"You had better keep your promise," Ru Yin Yue said coldly. Even though she couldn't see him, she could tell that Si Zha Nan was smiling on the other end of the phone.
"Oh, I will. I'm the CEO of Si Corporation. My reputation is at stake here. I have never broken a promise before."
"I'll hold you to that."
"Yes, yes. Now come over here."
Ru Yin Yue scowled and hung up in disgust. She passed the phone back to a waiting auntie Yi, who looked concerned.
"Are you really going, ma'am?"
"I'm not sure I have a choice." Ru Yin Yue sighed heavily. "I'll go get changed. Don't worry about me, auntie Yi. I can take care of myself. You should go to bed first. Most likely I'll be coming home together with Zha Nan."
"Yes. Make sure you get the young master to send you home." Auntie Yi sounded unhappy, but she knew there was nothing she could do. Ru Yin Yue gave her an assuring smile before she disappeared into her room and changed into a conservative dress. Even though Si Zha Nan had called her to a bar, she had no intention of partying wildly.
Selecting a pair of flat shoes, because Ru Yin Yue absolutely hated high heels, she called a taxi to send her to Sophia Bar. Being one of the most prominent bars in Cheng Shi City, the taxi driver didn't even need his GPS to find the address.
"You sure you're going to Sophia Bar, ma'am?" He asked uncertainly glancing at Ru Yin Yue. She didn't blame him for being surprised. She was dressed as if she was attending church instead of a bar. The taxi driver was a middle-aged man who had driven through many night shifts, so he knew what kind of place Sophia Bar was, and what kind of fashion its customers indulged in.
"Yes. My husband called for me."
"Ah. You're picking him up. You have my sympathies." The taxi driver winced, also having experienced picking up drunk customers from the bar who often threw up in his car. He hoped the lady wouldn't ask him to wait and send her and her husband back home. He would hate to have to clean the mess her husband made.
Fortunately, Ru Yin Yue paid him in full and assured him that he didn't have to stick around.
"I don't know if my husband will want to stay a bit longer. If that happens, I'll just call another taxi. Thank you."
"You're welcome, ma'am." The taxi driver looked at her anxiously. The lady was so nice that he couldn't help but worry for her. He silently cursed her husband for bringing the poor lady so much trouble. He was damned lucky to have married such a gentle wife, but evidently he was taking her for granted. "Be careful."
"I will." Ru Yin Yue sent him off with a smile, and then she proceeded toward the bar. The burly bouncers, bald, muscular and wearing sunglasses, glowered at her from the entrance, but she met their concealed eyes with a steely gaze. "I'm here to see my husband, Si Zha Nan."
There was a flicker of emotion as both bouncers exchanged a knowing glance, and then they gestured for her to come in. A waiter was already there, probably having heard her from outside, and he ushered her toward a private room.
To Ru Yin Yue's surprise, Si Zha Nan wasn't the only familiar face inside the private room. Almost all of her classmates from high school had gathered there. For a moment, she froze, her mind going blank as she tried to process what was going on.
On the day of their wedding ceremony, Si Zha Nan had refused to invite their high school classmates to the banquet. In fact, he didn't even inform them about the ceremony. All they knew was that he had gotten married, and they were expecting Zhou Ni Yao to show up. However, when Ru Yin Yue appeared instead, they fell into shock.
"Are you playing a prank on us?" Hao Huo Bo, one of the female classmates who was hyperactive and unable to sit still, demanded. She stared at Ru Yin Yue, her mouth wide open. While Ru Yin Yue was pretty sure Hao Huo Bo didn't hold any grudge against her, she was aware that the talkative girl was one of Si Zha Nan's lackeys. "Didn't you say Ni Yao is coming?"
"I only said my wife is coming. I didn't say she was Ni Yao." Si Zha Nan glanced at Ru Yin Yue icily. "Take a seat, Mrs. Si."
Ru Yin Yue narrowed her eyes at him, but because she didn't want to cause a scene in front of their former classmates, she obediently sat beside him. Unfortunately, Hao Huo Bo wouldn't leave her alone.
"Are you for real?!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Are you both really married? Where's the proof? Where's the certificate of marriage?"
"I didn't bring it," Ru Yin Yue said stiffly, but Si Zha Nan produced it from his jacket pocket. Ru Yin Yue frowned, wondering why the hell he would randomly bring the certificate of marriage everywhere with him. Was he scheming something?
"Good heavens! But you three used to be very good friends, right? What happened? What kind of twist is this?" Then Hao Huo Bo sank into her seat, slapping her forehead. "Ah! That explains it! No wonder I couldn't contact Ni Yao at all! Of course she would be furious at the two of you!"
"Yeah…weren't you two dating happily just a month ago or something? How did you end up marrying someone else instead?"
"Her love was so deep for me that she wasn't able to hold herself back, just like a bee to honey." Si Zha Nan smiled icily. "Isn't that right, Mrs. Si?"
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone in class understood. They began whispering to each other.
"So she's the third wheel."
"She broke in and stole Zha Nan away from Ni Yao."
"My goodness! Just from looking at her, you can't tell that she's such a scheming person! That innocence is a façade!"
"Perhaps you are misunderstanding something," Ru Yin Yue spoke up, her wintry voice cutting through the heated atmosphere and leaving her former classmates chilled. "I originally refused your proposal. You and your mother were the ones who pressured me."
At that, everyone froze. Then someone whispered, "Oh, that's right. I heard that Zha Nan's mother has always disliked Ni Yao. I also heard that Zha Nan's mother likes Yin Yue. No wonder she pushed for this marriage."
Ru Yin Yue shifted slightly to look at the speaker, recognizing her voice. As she expected, it was Zhou Ni Yao's good friend, Hu Li Jing. She shook her head mockingly.
"If Yin Yue can become the wife of a CEO, then I should be able to. I'm just slightly more modest, otherwise I would have taken her place instead!"
Everyone burst out into laughter when they heard that. Hu Li Jing sighed dramatically, looking around the room.
"Do you guys know what happened to Ni Yao? Anyone heard any news about her?" She rubbed her forehead worriedly. "Zha Nan, after Ni Yao left, have you not even contacted her once?"
"She turned off her phone and refused to answer any of my calls or text messages," Si Zha Nan replied glumly. "I have no idea where she went. I sent people to search for her, but they have yet to uncover anything."
That day, when Si Zha Nan chased after Zhou Ni Yao, she was so furious that she refused to forgive him or even listen to his explanation. He had given in and allowed her some time to calm down, but he never thought she would disappear completely after a few days.
This was all Ru Yin Yue's fault.
"Tell us," Hu Li Jing sneered at Ru Yin Yue maliciously. "What kind of tricks did you use to chase away Ni Yao? If anything happens to Ni Yao, I'll hold you responsible."
"I didn't chase Ni Yao away. The truth has already been laid out. It's just that some people don't believe it even though the evidence is before their eyes."
"Ru Yin Yue!" Si Zha Nan snarled, slamming his palms on the table. "Don't you dare…?!"
"Dare what?" Ru Yin Yue met his gaze evenly. "You brought me here to humiliate me, but it seems you don't want to tell them the truth."
"What truth? You framed…" Si Zha Nan trailed off, realizing that all eyes were on him. Ru Yin Yue smiled pleasantly.
"I did no such thing." Ru Yin Yue remained dignified. "And rest assured, I have no intention on saying anything about this matter. Unlike some people, I do not drag people out and air their dirty laundry in front of other people to embarrass them in public. Nor will I talk about other people behind their backs."
"You…!"
Ru Yin Yue ignored Si Zha Nan's outraged expression and continued almost serenely.
"Also, I'll repeat this. You and your mother were the ones who pressured me into this marriage. I didn't steal you. I originally didn't even want to marry you. But who was the one who blocked my jobs and got me blacklisted from the music industry? Who was the one who accused me of playing hard to get and then forcing me into a corner…where I have no choice but to marry you in order to survive? In order for my mom to survive?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Several of the classmates were watching the exchange wide-eyed. They did not expect Ru Yin Yue to pull a reversal on her husband. Evidently there was more to this story than the one-sided affair that Si Zha Nan had them believe.
"You blocked Ru Yin Yue's jobs?" One of the classmates, Ren Zhang, asked, staring at Si Zha Nan in disbelief. "Why?"
"Wait, so you're the one who forced Yin Yue to marry you?" Another classmate demanded. "Then why are you acting as if she stole you from Ni Yao?"
"Yeah, that makes sense, doesn't it? If Zha Nan really loved Ni Yao, he would never have married Yin Yue to begin with, no matter how much she begs him. He's the CEO, how is it possible that he wouldn't be able to reject her? He went against his mother's wishes and dated Ni Yao for so many years, why would he suddenly cave in and listen to her all of a sudden?"
Many of the classmates had a favorable impression of Ru Yin Yue, given her kind and gentle personality and how she had helped them during their three years together. That was why they were willing to stand by her side.
Seeing this, Hu Li Jing gritted her teeth.
"But doesn't Yin Yue already have another person who loves her? How can she so easily agree to marry Zha Nan?!"
As if a bomb had been dropped in the room, everyone fell silent and stared at her in shock.