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

"Would you like to eat out or go home?"

"Jiang Yubai!"

Being repeatedly interrupted by the man, Wen Ruan grew even angrier.

"Can you let me finish what I have to say?"

"cannot."

Jiang Yubai's tone was slightly cold, and his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses were as indifferent as a snowflake.

"No need to say anything more."

In the three years of their marriage, Jiang Yubai had never spoken to her in such an impatient tone. Wen Ruan choked, feeling as if her heart was a sponge soaked with water, both sore and swollen.

He used a business trip as an excuse to go abroad and spend half a month with Jiang Wanxing. In the early hours of the morning, he personally went to the embassy to clean up her mess without making a fuss.

But now, he's not even willing to give us a chance to explain.

Yes, he only has Jiang Wanxing in his heart.

As long as she, his nominal wife, doesn't embarrass him, he won't ask any more questions.

He's right, there's no need to say more.

Because he simply doesn't care, the more he tries to explain, the more he resembles a self-deluded clown.

Thinking of this, Wen Ruan gave a self-deprecating smile, turned her head to stare at the bustling street scene outside the window, and stopped talking.

It was almost dark when they got home. Jiang Yubai got out of the car on his own, took a few steps forward, and then stopped and turned around when he noticed that Wen Ruan hadn't followed. His gaze towards her was indifferent.

Wen Ruan, you're ridiculous. What right do you have to argue with Jiang Yubai?

She laughed at herself inwardly. The night wind made her shiver the moment she opened the door. Just as she reached Jiang Yubai's side, his phone suddenly rang.

On the screen, the words "Evening Star" were particularly glaring.

Jiang Yubai frowned, took a few steps to the side, and answered the phone with his back to Wen Ruan.

Wen Ruan couldn't see Jiang Yubai's face, but she could hear his soothing words, his voice much gentler than when they were in the car.

"Don't rush."

"Okay, I understand."

"Coming right away."

He hung up the phone, turned around, took a paper bag from the car and handed it to Wen Ruan, adjusting his glasses.

"I have to go on a business trip unexpectedly. Remember to apply the medicine yourself."

After saying that, he returned to the driver's seat, started the car, turned it around, and quickly disappeared into the night.

Another business trip.

Wen Ruan clenched the paper bag in her hand, feeling a tightness in her chest when she saw that it was filled with hard-to-find wound medicine.

Despite his busy schedule, Jiang Yubai did not forget her leg injury, but when Jiang Wanxing left, he was too lazy to even change his excuse.

That's probably the difference.

Wen Ruan curled her lips into a smile and continued walking forward. The streetlights cast her long, lonely shadow on the ground.

half a month later.

The air was fresh and the scenery was beautiful in the suburban resort area. Wen Ruan saw the last guest off to his car, took off his headset, and breathed a sigh of relief.

She accompanied a group of French experts on a sightseeing trip to the suburbs today, and was so tired that her legs were weak. After hesitating for a moment, she took out her phone and opened it.

Sure enough, there were no phone calls or text messages from Jiang Yubai, and even the WeChat chat interface remained frozen in the early hours of that day.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urgent work to handle. You should rest well and remember to change your knee dressing.

During the two weeks she had been out of contact, Wen Ruan felt like she had read this WeChat message so many times she was sick of it. She exited the chat and laughed self-deprecatingly.

With Jiang Wanxing by his side, he had no time to think about himself, so why should he ask her to contact him?

It was difficult to hail a taxi in the suburbs, so Wen Ruan could only walk along the side road while refreshing the taxi app. When she passed a lake, she was stunned.

This place is very close to the villa where I lived when I was a child.

That villa...

Fragmented images flashed through her mind; they were nightmares that Wen Ruan had been trying to forget for years, but could never forget.

She bit her lip hard, forcing herself to stay calm, and quickened her pace to leave, when suddenly a voice came from behind her.

"Wen Ruan! What are you doing here?"

The speaker was a young man in his early twenties, with an arrogant and domineering air about him. He was Wen Bowen, the "younger brother" who had always been a thorn in her side since childhood.

Standing behind him was his adoptive mother, Zhao Xiuyun, dressed in the same designer casual wear, and...

Wen Shaokang.

Wen Ruan felt a churning in her stomach and was about to leave with a cold face, but Wen Bowen rushed over in a few steps and blocked her way.

"I'm talking to you, are you deaf? Tell me, what are you doing here? Did you know my parents and I are here on vacation today, and you deliberately came here?"

Wen Ruan ignored him and took a step to the right, intending to leave. Wen Bowen followed suit, looking smug.

"I know, Director Jiang has found someone new and doesn't want you anymore. You're afraid of ending up homeless, so you came here specifically to beg us to let you go back to the Wen family!"

Ji Shiyan and Wen Bowen, how come these two even have the same way of thinking?

Wen Ruan rolled her eyes inwardly and her tone turned cold.

"Get out of the way."

"I won't allow it, Wen Ruan. How dare you talk to me like that?"

Wen Bowen glared at her fiercely, then turned to Zhao Xiuyun to complain.

"Mom, you see? Wen Ruan is such an ingrate. She deliberately abandoned me when I was little, and now that her husband has dumped her, she still dares to give me attitude..."

"Wen Bowen, do you really dare to say that I threw you away?"

Wen Ruan finally spoke up, her eyes full of mockery as she looked at Wen Bowen.

"What exactly happened back then? Do you dare to tell the truth?"

"you!"

Wen Bowen was surprised that she would talk back, and his face turned red, unable to speak for a long time. Wen Ruan closed her eyes, feeling exhausted.

She knew from a young age that she was taken in from the orphanage by the Wen family.

Because Wen Shaokang and Zhao Xiuyun had been childless for many years, they consulted a master to calculate their birth dates and times before choosing her as the "lucky star" who would bring them offspring.

Two years later, Wen Bowen, the only son in three generations, was indeed born. He was pampered by the entire Wen family like a precious jewel, and Wen Ruan, his "older sister," became his maid. Not only was he bossy, but he would also throw a tantrum at her if things didn't go his way.

Zhao Xiuyun was quite nice to Wen Ruan at that time, and said a few words when she saw her son making a scene.

Wen Bowen harbored resentment and on his fourth birthday, he made a fuss about having Wen Ruan accompany him out to play, while he secretly ran away to the park and hid there all night.

When the Wen family found him, he cried and said that Wen Ruan had deliberately abandoned him.

One sentence led to six-year-old Wen Ruan being forced to live in a suburban villa for more than a decade.

"Alright, what's the point of bringing up the past? Xiao Bo, can't boys be more tolerant?"

Zhao Xiulan walked over with a cold face, making no attempt to hide her bias towards Wen Bowen. She frowned and looked Wen Ruan up and down, her tone harsh.

"Haven't you looked in the mirror lately? Who are you trying to impress by getting this thin?"

Wen Ruan looked at Zhao Xiulan, her heart filled with bitterness.

When she was little, Zhao Xiulan treated her very well. She would braid her hair, teach her to write and draw, and personally cook nourishing soup when she had a poor appetite. Even after Wen Bowen was born, she still tried her best to treat her the same way.

Even after she was sent to the villa, Zhao Xiulan would visit her every few days and gently assure her that she would definitely take her back.

But later, everything changed.

She became the person Zhao Xiulan hated the most. Zhao Xiulan looked at her with a complicated and indifferent gaze, filled with inexplicable resentment.

But Wen Ruan couldn't let go of Zhao Xiulan. She lowered her eyes and spoke softly.

"I've just been a bit tired from work lately, thank you for your concern, Mom."

"Who said I care about you...?"

"Your mom's right, Ruan Ruan, you've definitely lost too much weight lately!"

Before Zhao Xiulan could finish speaking, Wen Shaokang came up with a grin, his gaze lingering on her body wrapped in business attire for a moment, and he smiled happily.

"Since we've run into each other today, why don't you come back with us? Let your mother give you a good treatment!"