reignition

When Jiang Mian saw Lu Bozhou appear, she felt a sense of instinctive panic.

They even subconsciously wanted to find a place to hide!

But as soon as the man got out of the car, or even while he was still in the car, his eyes were already fixed on her.

What's more, she didn't tell anyone, yet he found her here directly.

So, hiding now would seem rather ridiculous.

Jiang Mian was about to get up and leave, but she sat down again.

She gently raised her hand, called the waiter over, and refilled her glass.

Ding-dong, ding-dong, the brass bell on the coffee shop door rang, and a tall, slender man pushed the door open and entered.

With her perfect looks, figure, and temperament, she stands out wherever she goes.

It instantly attracted a lot of attention.

Lu Bozhou walked straight to the booth by the window.

Jiang Mian kept her head down and didn't look at him. She took the fork in her hand and poked the remaining half of the mousse cake on the plate all over the place.

This is how she is when she has something on her mind: she tears up paper if there is paper nearby, she uses a straw if there is straw nearby, and she pokes at food if there is food nearby.

It's a mess and very environmentally unfriendly.

Lu Bozhou sat down in the seat opposite her.

The waiter quickly came over and politely asked, "What would you like, sir?"

"Iced Americano," Lu Bozhou said calmly, then pointed to the half-eaten, messy cake, "and give her another one of those."

"Ok."

Even after the waiter left, Jiang Mian still didn't look up at Lu Bozhou.

Silence lingered between the two until, after a moment, Lu Bozhou broke the silence with a slight parting of his thin lips.

"What are you running for?"

She heard the man's deep, slightly hoarse voice ask a question.

Jiang Mian's body stiffened involuntarily.

She pursed her lips. "I didn't run away. I just... my brother has some things to take care of."

Lu Bozhou didn't seem to doubt her words or ask any further questions, which made Jiang Mian breathe a sigh of relief.

As I breathed a sigh of relief, a strange feeling slowly welled up inside me.

Jiang Mian's brow furrowed slightly. "I'm not the one who did anything wrong, so why should I run away?"

"Yes, why did you run away?" the man said calmly.

It sounded like she was just repeating Jiang Mian's words, but to Jiang Mian, it sounded like she was being deliberately questioned.

It's actually implying that she ran away.

It's no wonder Jiang Mian would interpret it that way, because she did run away.

They fled without daring to linger for even a moment.

Jiang Mian lowered her head, bit her lip tightly, and gripped the fork tightly with her fingers.

I feel like it was only my rationality that kept me from doing anything else, otherwise I probably would have wanted to stab this jerk to death with a fork!

"Mr. Lu should know that what he did was illegal, right?" Her voice lowered, sounding somewhat cold.

Lu Bozhou remained silent.

Jiang Mian gritted her teeth and continued, "I can sue you!"

She raised her head and stared fiercely at Lu Bozhou.

But Jiang Mian knew that she had no real confidence; even her eyes and tone of voice were just a show of bravado.

The man sat opposite her, arms crossed, leaning back in the sofa.

His posture looked very relaxed and at ease, without any tension or defensiveness.

He looked at her indifferently.

The subtle emotions in his eyes seemed to have a hint of a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

He can actually laugh?!

Jiang Mian opened her eyes wide and stared at him.

The next second, a pleasant male voice was heard, and he said in a low voice, "So that's why I came to ask you for a solution."

Whether it was her imagination or not, Jiang Mian heard a hint of... what? Begging for mercy in his voice?

But it wasn't a genuine plea for mercy; rather, it seemed more like...giving in?

Jiang Mian blinked, somewhat stunned.

"You..." Jiang Mian found it somewhat unbelievable.

Lu Bozhou's state was somewhat unbelievable to her.

In her past life, she was so infatuated with him, and she endured it all alone.

In their three-year marriage, she never saw Lu Bozhou show any signs of weakness or submission, even until her death.

Jiang Mian felt as if a fire was burning in her heart, and she felt that her past self was such a pity.

what a shame.

She took a deep breath and suddenly curled the corners of her mouth into a smile, the curve of which looked somewhat cold.

"Really? What plan does Mr. Lu intend to come up with?"

Jiang Mian looked up at him, her gaze devoid of warmth, as was her voice.

Lu Bozhou raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"

Jiang Mian gently bit her lip and remained silent for a moment.

Finally, he spoke.

"Give me the money," she whispered.

She then lowered her eyes and smiled.

There was no joy in that laugh, only deep self-mockery.

What's the point of it being free before?

In the end, I still have to ask.

Jiang Mian felt that Lu Bozhou was absolutely right when he said she should just take the money and leave.

How tough can they be? In the end, won't they still have to open their mouths?

And she only brought it up after sleeping with him.

How despicable. Even without Lu Bozhou saying it, Jiang Mian herself felt that she was... really despicable.

This answer seemed to have surprised the man somewhat; Jiang Mian saw him raise an eyebrow slightly.

Jiang Mian said in a low voice, "My father owes money to loan sharks, which is affecting my younger brother's studies at school. So, just give me the money."

Lu Bozhou looked at her. "Is that enough?"

"What?" Jiang Mian was puzzled as to why he suddenly said this.

"You know what will happen to your father after you asked me for money to clear his debts?" Lu Bozhou said calmly.

Jiang Mian's expression froze.

Yes, of course she knew. Lust is a scalpel that cuts to the bone, and gambling is a bottomless pit.

If I help him clear his debts, it will only embolden him to do even more.

Moreover, given Jiang Da's character, he would be even more outrageous once he found out that Jiang Mian actually had the ability to help him clear his debts.

So this time, her clearing out of debts will not be an end, but only a beginning.

Jiang Mian bit her lip lightly, knowing what Lu Bozhou meant.

But what can we do?

"What else can we do? Even if it just keeps him quiet for a while, it would be good," Jiang Mian said softly.

The coffee was served.

Lu Bozhou took a sip from his cup, and finding the taste mediocre, he quickly frowned and put the cup down.

“I can help you solve this,” Lu Bozhou said calmly.

Jiang Mian was taken aback and looked at him.

The man's expression was calm and indifferent, as if the matter was nothing more than a trivial matter to him.

That is probably indeed the case.

But it is very important to Jiang Mian.

“But I have my conditions.” Lu Bozhou looked at her intently.

The moment he stared at her like that, Jiang Mian felt that same feeling again.

It felt like when he pinned me down in the garage and grabbed my chin, forcibly kissing me.

Like prey that has been locked on.

Never think about escaping.

"W-what conditions?" Jiang Mian asked.

Lu Bozhou narrowed his eyes slightly as he stared at her. "I can help you resolve your father's gambling issues, and I can also help you pay off his debts, on the condition that..."

"My son needs a mother."