Volume 1 Chapter 4: Encountering the Other Woman
Jiang Song was flirting with her again.
Perhaps because he hadn’t seen Ruan Wan reply, after a while, he sent another line.
【Jiang Song】: No rush, you can owe me for now. We have plenty of time.
When it came to flirting, Jiang Song was a genius.
A short sentence like that sparked endless imagination and ambiguity.
Unfortunately, Ruan Wan wasn’t buying it.
With unwavering focus, she opened her computer and began outlining the interview questions.
When it came to motorcycles, Ruan Wan was more than familiar.
During the years her father had arranged for her to study art in Milan, she had actually been in Germany, studying mechanical engineering.
She had participated in nearly a hundred racing competitions, set the record for the fastest repair time for scrapped vehicles, and was praised by her mentor as a “gifted mechanical girl.”
By the time her father notified her to return to China for an arranged marriage and find a respectable, easy job, she had already received offers from several major racing teams.
Many of the racers she had worked with expressed regret over her departure at the time.
In the blink of an eye, the sun began to set.
With the day’s work finished, Ruan Wan sent the document to Jiang Song, shut down her computer, and left the office.
Beside her, Gao Yue remarked sarcastically, “Team Leader Ruan, leaving so punctually? Got a date? Oh, I forgot—Team Leader Ruan is a married woman now. In a hurry to go home and cook for your husband? What a devoted wife and mother.”
Ruan Wan flashed a radiant smile.
She was already beautiful, and now, with the last rays of the setting sun streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows and casting a warm, enchanting glow on her face, she looked even more captivating.
She replied, “No, I’m going to cheat on him. Want to join me?”
Gao Yue was left speechless.
Huh? What? Is she crazy?!
By the time Gao Yue realized she’d been played, Ruan Wan was long gone from the office.
Hearing her colleagues snickering again, Gao Yue felt humiliated and kicked the table in frustration.
With that kick, the cup on the table toppled onto the power strip, causing a short circuit and instantly blacking out her screen.
Gao Yue’s face paled.
Oh no! She hadn’t saved her document!
Jiang Song received the outline Ruan Wan had sent him late in the evening.
Nightfall Club.
He sat at the center of the private room, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
His slightly long hair was swept back, with a few stray strands casting reddish-brown shadows over his eyes, obscuring his expression.
The private room was lively, filled with both men and women.
Nightfall Club prioritized guest privacy, so electronic devices with recording or photography functions, like phones, weren’t allowed inside.
Jiang Song was the exception.
He held his cool-toned phone, sitting alone in the midst of the boozy, humid atmosphere, standing out like a sore thumb.
Whenever newcomers tried to approach him, they were stopped.
“Brother Song doesn’t like people around him. Don’t push your luck.”
A young starlet, confident in her looks and ignoring the warning, cooed “Brother Song” and tried to sit in Jiang Song’s lap.
Jiang Song’s eyes lifted slightly, his expression filled with irritation. Without a hint of chivalry, he grabbed her wrist.
The next second, a bone cracked, and a scream echoed through the room.
The other men and women in the room paled at the sight, quickly abandoning any thoughts of approaching him.
With peace restored, Jiang Song toyed with his phone.
The cold light of the screen illuminated his face. After reading the interview outline Ruan Wan had sent, his brows twitched slightly. “She knows her stuff.”
A chubby guy nearby leaned in curiously. “Brother Song, something going on? Smiling like that—looks so cheesy.”
“Am I?”
“Yeah, your grin’s practically reaching your ears. I thought you were about to mutate or something!”
“Get lost!”
As his phone vibrated again, Jiang Song’s fingers paused.
This time, it was a message from Shen Zhizhi.
[Shen Zhizhi]: A’Song, I have a junior who’s an editor at KVI Fashion. She wants to invite you for an interview and a cover shoot. We’re all buddies here, so I gave her your contact. Just do me this favor, okay~
Soon, someone named [Lin Yuying] added him.
She also sent over an interview outline.
Compared to Ruan Wan’s, it wasn’t just different—it was worlds apart.
Night had fallen, and the city was ablaze with lights.
On the third floor of MixC, Ruan Wan was picking out a thank-you gift for Jiang Song.
She chose a fountain pen priced at eight thousand.
While waiting for the shop assistant to engrave “Jiang Song” on the pen, Ruan Wan received a message from Lin Yuying.
[Lin Yuying]: Guangguang, I’m really sorry. Jiang Song agreed to my interview invitation. I just asked casually, I never thought he’d actually say yes.
Attached was a screenshot of their chat.
Ruan Wan: “…”
The next second, holding the receipt, she said to the shop assistant at the pen store, “Hello, could you help me return this, please?”
Shop Assistant: “I’m sorry, miss, the three dots of the water radical in ‘Jiang’ have already been engraved. We can’t accept a return.”
“Can it be changed to other characters?”
“Yes, that’s possible.”
Ruan Wan rubbed her chin, running through the names of all her close friends and colleagues.
Unfortunately, none had names containing the water radical “氵”.
Until an unfamiliar number sent her a birthday greeting.
[Happy Birthday.]
Sent at 7:07 PM.
Ruan Wan’s brow twitched—it was Li Yuan’s number.
She looked up and said to the shop assistant, “Hello, please change it to two characters for me.”
“Of course. What should it be changed to?”
“Li Yuan.”
Twenty minutes later.
Ruan Wan walked into the underground parking garage and, from a distance, spotted a familiar face.
There was Li Minglan, dressed in a sharp suit, an orange classic Kelly bag slung over his shoulder, standing beside a delicate-looking girl.
It was Shen Zhizhi.
The two were chatting happily. Whatever joke Li Minglan told made Shen Zhizhi laugh until tears welled up in her eyes. Distracted, she didn’t watch her step and nearly twisted her ankle.
Fortunately, a slender hand steadied her.
Li Minglan looked up, about to thank the helpful passerby.
Unexpectedly, he met Ruan Wan’s calm gaze.
His eyes darkened. “Ruan Wan, why is it you? Are you… following me?”
Ruan Wan shook her head. “No, I came here to buy something.”
As she spoke, she tilted her head, studying Shen Zhizhi. “I’ve seen you before, on Minglan’s phone.”
The next moment, Ruan Wan’s arm was seized by Li Minglan and pulled into a corner.
Li Minglan’s voice was icy. “What are you trying to do?”
A surveillance camera was right above their heads, its red light blinking. Li Minglan hadn’t noticed, but Ruan Wan had.
Her voice tinged with disappointment, she asked, “Minglan, do you know what day it is today?”
Li Minglan frowned. “Don’t change the subject.”
Ruan Wan smiled bitterly, looking toward Shen Zhizhi. “She’s the one you like, isn’t she? Was it because of her that you got drunk yesterday?”
For some reason, this sentence angered the man.
He gritted his teeth in warning. “Let me tell you, Zhizhi is a researcher, completely dedicated to her work. She wouldn’t stoop to competing with someone like you. She’s not like you, a gold-digging, vain woman. If you keep following us, I’ll tell Grandfather immediately about your fake pregnancy.”
“That’s not it, Minglan, you’ve misunderstood,” Ruan Wan explained urgently. “I really wasn’t following you. I came here to buy something.”
As she spoke, she raised the bag in her hand, the kraft paper printed with the logo of a fountain pen brand.
Li Minglan’s brow furrowed slightly.
He knew that pens from this brand were mostly given as gifts.
“Why did you buy a fountain pen?”
“To give as a gift,” Ruan Wan answered truthfully.
Li Minglan temporarily let Ruan Wan off, warning her not to say too much in front of his grandfather before taking Shen Zhizhi to the trendy rooftop restaurant.
On the way, he excused himself to use the restroom and went to the fountain pen store on the third floor of the mall.
“Hello, my wife was here shopping earlier, and I think she might have left her wedding ring here. Could you help me look for it?”
He described her appearance while recalling what Ruan Wan had been wearing.
Looking for the Diamond Ring was just an excuse—what he really wanted to know was what Ruan Wan had bought at this store and who she intended to give it to.
The clerk remembered.
That lady was beautiful, almost like a celebrity—hard to forget.
“Of course, I’ll notify the technical department to help you review the surveillance footage. May I have your name, please?”
“Li, as in strict.”
Hearing this, the clerk lightly tapped her forehead. “Right, I remember now. Your wife had your name engraved on the fountain pen. Your name is Li—”