“Song Xuchen!” Jian Jinci glared at him, pointing at the woman beside them. “Today, either that mother and daughter leave, or we break up.”
Song Xuchen’s tone carried a hint of impatience. “Jinci, stop making a scene, alright?”
“I’m making a scene?” Jian Jinci’s dark eyes held obvious mockery mixed with bitterness. “You let your maid’s daughter live in your house, parading around in lingerie that barely covers anything, right in front of you. The problem is you, Song Xuchen, not me, Jian Jinci.”
This was the third year of her relationship with Song Xuchen. Just this year, the daughter of Song Xuchen’s maid had returned to the country with nowhere to go, so Song Xuchen had temporarily let her stay in the villa.
Jian Jinci had encountered scenes like this more than once. Before, it hadn’t been too extreme—the nightwear, though sexy, was still somewhat normal. Even if she was displeased, Song Xuchen would coax her with a few words.
This time, she had come because Song Xuchen’s gastritis had flared up. She had prepared a nourishing pork bone and yam soup and brought it over, only to find the maid’s daughter hanging onto his neck, offering her kiss, her delicate body pressed tightly against him—and Song Xuchen hadn’t refused.
In the adult world, not refusing is equivalent to accepting. How could a shrewd man like Song Xuchen not understand this woman’s intentions? He knew—he was just playing dumb.
Song Xuchen said, “Xuanxuan and I aren’t what you think.”
The “Xuanxuan” he referred to was none other than his maid’s daughter, Su Jingxuan.
Xuanxuan?
How intimate. Jian Jinci’s dark eyes glistened with tears. “If it’s not what I think, then what is it? If I had arrived a little later, would I have witnessed a full-blown bedroom scene?”
Jian Jinci’s words seemed to strike a chord with Song Xuchen’s thoughts. He frowned in displeasure and roared, “Enough!”
Jian Jinci curled her lips mockingly. One woman knew she was the other woman and clung desperately; the other man didn’t know how to refuse. A man’s heart is easy to read—not refusing means accepting.
Su Jingxuan stepped forward, grabbing the hem of Jian Jinci’s clothes, her eyes teary and pitiful. Su Jingxuan looked pure and harmless, with delicate, innocent features that seemed utterly non-threatening.
Who wouldn’t feel sorry seeing such a sight? But Jian Jinci was utterly disgusted.
Su Jingxuan said, “Sister Jian Jinci, it’s me who admires Xu Chen. I was momentarily bewitched. I’ll move out tomorrow. Please don’t let this affect your relationship with Xu Chen.”
“Get away from me. Don’t touch me—you’re filthy.”
Jian Jinci shook Su Jingxuan off, and the latter fell weakly to the ground. The skin beneath her lingerie was faintly visible, exuding a seductive charm. Every movement seemed meticulously planned.
A faint smile tugged at her lips, fleeting and unnoticed by anyone.
Song Xuchen said, “Jian Jinci, stop being unreasonable.”
He stepped forward, helped Su Jingxuan up from the ground, and held her in his arms, his voice softening. “Did you hurt yourself?”
She bit her lower lip lightly and shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears, making Song Xuchen’s heart ache.
Bitterness welled up in Jian Jinci’s heart, but she tried hard to hide it.
Su Jingxuan’s mother stepped forward. “Sir, Jingxuan and I will move out of the villa tomorrow. I hope this won’t affect your relationship with Miss Jian.”
Jian Jinci curled her lips in obvious mockery. “Like mother, like daughter. Disgusting.”
This mother-daughter pair really put on quite a show.
So adept at pretending—no wonder every time Jian Jinci came to the villa, this maid would give her a cold look. It turned out she was blocking her daughter’s path.
Song Xuchen looked at her with displeasure, his voice raised, devoid of the gentleness he had shown Su Jingxuan earlier. “Jian Jinci, watch your tone.”
Jian Jinci clenched her hands at her sides, smiling sarcastically. “Already defending her? Oh, I forgot—this is your future mother-in-law, of course you’d protect her.”
Song Xuchen was furious, pursing his lips, his eyes filled with unmistakable anger.
Su Jingxuan nestled against his chest like a little bird. Jian Jinci could see the provocation and triumph in her eyes, but Song Xuchen either didn’t notice or chose to ignore it, still defending her.
“Jian Jinci, sister, Xu Chen and I really didn’t do anything. That time, we both had too much to drink, so…”
Jian Jinci narrowed her eyes slightly. “So what? Slept together?”
As if she had accidentally revealed a secret, Su Jingxuan quickly covered her mouth, looking innocently at Song Xuchen before turning her gaze to Jian Jinci. “Sister Jian Jinci, it was a mistake. I thought Xu Chen had already told you…”
Jian Jinci ignored her, her cold eyes fixed on Song Xuchen. “I’m asking you—is what she said true?”
She already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it from him directly.
Song Xuchen said, “Jinci…”
“Song Xuchen, don’t give me that ‘it was just the alcohol’ excuse. You disgust me.” The thought of Song Xuchen sleeping with Su Jingxuan and then holding her hand to comfort her afterward made Jian Jinci feel utterly sick to her stomach.
Song Xuchen pinched the bridge of his nose, his tone impatient. “Jian Jinci, can’t you just let this go? I just made a mistake, the kind any man could make.”
His words shattered her worldview. She didn’t want to stay there a second longer—the very air felt suffocating and repulsive. After three years, she realized she didn’t know this person at all.
Jian Jinci said, “Song Xuchen, we’re breaking up.”
She cast a cold glance at Su Jingxuan. “Even if I break up with Song Xuchen and he makes you his official girlfriend, it won’t change the fact that you were the other woman.”
Song Xuchen didn’t want to break up. He hadn’t fully won Jian Jinci over yet. In their three years together, their relationship had never progressed beyond hugs and holding hands—he hadn’t managed to make her willingly sleep with him.
He said, “Jian Jinci, I don’t agree to breaking up. Don’t forget, I’ve been paying for Jian Xu’s medical bills and tuition. Without my continued financial support, how will you cover his expensive tuition?”
“No need for your concern,” Jian Jinci replied. “Two years of tuition is 200,000 yuan, and the surgery and medical expenses add up to another 300,000 yuan. I’ll pay you back every cent, with interest.”
From the start, she had treated this money as a loan from him, even writing him an IOU. Despite being in a relationship, she had never wanted to spend a single cent of Song Xuchen’s money.
Song Xuchen asked, “How will you pay it back? The Jian family won’t give you money. You just graduated from college and haven’t even found a stable job yet. Where are you going to get that much money?”
Jian Jinci sneered. “You should worry more about the one in your arms. My affairs are none of your concern.”
She might not have a job, but that didn’t mean she had no income. Though it wasn’t much, no matter how difficult life became, she would repay every penny she owed him, with interest.
Song Xuchen said, “Since you insist on breaking up, out of consideration for our past relationship, I’ll give you six months to repay the money in full.”
“Then I really should thank you.”
When Jian Jinci left the villa, Su Jingxuan followed her out. Gone was the previous fragile innocence; she shed her carefully crafted pretense, revealing a sharp, triumphant look as she sneered, “How laughable that the esteemed eldest daughter of the Jian family has fallen to such a state—unable to return home and unable to keep her boyfriend.”
Jian Jinci stopped and turned around, her gaze icy as she stared at Su Jingxuan without a word. After a long pause, just as Su Jingxuan thought she had struck a nerve and was about to mock her again, Jian Jinci slapped her across the face.
The blow was fierce, and immediately, a clear, visible handprint appeared on Su Jingxuan’s delicate cheek. The slap left her ears ringing, her face burning with pain.
Jian Jinci’s voice was cold, carrying an intangible pressure: “Know your place. Even if I am the least favored in the Jian family, my status as the eldest daughter remains, which is still far better than that of a servant’s daughter.”
With Song Xuchen absent, Su Jingxuan no longer pretended to be fragile. Her face twisted with malice as she glared at Jian Jinci, ready to strike back.
Just as Su Jingxuan raised her hand, Jian Jinci seized her wrist and kicked her in the stomach, sending her tumbling to the ground.
Jian Jinci had never been one to tolerate bullying. Growing up in the treacherous depths of the Jian family, she had learned from a young age that if someone bullied her, she had to fight back.
Looking down at Su Jingxuan from above, Jian Jinci parted her lips slightly and said, “Overestimating yourself.”
Su Jingxuan still wanted to retaliate, but at that moment, Song Xuchen emerged. She quickly reverted to her innocent, harmless facade, forced to watch helplessly as Jian Jinci walked away.