Mu Xiubai instinctively touched the spot, then gave her a long, searching look, as if trying to discern whether her words were true or false.
At that very moment, the office door was shoved open with force.
Zhou Mei walked in arm-in-arm with Gu Lanying, chatting and laughing, their postures intimate.
The moment she saw the positioning of Ruan Mi and Mu Xiubai, Zhou Mei’s smile froze instantly.
Gu Lanying, however, looked upon the scene with a face full of delight.
“Oh my, Mimi, where have you been these past two days? Your mother has been worried sick!”
Gu Lanying pulled her arm free from Zhou Mei and made a beeline for Ruan Mi, her gaze like that of a mother who had just found a daughter she’d lost for years.
She grabbed Ruan Mi’s hand and looked her up and down.
Zhou Mei’s face turned a sickly mix of pale and green. She had been showering Gu Lanying with every possible attention, and Mu Xiubai had been tiptoeing around her with the utmost care.
Yet Ruan Mi earned Gu Lanying’s approval without lifting a finger.
Wasn’t Ruan Mi supposed to be divorcing Mu Xiubai? Then why was she still hanging around him like this?
Zhou Mei gritted her teeth inwardly, clutching her handbag so hard her knuckles went white, forcing a strained smile onto her face. “Mimi, I didn’t expect to see you here too.”
With that, she swayed her hips and sidled closer to Mu Xiubai.
To their dramatic shifts in demeanor, Ruan Mi merely offered a faint, indifferent smile.
She withdrew her arm from Gu Lanying’s grasp and took a step back.
Her gaze was distant and cold as she regarded the kindly-faced middle-aged woman before her.
She had once given Gu Lanying her genuine heart, because in this ice-cold marriage, she had been the only one who had ever shown her warmth.
She had poured all the love she held for her own mother into Gu Lanying—only to discover that the one who struck her hardest was also her. How could that not chill her to the bone?
“Madam Mu,” Ruan Mi said coolly, “Mu Xiubai and I are already discussing divorce. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to call you ‘Mother’ anymore.”
She raised her hand and pointed at Zhou Mei, her smile still in place. “The woman who walked in arm-in-arm with you is your current daughter-in-law. And she’s already carrying the Mu family’s blood in her belly!”
Hearing this, Gu Lanying’s warmth receded somewhat.
She lowered her eyes and let out a sigh, though her tone remained gentle.
By the time Gu Lanying looked up at her again, her expression had been perfectly readjusted.
As if she hadn’t heard Ruan Mi’s sarcasm at all, she affectionately took her hand once more and led her to the sofa nearby.
In a voice full of earnest counsel, she said, “Mimi, as women, there are some things we can simply turn a blind eye to. We must be magnanimous. We’re all respectable people—if things get blown out of proportion, it won’t look good for anyone, don’t you agree?
Take Xiubai and Zhou Mei, for instance. They grew up together, so feelings between them are inevitable. But right now, you are Mrs. Mu, aren’t you?
Even if they have a child, that child will still have to call you Mother.
Don’t worry. Mother promises you—as long as I’m alive, no one will ever shake your position as Mrs. Mu.”
This heartfelt speech nearly made Ruan Mi laugh out loud. It took a truly shameless person to say something like that.
It was in that moment she realized her mistake—comparing Gu Lanying to her own mother. She simply didn’t deserve it.
Suppressing the bitterness rising in her chest, she shot to her feet, yanking her hand free from Gu Lanying’s grip. Her face had turned completely dark.
“Madam Mu,” she said coldly, “raising another woman’s child for her sake—that kind of ‘magnanimity’ is beyond me.”
She then turned to Mu Xiubai, her eyes icy. “Sign the divorce papers as soon as possible. Once the formalities are done, we’ll be even.
Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what I might do.”
With that, she cast a brief glance at the three of them, turned, and walked out with elegant grace.
Ruan Mi went straight from Mu Xiubai’s office to the HR department.
When she submitted her resignation letter, the HR manager looked slightly taken aback.
“President Ruan, this…” What kind of move was this?
Ruan Mi could see the manager’s hesitation and smiled calmly. “President Mu has already approved it. Just follow the normal procedure.”
The manager could tell Ruan Mi wasn’t joking, and indeed, President Mu had approved it.
So she said nothing more and processed it according to protocol.
The exit procedures went smoothly. After saying goodbye to a few colleagues in the department, Ruan Mi left the company.
But just as she stepped out of the main entrance, she spotted that Maybach from the rainy night.
The man stood tall and elegant, his deep, dark eyes smiling at her.
A smile curved at the corners of Ruan Mi’s lips as she ran toward him. Bo Ye opened the car door for her—gentlemanly and effortlessly handsome.
“My God, is that Ruan Mi? She’s smiling and getting into a strange man’s car, right at the company entrance? Isn’t that a slap in Xiubai’s face?”
Zhou Mei’s voice dripped with sarcasm, her eyes gleaming with schadenfreude.
Hearing this, Mu Xiubai shot to his feet and looked down from the window—only to catch a glimpse of a sleek car tail disappearing into the distance.
“Ruan Mi actually got into some man’s car?”
Mu Xiubai’s tone was dark and menacing, an inexplicable tightness gripping his chest.
Just moments ago, the HR manager had called to say Ruan Mi was already processing her resignation.
He had thought she was just throwing a tantrum. He never expected her to be serious.
And now she was getting into a strange man’s car.
“Absolutely true. She was smiling so brightly—nothing like the gloomy, vicious look she had on her face just now.”
Zhou Mei glanced at Mu Xiubai’s expression, gauging his thoughts as she spoke.
“Who knows what kind of background that man has? Though his face wasn’t clear, he was tall with fair skin—probably a handsome man, right?”
Seeing Mu Xiubai’s face growing darker by the moment, a hint of a satisfied smile curled at the corner of her mouth as she continued.
“Of course, he can’t compare to Xiu Bai. In my heart, you’re the most handsome.
But Ruan Mi hasn’t had release for a long time—women, you know, they need an outlet sometimes. It’s only natural.”
The moment those words left her mouth, the entire room turned icy cold.
With a sharp crack, the ashtray on the table was swept to the floor by Mu Xiubai.
What a woman, this Ruan Mi—still married, and she dares to cuckold him.
He picked up the phone and called his assistant. “Look into Ruan Mi’s whereabouts for me.”
Gu Lanying cut in at this point, shooting Zhou Mei a disapproving glare.
“Enough, say no more. Ruan Mi comes from a distinguished family; she wouldn’t stoop to something like that.
But it wouldn’t hurt to check—at least we should know where she’s staying.
Xiu Bai, didn’t I tell you to keep her calm first? Why is she still asking for a divorce?”
The mere mention of it made Mu Xiubai inexplicably irritated. Who knew what had gotten into Ruan Mi?
In the past, whatever he said, Ruan Mi would obediently do. But this time, she was stubborn as a mule—and had even gone off the grid.
Two days and two nights with no word from her. If he hadn’t had Zhang Qian make that call, Ruan Mi probably would’ve kept playing her disappearing act.
“She’s just throwing a tantrum. It’s not like she can turn the world upside down.”
Zhou Mei chimed in from the side. “That’s right. Ruan Mi just can’t accept that I’m having a baby right now. As long as Xiu Bai makes his position clear, she’ll come around.”
Gu Lanying still wasn’t reassured and pressed on. “Ruan Chengyi’s birthday is coming up soon. This year, no matter what, you have to get her to bring you back and show your face.
We can’t afford any mistakes at this critical juncture. Nothing matters more than the growth of the Mu Group.”
It was only after Gu Lanying’s reminder that Mu Xiubai recalled what Ruan Mi had told him before.
Though the Mu Group was at the top of Haisi, it was nothing in Didu.
If he could win Ruan Chengyi’s support, it wouldn’t be long before he, Mu Xiubai, carved out a place for himself in Didu as well.