Chapter 9: You Truly Know How to Play Hard to Get

Su Nian seemed not to notice Wen Ying, smiling gently as she said to Lu Siran, "Ranran can call me however she likes when she's happy."

Lu Jinchuan lifted his gaze, his tone tinged with impatience, "What are you doing here?"

Meeting his cold stare, Wen Ying immediately understood.

He seemed to have misunderstood something.

As expected, Cheng Mu, standing nearby, saw Wen Ying and sneered coldly, "Miss Wen, you’re quite something—following Jinchuan all the way to a gathering within our own circle. We're all respectable people here; don’t you find this embarrassing?"

Why else would Wen Ying come?

To catch him in the act, of course.

"Pretty pointless, knowing full well Jinchuan doesn’t like you," Cheng Mu proclaimed, convinced she had Wen Ying figured out, shaking his head.

Back when Wen Ying had seduced Jinchuan and arranged for a photographer to take secret shots, if it weren’t for Lu Jinchuan stopping it in time, the Lu family’s reputation would have been ruined.

A woman who gambled her innocence for status.

None of them thought much of her.

Wen Ying had long been accustomed to such sneers and scorn. As friends of Lu Jinchuan, they all despised her shamelessness.

Su Nian sat steadily by Lu Jinchuan’s side, her expression gentle and serene as she poured juice for Lu Siran without once glancing at Wen Ying, radiating pure elegance and confidence from within.

She was utterly unafraid of facing her.

How could Wen Ying not understand? This was the bold impudence that comes with being favored.

"Sis-in-law, you’re not upset, are you?" Lu Siran looked nervously at Su Nian. With Wen Ying’s appearance, she worried Su Nian would be uncomfortable with the woman who had taken her brother away.

Su Nian said nothing, only smiled softly.

Lu Jinchuan, perhaps worried Su Nian might misunderstand, wore an extremely cold and indifferent expression. "Take it outside if you have something to say."

Wen Ying lowered her eyes and no longer glanced at the tea room.

In the corridor, Lu Jinchuan looked at her calmly. "How did you know I was here?"

His tone was composed, yet it was clear he believed she had intentionally followed him.

Wen Ying met his gaze, her heart tightening.

"You’re overthinking. I’m not here for you. I don’t care who you’re with."

They were about to divorce; she wouldn’t interfere anymore.

"If you don’t care, then deliberately taking sick leave to avoid managing the public relations for Nian Nian’s reputation—isn’t that a bit emotional?" Lu Jinchuan said flatly.

Wen Ying had an ailing uncle; how could she bear to quit a high-paying job?

After all, unlike Su Nian, she wasn’t a genuinely talented top graduate.

Facing Lu Jinchuan’s casual, scrutinizing gaze, Wen Ying lost all desire to explain.

She took a step back. "Put the divorce on the agenda, please."

She didn’t want to entangle herself further with him. Besides, Lu Siran’s disappearance was why she came here; it no longer mattered.

Lu Siran’s lack of surprise upon seeing her made it clear the little girl was deliberately tormenting her.

Lu Siran wouldn’t admit it, and explanations were pointless.

She only hoped to finalize the divorce as soon as possible.

Lu Jinchuan paused, his dark eyes locking onto her, a flicker of surprise in them.

Wen Ying didn’t understand what he was surprised about—the divorce papers had already been handed to him, hadn’t they?

Leaving those words behind, she turned to leave.

Suddenly, a waiter came rushing forward and collided squarely with Wen Ying’s shoulder. She lost her balance uncontrollably and stumbled backward until her back pressed against a broad, firm chest.

The faint scent of white sandalwood filled her lungs.

After so many close moments over three years, she had almost etched this scent into her bones.

She looked up. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to—"

Lu Jinchuan caught a faint medicinal scent and frowned. "Not feeling well?"

Wen Ying’s heart clenched. If Lu Jinchuan knew she had cancer, given his cold and ruthless nature toward her, he wouldn’t keep it secret.

When her grandmother and others asked about the reason for the divorce, he might very well say it was because she didn’t have long to live and didn’t want to be a burden.

"You’re not going to the hospital; what good does coming to me do?" His calm words stunned Wen Ying.

Though she no longer cared, it still stung.

Without waiting for her answer, he suddenly smirked at her behavior, "Playing hard to get quite well, aren’t you?"

Running away from home and pretending to want a divorce, then showing up like this.

Wen Ying froze.

She realized Lu Jinchuan had misunderstood her again.

She wanted to explain something.

But Lu Jinchuan, frowning, pushed her gently aside and turned back.

Wen Ying felt a tightness in her chest. She bit off the lipstick on her lips, revealing their original pale color, and a dull ache began in her lower abdomen.

She didn’t want to appear weak and tried to leave.

Yet she brushed past a tall man.

The man gave her a half-smile and glanced at her. "If you’re dumb, read more books."

Wen Ying frowned, but he gave her no chance to retort and slipped into a private room.

He was also a friend of Lu Jinchuan’s, named Huo Jinran.

Obviously, he had seen what just happened and misunderstood that Wen Ying had thrown herself at Lu Jinchuan, only to be coldly rejected.