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nIf he could get everything to return to the way they used to be, he would at least be able to pretend like he felt nothing when she left him.

nSu Jianan lay on her bed. Despite all the tossing and turning she had been doing, sleep eluded her still.

nShe could not comprehend Lu Boyan’s sudden change of attitude towards her. Things had been fine at noon yesterday. He had even made her heart race…

nOr… Could it be that there was some misunderstanding between them?

nThe next day, Su Jianan wanted to clear things up with Lu Boyan once and for all. When she saw him, Lu Boyan only glanced at her before he walked away, claiming that he was in a rush for time. He left without breakfast.

nAs she watched his car disappeared through the driveway, Su Jianan was suddenly overwhelmed by fear.

nThere was probably no misunderstanding between them. Her only fear was that Lu Boyan had… grown tired of her.

nHe was tired of this “marriage” between them. Tired of this life. Tired of… Tired of his so-called wife.

nCould it be that their marriage would not even last for two years?

nLike a fist, fear and panic struck Su Jianan’s heart, creating a bottomless chasm there. Like wildfire, a sense of dread spread through her entire being…

nAs she drove to the police office, there was a brief moment when Su Jianan was acting completely on autopilot. As a result, she nearly had an accident; she almost ran into the car in front. Good thing she reacted in the nick of time and avoided a tragedy.

nIt was also during then that she noticed the car behind her.

nIt was a plain-looking Mazda, though it had been tailing her ever since she drove away from the villa district.

nWas it just a coincidence that it happened to be heading in the same direction as her all this time?

nShe drove away through the overpass and arrived in the city area. Su Jianan had deliberately made two rounds around the police office; the Mazda was still tailing her.

nIt was now without a doubt that the car had been tailing her. Still, the stalker did not seem to notice that she had been deliberately driving around in circles.

nShe was practically half a cop, thank you very much. And yet it never crossed the stalker’s mind that she might have discovered that she was being tailed. The stalker was stupid.

nThe white Buick LaCrosse pulled into the parking lot beside the police office. Su Jianan got out of the car, pretending that she knew nothing about her stalker. Nobody was aware that she had been snapping photos with her phone.

nShe scrolled through the photos the moment she entered the office. She did manage to capture a few shots of the Mazda. A few other shots showed Chen Xuanxuan standing beside the Mazda, glaring at her back with hatred.

nLu Boyan had been right to worry; Chen Xuanxuan did have a vendetta against her. For the past month, Lu Boyan had insisted on driving her to work and back. That was why she never noticed anything out of the ordinary. Today she was alone, and Chen Xuanxuan had already begun tailing her.

nAfter the fall of the Chen Family, Chen Xuanxuan had probably been waiting for an opportunity to exact vengeance on her.

n“Ugh…”

nSighing, Su Jianan deleted all the photos. What a tough way to live.

n“Argh…” Another long sigh was heard as the door of the office was pushed open. It was Jiang Shaokai.

nSu Jianan stared at him in surprise. “What’s the matter with you?”

n“Arranged marriage, what else?” Jiang Shaokai set down a bunch of documents on his desk. Frustrated, he plopped down in his chair. “My dad told me that since I’m not willing to take over the family business, I should give him a grandchild; that way, he can turn the grandchild into a successor. Just yesterday, he forced me to look at a bunch of photos of women. And this morning, he forced me to pick one woman out of those women to become his daughter in law.”

n“Pfft…” Su Jianan laughed openly.

n“Hey! I’m in deep ** here, and yet you’re over there laughing! Are we even friends?” Jiang Shaokai covered his face with a folder. “Do you know what it felt like yesterday when I’d been forced to look at those photos? It feels like picking out pork meat at the wet market.”

nSu Jianan shot him a look of sympathy. She patted Jiang Shaokai’s shoulder. “If push comes to shove, you should pick one and then meet her. I mean, it’s not like you have something to lose. What if you end up falling for her? Then you’d get your happily ever after.”

n“You think everyone’s so lucky as you? You’re married to the person you have feelings for,” Jiang Shaokai said, pulling at his hair. “Whatever. Let’s not talk about this and get to work. We didn’t crack that homicide last night.”

nAfter a day of hard work and through the combined effort of the entire team, the case was finally closed by afternoon. The murderer was arrested and brought to justice. It took merely 48 hours for their team to close the case, for which the chief commended them.

nCaptain Yan proposed that they all have a celebratory meal together, and Su Jianan was the first one to agree, “Nice! It’s been a while since we’ve all shared a meal.”

n“Hey, correction,” Xiao Ying said. “You should add ‘after I got married’ to that. People like us who are single and lonely would still have gatherings from time to time.”

nEveryone gave Su Jianan teasing looks which were decidedly inappropriate. Redness crept up to Su Jianan’s cheeks. “Well, I won’t absent from today’s gathering, that’s for sure!”

n“Why don’t we skip the restaurants. It’s getting old and boring, to be honest,” Xiao Ying said excitedly. “Why don’t we hit a bar instead?”

nThe team was filled with young adults, each of which had a strong yearning to let loose after work. One after another, everyone agreed to the suggestion. They had a simple meal at the station before driving towards the bar.

nSu Jianan and Jiang Shaokai rode in the same car. During the ride, Su Jianan was chewing over a thought. In the end, she decided to call Shen Yuechuan anyway to ask if Lu Boyan had gone home.

n“Nope,” Shen Yuechuan said. “We’re all doing overtime today. Just wait for two more hours, and then he’ll be back.”

n“I’m not trying to badger him to come home,” Su Jianan said. “I’m out with my colleagues right now. Can you let him know?”

nThere was an unprecedented aloofness in Su Jianan’s voice. “Oh,” Shen Yuechuan said woodenly. After that, Su Jianan hung up.

nThere, she had called him today. Surely, Lu Boyan did not have a reason to be mad at her now?

n“So you guys got into a fight, huh?” Jiang Shaokai said, shaking his head as he drove. “I knew it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have agreed to go with us to the bar.”

n“He’s the one who’s been acting strange.” Su Jianan swiped at her phone’s screen to kill time. “I don’t feel like going home to face him.”

nIt was more like she was scared to face Lu Boyan.

nShe was afraid to see him treat her with nothing but indifference. It would only intensify her internal turmoil and fuel the panic brewing inside her heart.

nAt the bar, the group of seven or eight squeezed into a booth. Some of them played games, while others flirted with other bar-goers. The waiting staff brought pint upon pint of beers to their booth. Su Jianan remembered Lu Boyan’s words: “You’re not allowed to drink alone.”

nWould he be angry at her if she drank?

n“Jianan, what’s with the doldrums? Why are you staring off into space? Miss your Boss Lu already?” Xiao Ying opened the beer bottles with practiced ease. “You up for a game of dice? The loser has to drink!”

nSu Jianan gritted her teeth and made her decision. “I’m in!”

n“Now that’s more like it!”

nXiao Ying handed her the dice, the dice cup, and a bottle of beer. Su Jianan took all of them. Jiang Shaokai watched Su Jianan’s “I’ve-got-nothing-to-lose” attitude. “Aren’t you worried that your Lu Boyan will be mad at you?” He asked her in a muted tone.

nSu Jianan lifted her chin. “That’s the plan. To make him mad!”

nIf there were a game where its players would find it outright impossible to stop playing, it would be the game of dice. Although Su Jianan was familiar with the rules of the game, the others were all experts in the game; it would be impossible for her not to have a drink or two. It did not take long for the space in front of her to be occupied by two empty beer bottles.

nJiang Shaokai knew that she could not hold her liquor well. He stopped her when she was about to keep playing. “Jianan, time for you to stop playing.”

nSu Jianan pushed Jiang Shaokai’s hand away. “How can I be a spoilsport and ruin everyone’s fun?”

nSeeing that she was dead set on drinking herself under the table, Jiang Shaokai did not bother to stop her. Instead, he drank together with her. After a while, another empty beer bottle appeared in front of Su Jianan; Jiang Shaokai had an entire row of them.

n“I’m done,” Jiang Shaokai said, rubbing his head, which was already spinning. “Jianan, why don’t we get some air outside?”

nSu Jianan’s head was spinning as well, so she allowed Jiang Shaokai to drag her out.

nThey were in City A’s famous bar street. The foliage of the London plane trees which lined the two sides of the streets had already begun browning. By the time autumn arrived, this entire street would be covered with a layer of golden leaves. If a car were to speed along the street, the leaves would dance and flutter behind the tires, creating a beautiful view.

n“Ugh—”

nSu Jianan felt sick to her stomach the moment she took in a breath of fresh air. She crouched down and started dry heaving. Jiang Shaokai patted her back. “Feels bad, huh? Come on. I’ll take you home.”

n“No.” Su Jianan shook her head and stood up indignantly. “I don’t want to go back.”

nJiang Shaokai had no idea if the alcohol had messed with his mind, but he found his hand traveling upwards to hold Su Jianan’s cheek. “Jianan, what’s going on between you and Lu Boyan? Aren’t you happy?”

nSu Jianan’s eyes turned red at the rims. She lowered her head and bit her lip without saying a word. There were happy times, but Lu Boyan… he was acting so strangely.

nFor the first time, Jiang Shaokai saw Su Jianan’s dejected look. He hugged her gently, the type of hug shared between friends. “How nice it would be if the person you like isn’t him.”

nHot tears stung Su Jianan’s eyes. “I wish the person I like isn’t him too.”

nThat way, she would have no reason at all to be panicking right now, nor would she have to fear the demise of their marriage before its promised two years; she would not feel so miserable.

nJiang Shaokai heaved a long sigh. “Don’t go back inside. Wait here for me. I’ll go get my keys and drive you home.”

nSu Jianan nodded and then crouched down on the ground, hugging her knees to herself.

nIt just so happened that now was the hour for energetic night owls to make their appearance. A few of them came up to flirt after seeing Su Jianan crouching there all by herself. Su Jianan barely spared them a glance as she dismissed them with a simple “I’m married”. After that, they all left with sheepish looks.

nSoon, Jiang Shaokai came out with his keys. “Hail a cab for me. I can go back on my own,” Su Jianan said.

n“As if I dare to do that. Have you forgotten what happened to Xiaoxi last time? What if you encounter the same kind of a douchebag, too? What would you do?” Jiang Shaokai passed the key to the designated driver and opened the door of the backseat. “Either I send you home, or you call Lu Boyan to come to get you. I won’t let you go back alone.”

nAfter a brief moment of hesitation, Su Jianan climbed into the backseat of Jiang Shaokai’s car.

nShe did not know if she would encounter those douchebags, but Jiang Shaokai’s warning had reminded her of the fact that Chen Xuanxuan was tailing her. Plus, she was inebriated right now. It was best if she is cautious. At the same time, she did not want Lu Boyan to come to pick her up.

nThat was why she allowed Jiang Shaokai to take her home.

nThe white BMV weaved through the night. Su Jianan leaned in the seat lazily. She remained awake, though she did not feel up for conversation. Jiang Shaokai did not ask her anything either.

nNot 50 minutes later, the car pulled up in front of a villa.

n“Thanks,” Su Jianan smiled hazily at Jiang Shaokai and opened the door to get out. She did not expect to see Lu Boyan getting out of his car.

nShe smiled again. “Oh, what a coincidence. So you just got back as well.”

nLu Boyan detected the reek of alcohol on her the moment he got close. His eyes darkened instantly. “Where were you?”

nSu Jianan blinked a few times, seemingly incapable of coming up with an answer. Just then, Jiang Shaokai pushed open the door and stepped out of his car. “We broke a case, and the entire team went out to celebrate. We played some games at the bar. Jianan had a few drinks.”

n“Why are you the one who brought her back?” Lu Boyan asked coldly.

nJiang Shaokai shrugged. “I did ask her to call you, but she didn’t want to.”

n“I didn’t dare to call you,” Su Jianan said as she stumbled her way to stand in front of Lu Boyan. “Shen Yuechuan said you guys had to do overtime. What if I called and disturbed you while you were in the middle of work? Honey, am I a kind and considerate wife?”

nShe had gotten herself drunk again.

nLu Boyan grabbed Su Jianan’s hand and began to drag her indoors. Su Jianan struggled against him all the way. “Lu Boyan, let me go!”

nHe yanked her towards him and stared her down dangerously. “Have you forgotten everything I told you?”

n“No.” Su Jianan shook her head innocently. “You told me not to touch alcohol if I’m alone outside. I never forgot.”

n“Then what have you been drinking back at the bar?”

n“Alcohol!” Su Jianan said. All of a sudden, she noticed the angry look on Lu Boyan’s face. She patted his chest. “Don’t worry. I didn’t drink alone. I was drinking together with Jiang Shaokai! I’ll be fine as long as Jiang Shaokai’s there.”

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