Volume 1 Chapter 10: Exposed
For the next hour.
Ruan Wan shuttled between two rooms, celebrating Su Tongan’s birthday and having dinner with Jiang Song, all while taking a call from her husband, Li Minglan, in between.
This left the private detective disguised as a waiter utterly dumbfounded.
This was no mistress—this was a spy.
Not only that, based on his professional observation, Ruan Wan had clearly repackaged the gifts given to her by the two men as something she had personally made, only to regift them to the other party.
If this were discovered, it would be the ultimate showdown!
Even spies wouldn’t dare play this dangerously.
This was practically a high-wire act by a folk performance artist!
After the meal, Ruan Wan went to the restroom.
Outside the entrance of Eastern Corner Manor, Jiang Song leaned against a century-old pillar, a cigarette between his fingers, exuding an air of lazy indifference.
“Who’s smoking in public? Have they no shame?”
Su Tongan’s grumbling voice rang out, but the young master was in a good mood tonight, the corners of his lips still lifted high as he admired the capybara in his hands.
“It’s me.”
A voice sounded beside him, startling Su Tongan. He glared over and met Jiang Song’s gaze.
The relationships among the major families in Jiangcheng were deeply intertwined, and after several marriages, they were practically all related.
He set aside his young master’s temper, casually stuffed the plush toy into his pocket, and nodded, calling out, “Brother Song.”
The night was dark, and behind Su Tongan was the brightly lit lobby of the manor, its glare making Jiang Song’s eyes ache. He didn’t catch the fleeting glimpse of something in Su Tongan’s palm.
But Su Tongan noticed the white scarf around Jiang Song’s neck, completely out of place in the summer.
He chuckled, “Did you just get back from the North Pole?”
The corner of Jiang Song’s lips, holding the cigarette, lifted slightly. “My girlfriend gave it to me.”
“Girlfriend?” Su Tongan’s interest was piqued.
He had heard that Jiang Song was a playboy who never got attached, never even brought a female companion to casual gatherings with friends, earning him the reputation as the second Li Yuan in their circle.
He probed, “I wonder what kind of fairy could captivate Brother Song.”
Jiang Song didn’t take the bait. “What about you? Waiting for someone?”
“Yeah.”
This time, it was Jiang Song’s turn to tease with interest.
The two stood at the entrance, waiting for their “respective girlfriends.”
The weather was unbearably hot, so Jiang Song removed the thick scarf and draped it over his arm, drawing Su Tongan’s gaze for several moments.
—Strange, it looked just like the one he had given to Ruan Wan.
Soon, a ridiculous thought crossed his mind.
—Could this scarf also have been bought online?
…
Not far away.
The detective had changed out of his waiter’s uniform and was now wearing a green ghillie suit, hiding in the bushes to observe.
With a camera in hand, he was sweating bullets for Ruan Wan.
“Intense! The showdown is about to begin!”
A clear, crisp female voice sounded above him. “Oh? Would you like to see something even more intense?”
The man answered without thinking, “Of course I would…”
He paused, realizing something was off.
Stiffly raising his head, he saw a familiar yet unfamiliar woman smiling down at him with curved eyes.
“Ruan… Ruan Wan?!”
“Shh.” Ruan Wan placed a slender finger to her lips in a silencing gesture. “I’m not here to catch you. I’m here to discuss a collaboration. Interested in talking, Mr. Detective?”
A few meters away, Jiang Song’s phone received a message from Ruan Wan.
[Ruan Wan]: I’m leaving first. Let’s not contact each other anymore.
Cold words reflected in Jiang Song’s eyes in the darkness, the crimson glow at his fingertips falling to the ground and extinguishing instantly.
Su Tongan asked in confusion, “Brother Song, what’s wrong?”
Jiang Song lazily raised his hand, flicking the ashes from his cigarette into the air. “Nothing, I’m leaving first.”
“Aren’t you waiting for your wife?”
“She’s throwing another tantrum. I’ll introduce you next time.”
Jiang Song’s tall figure disappeared into the night. Su Tongan dropped his harmless, innocent expression and shrugged indifferently.
Warm-toned light filtered through the retro-colored glass window, casting mottled patterns on his fair, jade-like face.
Excessively beautiful.
Until he, too, received a message.
[Ruan Wan]: Since you’re physically fine, there’s no need to contact me anymore. Happy birthday.
The evening breeze blew past, rustling the shadows of the trees.
The smile on Su Tongan’s face gradually faded, his beautiful eyes growing increasingly gloomy.
He didn’t understand how someone who, just ten minutes ago, had cooked him longevity noodles, handmade a felt doll, and wished him a happy birthday could become so cold and distant.
It was like a warm dream—waking up in an instant to find everything empty around him.
Clutching his phone tightly, he happened to spot Ruan Wan hailing a taxi by the roadside.
The soft orange hue under the streetlight was particularly eye-catching.
He hurried over, even forgetting to maintain his facade, his voice cold and sharp: “You hit me with your car, and now you don’t want to take responsibility?”
Night deepened, and a thick fog began to rise.
Ruan Wan turned her head, her usual gentleness replaced by a cool, detached expression.
“Su Tongan, was it fun to mess with me? You deliberately crashed into my car back then. Did you really think I didn’t know?”
Su Tongan’s pupils contracted sharply.
How did she know?
Jiang Song turned back.
He had left something in the private room.
Under the dimming lights, he saw Su Tongan standing by the roadside, holding onto a woman. A familiar shade of soft orange caught his eye, only to be completely blocked by Su Tongan’s broad shoulders.
A distance of about ten meters—not too close.
But perhaps the night was too quiet, as the evening breeze carried Su Tongan’s whining, flirtatious confession.
—”Sister, I’m sorry, it was my fault.”
—”I liked you from the moment I first saw you, so I deliberately crashed into your car, deliberately made you take responsibility for me, deliberately wanted to stay by your side…”
—”Only later did I find out you were married, but your husband doesn’t treat you well, does he? Why can’t you turn around and look at me?”
Jiang Song paused briefly, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes.
But he wasn’t interested in other people’s affairs and soon averted his gaze, stepping into the Eastern Corner Manor.
If he had lingered just a moment longer, he would have seen the woman push Su Tongan away, revealing a pair of gentle eyes.
She said sincerely, “I love my husband very much, even if he doesn’t love me.”
Mentioning her husband, Ruan Wan’s eyes softened with a smile, gentler than the evening breeze, making even the grand, century-old retro architecture behind her pale in comparison.
Su Tongan clenched his fingers tightly, his chest feeling unbearably stifled.
He grabbed Ruan Wan’s wrist. “Sister, I was just drunk and talking nonsense earlier. I’m still not feeling well. My parents are too busy with their business to care about me. I can pay you—no, I’ll pay you ten times your original rate. Please keep taking care of me, okay?”
Ruan Wan lowered her gaze.
The cool moonlight spilled over the stray hairs on her forehead, casting blue shadows that made her expression unreadable.
The air grew still, and Su Tongan felt as if he could hear the frantic beating of his own heart.
Strange, he had never felt so nervous at any moment before.
“How much will you pay?”
In the evening breeze, Ruan Wan’s voice was soft, like gardenias blooming, drifting into Su Tongan’s ears.
He had gambled right.
Ruan Wan really needed money.
And what he lacked the least was money.
The young man’s eyes sparkled brightly, “One dish, a hundred thousand, is that okay?”
Ruan Wan pursed her lips.
After a long while, she uttered a single “Okay.”
Not far away.
The professional detective had recorded the entire process in full. Upon hearing “one dish for a hundred thousand,” his mouth twisted with a hint of bitterness, and he immediately sent the video to his employer.
Damn it! He couldn’t be the only one lying awake with jealousy!