"Reason with her?" "Reason?" Zhan Meng blinked dismissively. "I just went ahead and beat that girl up." "Then who won in the end?" "That girl was all soft and delicate—she started crying before I even laid a hand on her. Then, you know the drill, she went on and on about her grievances. And that's when I realized, these people are nothing but clowns in my eyes. They're all just jealous and hateful toward me." Hearing this, Xia Yan and Li Ru were stunned speechless. They looked at Zhan Meng's calm demeanor, which almost seemed regretful that she hadn't gotten to punch the girl. The two exchanged glances, twitched their mouths, and gave Zhan Meng a thumbs-up. "You're kind of amazing." "Flattery, flattery." As the words fell, the three women couldn't help but burst into laughter. Xia Yan's pent-up mood from the past few days finally eased a bit today. She smiled, picked up her water cup, and took a sip, only to suddenly spot Xia Siyue walking toward the dessert shop. Her brow furrowed. Li Ru noticed her change and asked softly, "Xia Yan, what's wrong?" Zhan Meng gestured with her chin toward Li Ru, signaling her to look at the door. Xia Siyue pushed open the dessert shop door with an air of authority, hands in her pockets, chin raised as she scanned the place before spotting Xia Yan. A smirk curled at the corner of her mouth as she walked up to Xia Yan, looking down at the three seated there. That Zhan Meng woman was here again! "Xia Yan, you're in the mood for tea at a time like this? You sure have a big heart." "What kind of trouble are you trying to stir up this time?" Xia Yan said coldly. "I'm here to help you, of course—to clear up this whole Lu Corporation leak mess. What, aren't you grateful?" "What are you planning to do?" "Why are you so anxious? The show hasn't even started yet." Xia Yan abruptly stood up from her chair, meeting Xia Siyue's gaze at eye level. "Xia Siyue, this isn't a place for your antics." "I'll show you I'm not messing around." Xia Siyue smiled, a mocking grin on her face as she glanced out the window at the reporters suddenly spilling out of cars, cameras and microphones in hand, swarming toward the dessert shop. "The show's about to begin, Xia Yan. Let's see how you manage to get out of this unscathed." "Xia Siyue, you—" Furious, Xia Yan grabbed the water cup from the table, but Li Ru was quick to stop her. "Xia Yan, calm down." Zhan Meng, sitting nearby with a blank expression, caught Li Ru's move and pursed her lips. "Li Ru, why are you stopping her? If you ask me, that woman deserves a good lesson." Li Ru's mouth twitched. "Can you not add to the chaos? Don't you see those reporters barging in, desperate to get dirt on Xia Yan? If something else happens at this critical moment, it'll only make things harder for her." "Fine, I'll shut up." Zhan Meng spread her hands helplessly. The reporters flooded into the dessert shop in droves, catching both customers and staff off guard. By the time anyone reacted, Xia Yan was already surrounded, with no way out in any direction. Xia Yan looked up and down to see microphones pressed right in front of her, questions coming at her in rapid succession, threatening to bury her alive. Li Ru, shoved aside, glared furiously at the scene, stomping her foot in place. She noticed Zhan Meng still sitting there calmly, while her own heart raced like an ant on a hot pan. The reporters' questions were sharp, and Xia Yan was cornered, unable to figure out how to respond. Li Ru, cradling her belly, stared at Zhan Meng. "Why are you still so calm?" "Staying calm is the only way to think of a solution. Look at these reporters—they're like mad dogs, refusing to let Xia Yan go. I don't believe there's no one pulling the strings behind this." Zhan Meng said quietly, then pulled out her phone. "What are you doing with your phone?" "Calling someone, of course." Zhan Meng rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, *Does pregnancy really make you lose your mind?* She dialed Ning Xi, explaining the situation and the address. "Li Ru, don't worry. Lu Zhengting will be here soon." Zhan Meng watched Li Ru dive back into the crowd, remembering she was pregnant, and felt a headache coming on. Suddenly, Li Ru stumbled as she tried to push out, and Zhan Meng's reflexes kicked in faster than her thoughts—she reached out to catch her. "That was close!" Seeing Li Ru's pale face, Zhan Meng narrowed her eyes, steadied her, and told her to stay put. Standing outside the crowd, she thought for a moment, then suddenly kicked over the table in front of her. Glass bottles crashed to the floor with a loud shatter. Shards of glass cut one or two reporters, but Zhan Meng acted as if she hadn't noticed. The reporters surrounding Xia Yan were startled by the commotion, giving her a moment to breathe. But just as she was waiting for Lu Zhengting to show up, she was shocked to see Ye Yunchen instead. Ye Yunchen walked straight toward Xia Yan, his bodyguards parting the crowd. Xia Yan stood frozen, staring at him. "Brother Ye, what are you doing here?" "I'm here to take you away." "Take me where?" Xia Yan asked, confused. "Away from here." Ye Yunchen's gaze locked onto Xia Yan with deep affection, a scene captured by the cameras. Was it warmth? Or affection? Ye Yunchen's sudden appearance only made things worse. The relationship between Xia Yan and Ye Yunchen seemed to be confirmed in everyone's eyes. Li Ru stared dumbfounded at the scene, turning her head like a robot to look at Zhan Meng. "What's going on?" "You're asking me? Who do I ask? But honestly, I already called Lu Zhengting, and he didn't show." "You called Mr. Lu?" "Yeah, shouldn't a guy save his own girlfriend? Too bad this chance for a heroic rescue was handed to Ye Yunchen on a silver platter." Zhan Meng said regretfully. But Ning Xi was really useless—she'd said it was urgent, explained the situation, and he still dragged his feet. So unreliable. Ye Yunchen stood shoulder to shoulder with Xia Yan, directly draping an arm over her shoulder and pulling her close. The reporters were intimidated by his presence, exchanging glances, but there were always those fearless ones who pushed forward to dig up a story. Ye Yunchen shot a look at his bodyguards, and the reporter was stopped in full view. "Mr. Ye, are you indirectly admitting your relationship with Xia Yan?" Ye Yunchen's eyes darkened as he glanced silently at Xia Yan. "Xia Yan and I are just friends." "Friends?" A sneer came from within the crowd. The reporter who asked the question, sensing a scoop, shoved past the bodyguards and approached the person who laughed, holding out a microphone. "Miss, what were you laughing at? Do you know something?" Xia Yan was stunned to see Lin Xujia suddenly appear, her expression dark and cold, her gaze toward Xia Yan filled with nothing but distance and hatred. She wanted to call out Lin Xujia's name, but the words stuck in her throat. Lin Xujia glanced sideways at the reporter, sneered at Ye Yunchen, and took the microphone directly from the reporter's hand. "Of course I know the inside story, and I know quite a bit. Want to hear it? Hah, don't worry, I'll give you plenty of material today." "Xiaojia..." Xia Yan murmured her name softly. "Xia Yan, don't call me that." Lin Xujia suddenly roared, then pointed at Ye Yunchen. "Ye Yunchen, I'm going to tear off your mask in front of everyone today. This whole thing was your plan—from hiring someone to rape me, every single thing that happened was deliberate. Even this, Xia Yan betraying the Lu Corporation, was all set up by you." Hearing this, Xia Yan's face darkened as she looked at Lin Xujia in disbelief, then at Ye Yunchen. "Ye Yunchen, was it really you?" "Xia Yan, do you believe Lin Xujia? Do you remember what happened with Lin Youran? Do you know that Lin Xujia originally wanted to humiliate you, not Lin Youran? Of course, she changed her mind later because she was afraid of Lu Zhengting's power." "What are you saying?" "Xia Yan, the Lin family's downfall is all Lin Xujia's fault." Xia Yan shook her head. "Ye Yunchen, why do I feel like even you aren't worth trusting anymore? What happened between you and Xiaojia?" Lin Xujia, hearing Ye Yunchen expose her secrets, showed no change in expression. She still sneered at him, her eyes fixed on his hand on Xia Yan's shoulder. "Ye Yunchen, you've played your hand well. Every move you've made has been under your control, even what I would do. But you never expected me to go down fighting." Lin Xujia's words left everyone confused. Xia Yan frowned, staring intently at her. She knew what she meant. "Is everything you're saying true?" "Of course it's true. He knows my relationship with you, so he's tolerated me all along just to keep up appearances. Do you know how he's treated me behind the scenes? Xia Yan, do you know what I went through recently? He, Ye Yunchen, forced me to abort our child... Xia Yan, do you understand?" Xia Yan was so shocked she couldn't speak. She looked silently at the broken Lin Xujia, saying nothing. "There's so much you don't know. Every time I see you, I remember what Ye Yunchen did to me. Because he loves you, I have to bear it all?" Lin Xujia took a deep breath, then suddenly pulled out her phone and held it up, staring at Ye Yunchen and Xia Yan. "Every word I've said is true. Ye Yunchen and Xia Yan have been colluding in secret. Don't forget, Xia Yan is the eldest daughter of the Xia family—why would she genuinely work for the Lu Corporation? And Ye Yunchen rose from a newcomer to project manager at Xia Corporation in just a few months, all because of Xia Yan." The crowd gasped. Ye Yunchen narrowed his eyes and ordered his bodyguards to take Lin Xujia away. "Ye Yunchen, why are you so eager to have me taken away? Because you're guilty. Because everything I said is true." Lin Xujia screamed hysterically, but it couldn't stop Ye Yunchen's men from dragging her out of the scene.