On the day of graduation, I was dragged by my rich father to get the certificate

Gu Wan dodged as if she had been electrocuted, stood up and walked towards the bedroom. "You go out first, I want to rest." Her voice was tired and distant.

Liang Heng stood there, watching Gu Wan's slender figure disappear behind the bedroom door, his eyes gradually darkening. He pulled out his phone and quickly sent a message: "Continue to film Si Yehan's every move, especially his interactions with Mu Rui."

In the bedroom, Gu Wan collapsed onto the bed, fully dressed, the images of those photos lingering in her mind. She'd thought she'd let it go; after all, she'd promised her mother she'd marry Liang Heng, but why did her heart still ache when she saw those photos? Outside the window, the night breeze gently lifted the gauze curtains, carrying a faint floral scent. Gu Wan's consciousness gradually faded, and she fell into a deep sleep...

After an unknown amount of time, Gu Wan suddenly found herself standing at the entrance of Mu Rui's private club. The night was hazy, the neon lights flickering. She looked down and saw that she was clutching the photos Liang Heng had given her.

"This is..." Gu Wan muttered to herself, feeling remarkably lucid. An inexplicable force propelled her into the clubhouse, and the elevator took her straight to the top floor. Her heart pounded like thunder, and a voice in her ear seemed to urge her: "Faster, faster!"

"boom--"

Gu Wan didn't know where she got the strength from, but she kicked open the door of the rooftop club. The scene before her made her blood freeze instantly -

Si Yehan slumped on the leather sofa, his face flushed and his eyes vacant. Mu Rui, clad in a nearly see-through robe, sat astride him, hugging and nibbling him. Si Yehan's hands pushed her away feebly, but it was clear he had no strength left.

The loud bang of the door being kicked open made both of them turn their heads simultaneously. Mu Rui's expression instantly changed from lust to panic, while Si Yehan—the Si Yehan who was so intimidating in the business world—now had a childlike look of grievance in his eyes.

Gu Wan felt a surge of inexplicable anger. She rolled up her sleeves, rushed forward, and grabbed Mu Rui's carefully styled curly hair.

"You dare to covet my husband, don't you?" Gu Wan was shocked by the words that came out of her mouth, but her actions were faster than her thoughts. She slapped Mu Rui hard, "You didn't get beaten enough last time! You only remember to eat and not to be beaten. If I don't beat you so hard this time that your mother won't recognize you, you'll be a hero!"

Mu Rui screamed and tried to resist, but Gu Wan grabbed her hair and pressed her to the ground. Gu Wan was surprised by the strength and anger that came from nowhere, as if another self living inside her body had been untied.

Meanwhile, Si Yehan stumbled and hid behind Gu Wan, leaning weakly on her shoulder, not forgetting to give Mu Rui a smug look.

Ring, ring, ring…

Gu Wan suddenly opened his eyes, his chest heaving violently. Gu Wan was awakened by the ringing of the phone next to his pillow. It was Nian Nian calling.

"Hey, Mom, Nian Nian misses you!"

"Baby, Mommy misses you too..."

……

Outside the window, the first rays of sunlight penetrate the clouds.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Si Yehan woke from the same dream. He dreamed that Gu Wan was protecting him like before, calling him "husband." On the bedside table lay the page from the account book he'd been dreaming of!

Si Yehan tightly grasped the yellowed page of the account book, everything that happened last night still vividly in his mind.

The door to the private club was heavy and luxurious. Si Yehan's hand rested on the cold golden handle, but he hesitated to push it open. His mind was still rapidly calculating his final plan.

Looking at the delicious prey in front of him, Mu Rui couldn't wait to push open the carved door.

But the suite's living room, which she had expected to be deserted, did not appear. Instead, two visitors, whom she absolutely did not expect, sat on the sofa in the middle of the living room.

The air was filled with the scent of top-grade agarwood, but it couldn't suppress the cold shock that instantly swept through Mu Rui's body.

Si Yehan's grandmother, Old Lady Si, the pillar of the Si family, gracefully sipped from a bone china teacup. Sitting across from her was none other than Mu Rui's grandfather, the long-retired yet still highly respected elder of the Mu family.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Murray's brain didn't even have time to process this absurd scene. Her eyes were like being attracted by a magnet, fixed on Mrs. Si's hand - the open leather safe, inside which lay a worn piece of paper with slightly curled edges.

This was the bargaining chip she had deliberately used to force Si Yehan to sacrifice himself—that single page from the account book!

"How did it end up in Mrs. Si's hands?"

Murray's throat rolled over, and all her carefully prepared words and calculations were completely shattered at this moment. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. A strong sense of foreboding seized her.

Si Yehan, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief.

Old Madam Si slowly set down her teacup with a crisp click, breaking the suffocating silence. She raised her eyes, calm yet piercing, to Mu Rui, who stood frozen in the doorway, then slowly glanced at Si Yehan.

"You're here." Her voice was as steady as ever, even with a hint of grandmotherly gentleness, but it sent a chill down Murray's spine.

Old Master Mu also turned his head, his face showing no emotion, he just looked at Mu Rui with deep eyes, his gaze was so complicated that she could hardly look directly at it.

Old Madam Si tapped the page of the account book with her well-maintained fingers, her tone as if she were chatting casually: "You came here for this, right? No need to bother with it anymore."

Murray's heart sank suddenly.

Then, Mrs. Si turned her gaze to Mr. Mu, her tone filled with a hint of sincere apology: "Brother Mu, the younger generation in our family is ignorant and has used some unspeakable means to cause you and Ruirui to suffer. Our Si family is unworthy of this 'big gift' and will return it in its original form." She gently pushed the safe towards Mr. Mu.

"This account book originally belonged to the Si family. I'm just keeping it for them." Old Master Mu nodded slightly, without looking at the account book. He just sighed and said, "But the children's matter has gone a bit too far."

When Si Yehan heard the words "unpresentable means", he immediately understood that his grandmother was referring to the video.

Mrs. Si finally fixed her gaze on Si Yehan again. Her gentle exterior gradually faded, revealing an undeniable majesty within. "Also, that video of Rui Rui you have..." She paused, each word hammering down on Si Yehan's heart. "I've already told Brother Mu everything."

"Oh..." Si Yehan was like a child who had been caught making a mistake, not daring to say a word in defense.

"That video," said Mrs. Si, her voice crystal clear, echoing through the quiet living room, "is completely fake. You found a man with a body shape roughly similar to Murui, dressed him in the kind of androgynous clothing Ruirui often wears, hired a few second-rate extras, and filmed him in a hotel room. It's said that in pursuit of 'realism,' you even hired a documentary-style director to film the footage with a cell phone, right?"

She knew everything so well! She even knew exactly which director's style was hired!

Mu Rui, who was still confused by what she heard, finally understood something. No wonder Grandpa was so angry last time and punished her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall for so long.