"As if I want your charity!" Jiang Lili snatched the towel, wrapping it around her body, her cheeks flushing crimson. Her eyes, usually so clear, now glittered with a simmering rage as she glared at Fu Xingchen as if he were the enemy. Just last night, in the company lounge, he’d been in bed with Lin Xiran. How could he touch her now, as if it were the most natural thing in the world? She couldn’t fathom what Fu Xingchen was thinking. If he was so in love with Lin Xiran, why not just divorce her and marry the woman? Was this it? Did he just enjoy the thrill of an affair, of playing two women at once? Countless possibilities swirled in Jiang Lili's mind, and not a single one made it acceptable for Fu Xingchen to touch her again. Veins corded on Fu Xingchen’s neck and shoulders, a raw mix of danger and allure. He slammed his hands against the wall on either side of her, caging her in. He looked like a lion about to pounce, and if she provoked him further, he might just devour her whole. “Fu Xingchen… you want to sleep with me. Does that mean you don’t want to divorce me?” Jiang Lili’s voice quivered, her chest tightening. She didn’t know why she’d asked, telling herself it was just to provoke his scorn so he would finally let her go. But against her will, a sliver of hope bloomed inside her. The hope that he would admit it—that he didn’t want the divorce. That he had just… made a mistake. That he would cut ties with Lin Xiran, that he… wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. “What does the divorce have to do with me wanting to sleep with you?” The veins stood out on the back of Fu Xingchen's hands, his fingertips turning white. “Everything!” Jiang Lili shot back without hesitation. The desire in Fu Xingchen’s eyes slowly faded. “Stop deluding yourself, Jiang Lili. You’ve crossed a line.” In their two years of marriage, he had never seen her resort to such petty tricks. This was the first time, and her clumsy attempt exposed all her desperate little thoughts. It was hardly surprising that someone so unsophisticated would fail to grasp the subtleties of playing hard to get. He had his needs, yes, but he could control them. This time, he would let her stew in her own bitter reality until she finally gave up. The man pulled away. The bedroom door opened and a rush of cool air swept in, cleansing the space of its cloying intimacy. Jiang Lili felt as if she’d been reborn, gasping for breath. A hundred emotions churned within her, but happiness over the impending divorce was not one of them. Late that night, Fu Xingchen drove away. In the vast darkness, the roar of the Maybach echoed across the entire mountain. Jiang Lili changed into her pajamas and got into bed, but sleep wouldn't come. Her phone, resting on the nightstand, buzzed once. She picked it up. It was another photo from that same anonymous number. Fu Xingchen and Lin Xiran, dining at a fancy Western restaurant. He looked refined and handsome; she, delicate and blissful. A picture-perfect couple, the scene radiating a romantic warmth. The timestamp in the bottom right corner read 6:00 PM tonight. Right before he had returned to the old family residence. Jiang Lili stared at the profile of the man in the photo, at his relaxed, composed expression. This gentle, urbane version of Fu Xingchen was someone she had never seen. She sat up in bed, hugging her knees to her chest, and stayed that way for the rest of the sleepless night. Early the next morning, Jiang Lili left before Old Mrs. Fu woke up. She knew if the old woman was awake, she would demand to know why Fu Xingchen had left in the middle of the night. The "busy with work" excuse wouldn't fly, so Jiang Lili decided to flee as well. She called a car online, and after a nearly two-hour ride, she finally arrived back at Su Youyou’s apartment. She slipped inside, changed her shoes, and took a few steps into the living room before stopping dead. Su Youyou’s living room had no television. The main wall was a sleek gray, with a projector mounted opposite it. And there, projected in the center of the wall, was the photo of Fu Xingchen and Lin Xiran. Su Youyou, who had been dozing at a table, shot up the moment she saw Jiang Lili and pulled her down onto the sofa. “You’re finally back! I’ve been working on a masterpiece: Operation Expose the Mistress!” Jiang Lili’s eyes widened, a complicated expression on her face. “Expose… the mistress?” “Don’t talk yet, just listen.” Su Youyou pointed a dramatic finger at Lin Xiran’s image. “I saw her yesterday, and I knew right away this woman was trouble. So I did some digging overnight, and boy, did I find some dirt!” Jiang Lili’s gaze was fixed on the photo of Lin Xiran. She was, in fact, intensely curious about the woman’s background. “You know how the Fu family is big on charity, sponsoring underprivileged university students and all that?” Su Youyou asked. Jiang Lili nodded, then shook her head. “I know they do charity, but I never paid attention to the specifics.” In university, her world revolved around design industry news. After marrying Fu Xingchen, her focus had narrowed to him and him alone. She vaguely remembered seeing a few articles about his philanthropic work, but never read the details. “Lin Xiran was the ‘lucky one’ Fu Xingchen picked out of an orphanage when he was seven. She’s brilliant, and the orphanage was looking for a wealthy family to sponsor her education.” Su Youyou glanced at Jiang Lili, her expression turning worried as she recalled the details she’d unearthed. “Fu Xingchen used his allowance to put Lin Xiran through the best schools in Jiangcheng, supporting her all the way until she graduated from university and joined Xingyun Group.” She kept her summary brief, but with every word, she saw the color drain further from Jiang Lili’s face. Finally, she just shoved a folder of documents at her. “Here, see for yourself.” As the eldest grandson and sole heir of the Fu family, Fu Xingchen received an allowance of a million dollars from Old Mrs. Fu every Lunar New Year. The old woman's intent was to teach him the value of money. His father, Fu Sijun, disagreed, believing that getting a million dollars so easily at a young age would make him careless. So, he took his son to an orphanage to use the money to sponsor others. But it wasn’t just Lin Xiran they sponsored; it was also her younger sister, Lin Xiyue, because Lin Xiran refused to be separated from her. Her sister was academically average, and Fu Sijun was against sponsoring both. But Fu Xingchen insisted, and against his father’s wishes, he took both sisters from the orphanage. He used his million-dollar annual allowance to fund their education from elementary school through university. At first, the money was enough, but as they attended top-tier schools, the costs skyrocketed. It got to the point where Fu Xingchen had to borrow money from Old Mrs. Fu to keep them in school, racking up a debt of eight million dollars. Jiang Lili remembered Old Mrs. Fu mentioning that eight-million-dollar debt. She had thought it was a joke. But it was real. And it was for… Lin Xiran. After graduating, Lin Xiran joined Xingyun Group. Lin Xiyue, however, ended up in the ICU with a congenital heart defect, nearly dying. Later, Fu Xingchen paid for Lin Xiyue to go abroad to convalesce and find a suitable heart donor. “Fu Xingchen basically raised himself a wife. Lin Xiran is incredibly obedient and driven. She’s perfectly executed every step of the path he laid out for her.” Even Su Youyou had to admit, the woman was formidable. So formidable, she felt inadequate by comparison. “But Lili, you can beat her. No matter how capable she is, she’s just a vice president. You can become a world-famous designer!” A heavy pressure settled on Jiang Lili’s chest, making it hard to breathe. A wife personally groomed by Fu Xingchen himself. He must be so satisfied with her, so perfectly in sync with her. If so, how long had they been together? And if they were already together, why did he marry her? “There’s one more thing I should tell you.” Su Youyou hesitated for a long moment before the words spilled out. “This is inside info, stuff I couldn’t find in official records, just rumors I heard. Apparently, after Lin Xiran graduated, the Fu family wanted to send her abroad. But Fu Xingchen refused and insisted she stay. My guess is they were already fooling around back then. He married you because he knew his family would never approve of him marrying Lin Xiran. So he married you to be the respectable wife, the one to keep up appearances, while he carried on with Lin Xiran in secret.” “So, have you considered not going through with the divorce?” Su Youyou’s tone was dead serious. “You’re the legitimate wife. You get the luxury, the status, and one day, the entire Fu family fortune. A mistress is just a mistress. Lin Xiran will never be able to hold her head high!” “Couples in the business world who only look happy on the surface? There are tons of them!” The Fu family fortune. It was an almost irresistible temptation.