Boyfriend's passive-aggressive behavior, she turns the tables and makes him her backup option.

Upon hearing Xie Jingyao's sarcastic remarks, Si Nian instinctively wanted to close the door and shut him out.

As a result, Xie Jingyao grabbed the door panel, stopping Si Nian's movements.

He squeezed through the door and slammed it shut, locking it from the inside.

Seeing his nimble movements, Si Nian subconsciously took a step back and asked warily.

What are you doing here?

Xie Jingyao unceremoniously reached out and grabbed Si Nian by the back of her neck, preventing her from retreating.

He pinned Si Nian against the wall, trapping her in the shadow of Gao Qi's figure.

"You ignored my advice to divorce your lover?" Xie Jingyao's eyes were cold and filled with a strong threat.

The thought of her just now trying to be nice to Lin Tinghan, and acting all concerned, made him irritated.

Si Nian found it amusing.

Although she did want to divorce Lin Tinghan, and was already planning to divorce him.

But from what standpoint did Xie Jingyao, as her ex-boyfriend, make this request to her?

She thought this in her heart, and she asked this question.

"By what right, Mr. Xie, do you have the authority to pressure me into a divorce? What makes you think I'll listen to you?"

Xie Jingyao's slightly cool fingers exerted a little force, forcing Si Nian to tilt her head back.

He leaned down slightly, his voice cold and deep as he whispered in Si Nian's ear, "How exactly did your stepfather die? Do you want me to help you remember?"

When Si Nian heard Xie Jingyao mention Zhou Lin, her heart felt like it was half empty.

She subconsciously looked up and met Xie Jingyao's eyes.

Xie Jingyao had threatened her when the wedding ended.

At the time, he said that if she didn't want her secret to be exposed, she should divorce Lin Tinghan.

Si Nian couldn't figure out what Xie Jingyao actually knew.

Because at that time he only mentioned the surname "Zhou".

Now, however, she explicitly mentions the cause of her stepfather's death.

Si Nian replied with feigned composure, "Mr. Xie, it's been so long since we separated, are you still so concerned about your ex's family affairs? My stepfather was an alcoholic and had a conflict with my mother, which led to his accidental death. I don't need Mr. Xie to bring up these things in front of me again."

Xie Jingyao loosened his grip slightly and said with a smirk, "Your stepfather, a professor at a prestigious university, actually has a drinking problem."

Si Nian pushed him away.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Xie Jingyao stared intently at her, then suddenly smiled.

"You should feel guilty because your mother got into trouble in prison, after all, it was you who caused all this trouble for her."

Si Nian clenched her fists tightly; she knew this all too well.

But hearing it from Xie Jingyao's mouth still stirred up anger in my heart.

Xie Jingyao continued slowly and deliberately, "I have to say, Lin Tinghan helped you get out of a lot of trouble back then, but if you think you can get your mother out through Lin Tinghan again, you're just dreaming."

"..."

"Niannian, instead of begging Lin Tinghan, you should beg me. The case of your stepfather's murder caused a huge uproar back then, and it's still being used as a case study in law classes. If Lin Tinghan wants to get your mother out of trouble, he has to help her overturn the case first. Overturning the case means reinvestigating what happened five years ago. Are you really willing to let them investigate?"

Si Nian took a deep breath: "The case from back then is closed. I have always respected the verdict. All I hope for is that my mother can be released on medical parole and serve her sentence outside of prison."

"I'm not telling you this to threaten you. I just want you to understand one thing: I can meet your needs better than Lin Tinghan."

"Thank you so much for your kindness, but I don't have any interest in being a lover at the moment."

"You're welcome. You'll want to sooner or later." Xie Jingyao said, feigning ignorance of the sarcastic tone.

Si Nian calmed herself down. "Is there anything else? If not, please leave."

Xie Jingyao lifted his foot to leave.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door.

knock --

A knock came at the door.

"Niannian, open the door, it's me." Lin Tinghan's voice came in.

Si Nian subconsciously stopped Xie Jingyao from opening the door.

If Xie Jingyao were to open the door and go out at this moment...

Even if she explained it in the most elaborate way, Lin Tinghan probably wouldn't believe her.

She can't afford to completely break ties with Lin Tinghan right now.

Feng He still needs Lin Tinghan to mediate.

Xie Jingyao slightly raised the arm whose wrist Si Nian was holding, "What are you doing? Didn't you just ask me to leave?"

"If you leave now, how are you going to explain to Lin Tinghan why you came to my room?"

"I'm concerned about my drunken sister-in-law," Xie Jingyao replied with a half-smile.

Si Nian's temples throbbed. She pulled Xie Jingyao forcefully, "Don't talk nonsense. Go hide in the bathroom for a bit."

"Why are you hiding? I'm not your lover. I have nothing to hide.

As Xie Jingyao spoke, he reached out to open the door.

Lin Tinghan's urging voice rang out again from outside the door: "Niannian? Are you asleep? Open the door for me."

Upon hearing this, Si Nian quickly grabbed Xie Jingyao's arm tightly and whispered, "Don't cause me any trouble. If you leave my room in the middle of the night, Lin Tinghan will definitely misunderstand."

"It seems your husband doesn't trust you. There's no trust between you two. You might as well get a divorce."

Xie Jingyao, with an air of nonchalance, launched into a sarcastic remark.

Si Nian was so anxious that cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She clasped her hands together and softened her tone as she said to Xie Jingyao, "Please, let's avoid each other for a while. I can't argue with him right now."

"Are you worried it will affect your plan to save your mother?"

"..." Sometimes, Si Nian really wanted to sew Xie Jingyao's mouth shut.

Xie Jingyao lowered his head and asked, "I'll hide, but what's in it for me?"

What do you want?

Give me a kiss.

Si Nian gritted her teeth: "Have you no shame? We've already broken up."

"..."

"I'm not as shameless as you, repeatedly kissing my ex."

Without saying a word, Xie Jingyao raised his hand to open the door.

"No, no, no."

Si Nian grabbed him.

Xie Jingyao leaned closer, and Si Nian bit her lip, as if making up her mind, and then lifted her foot to kiss him on the cheek.

Xie Jingyao released his hand from the doorknob.

He turned and slipped into the bathroom, clicking his tongue as he closed the door, complaining, "I'm not your lover, yet you act like I'm the one having an affair, and I have to hide."

"Shh." Si Nian made a shushing gesture to him, indicating that he should close the door.

After losing sight of Xie Jingyao, Si Nian unlocked the door.

Lin Tinghan looked at her wearily, "Why did it take you so long to open the door?"

"I just fell asleep."

"You can still sleep even when you hear that Wen Shuang is having an attack; you're incredibly carefree."

Lin Tinghan sat back on the bed and rubbed his temples.

"Have someone take Wen Shuang back. If my parents ask what happened, just say she doesn't want to see you and is in a bad mood."

Si Nian hummed in agreement.

"So what's wrong with her? Wasn't her mood supposed to have been stable for a while? Why did she suddenly relapse?"

Lin Tinghan sighed, "Bi Tong meant well but messed things up. She had heard that Wen Shuang was a huge fan of Zhou Huai and thought that Wen Shuang still liked Zhou Huai, so she sent one of Zhou Huai's musical scores as a birthday present. When Wen Shuang opened the present, she found the musical score and was provoked."