After speaking, Chen Lu even winked at Shen Yuan.
“Don’t play dumb with me. The idea I gave you last night was that good—did you use it or not?”
Shen Yuan looked at her quietly.
The faint discomfort in her stomach churned up again.
It wasn’t fear.
It was disgust.
Chen Lu stood at her doorstep, talking about drugging someone, about scheming, about taking away a man’s innocence, her tone light and airy, as if discussing some trivial matter.
Shen Yuan’s voice was faint.
“No.”
Chen Lu was taken aback.
Her brows furrowed.
“You didn’t use it?”
Shen Yuan nodded.
“I didn’t.”
The smile on Chen Lu’s face froze.
“Why not? Are you stupid?”
She glanced around the room and quickly spotted the tightly tied black trash bag against the living room wall.
Chen Lu’s expression shifted. She stepped forward, about to walk inside.
“Where did you put the stuff? I’m telling you, that drug wasn’t cheap. Don’t waste it on me.”
Shen Yuan raised her hand to block her.
Chen Lu was stopped at the doorway, her face instantly darkening.
“What are you doing?”
“You can’t come in.”
Chen Lu laughed at that.
“Shen Yuan, you’re pulling this on me?”
She lifted her chin, impatience written all over her eyes.
“Back when I came to your place, when did I ever need permission to walk in? All those messy things you had—who helped you come up with the plans? And now, you won’t even let me through the door?”
Shen Yuan didn’t move aside.
Her hand remained in front of Chen Lu, her voice steady.
“That was then. From today on, I won’t do those things anymore.”
Chen Lu stared at her for a few seconds.
Then she laughed.
There was no joy in that laugh—only mockery.
“Shen Yuan, have you really lost your mind?”
She lowered her voice, speaking fast and urgently.
“Do you even know who Xu Anran is? He’s only stuck here with you because he lost his memory. The day he gets it back and returns to the Xu family, you think you’ll still have any connection to him?”
“If you don’t seize this chance now, once he’s gone, you’ll have nowhere to cry.”
Shen Yuan said, “That’s his business.”
“His business?”
Chen Lu let out a cold laugh.
“Don’t forget—what did you rely on to keep him here? You dare—”
“Chen Lu.”
Shen Yuan cut her off.
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it made Chen Lu’s words catch in her throat.
Shen Yuan looked at her, speaking each word clearly. “Don’t bring that up again.”
The living room fell silent for a moment.
The door wasn’t fully shut, and a draft from the stairwell seeped through the crack, carrying a chill.
Chen Lu narrowed her eyes, then suddenly lowered her voice.
“Scared?”
She took half a step closer.
“Now you’re scared? Who was it that cried to me back then, saying she’d do anything to keep Xu Anran?”
Shen Yuan’s fingertips curled slightly.
Those words weren’t hers.
But what this body had done, she couldn’t pretend hadn’t happened.
She paused for a moment, then said, “It’s not fear.”
Chen Lu raised an eyebrow.
Shen Yuan looked up, her tone unmistakably clear.
“It’s disgust.”
Chen Lu’s face changed.
“Who are you calling disgusting?”
“The plans.”
Shen Yuan didn’t avoid her gaze.
“Including the drugging, including the pregnancy, including using a man’s guilt after memory loss to trap him.”
The expression on Chen Lu’s face turned cold.
She hadn’t expected Shen Yuan to put it so bluntly.
The old Shen Yuan had been timid, vain, and greedy.
All Chen Lu had to do was stir her up a little, and Shen Yuan would waver.
But now, Shen Yuan wasn’t arguing, wasn’t making a scene, and wasn’t begging her.
That made Chen Lu deeply uncomfortable.
Chen Lu looked at the black trash bag, her voice growing sharper.
“You threw them away?”
Shen Yuan didn’t deny it.
“I threw them away.”
“Are you insane!”
Chen Lu stepped forward in anger, reaching out to grab the trash bag.
Shen Yuan was faster, blocking her path.
“Chen Lu, this is my home.”
“Your home?”
Chen Lu sneered as if stung.
“Now you suddenly know it’s your home? Where did the money you spent come from? How much of what you’ve eaten, worn, and used these past six months wasn’t given to you by Xu Anran?”
“Who are you trying to fool with this act of purity? Xu Anran isn’t even here—are you performing for the air?”
Shen Yuan lowered her eyes.
“I’m not performing.”
Outside the door, Xu Anran stood in the shadow of the stairwell, a document in his hand.
After arriving at the dealership today, he’d realized the materials he needed for the afternoon were still at home.
He’d had to come back to grab them.
But just as he reached the door, he heard Chen Lu’s words:
“Did you sleep with Xu Anran last night or not?”
Xu Anran had already raised his hand to push the door open.
The next second, he heard Shen Yuan say no.
Very calm.
No hesitation.
No guilt either.
His hand froze mid-air.
The half-open door blocked the two figures inside from view, but not their voices.
He should have gone in.
But when he heard words like “drugging,” “pregnancy,” and “memory loss,” his steps halted.
Xu Anran’s eyes darkened.
Inside, Chen Lu was still laughing.
“Not performing? Shen Yuan, don’t make me laugh.”
She looked Shen Yuan up and down with a sharp, contemptuous gaze.
“If you really had any backbone, why didn’t you show it earlier? Now you suddenly say you won’t do it—is it because Xu Anran didn’t touch you last night and you’re feeling rejected?”
Shen Yuan’s expression turned cold.
“Chen Lu, watch your mouth.”
Chen Lu crossed her arms.
“Did I say anything wrong? Don’t you know your own intentions?”
“You come to me every day saying Xu Anran is cold, saying he won’t touch you.”
“I helped you come up with a plan, and now you’re blaming me?”
Shen Yuan pressed her lips together.
The original owner had done many wrong things.
Chen Lu wasn’t slandering her out of thin air.
But precisely because of that, she couldn’t let Chen Lu drag her further down.
“Those words won’t happen again.”
Chen Lu gritted her teeth. “Then you’re insane! Do you know that if you back out now, you’ll have nothing? And if Xu Anran finds out the truth, do you think he’ll let you off?”
Shen Yuan was silent for a moment.
Xu Anran wouldn’t forgive the past just because she stopped.
Nor would he believe her just because she suddenly changed.
She had never been that naive.
She just couldn’t keep making mistakes.
“I don’t need his gratitude.”
Shen Yuan raised her head.
“And I won’t take his money anymore.”
Chen Lu stared at her as if she’d heard something even more absurd.
After a moment, she let out a mocking laugh.
“Fine then, be noble.”
Her gaze swept over Shen Yuan, full of contempt.
“So what about the money you owe? You don’t even have a job—what are you going to pay it back with?”
Those words hit reality hard.
Shen Yuan’s face paled.
Chen Lu was right.
The mess the original owner left behind wasn’t just Xu Anran.
There were debts, messy spending, and a life that had been nearly drained dry.
But that wasn’t a reason to keep hurting people.
Shen Yuan slowly clenched her fingers.
“I’ll find a job.”
Chen Lu looked at her like she was worthless.
“You?”
She laughed even harder.
“Besides spending money, what else can you do?”
Shen Yuan didn’t answer.
In her past life, she had been a screenwriter’s assistant, written proposals, edited videos, and worked on film sets.
She had pulled all-nighters, revised drafts, been scolded, and been dismissed.
She wasn’t exceptionally talented.
But she wasn’t useless.
There was no need to explain this to Chen Lu.
Explaining to Chen Lu would be meaningless anyway.
Shen Yuan walked to the door and pulled it fully open.
Light from the hallway spilled in.
She stood by the door, her tone calm.
“You should go.”
Chen Lu’s eyes widened.
“You’re kicking me out?”
“Yes.”
Chen Lu’s face darkened completely.
She stared hard at Shen Yuan, as if realizing for the first time that this person was no longer under her control.
“Shen Yuan, don’t regret this.”
She lowered her voice, laced with threat.
“I know everything about you. If you turn on me now, aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Xu Anran?”
Outside the door, Xu Anran’s gaze darkened.
Inside the room, Shen Yuan’s voice was soft.
“Go ahead.”
Chen Lu froze.
She had expected Shen Yuan to panic.
To grab her like before, begging her not to say anything.
But Shen Yuan just looked at her.
“If you’re going to tell him, I can’t stop you.”
She admitted it.
No excuses.
No threats.
Not even a single word in her own defense.
Chen Lu’s face turned green with rage.
“Fine. You’ve got guts.”
She cursed, grabbed her bag, and stormed toward the door, yanking it open.