Director Jiang, don't let the divorce get out of control.

Wen Ruan's nails suddenly dug into her palm, her voice trembling with cold as she questioned, "I truly don't know, please explain."

She already had a premonition, but she still refused to believe the cruel truth.

Wen Bowen rolled his eyes speechlessly and scoffed, "Of course it's Dad's birthday party, what are you pretending for?"

Wen Ruan's fingers trembled slightly uncontrollably as she realized that she had been tricked into becoming Wen Shaokang's prey with a mere empty contract.

"And Mr. Deschamps from the other side..." Wen Ruan's voice was dry.

"Of course, they're Wen's partners. What's wrong?" Wen Bowen tilted his head, scrutinizing her with a disdainful smirk, and asked, puzzled, "Wen Ruan, you really don't know?"

"Could it be that Director Jiang is trying to dump you, and that's made you lose your mind?"

Wen Ruan felt an overwhelming nausea churning in her stomach.

"I have to go now."

She turned and left, almost running through the passageway, and pushed open the iron door of the fire escape stairwell.

Wen Bowen stared at her flustered back, frowning in confusion.

The fire escape was deserted. Wen Ruan leaned against the cold wall, her hands trembling as she pulled out her phone and dialed Shen Yicheng's number.

The call connected, and Shen Yicheng's gentle voice came from the other end, "What is it?"

"Director Shen, tonight's banquet... is hosted by the Wen family, who have a personal grudge against me. I can't stay any longer. Could you send another translator immediately?"

Shen Yicheng was taken aback: "The Wen family?"

"Yes, Mr. Deschamps is indeed here, but I have to leave now."

Thinking of the middle-aged man who had previously harassed her, Shen Yicheng asked with concern, "Are you safe?"

"It's safe for now, but I don't want to stay any longer. Could you arrange for a translator to come and take over?" If it weren't for her sense of responsibility, she would have run away as soon as possible.

"Okay, twenty minutes at most. Try not to be alone."

"Thank you, Director Shen."

Wen Ruan hung up the phone and let out a long sigh.

She left the fire escape clutching her phone, and just as she stepped out, someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder forcefully from behind.

A man's hand covered her mouth, and a strong scent of cologne filled her nostrils. Wen Ruan's hair stood on end, and a muffled scream rose in her throat.

She realized what was happening and struggled desperately to escape, her fingernails digging into the back of the man's hand.

But the other person was incredibly strong and dragged her into a lounge at the end of the corridor.

The door was kicked shut and locked with a "click".

She was thrown onto the sofa, her satin skirt billowing out, "Ugh..."

Wen Ruan grunted and turned her head warily, only to see Wen Shaokang slowly adjusting his suit collar.

He was wearing a brand new, custom-made dark gray suit, his hair was styled meticulously with hair gel, and the wrinkles on his face gleamed under the light.

His eyes gleamed with a sticky, greedy light, like melted syrup, as he stared at Wen Ruan with infatuation.

"Ruan Ruan," his voice was so gentle it was almost chilling, "you look absolutely stunning in this dress. Dad spent a whole month picking it out, and I was right about you. It really suits you..."

Wen Ruan felt cold all over and her mind went blank.

If she weren't still rational, she would have wanted to take off the dress immediately.

To everyone's surprise, it was Wen Shaokang who chose the dress. Wen Ruan felt like her whole body was crawling with insects, and she was on the verge of collapse.

As Wen Shaokang spoke, he slowly approached Wen Ruan.

Wen Ruan gritted her teeth, forcing herself to calm down, and stared intently at him. "Get away!"

Wen Shaokang didn't care about her anger at all. He smiled even more gently and coaxed, "Ruan Ruan, I'm really happy that you could come to Daddy's birthday party."

"Today is Dad's birthday, you have to make me happy, right?"

He leaned closer to Wen Ruan and reached out to touch her face.

Wen Ruan dodged to the side, then suddenly grabbed the brass-baseed lamp and smashed it hard—

Bang!

The lamp hit Wen Shaokang on the shoulder with a dull thud, causing him to stagger and his face to darken suddenly.

Taking advantage of his pain, Wen Ruan stood up, bracing herself against the sofa armrest, and ran towards the door.

She had only taken two steps when someone grabbed her hair from behind, causing a tearing pain in her scalp.

"Well……"

it hurts!

Wen Ruan was pulled backward and fell backward, her lower back hitting the edge of the low table, the pain making her vision go black.

"Ruan Ruan, you're really naughty. You know your father loves you when you're obedient and well-behaved." Wen Shaokang's soft voice carried a chilling undertone as it rang in her ear.

Wen Ruan gritted her teeth, "Have you no shame? Your business partners are all downstairs. You tricked me into coming here, aren't you afraid of people finding out?"

Wen Shaokang loosened her hair, a nauseating smile returning to his face. "A business partner? Ha, Ruan Ruan, what do you think Deschamps came here for?"

"Dad invited you to his birthday party so that you could attend. It would be pointless if you didn't come."

Wen Ruan felt a spasm in her stomach. "Are you crazy?"

She never imagined that Wen Shaokang had gone to so much trouble just to trick her into coming here.

"Dad just misses you so much..." Wen Shaokang looked at Wen Ruan with pity and heartache, as if he were truly a good father who cared about her.

Her gaze fell on the collar that had loosened slightly from her struggle, and her Adam's apple bobbed. "You're not having a good time in the Jiang family, and it makes your father sad. If you're willing to come back, the Wen family will give you anything..."

"Ruan Ruan, please come back to Daddy's side, come back to the Wen family, okay? You know how much Daddy loves you..."

As he spoke, Wen Shaokang extended his finger.

Wen Ruan suddenly grabbed the bronze stand beside her and slammed it hard into his face. The blunt metal slammed into his brow bone with a loud thud.

"You're dreaming!"

At this moment, the banquet hall was filled with the dazzling light of crystal chandeliers, and the atmosphere was lively with elegant attire and clinking glasses.

Zhao Xiuyun wore a polite smile, but her eyes would occasionally glance towards the stairwell.

She wore a dark red cheongsam today, with silver thread buttons fastened to the neckline, looking elegant and dignified.

Wen Bowen swaggered over with a glass of champagne in hand, his face showing a lazy, bored expression.

Zhao Xiuyun lowered her voice and asked, "Where's your dad? Have you seen him?"

Wen Bowen shrugged: "Who knows? I said I'd go upstairs to make a phone call, but I haven't come down yet."

He took a sip of his drink, then suddenly remembered something and chuckled, "Oh right, Mom, did you invite Wen Ruan over?"

"She was just pretending with me, acting like she didn't know it was Dad's birthday today."

Zhao Xiuyun's face paled: "Wen Ruan is here?"

"Yeah, she was dressed quite formally, saying she was here to be a translator." Wen Bowen pursed his lips. "But she said she didn't know it was Dad's birthday. Who would believe that? She's always been a pretentious person."

Zhao Xiuyun excitedly grabbed Wen Bowen's wrist, her fingers tightening: "Where is she? Where did you run into her?"

Wen Bowen was startled when she tugged at him: "Upstairs, in the hallway near the restroom. What's wrong, Mom? You look terrible..."

Zhao Xiuyun released him and said anxiously, "You stay here and greet the guests. Don't let Chairman Wang and the others feel neglected."