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Night had fallen.

Ji Fan had a private villa on the lakeshore, halfway up the mountain. Looking down, beyond the dense forest, the moonlight was shattered on the lake, sparkling. Though beautiful, it was somewhat cold, causing a chill to rise in one’s heart.

Wrapped in a coat, Ji Fan took a small sip of goji berry tea. Sitting alone at her desk, she had been reviewing a pile of documents and was feeling a bit tired. She picked up her phone and glanced at it.

Jiang Cha’s message was still floating on the screen. She hadn’t replied.

It was almost eleven o’clock.

It didn’t seem necessary to reply after so many hours had passed.

But her fingers began to type involuntarily.

“Come back.”

Then a red exclamation point floated beside it.

—[Message sent, but rejected by the other party]

Ji Fan found it strange. Was the network bad? She checked, and the Wi-Fi was clearly full.

This was the first time something like this had happened to her, so she persistently tried an audio call. The dialog box popped up.

—Call failed.

What was going on?

The maid happened to pass by, and Ji Fan beckoned to her.

“Can your phones connect to the network?”

Ji Fan swept her hair behind her ear and asked curiously.

The maid replied, “Yes, they can.”

Ji Fan showed her her phone: “Then what’s going on?”

The maid hesitated for a moment and said awkwardly, “You… you’ve been blocked by the other party.”

Ji Fan looked at her phone in disbelief.

Blocked?

Jiang Cha had blocked her?

What kind of joke was this?

Ji Fan had never thought that she would be blocked by anyone, and she had never imagined that the first person to dare to block her would be Jiang Cha—

Who gave her the courage?

For a moment, she was both angry and incredulous: This little thing was starting to get uppity with her. Who did she think she was? She had the nerve to block her. She was simply too spoiled.

However, on second thought, maybe Jiang Cha was just sulking because she hadn’t replied to her?

Ji Fan was used to not replying to WeChat messages. She often did this in the past, and Jiang Cha never complained, after all, their relationship was a very clear and distinct transaction. Jiang Cha had always been a very obedient girl, so why was she being so drastic this time?

Ji Fan frowned, and without waiting for the driver to come, she went to the garage herself, opened the car door, and went to find Jiang Cha.

Along the way, she thought of all the possibilities, such as Jiang Cha had simply made a mistake, or she had done it on purpose just to get her attention, or perhaps—

Jiang Cha had found someone better, so she didn’t care about her anymore.

She thought of Jiang Cha’s appearance: black hair, red lips, fair skin, and a curvaceous figure. Thinking about it this way, she couldn’t help but admit that she was indeed beautiful, and it wasn’t impossible for her to find someone better than her. She wasn’t even the same type of beauty as Luo Yan. If she blossomed in someone else’s hands—

Ji Fan’s chest heaved for a moment, and she frowned.

The last thought made her restless all the way, and she didn’t even notice that she had taken a wrong turn at the intersection several times, and it took her a long time to find her way back.

The night was sparsely populated. After driving past the avenue lined with French plane trees, she turned a corner and arrived at the villa area.

The lights were still on in the small villa, and Jiang Cha was not asleep.

Ji Fan, for some reason, suddenly wanted to see what she was doing.

She pressed her index finger against the doorknob, and with a click, the door opened. The kitchen light on the first floor was left on, and the air was filled with the smell of fish.

Turning to look, she saw cold leftovers dumped in the trash can, a whole steamed fish lying inside, and broken porcelain shards swept into a small pile that hadn’t been thrown away yet.

Ji Fan’s expression turned slightly serious.

What was going on?

Had she not eaten? Had she thrown away all the food she had prepared simply because she hadn’t returned?

That didn’t seem like something she would do.

For a moment, she even had a guess.

Perhaps Jiang Cha cared about her more than she thought.

This thought surprised her, but it didn’t bring her any joy. There was just a dull ache in her chest, a slight heaviness.

She slowly went upstairs, trying to make no noise.

On the left side of the second floor was a large bedroom with twinkling lights.

Ji Fan paused.

The light was coming from the bathroom. Jiang Cha was taking a bath.

Ji Fan lowered her eyes, her long lashes fluttering, and after a brief internal struggle, she slowly walked over and pushed open the half-frosted glass door.

Jiang Cha was soaking in the bathtub, her black hair coiled up, damp from the steam, and shining with a wet luster. Perhaps because of the hot steam, her snow-white cheeks were flushed, and her thin lips were tender, adding a touch of allure.

The bathroom was filled with mist and a faint scent of roses.

When Ji Fan stood there looking at her, Jiang Cha just lowered her head and continued to bathe herself.

Petals floated on the surface of the water, and her slender arms, with their soft and plump curves, swayed gently with the water. Her skin was white and tender, naturally delicate. When it was hot, her skin even had a faint blush. At that moment, she was concentrating on washing her legs, her knees bent, and a bit of her white, tender thigh was exposed above the waterline, moist and delicate.

The bathroom lights were warm-toned, creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

Jiang Cha clearly heard the sound of the door opening but didn’t look up. Her long, raven eyelashes were wet, and she closed her eyes, trembling slightly.

Then her hands slowly moved from the sides of the bathtub and clasped in front of her chest, as if to cover something.

Splash.

The sound of the door closing, followed by the sound of footsteps leaving.

Jiang Cha opened her eyes and got up to rinse off, but she felt a gaze on her.

The bathroom was inside the bedroom, semi-enclosed and completely transparent.

Ji Fan hadn’t gone far. She was sitting on the bed, propping her chin with her index finger, quietly looking at her.

She was dressed neatly in a deep blue, wide-collared shirt and a black, body-hugging gauze skirt. Her long, bony fingers tapped a rhythm idly. Tilting her head slightly, the silver earrings hidden in her slightly curled hair flashed momentarily, making her look refined, cold, yet restrained and self-possessed.

But her eyes were dark. Jiang Cha knew exactly what she wanted to do.
She slowly stood up, but her legs felt weak. She slipped and almost fell.
She turned on the shower and began to bathe.

Being watched made her feel uneasy.
The water cascaded down the swan neck, warm and misty, leaving a thin layer of powder on her skin.

Ji Fan watched silently.

Jiang Cha quickly rinsed off, her body still carrying a faint rose scent.

Wrapped in a pure white bath towel, she left the bathroom but didn’t look at Ji Fan. She turned to leave.

There was a study next to the large bedroom on the second floor.

It seemed she was really angry and wanted to sleep in the study.

Her temper was a bit cute, Ji Fan thought amusedly. She was really like a child, still likes to throw tantrums.

When Jiang Cha passed by, Ji Fan reached out and pulled her in.

With this pull, she was pulled onto Ji Fan’s lap. Jiang Cha sat sideways on her lap, moving restlessly, trying to get up. Ji Fan wrapped her arms firmly around her slender waist, rested her chin on her collarbone, kissed her neck, and ordered with a light laugh:

“Don’t move.”

Jiang Cha wasn’t bold enough to really defy her.

Hearing her say that, she really calmed down, but her eyes were a little red, and tears were welling up, about to cry.

“Sorry,” Ji Fan kissed her ear, her voice a little hoarse, “There’s been too much going on lately.”

Jiang Cha struggled, but her nose was full of Ji Fan’s cold fragrance. Crisp, sandalwood, mixed with the scent of lilac, reminiscent of a garden after the rain.

“Are you mad at me for not staying with you tonight?” Ji Fan kissed her ear and said.

Jiang Cha didn’t speak, her long eyelashes drooping pitifully.

“Who did you go out to dinner with?” She spoke nasally.

She was really too spoiled. What kind of identity was she, to be so brazen and question herself? Ji Fan’s expression turned slightly cold, and the scolding words were about to come out, but she paused.

She couldn’t say it.

Her tongue turned, and Ji Fan said:

“Luo Yan.”

Jiang Cha looked up: “You know her?”

“I know her.” Ji Fan lightly licked her earlobe, held her earlobe and sucked it, and smiled lightly, “My brother’s girlfriend.”

“…”

“And you’re jealous that I had dinner with her?”

“…”

Jiang Cha first widened her eyes, revealing a bit of confusion, and then slowly smiled, her red lips slightly pursed, revealing a smile.

She lowered her eyes, and her white, tender ears turned a delicate shade of pink.

Ji Fan kissed her earlobe and coaxed her in a low voice, “Don’t make a sound, okay?”

Jiang Cha really didn’t make a sound, she just nodded.

She turned her head and kissed her deeply.

Her thin lips were slightly cool, but her breath was hot and scalding. Ji Fan’s tall, straight nose gently touched hers, like swans entwined, lingering and passionate.

This time, Ji Fan felt a slight sting in her heart, and she didn’t know who she was pitying.

For just a moment, just a moment.

She wanted Jiang Cha to make a sound.

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Author Note: Some cute readers want to skip directly to the heartbreak, but I’ve thought about it carefully, and I think the changes in their feelings need to be adequately foreshadowed before Ji Fan’s pursuit becomes believable. We can’t just inflict pain for the sake of pain.

Also, the marriage and divorce are almost simultaneous. The chapter where Jiang Cha finds out she’s a substitute has already been written, and it’s coming soon, so please wait a little longer.

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