After divorcing the mute girl, President Gu knelt down and begged for reconciliation.

Chapter 109 Smart Woman
Song Jin'an took out her phone and got straight to the point: "What do you want from me?"

Jiang Ciyu smiled and said, "I'm asking you for a favor this time, and of course you'll get what you need in return."

She looked at the man in front of her, somewhat uncertainly glancing at the words on her phone as she played a voice message: "What do you need my help with?"

"But I'm a mute who can't speak..."

Before the cold, detached voice message could finish playing, Jiang Ciyu interrupted it with a light laugh: "This favor really requires you to be good with words."

Song Jin'an pressed the pause button, looking relatively relaxed, and then heard Jiang Ciyu's voice: "I have a public welfare project here, a public service advertisement to give a voice to the disabled, so I thought of you."

Upon hearing the words "charity project," Song Jin'an's heart skipped a beat, echoing Gu Xijue's sentiments. She clenched her fists and, within minutes, typed a line on her phone.

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

At first, she thought it was behind the scenes, but she didn't expect Jiang Ciyu to want her to stand in front of the camera as the female lead in the advertisement to speak out for people with disabilities.

If she were working behind the scenes, Song Jin'an might have thought Gu Xijue was just exaggerating and deliberately didn't want her to have one or two close friends. But unexpectedly, Jiang Ciyu actually wanted to push her to the forefront.

Jiang Ciyu glanced at her, tapping her fingers lightly on the table, and said, "You have a great image. After all, it's an advertisement, and personal image is a very important part. I think you're very suitable, so I want you to participate in the shoot."

Song Jin'an looked at him and stopped using voice messages on her phone. Instead, she started using sign language.

—There are people with disabilities who are better looking than me. You can keep looking, you will find them.

Her meaning was clear: she didn't want to appear on camera or participate in the filming of the advertisement. Jiang Ciyu didn't expect to be rejected, and her voice deepened as she continued to persuade her.

“Indeed, I might be able to find someone who looks similar to you, but time is very tight, with only a few days to prepare. I think you are the most suitable.”

Song Jin'an looked at him, lowered her head and took a sip of coffee, but her eyes felt a little sore.

She seemed to understand what Gu Xijue had said that day. Originally, she was just a topic of casual conversation in Haicheng. If she were to actually appear in this public service advertisement, the topic of the Gu family's young mistress being mute would once again become a trending topic, which would definitely have an impact on the Gu family. Who knows what else might be brought up later?

Perhaps the fact that she was born out of wedlock will be brought up again and ridiculed mercilessly. The Gu family will once again be caught in the eye of the storm, and she will be condemned...

If it weren't for Gu Xijue's two sentences, she might have happily accepted the advertisement.

Because she had lived in poverty since childhood, her father, though he took her home, died young, and she was constantly tormented by Liu Qin afterward. Even after being tricked into marriage, she was not allowed to appear at various banquets with Gu Xijue.

She also longed to stand in the sunlight, but now, this utopia was a lie.

Song Jin'an thought to herself that she was indeed very stupid and had been completely fooled.

He gave a wry smile and raised his hand again.

—You should know that the Gu family won't allow me to show my face in public, so you'd better hurry up and find someone else.

She doesn't want to take off this mask of pretense yet, because Jiang Ciyu has been in danger with her and has also helped her.

Song Jin'an frowned, and Jiang Ciyu looked at her, his expression clearly more persuasive: "But aren't you getting a divorce? The news that Gu Xijue wants to divorce you has been circulating all over Haicheng for a long time. Why not take advantage of the Gu family during the divorce? Appear in a public service advertisement under the name of Mrs. Gu, and your reputation will spread from there."

"After the divorce, wouldn't it be a piece of cake to open an account and become a self-media personality using the name and popularity? Then, monetizing the traffic and raising the child won't be a problem." After he finished speaking, his eyes remained fixed on her, showing a hint of pragmatism, as if he was afraid that Song Jin'an would not accept his suggestion.

But after hearing this, Song Jin'an pursed her lips and frowned even more deeply, finally wanting to tear off the mask of civility.

—I don't want any of what you're saying.

She looked at Jiang Ciyu in front of her and began to gesture with her hands.

—Are you using me as a tool to deal with Gu Jia?
Jiang Ciyu froze for a moment, but quickly recovered: "What do you mean?"

Do you think I'm trying to harm you?

Song Jin'an stared at the man in front of her. She felt as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water, and she felt both angry and amused.

—No, you didn't harm me. After all, I agree with what you said in the latter part. It's just that you were indeed using me, trying to ruin the Gu family's reputation and your cooperation with the Du family. Am I right?
The idea of ​​collaborating with the Du family came to her suddenly; Song Jin'an isn't stupid.

Now both the Jiang and Gu families are vying for cooperation with the Du family, right? Jiang Ciyu probably wants to stir things up, Song Jin'an thought to herself.

—I must say, you've been hiding it quite well.

Song Jin'an forced a smile.

—But I never imagined that while I considered you a friend, you had been using me all along.

Her fingers clenched tightly. She had never had any friends growing up and had grown up alone. She thought she had finally found a friend she could talk to, but now it seemed that this friend was about to disappear.

Song Jin'an's bright eyes dimmed instantly, and silence filled the air; even breathing could be heard.

"You actually guessed it, you're really smart." A strange emotion flashed in Jiang Ciyu's eyes, but he didn't continue to pretend. Instead, he took a sip of his Americano and continued to negotiate with her.

"But I'm not entirely calculating against you either. I also paid you for participating in the advertising shoot." What he gave her was the massive amount of traffic that would come with it. As long as she could capitalize on that traffic, becoming a multi-millionaire influencer wouldn't be a problem.

Song Jin'an's gaze held a hint of coldness.

But I don't want that kind of infamous life. I'm just an ordinary person, and I don't have a strong heart.

Jiang Ciyu looked at her and denied her statement: "No, your heart is very strong, which is why I chose you."

"If you weren't mentally strong, you would have jumped off the top floor of the Song family villa long ago."

Song Jin'an has been healing herself for so many years, so how could her heart not be strong?
There was a hint of hurt in her eyes, but she quickly recovered.

“I know you’re confused right now, I’ll give you time to think it over,” Jiang Ciyu said in a deep voice.

“You don’t owe the Gu family anything, so you don’t need to consider them. Has the Gu family ever considered you even a little bit? Instead of waiting for Gu Xijue to kick you out and start over, you should plan for yourself and your child and secure the best future. That’s what a smart woman does.”

(End of this chapter)