03
The news spread like wildfire.
On Friday night, while Tiểu Nhã and I were having dinner at a restaurant, Tô Tinh Tinh suddenly appeared like a gust of wind, yanked Tiểu Nhã out of her seat, and slapped her.
The restaurant was packed with diners. Every one of them stopped eating and turned to look at us.
“You two-faced little snake! I knew you were no good!” Tô Tinh Tinh shouted angrily. “From the very first day you set foot in my house, you had your eye on my family’s money. You must be pretty pleased with yourself now, huh?”
Tiểu Nhã covered her face, trying to hold back her tears. “Sis, I didn’t…”
“Oh, listen to that. Classic two-faced act.” Tô Tinh Tinh sneered. “You think acting all sweet and obedient was enough to get my mother wrapped around your finger and push me out? Dream on!”
Tô Tinh Tinh raised her hand to slap her again. I immediately stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.
“Mom…”
I slapped Tô Tinh Tinh hard across the face, knocking her to the floor. She looked up at me, disbelief in her eyes.
My face was cold and stern. “I never understood the slang you young people use, but today I finally do.”
“So being well-behaved, hardworking, and not causing trouble for others makes you a ‘two-faced snake.’ Being polite, well-mannered, and decent makes you a ‘two-faced snake.’ Caring about others and being willing to make sacrifices for them makes you a ‘two-faced snake.’”
“Tinh Tinh, if that’s what a ‘two-faced snake’ is, I hope you can be one for the rest of your life.”
Tô Tinh Tinh stared at me, stunned.
“I gave you chance after chance.” I spoke softly. “You’re the one who wasted them. I won’t attend your wedding, and I won’t provide a dowry for you.”
Tô Tinh Tinh stared at me. After a long moment, she stood and said coldly, “Then let’s cut ties as mother and daughter.”
I was silent for a moment, then laughed.
“That sounds familiar. Tinh Tinh, how many times have you used that threat on me over the years?”
“Whenever I wouldn’t buy you something or send you money, you’d say you wanted to cut ties with me. You don’t understand that locking yourself in your room and refusing to eat only works on parents who love their children.”
A crowd had gathered around us in the restaurant, pointing and whispering. Meeting their gazes, I said calmly, “Tô Tinh Tinh, you’re the one who said you wanted to cut ties with me. I respect your decision.”
“And I hope you remember what you said. Don’t regret it later.”
04
Tiểu Nhã and I had just gotten home when Deputy General Manager Vương arrived right behind us.
I told Tiểu Nhã to go rest in her room, then invited the deputy general manager to sit on the sofa. “Take your time. Tell me what’s going on.”
Deputy General Manager Vương wiped the sweat from his forehead. “President Tô, the video of you slapping Tô Tinh Tinh at the restaurant has spread all over the internet.”
He showed me on his phone. Online, there was not only footage of me slapping Tô Tinh Tinh at the restaurant, but also a video of our earlier confrontation at the café.
“What are the odds? Both times, some busybody happened to record it.”
I wasn’t particularly surprised. “That’s normal. It’s the internet age.”
Deputy General Manager Vương pulled out his laptop and opened an investigative report for me. “I looked into that guy James thoroughly.”
“He’s a seasoned con man. Overseas, he used social media apps to meet women, especially wealthy women with little experience in love.”
“He’s part of a group of scammers who help each other stage elaborate schemes. They even fake heroic rescues—say, a few guys pretending to be robbers block a woman’s path, then the ‘leading man’ appears out of nowhere and fights them off, maybe even pretending to get hurt protecting her.”
“Basically, it’s the exact same plot as the hero in a romance novel. How could any woman not fall for it?”
“After a few months of dating, he suddenly disappears. Then his ‘friends’ show up and tell the woman his family went bankrupt, he’s being chased by bad guys, and he urgently needs money to get by. Otherwise, he’ll be in danger.”
“They make it so convincing that their victims usually believe them and do everything they can to raise money for their ‘prince in peril.’”
“One of these cases came to light before, and even drove a woman to suicide. But whether it was because of a lack of evidence or some other reason, the matter was swept under the rug.”
Deputy General Manager Vương looked at me anxiously. “President Tô, Tô Tinh Tinh has certainly been spoiled rotten and is immature, but it seems that man is the real danger now. She could pay dearly for this.”
I kept my expression blank. “You saw for yourself. I warned her and scolded her, but I couldn’t stop her. Whatever she loses is the result of her own choices.”
“Ms. Tô,” Deputy General Manager Vương persisted, trying to persuade me. “I looked at Tô Tinh Tinh’s grades. They were poor before, but she’s improved since last year.”
“She probably paid a top student to take her exams. She’s done that before, hasn’t she?”
“I don’t think so. If a top student had taken her exams, her scores would’ve shot up. But her grades improved gradually. She just barely climbed out of the bottom of the class and stopped failing her courses. She probably studied on her own.”
I glanced at him. “You hate Tô Tinh Tinh more than anyone. Why are you sticking up for her now?”
Deputy General Manager Vương started to say something else, but I waved him off, ending the conversation. “I know my own daughter. Mr. Vương, it’s late. I’d like to get some rest.”
After Deputy General Manager Vương left, Tiểu Nhã came out of her room and sat beside me. I stroked her cheek. Her skin was smooth and fair, with no sign of redness or swelling.
Tiểu Nhã knew what I was thinking and smiled. “Don’t worry. She didn’t hit me that hard.”
Tiểu Nhã and I went to Tô Tinh Tinh’s room.
“Auntie Tô, I’ve been thinking. Since she said she wanted to cut ties today, we should pack up her things and send them back.”
I stroked Tiểu Nhã’s hair, pleased. “You’re such a good girl. As expected, you’re thorough. We should follow through on every last detail.”
On Tô Tinh Tinh’s desk was a framed photograph. In it, Tô Tinh Tinh was still a little girl who had just graduated from elementary school, her hair tied in a high ponytail and a radiant smile on her face. She held up a V sign with one hand and had the other arm around a short-haired girl wearing glasses, whose face was tinged with embarrassment.
I looked at the photo in silence for a while, then picked up the frame.
“Pack up everything except this photo and send it to her.”
05
A week later, I learned that James had never married Tô Tinh Tinh. What’s more, he’d flown into a rage at her.
As soon as I stepped out of the company gates, I saw Tô Tinh Tinh kneeling at the entrance, sobbing, while a crowd of passersby gathered around to point and stare.
The moment she saw me, Tô Tinh Tinh staggered over on her knees and clung to my leg.
“Mom, please, I’m begging you. Give me some money.”
“We’ve already severed our mother-daughter relationship. I don’t think I’m still obligated to give you any money, am I?”
My expression was icy.
Tiểu Nhã, who had been following behind me, arrived just then. Today was the day I was introducing her to the board members. She was dressed especially carefully, wearing a little Prada suit, and her lightly made-up face looked delicate and beautiful.
The moment Tô Tinh Tinh saw Tiểu Nhã, her eyes turned bloodshot. She charged at her like a madwoman, grabbed her by the hair, and started fighting. “You! You’re the one who took everything that belonged to me!”
At first, Tiểu Nhã tried to back away. But then she got angry too, grabbed Tô Tinh Tinh by the collar, and shoved her hard.
“Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough already?!” Tiểu Nhã shouted. “You’ve let yourself get to this point over some man. You’ve brought shame on all of us!”
The onlookers whispered and gossiped nonstop. Earlier, videos of me arguing with Tô Tinh Tinh at a café and a restaurant had spread like wildfire online.
Now the heiress of the Tô family was kneeling for love at the company headquarters’ entrance. A story this juicy was bound to draw attention. The crowd included not only reporters but also plenty of independent bloggers, cameras and phones at the ready.
I could already imagine how wild social media would be today.
Sure enough, by the time Tiểu Nhã and I got home, videos of Tô Tinh Tinh kneeling were all over Weibo and TikTok.
[Shocking! CEO’s daughter kneels for love—who’s the man?]
Anonymous revelations immediately began appearing in the comments.
[I work at this company. That day, the woman in question brought her boyfriend to the shareholders’ meeting. I secretly took a photo.]
The photo showed James on the day Tô Tinh Tinh brought him to the company. It was a clear, head-on shot.
Netizens immediately began digging into his background.
[Wait, I think I’ve seen this guy on international news before.]
[Me too! Isn’t he some kind of romance scammer?]
[That’s right…!]
[So the heiress of the Tô family fought with her family over some romance scammer?]
I set my phone down, took a deep breath, and flopped onto the sofa. Beside me, Tiểu Nhã silently gazed at Tô Tinh Tinh’s elementary school graduation photo.
“Auntie Tô, I remember now. I’ve met this older girl before.”