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

As soon as she said this, Zhao Xiulan's expression changed immediately. She moved her lips, but in the end, she swallowed her words and glared at Wen Ruan.

Wen Ruan felt a pang of pain in her heart and looked at Wen Shaokang with cold disgust.

"I'm not going back."

"Little girl, you're so old and you still throw tantrums."

Wen Shaokang held his cigar, blew a smoke ring at Wen Ruan, and moved even closer.

"Now that the Jiang family doesn't want you anymore, where else can you go if you don't go back to the Wen family? Don't be willful..."

"I will not go back, never!"

Wen Ruan interrupted coldly, glancing at Zhao Xiulan's ashen face out of the corner of her eye. She struggled to suppress the urge to slap Wen Shaokang, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"From now on, let's be strangers and not bother each other anymore, or I'll call the police!"

"Why did you call the police for no reason? Aren't you ashamed? Dad's doing this for your own good!"

Wen Shaokang's face darkened, and he impatiently reached out to pull her away.

"Alright, the car's over there. We can talk about it when we get back..."

"Wen Ruan, come here."

A cool and gentle voice came from behind, carrying a silent sense of oppression.

Wen Ruan turned her head in disbelief and met a pair of deep, calm eyes that were looking at her with a complicated expression through gold-rimmed glasses.

Wen Ruan almost thought she was hallucinating.

Before she could recover from the shock of seeing someone she hadn't heard from in half a month suddenly appear before her, she smelled the cigar scent that had made her nauseous for over a decade.

Wen Shaokang quickly reached his hand in front of her.

Instantly, a strong feeling of suffocation washed over her, and Wen Ruan felt a tightness in her chest and wanted to vomit.

She instinctively stepped back, only to bump straight into a solid chest.

Jiang Yubai appeared behind her at some point, his hand lightly resting on her waist.

The heat from his palm through her clothes slightly pulled her numb and stiff nerves back to normal.

Jiang Yubai seemed not to see Wen Shaokang's outstretched hand, speaking in a distant tone as if he were dealing with an ordinary person, not his stepfather.

"Mr. Wen."

Wen Shaokang's smile froze for a moment, and he awkwardly withdrew his hand, saying obsequiously, "Yu Bai, are you here to pick up Ruan Ruan?"

"Hmm." Jiang Yubai was sparing with his words.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Wen Ruan's lips were tightly pursed and her whole body was as tense as a fully drawn bow. Without making a sound, he took a step forward and shielded her behind him.

"Mr. Wen, is there something you need to tell my wife?"

A single sentence, though not harsh, carried the oppressive feeling of someone in a superior position.

Wen Shaokang quickly tried to cover it up: "It's nothing, I just happened to run into Ruan Ruan and wanted to invite her home for a meal."

"I have something to do today, so I'll go back to visit you and your mother-in-law another day when I'm free." Jiang Yubai's words were impeccable and polite, but there was no room for negotiation.

"Okay, okay, then let's do it another day." Wen Shaokang was so intimidated by his aura that he didn't dare to argue.

Wen Bowen, oblivious to the awkwardness, chimed in: "Brother-in-law, don't be fooled by Wen Ruan. She's always been good at playing the victim since she was little. When we were kids, she deliberately left me in the park overnight..."

"Xiao Bo!"

Wen Shaokang panicked and slapped Wen Bowen on the back of the head to stop him.

But it was too late.

Jiang Yu's dark eyes behind his white glasses were deep and unfathomable, and his voice, though as deep as ever, carried a unique air of authority.

"It is none of your business to comment on the character of my wife, Jiang Yubai."

The moment the words left his lips, the atmosphere became oppressive and suffocating.

Wen Bowen's hair stood on end, and he lost all his arrogance, not daring to say another word.

"Let's go!" Jiang Yubai withdrew his gaze, turned his head, and whispered to Wen Ruan.

"Um."

Wen Ruan couldn't wait to walk towards the black Rolls-Royce.

Jiang Yubai watched her hastily fleeing figure, his eyes darkening slightly, and warned her in a voice only Wen Shaokang could hear.

"Wen Shaokang".

"If I ever see you or any member of the Wen family verbally offend her again—I will make the entire Wen family disappear from the public eye."

When he met his icy gaze, Wen Shaokang turned pale.

Wen Ruan vaguely felt Wen Shaokang's sticky and lewd gaze still on her, and almost vomited.

A figure loomed over from the side.

"Are you alright?"

Wen Ruan shook her head, "It's nothing."

Luckily, I met Jiang Yubai, otherwise...

"Let's go back to the old house for dinner first."

Wen Ruan was startled, and the old pain in her knee throbbed faintly.

She lowered her eyes. "Okay."

When she got to the car, she instinctively reached for the passenger door.

The car window rolled down at that moment, revealing a gentle and beautiful face.

"Ruan Ruan, it's been a long time."

Jiang Wanxing's long hair was loosely draped over her shoulders, and her makeup was exquisite.

Wen Ruan's breath hitched, and something seemed to brush against her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. "Long time no see."

After saying that, she opened the back door and got in.

Jiang Yubai's explanation caught in his throat, and his eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses gradually darkened.

Jiang Wanxing smiled and said, "Yu Bai, get in the car. If we delay any longer, it will be too late."

Jiang Yubai glanced at the blurry silhouette in the back seat, his Adam's apple bobbing, "Hmm."

He got into the driver's seat and started the car.

Wen Ruan turned her face toward the window, leaving Jiang Yubai with only a cold, unresponsive back of her head.

At this moment, Jiang Wanxing turned to the side from the front row and handed the paper bag next to her to the back seat. "Ruan Ruan, these are the snacks that Yu Bai mentioned wanting to bring you last time. I bought them for him."

Wen Ruan paused for a moment, then politely accepted the gift, saying, "Thank you, Miss Jiang."

Jiang Wanxing smiled and turned around. "You're welcome. Yu Bai and I are on a business trip, and it just so happens that we're going the same way."

Wen Ruan clenched the paper bag tightly, pressing her fingertips down to leave a whitish mark.

No wonder he didn't send me a single message in the past two weeks.

Jiang Wanxing seemed to remember something and spoke again: "By the way, Yu Bai, I've compiled all the work materials for the business trip. I'll send them to you later."

"Um."

"There's also the exchange activity with the French delegation; I've arranged a meeting for you at the end of the month."

"You don't need to get involved in these official matters anymore. I have Xiao Ren," Jiang Yubai said in a deep voice.

Jiang Wanxing's smile froze for a moment, but she quickly masked it.

"it is good."

Wen Ruan watched Jiang Wanxing's relaxed demeanor as she spoke to him, and her breathing became inexplicably uneven.

She was well aware that the two had worked together for many years and were childhood sweethearts for over a decade.

But this familiarity that no one else could penetrate caused Wen Ruan's clenched palms to ache slightly.

Jiang Wanxing smiled and spoke again, seemingly unintentionally: "Ruan Ruan, let me tell you, last time when I was on a business trip in X country, Yu Bai originally wanted to make a detour to buy you some snacks."

"But then the embassy had an urgent task, and he was busy until late at night, by which time the old shop had long since closed..."

Listening to her recount the little stories of their time alone together, Wen Ruan forced a smile and said dismissively, "Really? That's a shame."

Suddenly, Jiang Wanxing exclaimed "Oh!" and glanced at Wen Ruan in the back seat, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself: "Ruan Ruan, how come you and President Ji are trending on social media?"

Wen Ruan looked up in surprise.

Her only recent meeting with Ji Shiyan was a work meeting, so how did she suddenly become a trending topic?

Jiang Wanxing handed over her phone: "Look."

Jiang Yubai glanced at the screen indifferently.

The photo trending on social media is very high resolution.

In the scene, Ji Shiyan leans down close to her, the two so close it looks like they are kissing.

The image of that day in the corridor suddenly flashed through his mind, along with the woman's straightforward confession—Ji Shiyan, I just love you.