The younger sister pretends to be hypnotized, and her older brother gets addicted.

Ruan Yang arrived at Xingcan.

Only after confirming that Cullinan had left did she shed her docile facade and walk heavily upstairs.

Meng Ling was a little surprised to see her.

"Junior, didn't you take leave? Are you... alright?"

Hearing this word of concern, Ruan Yang's nose suddenly stung with tears.

She doesn't have many friends, and those she has interacted with are mostly her girlfriends from the elite circles of Beijing and Hong Kong.

They were on good terms with her because of the Jiang family.

Ever since Jiang Zhuo broke up with her, her girlfriends haven't contacted her again.

Ruan Yang doesn't have many true friends.

So I always confide in Doubao.

Ruan Yang's eyes were a little red. She shook her head. "It's nothing..."

Her voice stopped abruptly.

Meng Ling hugged her. "Ruan Yang, you can be in trouble, but you look terrible right now."

Upon hearing her name, Ruan Yang burst into uncontrollable sobs.

Meng Ling's heart tightened. "Did that white-haired guy do something to you yesterday?"

Ruan Yang quickly shook her head, "No."

Meng Ling breathed a sigh of relief. "Could it be that your Douyin account went viral, and you're crying tears of joy?"

Ruan Yang looked up blankly. "What exploded?"

"You didn't know?" Meng Ling's eyes widened. "My darling, that Douyin video you covered went viral! Even when you weren't here, some parents came to schedule lessons with you!"

Ruan Yang sniffed and opened Douyin (TikTok).

I saw that the video she posted the day before yesterday got 30 likes.

Meng Ling patted her on the shoulder, "Sister, don't be silly, get ready to level up! Listen to me, go home tonight and record a software development tutorial video..."

"Why is it called soft opening?"

Meng Ling smiled mysteriously, "Listen to me, would I lie to you!"

Ruan Yang was confused.

The surge in traffic made her temporarily forget about getting her marriage certificate.

She grabbed Meng Ling's arm, "Senior, why don't you take a picture with me?"

Meng Ling's expression changed slightly. "I'll pass. If I show up, I'm worried someone will restrict your movement."

Thinking of the two thugs from last night, Ruan Yang cautiously asked, "Who did you offend?"

Meng Ling didn't hide it: "My ex-husband."

"Ex-ex-husband?"

"Yes," Meng Ling said, "I recently picked up a man with amnesia and we got married."

"..."

"My grandmother was sick, and my uncles didn't want to treat her. They just wanted to force her to sign her will and leave the house in the village to them. So I picked up a man. I had seen him on TV. He was a famous rich second-generation from Macau, and he was badly injured. I tricked him into getting a marriage certificate and even saved money to buy him expensive suits, just to intimidate my uncles."

"And then?"

"Later, my grandmother passed away. At the funeral, he kowtowed to her, and as he kowtowed, his memory returned. He knew I had lied to him, and he was furious, saying that marrying a woman like me was the shame of his life."

"...The prince turned into a frog?"

"Pretty much, but life isn't a romantic drama. We can only get a divorce after a 30-day cooling-off period. My ex-husband became a divorcee and hates me, but I have nude photos of him."

Ruan Yang: "...Isn't this illegal?"

"Honey, that's called outsmarting him! He gave me some money and told me to never show my face in front of him again—oh, except for the day we got our divorce papers."

Meng Ling had been keeping this to herself for a long time.

Now that I've said it, I feel much better.

She shrugged. "Okay, now you can criticize me."

Ruan Yang paused for a moment, then uttered only two words: "A satisfying read."

"?"

"You saved him. If it weren't for you, he might have died long ago. Grandma gained peace, you gained money, and he gained his life. There's a trade-off; he can't have it all, can he?"

Ruan Yang's gaze was sincere.

Meng Ling was taken aback. "Don't you think I did something wrong?"

Ruan Yang said, "Right and wrong are determined by the judge. But isn't the point of making friends to have someone stand by your side even if it means going against your conscience?"

Meng Ling burst out laughing.

……

As it was nearing the end of the workday, Ruan Yang and Meng Ling were about to go downstairs.

Qiao Wei went downstairs first.

Wearing a strapless short dress, she climbed into a yellow Bugatti parked in front of Xingcan and shared a passionate French kiss with the man in the driver's seat.

The man is handsome and young.

Qiao Wei seemed to be deliberately making it look like she was kissing him for a long time.

Meng Ling pouted, "This is Qiao Wei's boyfriend."

Ruan Yang didn't find it strange. It's normal for the female lead's sister to have a rich second-generation boyfriend.

Ruan Yang ignored it.

She was just a little worried about where to go tonight.

She felt it last night.

...When her older brother kissed her, he brushed against her.

Now that they've gotten their marriage certificate, will the older brother still be a Platonic lover?

As she walked down the stairs, her phone vibrated in her pocket.

[Qiao Wei]: Ruan Yang, Second Young Master and my sister are having a small wedding in a church in Tahiti, and we'll be inviting fans. Guess if you've been invited?

Ruan Yang glanced at it but didn't reply.

Forgetting Jiang Zhuo was fake, though.

But it was true that Jiang Zhuo could no longer stir any emotion in her.

Upon reaching the first floor, Ruan Yang saw the familiar black Cullinan.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She moved over, and the car door opened.

She was about to utter the word "brother" when she realized something was wrong and whispered, "...Honey, what brings you here?"

Jiang Yanci's gaze softened. "I'll take you home."

"Which home should we go back to?"

"Moon Bay".

Ruan Yang choked up.

Why Crescent Bay? Because no one bothers you there.

But Ruan Yang wasn't ready yet.

She pinched her fingers together. "I'm recording an instructional video today, and I want to go back to the old house."

"Um."

Jiang Yanci agreed without much hesitation.

Ruan Yang couldn't help but turn her head to look at him, and in a daze, her kind and gentle older brother returned.

Noticing her surprised gaze, Jiang Yanci raised an eyebrow slightly. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"Didn't expect me to agree so readily?"

"..."

Jiang Yanci took Ruan Yang's hand.

He loved to hold her hand, like someone with a cat addiction, always enjoying playing with a kitten's paws in his hand.

He leaned closer, his voice gentle: "Yangyang, I've said it before, I don't want to hurt you. Even if we go back to Half Moon Bay today, we have to take it step by step, understand?"

Ruan Yang didn't quite understand.

But she understood the next sentence.

Jiang Yanci said, "Someone called you 'wife' in the comments section of the last video, which I don't like. So baby, let your brother help you stretch your legs later, so they know you have a husband, okay?"