BDB Chapter 6

Every old-fashioned romance novel featured a female lead with a tragic backstory, and “The President’s Beloved” was no exception.

The female lead’s fall from riches to rags began with her father’s bankruptcy and suicide by jumping off a building.

As the saying went, it was easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to adapt from luxury to frugality. Having spent decades as a delicate, dependent woman, the female lead’s mother didn’t just fail to pick herself up after losing her husband’s protection—she even developed a nasty gambling habit.

In the beginning, she actually won a few times. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before her luck turned, and she started losing.

As is often the case with gamblers, her mindset became warped. After that, she gambled whether she won or lost. The debt hanging over their heads, like a snowball, grew larger and larger with each passing day.

For a gambling addict, driven mad by the thrill, who had no concern about the debts crushing her own life and dumped all the responsibility on her child, Jiang Rao had no intention of paying off those so-called debts.

However, regarding Madam Bai’s suggestion for her to go to the area near Yan Lake Coast in City Z, she felt she had no reason to refuse.

Hearing her agreement on the other end of the line, Bai Yurou’s tone softened slightly. “Keep an eye on Young Master Li in City Z. I don’t want to see another Red Mansion Club incident involving him there.”

“The Red Mansion Club?”

“It’s that kind of filthy place.”

Jiang Rao paused for a moment, then pursed her lips.

In old-fashioned romance novels, the male lead’s character was indeed pure and straightforward—he actually dared to openly go to that kind of place.

Luckily, she wasn’t following the plot. Otherwise, playing this female lead would have been utterly exasperating.

However, it seemed the original storyline didn’t mention the male lead ever going to any Red, Green, Yellow, or Blue Mansions. Ever since he started his love-hate relationship with the runaway female lead, his body and mind had been completely devoted to her.

According to the novel’s plot, the female lead’s escape was supposed to start tomorrow, proving that Madam Bai’s concerns were entirely unnecessary.

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Rao had just returned to her bedroom when she noticed her cell phone, which she had tossed on the bedside table and set to silent, was glowing softly.

Thinking Madam Bai had more instructions, she walked over and picked it up.

A quick glance revealed that it was a multimedia message from an unknown number.

She opened the message and found it wasn’t text, but an audio clip.

—“Young Master Li, no… please… we can’t do this.”

Jiang Rao: “…”

In the novels, the domineering CEO was always irresistibly attractive and charming.

Though his marital status wasn’t public knowledge, almost everyone in high society knew who his wife was. Jiang Tang, the real wife, was hailed as a goddess in the entertainment industry, but her family background was far from impressive. If not for the deep bond of revolutionary friendship between their grandfathers, she wouldn’t have even had the chance to meet him, let alone marry him!

Thus, there were more than a few women eager to ruin the male lead’s marriage.

Jiang Rao couldn’t understand what went through the minds of these wealthy heiresses.

They were already so rich. Why not date some fresh-faced, obedient young man and enjoy a romance free of ulterior motives, rather than chasing after the male lead?

What did he have to offer besides being richer than their own families?

The next morning, Jiang Rao applied heavy makeup, dressed in sportswear, threw on a long down jacket, and tied her hair into a loose, casual high ponytail. With this simple, lightweight outfit, she headed to the airport.

By all rights, this combination should have looked out of place, but her strikingly beautiful face suited any attire, making her look even more stunning than the models in the store windows.

Before leaving, she didn’t forget to inform Butler Gu of her plans for the day.

After all, she was leaving the city, and for the sake of her employer’s safety, Butler Gu asked, “Would you like bodyguards to accompany you?”

Jiang Rao’s eyes lit up. So, about two hours later, when she arrived at City Z’s international airport, she wasn’t alone. Two tall, muscular bodyguards with imposing physiques that clearly said, “Don’t mess with us,” flanked her.

In the original plot, the scene where the female lead got caught took place on the beach outside the cruise ship, just before she boarded.

Due to a flight delay, Jiang Rao and her bodyguards didn’t arrive at City Z’s airport until it was almost one o’clock.

Of course, female leads in these old-fashioned romance novels always seemed to have a bad luck buff attached to them.

The palace drama Legend of Concubine Yun had been airing recently, and the fan girls waiting at the airport were either binge-watching the show or on the verge of being convinced by friends and family to start watching it. As a result, the moment Jiang Rao appeared at the airport, she was immediately surrounded by fans, big and small.

Fortunately, Jiang Tang’s public persona in the entertainment industry was that of an aloof and cold beauty, not exactly approachable. This allowed her to scribble just two or three signatures before she was freed.

On the way to Yan Lake Coast, Jiang Rao received a text message notifying her of a 300,000 yuan transfer from Madam Bai.

The other party had made it very clear over the phone yesterday.

This money wasn’t a bonus but part of the remaining half of the final payment, given to her in advance.

Jiang Rao accepted the money with complete peace of mind.

No one gets unhappy from making money, and Jiang Rao was no exception.

Good things came in pairs. She had expected to be late today and endure a good deal of frustration, but the latter part of the journey to Yan Lake Coast turned out to be unexpectedly smooth.

At around 1:50 PM, the car she was in finally arrived at Yan Lake Coast.

City Z was located in the tropics, and Jiang Rao had already taken off her down jacket before getting off the plane.

However, the sporty outfit she wore now, though fresh and stylish, was completely out of place on the beach.

Jiang Rao didn’t mind this at all.

She was here to pass a plot point, not to enjoy a vacation. If she had dressed lightly, who knew what could have happened? After all, the female leads in old-fashioned novels were always prone to encountering thugs, hooligans, or kidnappers.

While Jiang Rao herself didn’t care much about her outfit, it didn’t mean others wouldn’t notice her strange attire.

One person who immediately spotted her was none other than Xiao Zhang, an assistant from the head office’s secretary department, who was always running errands behind Li Jueyan.

No one understood better than Xiao Zhang just how beautiful the president’s wife was.

After all, before seeing her in person, he had never been a fan of any celebrity in the entertainment industry.

But after meeting her for the first time, he had secretly joined her fan club online, becoming a genuine fan of her looks!

However, this time, Xiao Zhang felt more nervous than happy about the encounter.

The president had come here to find his dream goddess.

Why was the president’s wife here? Was she… here to catch him cheating?

——