She abandoned her husband first, then her children, and was ecstatic after the divorce.

After saying that, Fu Xiuheng turned and left.

Even though Lin Yuyan's eyes were red from crying, she didn't turn around.

Zhou Lan, listening to Lin Yuyan's soft sobs from inside, felt a headache coming on and called the housekeeper.

"Go and bring her in. Don't make a fool of yourself standing at the door."

When Lin Yuyan came in, her eyes were red and swollen from crying. She looked at Zhou Lan with dissatisfaction and complained.

"Mom, why are you bringing up the past? Because of your bad attitude, Brother Xiuheng has even started saying hurtful things to me. What's the point of getting married like this!"

Zhou Lan was somewhat dissatisfied, but on the surface she remained gentle and kind.

She beckoned to Lin Yuyan and pulled her to sit down beside her, gently stroking Lin Yuyan's head.

"Good child, have you forgotten what your mother taught you? You can't be too devoted to a man. If you give him your whole heart, you'll only end up hurting yourself."

Lin Yuyan was unconvinced and awkwardly turned her head away.

"Mom, what you're saying makes no sense. Xiuheng and I are childhood sweethearts, we grew up together without any worries. I was the person he loved most in the past. If it weren't for Lin Qingran's sudden appearance, our marriage wouldn't have been delayed. Now that the marriage is finally on the agenda, you're going to threaten him with the past. How can I have a good life after I marry into his family?"

Zhou Lan's face stiffened. She grabbed Lin Yuyan's chin and forced her to slowly raise her head and look directly at her.

"Good girl, it seems you've forgotten everything your mother taught you."

Zhou Rong's face still held that gentle expression, but Lin Yuyan inexplicably trembled.

A sense of fear rose within her, a fear she had never felt before in front of Zhou Lan.

Almost instinctively, Lin Yuyan shrank back.

“Mom, you…”

"Don't ask why, just keep moving forward," Zhou Lan said.

She then released Lin Yuyan and went upstairs.

Lin Yuyan watched Zhou Lan's departing figure, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

This version of Zhou Lan felt very unfamiliar to her; she couldn't even understand what Zhou Lan was trying to do.

-

"He just admitted it like that?"

Lin Qingran was somewhat surprised to hear the news Bo Ye told her.

"Yes, my people saw Fu Xiuheng go to the Lin family. He came out looking very upset, but I heard that Old Master Fu has already contacted his old friend and asked him to come back as the officiant to help officiate Fu Xiuheng's wedding."

Fu Xiuheng must have heard something from Zhou Lan while he was at the Lin family's house.

This might be what Lin Qingran had previously guessed: the leverage that the Lin family held over Fu Xiuheng.

However, it seems that too many things have happened recently, and even Fu Xiuheng has not figured out the cause and effect.

Fu Xiuheng probably still believes that the entire affair was orchestrated by the Lin family.

What's remarkable is that Zhou Lan actually agreed to admit it.

The fact that a shrewd woman like Zhou Lan could secretly suffer this loss is enough to show that she had a backup plan.

But whether it's aimed at the Fu family or at himself is uncertain.

While thinking it over, Lin Qingran finalized the details with the person in charge of the art exhibition.

She shut down her computer, took off her goggles, and rubbed her temples wearily.

"Anyway, they'll need some time to prepare for their wedding, so let's head out soon."

The following day, Lin Qingran and her group boarded a plane bound for Country M.

The purpose of this trip was twofold: first, to hold an art exhibition, and second, to take Jiang Yuanbai and Lingdang abroad to temporarily avoid the limelight.

By the time they returned, the situation in the capital had been largely stabilized, so they went directly back to Yuncheng.

As for whether Fu Xiuheng will contact him again, that's another story.

Her paintings are internationally renowned, and not everyone can attend her exhibitions.

Because she was Jiang Yuanbai's last disciple, many wealthy businessmen in China would ask Lin Qingran to tutor their children.

My reasons were twofold: firstly, to genuinely learn something, and secondly, to get on board with Jiang Yuanbai through this method.

However, Jiang Yuanbai has never been interested in fame and fortune. When Lin Qingran was teaching students, she only had her assistant help her sign contracts and only met with students alone.

So apart from young children, no one has ever seen her face.

If Fu Xiuheng hadn't come knocking on her door this time, wielding his master's wife's painting as leverage, Lin Qingran wouldn't have shown up in person.

However, this did provide Lin Qingran with a very good opportunity.

Jiang Yuanbai believes that since Fu Xiuheng and the others are already suspicious of Lin Qingran's identity, they might as well just make a public appearance.

The more people who have seen her, the more people will believe that she is Jiang Jiuge.

As for Lin Qingran, who was once hidden away by the Lin family and rarely even showed her face, she would naturally be buried in obscurity.

Only by making Lin Qingran famous and having many people see her true face can her safety be guaranteed to a certain extent.

Therefore, for this art exhibition, Lin Qingran changed her plans and decided to personally explain her paintings to the guests.

Because of this announcement, tickets for the art exhibition became extremely difficult to obtain.

Many people want to see her in person, and many people want to get in touch with Lin Qingran.

However, at the art exhibition, Lin Qingran remained aloof, maintaining a normal social distance from the guests.

As long as she achieves her goal, that's fine. Whether or not to cooperate is another matter.

After explaining for most of the day, Lin Qingran was also tired.

Seeing that her face was a little pale, Bo Ye quietly walked over.

“Jiuge, why don’t you go and rest for a while? I’ll take care of the guests for you.”

A nearby guest overheard this and couldn't help but tease them.

"Miss Jiang and her husband have such a good relationship. Look at him, he's so afraid of tiring you out."

Lin Qingran lowered her head and smiled shyly, perfectly portraying a loving couple with Bo Ye in front of others.

Susukino took the opportunity to chat with the guests.

Accompanied by her assistant, Lin Qingran prepared to go to rest.

"Mr. Bo just specifically asked me to brew you some chrysanthemum tea to help clear your heat during your break. Mr. Bo really cares about you," the assistant teased.

Lin Qingran smiled and gently poked the little girl's head.

"When did you start making fun of me?"

The assistant covered his forehead and pouted.

"To be honest, Sister Jiuge, I'm so envious of how good Mr. Bo is to you."

The assistant was unaware that the marriage was a sham. Lin Qingran simply smiled and offered no further explanation.

Just then, a woman carrying a child hurriedly walked by.

"Why are you running around like that? There are so many people here, what if you get lost?"

"Mommy, I'm fine, please let me go out and play." The little girl tugged at the woman's hand and pleaded.