Chapter 48: Bringing More Muscle to Catch the Cheater

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Unexpectedly, Zheng Damao did not drive her own car. After listening to that woman spend half the day on the phone yesterday, Crystal could not help wondering: she was already thirty—why on earth did she insist on acting like a pathetic doormat?

She had once heard that Japanese hosts could bankrupt women through nothing but their silver tongues, without even sleeping with them. Perhaps that man possessed truly exceptional manipulation skills, and had sweet-talked her foolish older sister into complete submission.

If she were not her own sister, who would bother meddling? Since Crystal had happened to stumble upon this mess, she might as well pull her back from the brink. It would be good for both Zheng Damao and Bae Suzy.

Lately, Crystal had repeatedly watched footage of the award ceremony at the Blue House on her phone, trying to detect traces of hypocrisy and depravity in the man’s features and bearing. Yet perhaps his disguise was simply too convincing, because no matter how she looked at him, he did not seem like a bad person.

Zheng Damao, bundled up in a scarf, seemed to be in an excellent mood. She even bounced as she walked. At her age, she was acting like a young girl who had just fallen in love. It was utterly embarrassing. Crystal could barely stand to watch her own sister. The world had truly gone downhill. Zheng Damao and Bae Suzy were both hopeless cases, making such a fuss over a man who had come from the nightlife scene.

Perhaps in order to conceal her identity, Zheng Damao had not even taken her own car. Wrapped up tightly against the winter cold like a terrorist, she climbed into a taxi and sped away, nearly causing Crystal to lose her.

“Driver, please follow that taxi ahead. Please, whatever you do, don’t let them notice us. This is extremely important to me.”

The taxi driver gazed at Crystal. Although she was wearing a mask, the solemnity in her eyes was unmistakable. In an instant, he imagined an entire melodrama and hurriedly assured her that this was a simple matter. He loved nothing more than watching a wife catch her husband cheating.

“Don’t worry, ma’am. That mistress won’t get away. Even if she crosses the Demilitarized Zone, I’ll keep up with her!”

The driver slammed his foot down on the accelerator, and inertia flung Crystal’s head against the passenger seat. Perhaps meddling in other people’s business and delighting in chaos were human instincts. Still, Crystal was only worried about her sister—how had she somehow turned into the wronged wife hunting down a mistress?

“No, I…”

Crystal seemed about to explain, but the intensely focused driver was already weaving through the traffic while offering advice to the woman who looked far too young for such troubles. She seemed quite fashionable, he thought, although her hairline was a little high and her figure somewhat out of shape. She had probably been neglected by her husband after giving birth.

“In this life, you’re bound to encounter an unworthy wife or an unfilial child—and the reverse is just as true. If your husband is cheating on you, you should bring a few girlfriends along when you catch him. Otherwise, you’ll be outnumbered and easily bullied.”

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Listening to the driver speak with such authority, Crystal’s face collapsed into an expression of pure dismay. The misunderstanding had grown rather enormous, but it did help ease the tension. This was her first time following someone—her first time tailing anyone, that was—and she had no experience. She needed the help of a veteran like this driver.

“Yes! My husband is a year younger than me, and we’ve always had a wonderful relationship. But then he suddenly took up with an older woman born in 1989. She’s a full six years older than him! Doesn’t he have any shame? It’s infuriating! He must be starving!”

Crystal gleefully smeared her own sister. Lately, Zheng Damao seemed to have fallen completely under the spell of a younger man. She had even demanded that Crystal apologize to that pretty boy. Jessica Jung, had she really become more foolish with every passing year?

In truth, Crystal had no particular ulterior motive in following them. She simply wanted to satisfy her curiosity and see just how bizarre the relationship between the two of them really was.

“Miss, the mistress didn’t get out at a hotel. I saw her enter that café. Why don’t you call some people and gather reinforcements? Then, when they go to a hotel, you can catch them both red-handed.”

Ignoring the driver’s dubious suggestion, Crystal tossed down several bills, wrapped her scarf around herself, put on her hat and mask, and hurried away, leaving him only the sight of her dashing back.

“I don’t need anyone else’s help. I can handle this mistress myself. I know exactly how much she can take.”

What Crystal could not see was the driver giving her a thumbs-up from behind. If he did not still have fares to pick up, he would have loved to see how this heroine dealt with the thirty-year-old mistress, who looked every bit as fashionable as she did. Judging by the situation, the lady was no pushover. With that build, she clearly had an overwhelming physical advantage. She would probably be terrifying in a fight—more than capable of handling the woman with one hand.

The pair had chosen a remarkably convenient place. In a secluded corner of the café, partitions created a semi-enclosed space, while a curtain happened to conceal their upper bodies—and also shield them from the eyes of anyone who might discover Crystal.

As luck would have it, Crystal found another small booth nearby. But when the server brought her the menu, she kept her mouth shut and dared not make a sound. She could only point at things with her fingers, making herself look like a mute.

When she had eavesdropped yesterday, the foolish Damao had spent the entire time expressing her concern for the younger man and talking about how much she missed him. He clearly had her completely under his thumb. She was exactly the sort who would give up her body and still end up being fleeced afterward. Crystal had not the slightest doubt about it.

She had skipped breakfast and ordered a sandwich. While eating, she leaned her head toward them, hoping to overhear something useful. If Damao saw her looking like this with food in her hand, she would no doubt mock Crystal’s figure again. But all Crystal needed was a little time to show her sister what tall and slender really meant.

“Lunhou, how have you been lately? Did you bring me a gift from North Africa? It must have been terribly difficult in the desert. You’ve even gotten a little darker.”

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The older woman was very concerned about him. In truth, he had been doing fairly well. Ever since he was in school, he had been subjected to military-style discipline. Coming from the countryside, he had never developed the bad habits of someone pampered and indulged. To a certain extent, he had a decent tolerance for harsh environments. Besides, most of the filming had taken place in cities, while the few scenes set in the desert had even earned him a feast of rabbit.

The older woman told him how heroic he had looked on television and said that he would surely excel in his new position. She was also delighted that he had left his job as Bae Suzy’s bodyguard.

“Just wait and see, Lunhou. That Bae Suzy has absolutely no genuine feelings for you. She’s nothing but a player—and a rude, detestable one at that.”

Even in front of him, the older woman continued to slander that rabbit without restraint. In her eyes, anyone who dared seduce this man and fool around with him inside a tent in the Sahara could hardly be a good person.

He was reminded of rumors he had heard while working in China’s entertainment industry: salacious stories involving a beloved actress whom netizens constantly said ought to play the role of a schoolteacher, and the actor who portrayed a legendary hero.

Likewise, it had supposedly happened on the set, in a tent just like this one. Half the crew had allegedly been able to hear the virtuous wife’s muffled, cowlike moans. He wondered whether the two of them had disturbed everyone else’s sleep.

“Sometimes people’s stereotypes lead them to misunderstand her too deeply. Noona, you shouldn’t say things like that. Just like you, she helped me greatly when I was at my lowest and got me through the darkest period of my life.”

The older woman had initially been displeased when he said she had misunderstood Bae Suzy, believing that he had become bewitched by Suzy’s charms. But the moment she heard that she herself had helped him through the lowest point of his life, her spirits soared again.

“That’s all it takes to make you happy? You’re so cheap, you foolish sister of mine.”

Crystal, a top student at Sungkyunkwan University, had always thought this woman was an idiot. She had been stupid as a child and was still just as foolish grown-up. But what kind of person was this man, really? Crystal would have to listen a little more carefully.

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