Wen Ran shook her head—she wasn’t going to take the blame for this.
She said, “I didn’t know about any of this, and I certainly didn’t ask Mom to cause trouble for her. I overheard Uncle Si’s phone call at home and followed because I was worried something might happen to you.”
It was Si Huaiyu who exposed Si Yan’s affair, and Si’s mother who intervened to sabotage their relationship—so why was she being blamed?
“Enough,” Si’s mother interjected, siding with Wen Ran. “Don’t blame Ran Ran for everything. This was my decision.”
She walked up to Wen Ran, took her hand, and said, “Ran Ran, you’ve been too lenient with Si Yan. If anything like this happens again, I’ll handle it for you.”
Si’s mother deliberately said this for Si Yan to hear. She only acknowledged Wen Ran as her daughter-in-law and wouldn’t accept anyone else. If Si Yan wanted a divorce and remarriage, he would have to get through her first.
She added, “From now on, I’ll need you to help share the responsibilities of Si Yan’s secretary position.”
With the elderly master in poor health requiring her care, Si’s mother couldn’t oversee her son’s affairs too closely. But until the old man passed away, she didn’t want any unexpected changes.
Wen Ran didn’t understand why Si’s mother would suddenly say this, but she nodded in agreement nonetheless. She figured Si’s mother must have realized that her son couldn’t be left unsupervised.
………
After Si’s mother left, Wen Ran immediately helped Si Yan pick up the documents scattered across the floor.
Both remained silent until Wen Ran finally spoke up: “A-Yan, I truly had no idea about Mom’s actions today. If I had known, I would have stopped her to spare you the trouble.”
Si Yan, still holding some papers, glanced at Wen Ran before reorganizing the files.
Wen Ran expected him to say something infuriating again, but contrary to his usual behavior, Si Yan replied, “I know it’s not your fault.”
He understood Wen Ran—she was a simple woman without ulterior motives, neither domineering like his mother nor prone to overcomplicating things.
“I’m sorry,” the man apologized to Wen Ran. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that earlier.”
Wen Ran noticed Si Yan’s Affection points had increased by five. Was his conscience finally kicking in?
Zha Zha couldn’t help but complain, “This guy’s Affection points are like squeezing toothpaste—every time he feels guilty, he doles out a few points.”
“Exactly,” Wen Ran agreed. “But I doubt it’ll be this easy to earn more points from now on. Si Yan’s Affection points have already reached the sixties—they’re at a critical threshold.”
Relying on a man’s guilt to make him love you was impossible. A man’s conscience simply wasn’t worth much.
“It’s fine,” Wen Ran told Si Yan. “I won’t hold it against you.”
She gave him a gentle smile. Si Yan gazed at her and sighed helplessly—Wen Ran was always so understanding, so considerate that it made his heart ache.
Wen Ran asked, “Why are you sighing? Are you tired?”
“A little,” he admitted. Ruan Tang didn’t understand him; she was always demanding, constantly pushing him to prove his love. The recent tensions with Ruan Tang had left him emotionally drained.
He asked Wen Ran, “In our relationship, have you ever felt wronged?”
Wen Ran raised an eyebrow, studying the serious expression on the man’s face. This was the first time Si Yan had ever shown concern for her feelings.
She could roughly guess what was going through his mind: He loved Ruan Tang, was willing to divorce his original wife for her, and had even defied his parents for her sake. In their relationship, Si Yan believed he had sacrificed far more than Ruan Tang.So now he felt unbalanced. He began to think of Wen Ran, recalling how in their relationship, it was always Wen Ran who compromised. With the original host, he had always been the dominant one in the relationship.
But Wen Ran was not the original host. She had long seen through this man’s selfishness. Si Yan was an extremely self-centered person, even excessively arrogant.
Dealing with such a person was actually quite simple: first elevate him high into the clouds, then mercilessly let him fall rapidly. Someone like Si Yan had long deserved to be taken down a peg.
Wen Ran first lowered her head in silence, remaining quiet for several seconds before saying, “How could I not feel wronged?”
“If it doesn’t hurt, then it’s not love.” When she spoke these last words, even though the woman was trying hard to control herself, Si Yan could tell she was crying.
“Wen Ran…” Si Yan was stunned. He had rarely seen Wen Ran cry. She had always been gentle with him – even when she learned about Ruan Tang, she hadn’t cried in front of him.
Wen Ran turned around, not letting the man see her tears. “I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me.”
She said, “I’ll be able to adjust quickly.”
Watching Wen Ran secretly wipe her tears, Si Yan’s heart suddenly softened. The man walked over and embraced her.
“Don’t cry, I know you’ve been wronged.”
How could she not feel wronged? She loved him so much, yet he had always been cold and harsh with her, while Wen Ran had never spoken a single bad word about him.
Si Yan said, “It’s my fault.”
Wen Ran didn’t push him away, though her body trembled slightly from her crying.
“Ran Ran, don’t cry.” Si Yan said, “Let me look at you, okay? I want to wipe your tears myself.”
Wen Ran silently turned around to face the man, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. Seeing her tear-filled eyes, Si Yan felt a dull ache in his heart – she must have been holding back for quite some time, right?
Si Yan raised his hand to wipe her tears, coaxing, “Alright, don’t cry anymore. If you keep crying, your eyes will swell and you won’t look pretty.”
Unlike Ruan Tang who would make a scene, Wen Ran knew when to stop. She stopped crying and asked, “Aren’t you going to check on her?”
Si Yan knew she was referring to Ruan Tang. Remembering how Ruan Tang had thrown herself into Si Huaiyu’s arms earlier, he said, “Let her do as she pleases.”
He knew in his heart that if he went to find Ruan Tang, given her temperament, they would inevitably argue again.
Hearing this, Wen Ran said nothing more. After all, she had advised Si Yan – if Ruan Tang ended up running off with another man later, he couldn’t say she hadn’t warned him.
With the female lead’s talent for attracting men, even if Si Yan left her alone for just one day, she could easily hook up with someone else.