"Chao, did you know I was coming and deliberately came out to meet me?"
An Ruo quietly watched her completely different attitude from just now. Sure enough, before meeting Gu Chao, Zhou Mingyue lived freely and proudly, clear-headed in love. She had spoken so eloquently earlier. But the moment she encountered Gu Chao, all her pride and composure were thrown to the wind—a total love-brain!
Gu Chao pulled his arm away. "I have something to do, I need to go out."
"Where to? I'm coming with you!"
"Don't follow me." Gu Chao was annoyed. Just now, hiding in the corner, he'd overheard Zhou Mingyue looking for him and panicked, trying to escape, but that clueless man had dragged him out.
The two of them bickered and shoved past An Ruo directly.
An Ruo froze for a moment, then looked at the documents in her hand and remembered she had business to attend to. But by then, Gu Chao, fleeing Zhou Mingyue like a flood or a beast, had already vanished!
A frivolous wolf whistle rang out. An Ruo instinctively turned toward the sound.
A tall, upright man leaned against the wall, a wicked grin curling at the corner of his mouth. Her eyes widened slightly, her brain short-circuiting in shock. Why was he here?
"Surprised to see me?" The man's thin lips curved into a faint, devilish smile, one hand in his suit pocket as he strolled over slowly.
Quite surprised, actually...
An Ruo pressed her lips together lightly, always wearing an indifferent expression toward anyone—cold and aloof—only showing a hint of girlish shyness in front of Shen Xiaoxing.
"What, haven't seen me in so long and you don't miss me?" The man reached out to pinch her nose, intending to tease her, but the girl anticipated it, quickly dodging and stepping back to keep her distance.
Faced with such cold treatment, Shen Xiaoxing wasn't angry. He knew the girl's temperament by now, understanding this was how she treated strangers. Though he'd interacted with her in this identity more than once or twice, he still didn't appear often. Besides, the more she acted like this toward him, the happier he was.
"How about a warm hug?" He spread his arms as if to pounce and embrace her.
An Ruo swiftly sidestepped, her face icy. "Mr. Jiang, this is the company. Please show some restraint."
"Hey, I've helped you out plenty before. No need to treat me like an enemy the moment we meet, right?"
At his reminder, An Ruo did recall that the man had often lent her a hand. Once, to get her out of a jam, he'd even gotten himself hurt...
She would never forget that debt of gratitude, but... his flippant attitude, always trying to get close and flirt with her, made her deeply uncomfortable.
"Mr. Jiang, if you're here for business, you can see our CEO Gu. But if you..."
"What if I'm here for you?" The man cut her off, his wicked grin deepening. "Haven't seen you in a while. I missed you."
"..." "Just now, I heard Miss Zhou say you're planning to divorce and find a younger guy? What about me?"
An Ruo stared at him with a strange expression.
"Hey, hey, what's that look? I'm way younger than your nearly-thirty husband."
"..." "Ah, I heard your husband's not only old but still a low-level employee after all these years. How can he support you on that salary?" He rattled on, boasting. "Look at me—good looks, great body, money, power, status. Tons of people chase after me. Sure you won't reconsider?"
Truth be told, Zhou Mingyue's words had stung Shen Xiaoxing a bit. He really minded the labels "nearly thirty" and "old man." This girl was spreading rumors about him outside, saying he was just some ordinary office worker? She'd climbed to art director herself—what would people think of him? That he was a kept man, earning less than a woman?!
"Mr. Jiang, your personal qualities are indeed better than my husband's in every way. But I only love him. No matter what he's like, even if he stayed home and I supported him, I'd be happy." An Ruo frowned, disliking others criticizing Shen Xiaoxing. Even if she owed someone a favor or needed their help, she could endure any slander or defamation herself, but not Shen Xiaoxing—he was her bottom line!
Even if Shen Xiaoxing wasn't as she described, so what? She'd never believed that marrying a man with good looks and a wealthy background would bring happiness. It was just that this person happened to be Shen Xiaoxing, and he happened to love her.
"You think that way now, but what about later? It's hard for a woman to stand on her own in society. The criticism you'll face is unimaginable. And you have a family to support. Forget your good relationship now—when you have kids and need money everywhere, who will you rely on then?"
His words struck An Ruo like a hammer, reminding her of the child in her belly. She wanted to raise a hand to touch it but, aware of the man before her, held back fiercely.
"Haven't I faced enough criticism since I was little?" An Ruo let out a faint, cold laugh. "None of that is reason enough to stop me from loving him."
She spoke each word deliberately. "No matter how worthless you all think he is, to me, he's a treasure. I'm very satisfied with this marriage."
Shen Xiaoxing was the light she'd barely grasped after wandering through a long, dark stretch. How could their few words shake her love for him?
The man's eyes flickered slightly, and he turned his face away abruptly.
Silly girl, truly foolish—passing up such good options, only to choose him, a cripple rumored to spend his life in a wheelchair. He'd only been a little kind to her, and she was so devoted in defending him. Why did his heart ache so bitterly?
Shen Xiaoxing felt a mist of tears welling up, blurring his vision. He turned his face away awkwardly.
Seeing he had nothing more to say, An Ruo said politely and distantly, "I'd be happy to be friends, Mr. Jiang. I just hope you won't say things like that anymore. I don't like hearing them."
She didn't like hearing them badmouth the inferior Shen Xiaoxing they described.
"I have things to do. I'll go now." With that, ignoring his reaction, she clutched her documents and hurried away.
The corridor fell into a long silence. The man slowly came to his senses, looked up, and found the girl long gone. He pressed his thin lips together tightly.
Gradually, a smile spread at the corners of his mouth—a genuine smile from the heart, his soul filled to the brim by her words just now.
To meet her in this foul, stinking world—he was the one who had found a treasure.
...
As Shen Tingfeng's scandal broke, netizens quickly turned on him, all flocking to trash him, which temporarily suppressed Song Weiwei's situation. Star Moon Media planned to craft a new persona for Song Weiwei, but she flatly refused, leaving the boss green with rage!
Qiao Yu had been busy entertaining clients these past few days, pulling strings everywhere to salvage Song Weiwei's image and minimize the negative impact. Every time he came back dead drunk, stumbling to sit by the door, Song Weiwei felt an indescribable emotion.
After so many years together, she knew his habits well—he never touched alcohol. Because his parents had been killed by a drunk driver.
Song Weiwei moved to help him, but Qiao Yu stopped her. "Let me sit for a while."
She closed her eyes. "I didn't expect things to turn out like this..."
Qiao Yu leaned against the doorframe with a long sigh. "It's not your fault."
Someone was deliberately blacklisting her. With their current helplessness, how could they resist?