Chapter 8: It Was a Mistake from the Start

Thinking of that night’s events, my face turned pale, a flicker of pain passing through my eyes. I lowered my gaze, not wanting to say anything more, but Jiang Ruohe tightened his grip on my chin, forcing me to look at him.

“Yu Xiaowan, cut the tricks in front of me from now on.”

He released his hand and climbed out the window. I stood rooted to the spot for a long while, only closing the window after I had calmed down.

I had a dream where I was standing in a sea of flowers, hearing someone call my name. Following the sound, I ran and saw Chen Xi’s figure. With his usual gentle smile, I rushed over joyfully, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing my face against his chest as tears streamed down.

“Don’t leave me, okay? I miss you so much, really miss you.”

At five in the morning, Jiang Ruohe climbed back through the window. By seven, we went downstairs together and found Jiang Mingzhe waiting below. He took my hand and led me to stand before Jiang Mingzhe.

“Grandfather.”

Jiang Mingzhe was very pleased to see us getting along so well. After breakfast, he returned to the Jiang Corporation, mentioning before leaving that he would be away on business for a week. During his absence, he expected Jiang Ruohe to treat me even better.

“I’ll have Butler Chen keep an eye on you.”

After Jiang Mingzhe left, Jiang Ruohe immediately went to the kitchen to wash his hands, probably disgusted from having held mine earlier. Once he finished washing, he left.

Seeing him go, I immediately got up and told Aunt Liu that I needed to go out too and might not return until evening.

After leaving the house, I went to a print shop to make several copies of my resume, planning to start job hunting.

Jiang Ruohe had only given me one month, and I had to do my best to repay the debt.

Just as I stepped out of the print shop, someone called out to me. Turning around, I quickly hid my resume behind my back, but the sharp-eyed Tian Rong noticed and snatched it away.

“You’re looking for a job?” Tian Rong looked at me in surprise.

“Are the Jiang family treating you poorly?” she asked, already rolling up her sleeves as if ready to confront them, but I stopped her.

“Sis, calm down. I’m fine. The Jiang family treats me quite well.”

My mother passed away early, and when I was ten, my father remarried Shen Xiuting, Tian Rong’s mother. Over the years, Shen Xiuting has been cold and distant toward me, but unlike some stepmothers, she never mistreated me. Tian Rong, however, has always been extremely good to me, genuinely treating me like a younger sister.

Tian Rong placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me seriously.

“Xiao Wan, don’t lie to me. If the Jiang family truly treated you well, why didn’t you even have a wedding after marrying into their family? Also, last night I went to the hospital to visit a friend and saw Jiang Ruohe buying a bunch of things and entering a patient’s room. I thought you were sick or something, so I rushed over, only to find that the person inside was Huang Minwei.”

“Xiao Wan, you used to tell me everything. I don’t want anyone to bully you.”

Touched, I hugged Tian Rong, resting my head sadly on her shoulder.

Sitting in a café, I briefly explained what had been happening lately. Tian Rong was so angry she stood up abruptly, but I pulled her back down.

“Sis, we both know very well that my marriage to Jiang Ruohe was a mistake from the start. He and Minwei are the true couple, and I’ve become the villain who forced them apart. It’s only natural for them to hold a grudge against me.”

“But Xiao Wan, that night there was clearly someone…” Tian Rong suddenly looked ahead.

I turned and saw my mother-in-law Wang Yingzhi and Huang Minwei walking up while chatting and laughing. I quickly moved my body further inside.

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