My online dating circle has millions of followers, why would she put a collar on me?

Jiang Dawei followed behind, carrying a canvas bag in each hand.

He hesitated for a moment at the villa entrance, as if assessing whether his old construction jacket and muddy canvas shoes were worthy of the door.

The butler had already stepped aside, holding a pair of brand-new slippers in his hands, and bowed slightly.

"Sir, please."

Jiang Dawei glanced at the slippers, then at his own mud-splattered canvas shoes, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

Finally, he bent down and clumsily untied his shoelaces.

The living room inside the villa has a very high ceiling, and a floor-to-ceiling window faces the backyard pool, where the water reflects light and ripples.

The crystal chandelier cast a warm yellow light from the dome, making the light gray marble floor look like a calm lake.

When Zhao Xiujuan first entered such a house, she didn't know where to put her hands.

She stood by the shoe-changing stool in the entryway, watching the nanny take the bag from her hand. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say, "I can do it myself," but she swallowed the words back.

She felt uncomfortable and didn't dare to speak.

"Auntie, please have a seat."

Su Xiaoyue pulled her to the sofa and gently pressed her shoulder to make her sit down.

"You must be tired after a long day, take a rest. I've had some brown sugar ginger tea made, it'll be served in a bit."

Zhao Xiujuan sat down on the sofa, her bottom sinking into the soft leather, as if she had sat on a cloud.

Her body stiffened for a moment, and she subconsciously straightened her back, placing her hands on her knees, like a student being invited to the principal's office, extremely reserved.

Jiang Dawei sat down next to her, his posture not much better, but at least he had a bit more composure than his wife.

He had spent most of his life working on construction sites; what kind of scenes hadn't he seen?

Although, I have never seen this scene before.

The nanny brought over a tray with several cups of hot tea and a small dish of snacks.

Su Xiaoyue personally picked up a cup and handed it to Zhao Xiujuan, then picked up another cup and handed it to Jiang Dawei.

Then he sat down on the single sofa opposite them, his legs together and placed diagonally, his hands on his knees, sitting obediently like a primary school student.

The living room fell silent for a moment.

In that brief silence, only the electronic screen simulating flames in the fireplace burned silently.

Zhao Xiujuan held the teacup, rubbed her fingertips against the warm cup a couple of times, and finally spoke.

Her voice was very soft, with a cautious tone, as if afraid of saying the wrong thing:

"Yueyue, Auntie has something to ask you. Don't think I'm being nosy."

Su Xiaoyue leaned forward slightly, adopting a posture of attentive listening: "Auntie, please speak."

Zhao Xiujuan's gaze unconsciously shifted to the side, glancing at Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his back to the living room, looking at the deep night outside.

His shoulders slumped slightly, his back bent in a weary arc, and he looked like a reed bent by the wind.

Zhao Xiujuan withdrew her gaze, her voice even softer, making sure only three people could hear her:

"That girl named Xia Anmian... what's going on with her? You said she's been harassing Xiao Yi, but what she said at the restaurant... doesn't seem like that kind of person."

Su Xiaoyue's fingers curled slightly on her knee.

"aunt."

Su Xiaoyue spoke, her voice still soft, but her tone was much more serious than before.

"To be honest, Xia Anmian did indeed date Jiang Yi."

"We only stayed together for less than a month before my husband couldn't stand him anymore and we broke up!"

Upon hearing the words "one month," Zhao Xiujuan's teacup trembled slightly, and a few drops of tea splashed out, landing on the knees of her coarse cloth trousers.

"mom!"

The sudden shout startled Zhao Xiujuan.

Su Xiaoyue, blushing from lying, was also somewhat flustered.

Looking at Jiang Yi, and making sure he hadn't heard her, she forced herself to remain calm and asked:

"husband."

Jiang Yi then looked at Su Xiaoyue: "Xiaoyue, I'm a little tired, I want to go and rest first!"

"Oh, oh, oh!"

Su Xiaoyue nodded quickly, then called to the housekeeper, "Take your husband to rest!"

The butler paused, glanced at Su Xiaoyue, and finally nodded.

"Sir, over here!"

After Jiang Yi left.

Zhao Xiujuan quickly put the cup back on the coffee table and wiped it haphazardly with her sleeve.

He looked up at Su Xiaoyue, his eyes filled with a cautious, uncertain confusion:

"One, a month? Then... then why was she like that at the hotel? Crying like that, as if she'd been with Xiao Yi for years..."

Su Xiaoyue's eyelashes drooped down, casting a small fan-shaped shadow under her eyes.

Then she looked up and gave Zhao Xiujuan a smile that was tinged with helplessness, as if she were feeling sorry for someone.

"Auntie, you don't know."

Her voice was very soft, so soft that it sounded like she was telling a secret.

"That Xia Anmian, her family is very powerful, and she can mobilize a lot of connections in Beijing."

"She and Jiang Yi did date for less than a month, but after the breakup, she couldn't let go and would come to see him every few days. Sometimes she would call him, sometimes she would just wait for him at the school gate, and a few times..."

"She sent a message to Jiang Yi, saying that if he didn't get back together with her, he wouldn't be able to stay in this city."

Zhao Xiujuan's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but something seemed to be blocking her throat, and she could only manage a short, trembling breath:

"How could she... how could she do this?"

"Her family certainly has the capability."

Su Xiaoyue's tone remained calm, but beneath that calm lay a thin, just-right layer of worry.

"Auntie, look at the injury on Jiang Yi's face."

"He didn't fall on the stairs. He was taken away by the Xia family a few days ago and spent the whole night at the police station."

"If I hadn't gotten someone to get him out, he might still be inside."

Zhao Xiujuan's hands began to tremble.

She turned her head and looked at the figure with his back to her by the French windows.

Jiang Yi's shoulders were slightly slumped, his head was lowered, and he looked like a reed that had been repeatedly bent by the wind and was barely able to stand upright.

Her eyes immediately reddened, and tears welled up in them, but she blinked hard to keep them from falling.