After returning home with the child, her ex-husband knelt down and gently coaxed her.

Lu Xiyan's hand, which was gripping the USB drive, suddenly tightened, and his breath hitched.

"I think there might be some unresolved misunderstanding," Liang Xu suggested. "Why don't you two have a proper talk?"

Just then, the phone on the table lit up again; it was a text message.

[Lu Xiyan, can we talk?]

Liang Xu saw it too, picked up his wine glass, and said, "It's better for both of you to talk things out."

Lu Xiyan gripped the USB drive tightly in his hand. Well, there were some things he needed to ask her in person.

......

In her study, Anning was organizing materials for her trip to Dianchi Lake when she suddenly received a reply to a text message she had sent: "[Silk Knot Club, 2203]"

An Ning picked up her phone and quickly opened the map to search for the location, which turned out to be a high-end entertainment club.

She quickly changed her clothes, gave Li Chunfang some instructions, and hurriedly left.

......

Around 8 p.m., the sky was as dark as ink, and the Silk Knot Club, standing in the city center, was exceptionally magnificent, gleaming with gold and green light.

"peaceful!"

An Ning had just entered the lobby and was looking down at the private room number that Lu Xiyan had sent her when someone suddenly called her name.

She turned around and looked in the direction of the sound.

In a booth in the lobby, Cheng Wanwan sat elegantly, looking at her with an arrogant air.

Seeing her stop, Cheng Wanwan, dressed in a beautiful suit and high heels, walked towards her.

What are you doing here?

Her tone was accusatory, and before An Ning could speak, she heard her chuckle, "This club is a VIP membership club, five million to get in. This isn't a place you can afford, is it?"

Cheng Wanwan's tone was completely different from her previous obedient and sensible demeanor, but An Ning was not surprised at all.

"What am I doing here? Whether I can afford to come or not is none of Miss Cheng's concern."

Cheng Wanwan gave a mocking smile, her eyes full of contempt.

"You're here to see west Yan, aren't you?" she chuckled. "Chen Yan's birthday party is here today, and a whole bunch of them are here, so you deliberately used this opportunity to find west Yan?"

Cheng Wanwan was already angry. She only found out they were having a birthday party here after seeing Lu Manni's WeChat Moments. She then asked Lu Manni and found out that Lu Xiyan was also there.

Lu Xiyan attended a gathering of some friends, but he didn't bring her along, and no one informed her!

An Ning used to be able to enter Lu Xiyan's circle, but even though she and Lu Xiyan are about to get engaged, she still can't enter that circle!

She hadn't wanted to come here and make a fool of herself, but after hearing about Anning from Lu Manni, she wondered if Anning might come over.

I never expected that she would actually run into it!

"I did come to see him," Anning admitted frankly.

An Ning had no idea that Chen Yan was holding his birthday party here. She was wondering why Lu Xiyan had chosen a clubhouse as the meeting place.

Judging from Cheng Wanwan's posture, she must have been waiting for her here for a long time.

"So Miss Cheng was waiting for me here on purpose?"

"I knew you'd be this shameless. It wasn't enough that you were clinging to someone else's fiancé at work; you had to go after him in private too."

Cheng Wanwan stared at An Ning's clean and innocent-looking face, and said bluntly, "An Ning, I really underestimated you. How can you be so shameless as to pester someone else's fiancé like this?"

An Ning found it amusing. "Miss Cheng, you're even better at this than I am, aren't you?"

Meeting Cheng Wanwan's angry gaze, she laughed and said, "When Lu Xiyan and I were legally married, didn't you often do this kind of thing?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Wanwan's meticulously made-up face turned ugly.

She glared at Anning haughtily. "Anning! I've put up with you for too long. You should get as far away from me as possible! Xi Yan is getting engaged, how dare you keep bothering him?"

"I'm warning you, you'd better stay far away from him!" Her words carried a threat. "Take your bastard child and go back to where you came from, leave Jinghai completely, and never show your face again!"

Her words were harsh, but An Ning remained unperturbed, calmly meeting Cheng Wanwan's gaze. "Miss Cheng, are you finally getting angry and no longer pretending?"

During the time she was back in Jinghai, Cheng Wanwan's sensible, obedient, gentle, and understanding demeanor was all just an act.

She wasn't unaware of what Cheng Wanwan was up to; she was just too lazy to expose her and wanted to see how long she could keep up this act.

After all, she had seen the true face of Cheng Wanwan, this rich young lady, five years ago.

......

Five years ago, it was the first year she had been with Lu Xiyan.

Downstairs at the company, on a busy street.

Ignoring the stares of others, Cheng Wanwan slapped her in public, her arrogant and domineering attitude causing her great embarrassment.

"An Ning, you'd better know who you are!"

"You're just a low-income family that can't be brought into the light, raised in a poor household where people collect garbage. If it weren't for your rare rare blood type being worth something to me, how many days would your family have had a decent life?"

"For someone like you, an ant living at the very bottom of society, to be able to climb up to west Yan and be with him for a year is already a blessing from your ancestors for generations. Don't even dream of clinging to him for a lifetime!"

She ruthlessly trampled on Anning's self-esteem, "Do you know why Xiyan likes you? Is it because you're pretty or because you look so pitiful?"

"Don't be silly, Anning, it's because you're poor!"

She scoffed, "Your family background is completely unrelated to his; you're from completely different worlds. He's just experiencing something new and exciting with you that he's never experienced before in his life!"

"His life is one of luxury, filled with the finest delicacies, while you, on the other hand, are starving and burdened with debt!"

"The food on his table is all the best imported from abroad, and the fruit served is all top-quality varieties that have been peeled and cut by his aunt. Then you come along and tell him how radishes and cabbages are grown, how they sprout and how they are harvested, how oranges and tangerines are picked and peeled..."

"Your poverty showed him the diversity of people in this world, which is why he found exploration and enjoyment in you. He wanted to know how poor people live."

"Do you think he likes you? You're just another part of his life experience!"

"Wake up, Anning! Stop deceiving yourself!"

"How long do you think this novelty will last? He'll eventually return to his own world, and then you'll be rejected! Leave him while you still have your self-respect, or it'll be too late when your pitiful dignity is trampled underfoot!"

......

I still vividly remember Cheng Wanwan's piercing words from five years ago.

This made her the subject of gossip throughout the company, and she was surrounded by a lot of unpleasant comments, making it hard for her to breathe.

The way Cheng Wanwan stood arrogantly in front of An Ning back then was exactly like how she is now.

Five years ago, he scolded her and told her to leave Lu Xiyan.

Five years later, they're still using the same tricks.

They haven't made any progress at all.

"Oh!"

An Ning chuckled softly, her lips curving into a smile. Her eyes were calm and still, as if she hadn't taken Cheng Wanwan's words to heart at all.

"Miss Cheng."

Meeting Cheng Wanwan's angry gaze, An Ning's voice was neither too loud nor too soft.

Have you ever seen Lu Xiyan cry for me?