Su Suyin sat while covering her mouth with her hand as she looked at her daughter in disbelief.

"Xiaoyi, are you serious? Since when did you and Jie plan this?"

The older woman was dumbstruck once again by how much Li Caiyi had grown.

Li Junjie was one thing, but as if the fact that her eldest daughter went so far to investigate her father wasn't surprising enough, now she added it with her plan to get rid of Li Jirong while taking the family asset for her brother.

"Yes. It's not like we planned it together from the beginning, but it naturally turned out like that. Mother, my book will be published soon, so even if there is no Father around, we'll manage somehow!"

How could she possibly be the same timid girl who wouldn't even dare to look her father in the eyes? Li Jirong's affair must have been shocking for Li Caiyi; it changed her so much. Su Suyin felt terrible that her daughter must be the first one to know about this.

"Xiaoyi, aren't you pushing yourself too hard?" Su Suyin said worriedly. "Is this why you are so adamant about pursuing a writing career?"

"That is one of the reasons, but the most prominent one is because I sincerely love writing. I want to keep doing that, but Father would never allow me to do so."

"I understand, and I'm not saying this to discourage you, but there is no guarantee your book will be selling. Your father might not be the best man, but at least he could provide for you until you have fully grown up."

Her mother's concern was reasonable. Even if she included her past life experiences, this was her first published book, and no one could tell if it would sell or not. However, once she found out about what Li Jirong had done to her sister, her hesitation vanished without a trace.

"Mother, trust me. I have a good feeling about this book. Even if this one fails, I can write another, and everything will be fine. Besides, we won't need Father anymore if we transfer all the assets to Brother Jie."historical

Su Suyin bit her lips, still feeling skeptical about this. "This is a big decision. I can't believe you two planned this and didn't tell me until it was very close to his birthday. I can't have more time to think even if I wanted to."

Li Caiyi grimaced inwardly. She had a feeling that her brother deliberately aimed for this, but that would make him even scarier than he already was. Li Junjie was a formidable opponent indeed.

"I know you are still shocked about all this, but there is no better chance than this. If we wait until Father becomes suspicious of us, he probably will transfer the asset under someone else's name, and it wouldn't count as the Li family's anymore."

Su Suyin knew Li Jirong's personality well after living by his side for years. What Li Caiyi said sounded like something he would do. Although Li Jirong talked big, he was actually very paranoid and petty. She didn't know how she could stand being his wife for so long if not for the children.

"What about Xiaohua? That girl knew nothing about this, and she probably would disagree with this."

"I haven't told Xiaohua yet, but I'm sure she'll understand if we explain it to her. Brother Jie said we shouldn't say anything to her for now."

Su Suyin rubbed her arms as she nodded. "I see. Maybe I should come with you and have a talk to her as well."

"Mother, does this mean you'll agree with our plan?"

Su Suyin sighed in resignation. "I'm actually still very doubtful about this. However, I also understand that there's no way my children can spend days under the same roof as their father after knowing what he has done behind our back."

"I have always wanted to ask you this, but have you ever resented Father, Mother? He mistreated you and even cheated on you. I actually expected you to react more strongly than this."

Her mother only stared at the floor without saying anything as the previous gloominess returned to her.

Li Caiyi always thought that her mother looked pretty for a woman in her forties. Her face had creases and wrinkles, but the glow wouldn't lose to the youngster nowadays. If her mother wished for it, Li Caiyi bet she would still be popular among a single middle-aged man, or probably younger.

,m Besides, her mother used to work and graduated from a decent university. If it were not for her father constantly telling her how useless she was, would she still even accept being degraded like that?

"You know, Xiaoyi. Marriage is more than just liking and not liking someone. It's more like a commitment between two people who had sworn their loyalty to each other. I admit, there are times when I resent your father, but after a while, I understand that the thing I hate the most is myself."

Su Suyin chuckled before continuing, "Perhaps I have long since fallen out of love with him. That's why his betrayal didn't hurt me as much? Or I might just be so tired that I want it to end as soon as possible. I couldn't tell. He was once a man who was very dear to me, but now, I don't know anymore."

"Mother, you know this isn't your fault, right?"

Su Suyin smiled sadly and reached out to stroke her head. "I know. It's fine. I'm not completely unbothered by it, but I won't break down over spilled milk, either. I will be fine if I just sit and completely let everything sink into me."

Li Caiyi could tell that her mother forced herself to say that. She didn't know how much of what Su Suyin said was her true feelings or just a front, but it was a relief that she took this pretty calmly.

Looking at her mother's tired face, Li Caiyi suddenly couldn't bear to break the other piece of news to her. She opened and closed her mouth a few times but still couldn't tell Su Suyin that she planned to leave the house after everything had settled down.

Su Suyin seemed to sense her uncertainty, so she asked, "Is there something else you want to say to me, Xiaoyi?"

Li Caiyi felt a stab in her conscience, looking at her mother's tired and sunken look. She wondered how her mother would react if she told her about her plan? It shouldn't be that big of news for her, right? After all, Li Caiyi practically had lived separately from her for days already.

"Yes. I actually planned to move out of the house after having a stable income and finding a place for myself. I want to tell you this beforehand."

Su Suyin's expression froze immediately as her whole body visibly stiffened.

She hadn't shed a tear even after finding out about her husband's affair, yet when she heard about Li Caiyi's plan, it was like a dam had broken down.

Droplets of tears began to cascade on her cheeks.