Paranoid Doctor Only Loves Me
Chapter 386 - 355 Let’s talk things out, no need to pull and drag (1st update)_1

Chapter 386: 355 Let’s talk things out, no need to pull and drag (1st update)_1

"Lanlan, I really have something important to tell you. If you don’t want to have breakfast with me, then let’s talk somewhere quiet next to us, okay?"

Jiang Tao reached out to pull her, but Zhao Xinlan shook off his hand.

"Director Jiang, speak if you have something to say. There’s no need for pulling and dragging—I’m not deaf."

Sometimes, Zhao Xinlan felt she was really crazy.

When she loved Jiang Tao, she loved him so recklessly, so hopelessly, that she wouldn’t listen to anyone else’s advice, including that of her best friend, Su Ruoan.

Everyone around her said that Jiang Tao was not the man to entrust her life to.

But what about Zhao Xinlan?

She was the type who wouldn’t turn back until she hit a wall.

You could tell her a hundred times that it wasn’t right, but it would be less convincing than letting her hit that wall herself.

In the end, Su Ruoan stopped advising her and convinced herself with that very same saying.

She just hadn’t expected that hitting the wall once would cost her so dearly, so much that Zhao Xinlan almost exhausted her whole life.

"Then—"

Jiang Tao slowly withdrew his hand.

"Tang Bao, wait for your godmother a moment; I’ll be back quickly."

"Okay." Tang Su nodded, since there was nothing much today anyway; waiting a bit was no problem.

Zhao Xinlan pursed her lips and pointed toward the emergency staircase next to the elevator. Hardly anyone passed by there unless they didn’t want to take the elevator and preferred climbing the stairs.

After the two moved there and saw no one around, Jiang Tao didn’t hide his intentions. In his mind, he believed that Zhao Xinlan was still like a grasshopper tied to the same string as him.

The money he spent on Zhao Xinlan wasn’t much, but it was still spent.

So, if he were in trouble, Zhao Xinlan couldn’t escape either.

He didn’t believe Zhao Xinlan wouldn’t be afraid.

At this moment, in Jiang Tao’s eyes, Zhao Xinlan was still a pitiful woman who couldn’t even go back to her parental home. Over the years, he went from loving Zhao Xinlan to completely using her.

It was all because Zhao Xinlan didn’t have a reliable family to fall back on; she didn’t have the confidence to return to her parental family.

Her only confidence was her best friend, Su Ruoan.

But even Su Ruoan struggled under his thumb, could he really be afraid of them?

He wasn’t afraid.

Because he wasn’t afraid, he still had the chance to threaten Zhao Xinlan.

"The year-end is approaching, and someone from the upper ranks is visiting today. I’ve got reliable information. At this time, it’s not good for either of us if you keep up this fight with me. Let’s go home, shall we? Lanlan, we are husband and wife, aren’t we? Being married means we are one, doesn’t it?"

"Oh, Jiang Tao, I understand now. You’re so eager for me to come home, not because you think you’ve done something wrong, or because you’re afraid of me divorcing you. It’s because you’re worried about losing your position as director, isn’t that right?"

Zhao Xinlan was never foolish; in the past, she just feigned ignorance so that people would think she was living a happy life.

She once naively thought that Jiang Tao was a man who loved her.

Now, she had fully awakened. Jiang Tao’s plea for her to come home was also purpose-driven; if not for the arrival of someone from the upper ranks, he wouldn’t be so repeatedly humble.

"Lanlan, do you think that’s what I mean? Why must you twist my good intentions?"

"Your kindness, Dean Jiang, I simply cannot accept it. Jiang Tao, I’ve made myself very clear, this marriage, I’m definitely divorcing. I won’t return to that home of yours, I’ll leave without taking anything, do you understand?"

"Okay, I understand." Jiang Tao saw the resolve in Zhao Xinlan’s eyes, she truly didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore. He understood that even if he knelt down and apologized, Zhao Xinlan wouldn’t turn back.

What he didn’t understand was when Zhao Xinlan became so decisive. When did she leave no room for him at all?

"I agree to the divorce, but I have one condition. You have to move back to the Tang household today. Once the higher-ups have gone, we’ll go through the procedures. How about that?"

"Heh, on what basis? Jiang Tao, you sure have planned this out nicely, haven’t you? Over these years, just calculate how much money I’ve spent on you, and how much you’ve spent on me. All your money went to support your brothers and sisters, not a single cent on me."

"So, you think we’re in the same boat? You’re mistaken. Rather than wasting time here trying to persuade me, you’d be better off calling an immediate family meeting to advise your siblings and your children to stop flaunting their wealth ostentatiously outside."

"You didn’t spend my money? Then, all the luxury items you’ve been using these past years, the high-end stuff, was that bought by you?" Jiang Tao still had an expression like nothing could affect him.

How could Zhao Xinlan have the face to say such an unconscionable thing, that she didn’t spend his money?

"Heh—" Zhao Xinlan sneered and shook her head, turning to leave.

Jiang Tao grabbed her with his other uninjured hand, "Zhao Xinlan, don’t you think about leaving before we’ve finished talking."

"You want to settle things now? Are you sure?" Zhao Xinlan glared at Jiang Tao with murderous intent in her eyes. She had intended to give him a bit more time for Shanshan’s sake, being bullied as she was. But it seemed he was not interested in taking the favor.

"I..."

At that moment, Jiang Tao’s phone rang. It was the call from the deputy dean of their hospital, saying that the higher-ups were about to arrive and asking him to hurry to the hospital.

"Okay, I know, I’m on my way."

Jiang Tao didn’t expect the higher-ups to arrive so quickly. Luckily, he had made preparations in advance. Some things, he had taken care of overnight, creating diversions.

After all, he had navigated through the past years smoothly; he believed this time would be no different.

Sudden inspections, sudden crackdowns—these smoke grenades had been thrown too many times over the years, and Jiang Tao had grown accustomed to them.

Once he gets through this, and once he’s promoted to the deputy director of the Health Bureau, Zhao Xinlan will surely come back crying, begging for reconciliation.

After all, the title of a bureau director’s wife carries more prestige than that of a dean’s wife.

"Xinlan, I’ll give you a few more days to think about it. I have something urgent now, I have to go. If you’ve made up your mind, call me. I’ll be waiting for you at any time."

After speaking, Jiang Tao was the first to exit through the emergency staircase.

He needed to return to the hospital to deal with the upcoming inspection. He also had to tell Jiang Wu and his wife to not cause any trouble during this time.

They should keep a low profile.

Zhao Xinlan was right about one thing; the other members of the Jiang family really needed to keep quiet for a few days.

If it hadn’t been for Shanshan’s serious incident yesterday, he wouldn’t have been so flustered that he didn’t have time to notify them in the family group chat.

No matter, it’s not too late to notify them on the way.

After Jiang Tao left, Tang Su ran to find Zhao Xinlan, "Godmother, are you okay?"

Zhao Xinlan shook her head, "I’m fine, Tang Bao. How could I have been so blind when I was younger to choose such a worthless man?"

"..."

Tang Su couldn’t answer. After all, what’s in a person’s heart is hidden behind their belly, and it’s hard to see how someone will change.

Even with eyes that can distinguish humans from demons, you still can’t foresee what a person will become in the future.