Jiang Lili snatched the file from the desk and shoved it into Lin Xiran’s arms. Before Lin Xiran could react, she whipped out her phone and snapped a couple of photos. “The file is all yours now, VP Lin,” she said. “If anything goes wrong from here on out, it’s not on me.” She felt utterly drained, lacking the energy—or the right—to compete with Lin Xiran. The favored one always holds all the cards, and in Fu Xingchen's eyes, she was worth less than nothing. Despite the perfectly controlled temperature of the office, a chill crept up her spine, a coldness spreading from the very core of her being. She took the elevator down and walked out of the company building, but even as the sunlight enveloped her, the icy feeling wouldn't thaw. Standing on the bustling street, a corner of her mouth twitched into a self-mocking, ironic smile. Maybe checking into hotels was just an occasional thing for them. Their norm was probably the lounge right here in the office. She already knew Fu Xingchen had slept with Lin Xiran. Seeing more definitive proof shouldn’t make the pain fresh all over again. And yet, this ache was sharper, more gut-wrenching than any of the moments over the past few days when she’d dwelled on the fact that he didn’t love her, that he was cheating on her with Lin Xiran. A shrill ringtone pulled her from her misery. She took out her phone and answered. “Hello.” “Jiang Lili, I need you to come home. Now.” Her father, Jiang Chengyin, spoke in a tone that allowed no argument. Jiang Lili’s piano-playing gig at the restaurant wasn’t until the afternoon, and she had no interviews scheduled for this Saturday. Left to her own devices, she would only drown in suffocating emotions. “Fine,” she agreed, though the thought of going home held little appeal. *** Not only had Fu Xingchen not postponed the meeting, he had moved it forward. Let her wait, he thought. It would be the perfect way to grind down her defiance. He deliberately dragged out a meeting that should have been over in fifty minutes, stretching it to a full two hours. It was noon by the time it finally ended. He took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and walked unhurriedly toward his office. “Mr. Fu, this document needs your signature!” The finance manager hurried after him, file in hand. Sun Ting intercepted him. “Trying to cut corners, are we? Getting a signature during a meeting? Mr. Fu has important matters to attend to. Bring it back this afternoon.” The finance manager looked chagrined, having been caught trying to save himself a trip. “What’s the rush?” Fu Xingchen stopped, uncharacteristically patient. He calmly took the file, signed it, and handed it back before continuing toward his office. He pictured Jiang Lili, pathetic and waiting. She’d better not be crying. He couldn't stand it when women cried. He knew just how much pressure to apply. Confident he held the upper hand, he pushed the door open, his gaze deliberately casual. The sofa was empty. So was the space by the floor-to-ceiling windows. There was nowhere to hide in the office. A single glance confirmed the obvious: Jiang Lili was gone. A faint noise from the private lounge made his brow furrow. What was Jiang Lili thinking, wandering into his private space? He’d been swamped with work the last two days, and her antics had left him so agitated he couldn't sleep. He'd had a few drinks in the lounge to unwind. If she saw the bottles and assumed it was because of her— “Xingchen.” It was Lin Xiran who emerged from the lounge. Her eyes widened in surprise as she met his look of simmering anger. “What’s wrong?” Fu Xingchen’s hand, reaching for the lounge door, froze mid-air, level with her chest. He pulled it back instantly, his expression smoothing over. “Nothing. What are you doing here?” Lin Xiran smiled. “Looking out for your public image, of course. You have a press conference this afternoon. I sent your suit to the dry cleaners and had someone tidy up your lounge. You can’t neglect your health, no matter how busy you are. The company—and I—are counting on you.” “When did you get here? Was the office empty?” Fu Xingchen asked, walking back to his desk and sitting down. His eyes landed on a file at the corner of the desk, and his gaze darkened. A thought struck him, and his lips pressed into a thin line. “It was empty. But Assistant Sun’s junior mentioned someone came by to drop off a file for you. I took a look; it’s for the press conference this afternoon.” Lin Xiran followed him, standing beside his desk. “It must have been someone from the Fu family household, sent by your mother. So unprofessional. They just left it and went. Didn’t even think to hand it to you directly. What if something had gone wrong?” So, Jiang Lili had just come to drop off a file? He had offered her an out, a chance to reconcile on his terms, and she had refused to take it? Rage swelled in Fu Xingchen’s chest, making his calculated assumptions feel utterly ridiculous. During the two hours he’d made her wait, he’d replayed their confrontation in his mind— “She certainly is unprofessional,” he bit out, his sharp jawline tightening. He had married Jiang Lili for one reason: she was supposed to be compliant. But ever since that night, she had tested his patience again and again. Unbelievable. Had she forgotten the first rule of being his wife? “I’ll attend the press conference with you this afternoon. Same as always, if you get any tough questions, just deflect them to me. I’ll handle it,” Lin Xiran said, opening the file and placing it in front of him. “Let’s have dinner tonight.” She delivered the last sentence in a soft murmur, a stark contrast to her usual business-like tone. Fu Xingchen pushed aside the frustration Jiang Lili had caused him. His sharp eyes narrowed slightly, and his voice softened. “Alright. You pick the place.” Despite this miscalculation, he was still certain she would come back, begging. But the longer she waited, the more he would make her understand the meaning of regret. Lin Xiran beamed, then turned and left the office to find Sun Ting. “Assistant Sun, could you book a table for Xingchen and me at that restaurant where he met with Mr. Mai last time?” Sun Ting immediately picked up his phone to make the reservation. “Thanks so much. It’s been a tough few days for everyone. You should head home early after work. Xingchen and I can go to the restaurant ourselves,” Lin Xiran said, leaning against the desk with a professional smile. “Oh?” Sun Ting looked up. “Did Mr. Fu say that?” Lin Xiran shook her head. “No, I did. He’s a workaholic. He might drag you back here for overtime after dinner. You just go. If anything comes up, I’ll take the heat.” Work had been brutal lately; Sun Ting was running on less than five hours of sleep a night. He agreed without hesitation. “Thank you, VP Lin.” Though he reported directly to Fu Xingchen, he knew the dynamic between his boss and Lin Xiran was anything but ordinary. If she said she could handle it, he wasn’t going to argue. *** The Jiang family had once lived in a villa in the affluent East District. After their fortunes declined, they had moved into a three-story duplex apartment. In a city like Jiangcheng, where every inch of land was gold, the place was still worth tens of millions, but it was a far cry from their former mansion. Jiang Lili was home, but she was a ghost of herself, completely lost in thought. “Lili.” Her mother, Zhang Qinghe, had been talking to her for some time without a response. Seeing her daughter so distracted, she said with clear displeasure, “Did you have a fight with Xingchen?” Jiang Lili forced her attention back to the present and flatly denied it. “No.” Zhang Qinghe scrutinized her. “Then something is clearly on your mind.” “You wouldn’t understand, so please don’t ask.” Jiang Lili pulled out her phone, hoping to avoid further questioning. “I don’t have to ask, but you can’t walk around with that long face. Xingchen works hard all day; the last thing he needs is to come home to your miserable expression. It’s such a downer, especially if it has nothing to do with him. You can’t let your mood upset him, do you hear me?” Zhang Qinghe snatched the phone from her hand and tossed it aside. “Did you hear what I said?”