A bottle of wine and the scenery of nature sprawled out widely, which could be enjoyed to the fullest in the side yard, precisely at the pool area.
Chelsea relaxed, lying down on the chaise longue while enjoying a glass of wine. She wore a night camisole, and the cold air didn't affect her after warming up her body with a few sips of wine.
She had a good tolerance for alcohol, William Deep Moon had taught Chelsea to drink when she was twenty years old, but maybe for some people, it was a bit late.
"Life is only once, so it should be enjoyed in the best way possible, so before dying—please satisfy yourself, Chelsea Moon." She muttered to herself before taking a sip of her wine.
Carrying the 'Moon' surname sometimes weighed her down, because she had to assert herself as the elegant and authoritative daughter of a conglomerate, intelligent and open-minded.
The character education instilled by her late biological mother and continued after meeting her adoptive parents—was very useful.
Since her biological parents died in a 'manufactured accident', little Chelsea became a quiet figure, and she returned to being herself a few years after adoption, although she had to deal with psychiatrists for years.
It wouldn't be easy to reach this point—to be confident and grasp everything, she would never forget the difficult times for the rest of her life, and she intended to take everything with her until she died.
"I don't understand why you're so relaxed, enjoying life when other problems are popping up."
Chelsea was startled, furrowing her brow before finding two men standing on the left side of the chaise longue.
One with a stoic expression that was quite intimidating, and the other looked awkward while bowing his head.
It was Jonas Li and Vincent, his assistant.
Chelsea didn't even know since when they were standing there; she was too engrossed in the atmosphere that had engulfed her, reluctant to surface.
"Oh." The woman put the empty glass on the small table next to her while sitting up. "What's going on?"
Seeing Vincent's presence, Chelsea tied the belt of her camisole's outerwear.
"You really don't know?" Jonas had to clean up the problem, but the troublemaker was relaxing with a bottle of wine.
"Yes, I don't know."
"Open Weibo so you understand."
Chelsea grabbed her phone next to the wine bottle, following Jonas's instructions and finding her name trending on the first spot.
What happened was a video of Chelsea assaulting June, but the angle shown wasn't from CCTV, but rather someone's phone camera using a close-up shot. Chelsea's expression remained flat, as if undisturbed, even though 80% of the comments were from accounts condemning her actions.
"Now you understand?"
"So what?" She sat back down. "Didn't you promise your mother to take care of this problem? Why should I bother dealing with it?"
This woman was crazy.
If Chelsea were a man, Jonas would love to punch her.
Chelsea's attitude of indifference made Jonas's face darken; shouldn't she at least make some effort to repair her own reputation?
"At least do something, Miss Moon."
"Hmm. What is it?" It seemed more enjoyable to talk to a statue than to a annoying person like Chelsea.
"What I should do and what you do are definitely different. I can permanently delete the video so others can't access it, but aren't you responsible for yourself?"
He had restrained himself since returning to Chaoyang, and now that he was at his private villa, cursing in front of Chelsea wasn't a problem as long as the servants didn't hear anything.
"Oh, okay." Chelsea still had a relaxed attitude, as if Jonas's intimidation didn't affect her.
"So, what will you do?"
She looked at her fingernails, which were clean and shiny after a manicure, then shifted her gaze to the mountain scenery at night. "Don't delete the scattered videos, just leave them be. I'll ask the boutique manager for the entire CCTV footage and post it, then give a clarification."
"Then do it, and tell your mother-in-law that this is your decision to keep the video."
"Hmm, yeah."
Jonas left with Vincent after pressing his demand, leaving a slightly suffocating atmosphere around Chelsea, blurring the beautiful scenery and calm impression with discomfort.
The woman in a red camisole bit her lip, looking in the direction Jonas left with annoyance.
"This is annoying. He ruined my moment of peace in an instant."
***
After finishing her solo breakfast without Jonas's presence, Chelsea immediately contacted her mother-in-law to ask for the Paradise Boutique's number.
She intended to upload the CCTV footage of the assault, even though the manager had said he would delete it for the sake of the boutique's reputation. Just by crying and pretending to be sad, Chelsea easily gained sympathy from Elena, who even represented her daughter-in-law in requesting the CCTV footage.
Fifteen minutes later, Chelsea received a file containing the video she wanted. If June only uploaded the moment she was hit, what Chelsea uploaded was complete with June's initial slap.
"Miss June, let's have some fun." She smiled contentedly when the two-minute video was successfully uploaded, then Chelsea recorded herself, showing her wet face while speaking provocatively to gain sympathy from others.
"I found out about the video last night when I met my husband, and we discussed a way out. My heart was shattered from the start, and I wonder why Miss June only uploaded the video from her angle. It's true that I hit her, as everyone can see, but it wasn't without reason that I acted so harshly."
"Miss June provoked me, exhausting my patience, but she hit me first, and I was just defending myself. Moreover, this wasn't the first time we met." She sobbed while looking at her phone's camera, and even so, Chelsea's bare face still looked beautiful like a porcelain doll.
"I first saw her when I visited Jonas's office to deliver lunch, and Miss June was in my husband's room, busy flirting." She took a deep breath, emphasizing how suffocated she felt when recounting the annoying story. "So, how could a wife let another woman disturb her husband? Our marriage has only been a few months, and I heard she's been flirting with Jonas since he was still with Miss Shirley. Miss Shirley must have had a hard time dealing with such a manic disturbance."
Chelsea pulled out some tissues to clean her tears. "Now it's okay if the public wants to keep cursing me; from the start, I just wanted everyone to see both sides. I was indeed too angry and harsh at that time, but she forced me to hand over Jonas to her." She stood up from the sofa, then bowed for a moment. "I apologize for causing chaos; I hope Miss June won't disturb Jonas and our life again."
Chelsea ended the video while wiping away her tears, her sad expression changing to annoyance. "Ah, damn. Why do I have to work this hard? Hopefully, June will enjoy her moment when she sees my video."
She uploaded the video and closed Weibo again; she still had plenty of time to wait for the storm to come to others.
"Jonas ignored me this morning, not touching his breakfast as usual, but I can still deliver lunch for him."
Besides nightmares about her childhood, nothing else could shake Chelsea until she collapsed. After taking her medication, calmness surrounded her, allowing her to carry out normal activities without pressure.
***
"June, it seems like you're facing someone who's hard to defeat." Zuyi commented while watching Chelsea's clarification video; she was a colleague who was with June at the boutique yesterday.
They drank coffee at a luxurious hotel lounge this morning after laughing at all the curses from others towards Chelsea, but half an hour later, her supporters changed sides and supported her enemy.
The CCTV footage and Chelsea's clarification video got a lot of attention, and even though there were still 20% of accounts supporting June, she remained pessimistic about being defeated by that woman.
June bit her lip, very annoyed that her efforts to destroy Chelsea had brought another disaster to her.
"How could she, how could she show such a heart-wrenching expression and tears like that, huh!" She pointed with a trembling iPad on the table, panic creeping up her spine and taking over her entire body, June's confidence was shattered, crushed repeatedly like an ant.
Zuyi sighed wearily, her efforts to help June with the phone video recording ended in vain.
"Didn't you see it too! She was laughing happily after assaulting me! And now... and now. Argh!" June stood up while throwing the iPad to the floor—watched by other visitors there. "Why is that woman crying so pitifully, pretending to be the victim! I hate her so much!"
"June. Calm down." Zuyi forced her friend to sit back down on the sofa, she also picked up the iPad, the LCD screen was cracked.
"How can I calm down when she's pointing her middle finger at me, huh! Now everyone is cursing me. That woman is really cunning and shameless! I have to use the last resort to make her give up."
"Last resort? What do you mean?" Zuyi watched as her friend packed up. "Tell me what you mean?"
June stood up, acting confidently despite her trembling voice. "I'll report her to the police for assault."
"NO, JUNE!!!" Zuyi grabbed her hand, holding June back. "Don't do that, if you act further, the losses that come to you will be greater."
"She's already crushed my pride repeatedly, Zuyi! Why should I just stay quiet!" Her trembling eyes now managed to cry, she couldn't hold it back anymore.
"You have to stop here, stop. Don't let this situation become more detrimental in the future, that woman is not easy to deal with. You know Leon just collaborated with Jonas's company, right? Don't let Jonas cancel it because of your actions, as your friend, I'm begging you, June."
***