Take her as my wife

After washing up, Jiang Ni lay down on the bed. There were several unread messages on her phone.

Liu Jiaren sent her two voice messages a dozen minutes ago, and Tan Wen's message was also below them.

Then Wu Wenyi sent a message asking if she had arrived home safely.

She replied to Wu Wenyi first, and then clicked on Liu Jiaren's voice message.

"This young master Jiang, I really don't know if he's pretending or genuinely stupid. After the movie and dinner, I suggested we go for a walk along the Yijiang River and have a couple of drinks. I made it so obvious, and guess what he said?"

He said, "My buddy asked me to play games with him tonight, and he's been urging me several times—the riverbank is shrouded in yin energy at night, and water ghosts will look for scapegoats, so you should head back early too."

The area around Yijiang is full of bars and hotels, which are an unspoken nightlife destination for adult men and women.

Even Jiang Ni, who has never had any worldly desires, knows this.

Hearing Jiang Fengyu's reply, Jiang Ni couldn't help but raise the corners of her lips. She pressed the voice button and said to Liu Jiaren, "Maybe he really is innocent. If you just want to play around with him, you should go easy on him."

Liu Jiaren replied instantly: "Do you believe he's a rich second-generation playboy who's 26 or 27 and a virgin, or do you believe I'm actually the reincarnation of Wu Zetian?"

These words made Jiang Ni's eyes crinkle into a smile.

Her eyes are long and narrow, fox-shaped. When she doesn't show much expression, she can't see any other charm except for her indifference. But once she smiles, the corners of her eyes will naturally turn up, and her long, curled eyelashes will droop down, making her indescribably alluring.

Liu Jiaren continued, "These days, a lot of young men lose their virginity in high school. If they're even a little handsome or rich, they've already lost their virginity. I don't believe his nonsense. Besides, my dad's pressuring me to get married, and his family is well-off. At worst, I'll take responsibility for him. If he really is a virgin, I'll give him an extra 20 million as dowry."

She wasn't wrong.

When Jiang Ni heard her mention the word "high school," she naturally thought of Tan Wen, whom she had just met that evening.

I remembered an old story related to Tan Wen.

Once, Jiang Ni went to deliver a test paper that Tan Wen had left at home. Tan Wen was waiting for her at the school gate, with a short-haired girl wearing a miniskirt standing close to him. There were several conspicuous red marks on the girl's exposed neck.

The vibration of her phone pulled Jiang Ni back from her reverie. It was true she had a good memory, but she hadn't expected to remember such trivial details.

The message wasn't from Liu Jiaren, but from Tan Wen.

The small red dot next to Tan Wen's profile picture changed from "1" to "2".

Jiang Ni clicked on it.

[Tan asked]: Sister, have you arrived home yet?

[Tan asked]: My sister hasn't told me why she broke up with my brother today. Did he do something wrong? If there's a misunderstanding, should my sister give him a chance to make amends?

Jiang Ni had no idea that after two years apart, Tan Wen and Tan Yan's brotherly relationship had improved so much that Tan Wen had even come to act as a mediator for Tan Yan.

She replied: "We've arrived." But there was no chance; he cheated on her.

The lights in the men's dormitory were already off, but since it was Saturday, there was no time limit for using mobile phones. Several beds had their phone lights on, and Tan Wen was typing away on his phone.

The three words "no chance" that Jiang Ni sent were truly delightful.

He pressed the tip of his tongue against the flesh of his cheek, his dark eyes brimming with barely concealed excitement.

He knew that Jiang Ni was intolerant of any imperfections.

However, he still needed to make that grain of sand bigger. Big enough that Jiang Ni would feel disgusted and avoid Tan Yan, rather than just pretending not to see him.

[Tan asked]: Cheating? Is it a girl who is a little over 1.6 meters tall, with medium-length hair and a mole on her chin?

[Tan Wen]: I bumped into them last year. My brother said they were his students, accompanying him to an event. But they came out of a hotel, which I found strange at the time.

The characteristics he mentioned matched those of Shen Yunqing. Jiang Ni stared at the word "last year" in Tan Wenfa's words and was stunned for a moment.

Jiang Ni is not proactive in her relationship with Tan Yan, and she doesn't have a strong possessive desire for him. However, Tan Yan is the only man she feels she can try living together with.

Jiang Ni's mother, Li Yuwen, suffered from even more severe emotional deprivation syndrome than Jiang Ni herself. After being forced to marry Jiang Ni's father, Jiang Qiaonan, and giving birth to Jiang Ni, Li Yuwen also developed postpartum depression. She harbored fear and disgust towards Jiang Ni, and on the day Jiang Ni had her first menstruation and began to emerge as a real girl, Li Yuwen hanged herself at home.

Jiang Ni had just turned thirteen that year.

Jiang Qiaonan soon married a new wife and had twins, a boy and a girl. His wife was healthy and his children were adorable. Jiang Qiaonan finally had the harmonious family he had always dreamed of.

Jiang Ni was admitted to X University early when she was in her first year of high school and went to university alone. Even though they lived in the same city, Jiang Qiaonan never visited her once.

The proof of her father's existence was the considerable sum of money that was deposited into her account every month without fail.

At university, she met Tan Yan. Tan Yan was also a top student who was admitted early by skipping a grade. They were about the same age, and Tan Yan was very emotionally stable. He took meticulous care of Jiang Ni in both her life and studies. He was sensitive and attentive, and he could sense all of Jiang Ni's subtle emotions, such as rejection, joy, and anger, and he would make concessions without any limits.

For example, if Jiang Ni couldn't accept sticking out her tongue while kissing, he would give in and kiss her cheek instead, without even touching her lips. Later, when Jiang Ni got used to it and awkwardly kissed his lips, he would restrain himself and keep it a light touch, never scaring away her rare initiative.

Jiang Ni was certain that Tan Yan would be the most suitable partner for her.

Actually, she's slowly learning how to be a good girlfriend. She's actively cooperating with her therapist's treatment, and she thought Tan Yan would give her that time. After all, they're still young, aren't they?

Therefore, Jiang Ni never imagined that Tan Yan's infidelity had started a year ago.

Jiang Ni, who has never been particularly sensitive to emotions, felt a tightness in her chest. She did not question Tan Wen's words because Tan Wen had no reason to lie to smear Tan Yan.

Moreover, the affair has already become a fact.

What difference does it make whether it's early or late?

Jiang Ni did not reply to Tan Wen's message.

She locked her phone, sank into the darkness, and stared blankly into space.

She didn't shed a tear over this, just as Tan Yan accused her of, no normal woman would react so calmly after being betrayed.

But Jiang Ni knew that she would feel bad.

Reason is stronger than emotion; reason is like a huge cage with no gaps to let emotions escape.

*

News of Chen Siyao's suicide attempt spread quickly, and many people witnessed the police checking the school's surveillance footage.

The two girls who bullied Chen Siyao naturally panicked.

"It's all your friend's fault. He even had his eye on someone like Chen Siyao who is underdeveloped. If he hadn't wanted to sleep with her, Chen Siyao wouldn't have pulled out a knife to fight back, and he even drove her to commit suicide, making a big fuss about it."

"Blame my friend? You were the one who hit us the hardest that day! Now you're trying to pin everything on us, you've really gone too far!"

Two girls were having a big argument at a karaoke bar when someone nearby tried to break it up: "Jiayu, Xiaoyuan, you're best friends, don't say such hurtful things."

Wang Jiayu and Gao Yuan snorted coldly and sat down on opposite sides, neither willing to acknowledge the other.

This KTV is owned by Gao Yuan's cousin, and these underage kids have never been stopped from coming here. A group of teenagers, not wearing school uniforms and dressed maturely, filled the entire private room with smoke.

A boy with dyed blond hair exhaled a puff of smoke, his expression mocking: "What are you panicking about? Don't you know about the laws protecting minors? We didn't rape her, and we didn't break any of her limbs. The worst that can happen is we have to pay more money. Then you two can act convincingly, admit your mistakes, apologize, get a letter of forgiveness, and nothing will happen. On the contrary, Chen Siyao will be pointed at and gossiped about at school and won't be able to continue her studies. Her parents will definitely transfer her to another school."

These words greatly calmed the anxious hearts of Wang Jiayu and Gao Yuan.

So on the third day of Chen Siyao's hospitalization, they somehow found out about the information and came to the hospital with a bunch of supplements and fruits, along with their homeroom teacher.

The two started acting as soon as they entered the room.

"Auntie, I'm so sorry. We felt really regretful and guilty when we learned about Yaoyao's suicide..."

Wu Wenyi didn't give them a friendly look, and watched them continue their performance with a stern face.

"We've realized our mistake, and we've admitted it to the teacher and are willing to accept the school's disciplinary action. We hope you can forgive us..."

The homeroom teacher is representing the school, and this kind of problem will inevitably affect next year's enrollment and reputation. If things escalate further, it will be even harder to explain to the school leaders.

Therefore, when the school heard that Wang Jiayu and Gao Yuan wanted to apologize and compensate Chen Siyao, they would definitely support and cooperate fully.

The saying goes, "Make big problems small, and small problems nothing."

It's good for everyone.

Wu Wenyi had already heard Chen Siyao recount what happened after she was bullied. When she heard that her daughter had been stripped naked and locked in the dormitory bathroom for a whole day and had been falsely accused by Wang Jiayu and others of skipping class to go on a date with a fictitious boyfriend, she felt like killing those two devilish children.

The deep and shallow wounds on her daughter's body were a form of torture inflicted on her as a negligent mother.

Chen Siyao had been holding back because when she was first called to the school for a talk by her teacher, her mother slapped her daughter before giving her a chance to explain.

It extinguished Chen Siyao's last bit of courage and will to resist.

If it weren't for Gao Yuan's new male friend's attempted sexual assault of Chen Siyao, which terrified Chen Siyao to the point of snapping and fighting back, her life might have been completely ruined.

The one who saved Chen Siyao was herself.

She, as a mother, has no right to speak on her behalf about forgiveness.

Wu Wenyi said coldly, "Apologizing to me is useless. You should kneel down and apologize to my daughter, kowtow a few times, and see if she is willing to forgive you."

"If she's willing, I won't pursue it; if she's not, we'll see each other in court once the test results are out."

Hearing this from the doorway, Jiang Ni slowly loosened her grip on the doorknob.

She thought that Wu Wenyi would definitely be a good mother in the future.

No, she has always been a good mother and a good wife.

Jiang Ni had checked and found that Chen Siyao's father, Chen Xing, was the captain of the Lin'an Fire Brigade. He rescued five people in a gas explosion accident and died in the line of duty. He was posthumously awarded the title of martyr.

Not long after Chen Xing's death, a generous pension was paid to Wu Wenyi. However, misfortune struck again when Chen Xing's mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Without hesitation, Wu Wenyi used all the money to treat her mother's illness.

She was a housewife for over ten years, and at her most extreme, she worked three jobs a day to support her family and children.

Chen Siyao was also considerate of her difficulties, and being well-behaved and sensible, she didn't want to cause her any trouble.

The mother and daughter both love each other very much.

But there are indeed mothers in this world who don't love their daughters.

Jiang Ni thought, for example, her own mother.