Lan Mu's brows knitted together, his fingers pinching the corner of the agreement, whitening around the nails, his patience having reached its limit, "Yan Zao, you're negotiating terms with me?"
Yan Zao shrugged, "Otherwise I won't sign."
She looked down, raised one hand, and calmly filed her nails, the corners of her mouth hinting at a smile that seemed confident of victory.
In Lan Mu's eyes, she had the face of insatiable greed.
He nearly crumpled the agreement in his hand into a ball. He clenched his teeth tight and suppressed his anger, "Just tell me how much money you want."
Yan Zao's heart gave a sharp twinge, the mocking line from Lan Mu repeated at least three times in her ears.
'Just tell me how much money you want.'
Yes, how much money did it take to buy off her affections?
She wanted to know as well.
Yan Zao's self-derision curled her lips, unnoticed by Lan Mu, and then she looked at him and said, "I don't care about affections, but I dislike flamboyant displays. No matter how much you and Yu Ye Sang love and adore each other, please restrain yourselves. Don't get caught by the paparazzi, or I'll return ten green hats to you."
When she spoke the last sentence, her chin was held high, as if she had returned to being the rebellious girl in middle school, who would really fight anyone that crossed her. If a large stone tripped her on the road and she couldn't move it alone on day one, by the second day she would call for two people to help her throw it into the lake.
She had always been the type to hold a grudge.
So when she spoke, Lan Mu had no doubt that she'd dare to follow through. He reached out and grabbed her collar, warning her, "Then I'll have Cheng Xingzhi fired from Feyue."
After speaking, he let out a cold snort and pushed Yan Zao away.
This wasn't the first time Lan Mu had used Cheng Xingzhi to threaten her, and she had never bothered to explain, because... Cheng Xingzhi was her only cover.
"I'll sign, okay? Using another man to threaten your own wife, you're putting on the green hat yourself, even before I get a chance to," she said without looking at Lan Mu, snatching the pen from his hand and signing her name on the agreement with a flourish.
She had to sign twice, for two copies, and she did it in one breath, holding her own.
Setting down the pen, she rose and walked towards the exit.
Her steps were steady.
...
After the rainy season passed, the whole of Jiangnan officially entered the scorching summer. People holding ice creams could be seen everywhere in the airport. Yan Zao, in the throes of her period, looked on with envy, her head covered in sweat, not daring to touch even a drop of cold water.
Every period seemed to threaten her life, and today, if it weren't for Dai Xinmeng's return to the country on her account, she would not have left her bed.
After topping the trending searches a few times, she was pushed into the spotlight against her will and recognized publicly, attracting a barrage of mistresses' abuses. To avoid trouble, she waited in the car for Dai Xinmeng. The car had been brought by a chauffeur, and she planned to rely on Dai Xinmeng to drive it back later.
From a distance, she saw the gender-neutral Dai Xinmeng, with her efficient short hair, a black and white striped shirt, black cropped trousers, and white dad shoes, exuding the aura of a powerful woman from head to toe.
Hauling two huge suitcases, Yan Zao felt somewhat ashamed because the largest one belonged to her, having packed only the essentials in her rush to return to the country.
But she had no intention of getting out and helping Dai Xinmeng with the luggage, waving from inside the car instead, "Daidai."
Having not seen each other for nearly two months, Dai Xinmeng dropped her suitcases and ran excitedly towards Yan Zao. Standing outside the car, she reached in to hug Yan Zao's head, "My dear."