.