Li Miao accidentally saw Jiang Qiuyi and Lu Mingcheng’s conversation. She choked for a moment before seriously asking, “Are you two elementary school kids?”

Their conversation was just too childish.

Jiang Qiuyi muted Lu Mingcheng’s messages, deciding to ignore him.

“I was asking seriously—how are we like elementary school kids?”

Li Miao held back a laugh and pointed at the screen. “Actually, I think Lu Mingcheng is kind of cute.”

Jiang Qiuyi didn’t see it that way.

“He’s probably just not busy today, that’s why he has the time to ask about this.”

In the past, Lu Mingcheng never cared about her matters.

Li Miao nodded. “They’re all the same.”

Then, her tone shifted as she lowered her voice. “But at least he’s better than that scumbag in there. Ugh, I’m fuming—how can someone be so shameless?”

Li Miao had seen her fair share of wealthy family scandals and knew that none of them were ever truly peaceful. Affairs, mistresses—sometimes even a third or fourth—were all too common.

But at least those men were actually rich enough to afford it. And they certainly didn’t blame their wives for not earning money while fighting a divorce case, accusing them of only doing housework.

Today, her worldview had been completely refreshed. So, this was what an incompetent scumbag looks like.

Jiang Qiuyi listened to Li Miao cursing the same few phrases over and over again and couldn’t help but find it amusing.

“Mm, a lot of them are like that.”

Just as Li Miao was about to say something, Lin Shanshan emerged from the other side.

And behind her—was that scumbag.

Zhuo Peng was pestering her about something. The surrounding lawyers tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t be deterred.

Jiang Qiuyi and Li Miao walked forward, and only when they got closer did they hear what Zhuo Peng was shouting.

He was pointing at Lin Shanshan, yelling at her.

“Did you latch onto someone else? You shameless woman! You’re trying to ruin me? Keep dreaming!”

Zhuo Peng shoved the lawyer’s hand away, his voice hoarse from screaming. “You filthy wretch, nobody wants you!”

Jiang Qiuyi felt her temples throbbing.

She shut her eyes for a second, then, unable to hold back, she hurled her phone straight at Zhuo Peng.

With a loud thud, it smacked him square in the face.

Zhuo Peng clutched his face, stunned for a few seconds, before storming toward Jiang Qiuyi in fury.

Before he could get close, her bodyguards appeared just in time—one holding him back, others shielding her.

“Who the hell are you?!” Zhuo Peng yelled. “I’m calling the police! Assault! Assault!”

Jiang Qiuyi took a deep breath, counted to three—then decided she couldn’t be bothered to hold back.

She turned to Lin Shanshan and asked, dead serious, “If I kick him, would you mind?”

Lin Shanshan let out a short laugh—then moved before Jiang Qiuyi could.

“Qiuyi, someone like him isn’t even worth your effort.”

With that, she kicked Zhuo Peng. Hard.

“Argh—!”

Zhuo Peng let out a miserable scream.

All the frustration Lin Shanshan had bottled up over the past few days was unleashed in those kicks.

She was furious.

How blind had she been to fall for a man like this? To marry him?

“You b*tch!” Zhuo Peng kept cursing.

Jiang Qiuyi’s expression turned cold as she glanced at the bodyguard beside her. “Shut him up.”

Bodyguard: “Yes, ma’am.”

….

A knock sounded at the door. Lu Mingcheng lifted his gaze slightly. “What is it?”

Xu Chen hesitated, recalling the phone call he had just received. In a low voice, he said, “Madam… went to the police station.”

Lu Mingcheng: “?”

He replayed their conversation in his head for three seconds before calmly asking. “What did she do to him?”

“Uh… just threw a phone at his face.”

Hearing that, Lu Mingcheng let out a breath of relief.

“Oh. That’s not too bad.”

Xu Chen: “…”

Lu Mingcheng thought for a moment before saying. “Send Lawyer Yan over.”

Xu Chen nodded. “Got it.”

Lu Mingcheng had a major conference in half an hour—he couldn’t leave.

Meanwhile, this was probably Jiang Qiuyi’s first time at a police station, and to her surprise, she actually found it somewhat interesting.

As soon as both parties arrived, Zhuo Peng kept running his mouth, spewing curses nonstop.

Even the officers listening couldn’t help but frown.

Not long after, Yan Xu and another lawyer arrived.

Jiang Qiuyi, feeling a little embarrassed, quietly looked away.

The moment Yan Xu walked in, the opposing lawyer’s demeanor shifted instantly.

“Lawyer Yan.”

The opposing lawyer glanced around and lowered his voice. “How about settling this privately?”

Zhuo Peng was about to refuse, but after the lawyer whispered a few words in his ear, his attitude shifted instantly.

He let out a cold laugh. “Fine, we can settle—but I’m injured. I need compensation.”

Lin Shanshan scoffed. “Keep dreaming.”

With an icy smile, she said, “I was the one who hit you. I’ll accept any punishment, but I won’t agree to a settlement.”

There was no way she was giving money to a scumbag like him.

—

The two lawyers continued their discussions.

Before long, Jiang Qiuyi and the others walked out.

Zhuo Peng, held back by his lawyer, shot them a smug glare and gritted his teeth. “Just you wait. I will ruin you.”

Jiang Qiuyi listened for a moment before asking with deadpan seriousness, “What is this supposed to be?”

Li Miao: “Huh?”

“Waste classification?” Jiang Qiuyi said expressionlessly. “Figures. Trash of the same kind should be sorted together.”

Jian Xia burst out laughing. “You’re absolutely right.”

Lin Shanshan couldn’t help but laugh as well. “Mm-hmm.”

With the bodyguards around, Zhuo Peng and his group didn’t dare act out.

Jiang Qiuyi and the others left smoothly.

Once all the paperwork was handled, Yan Xu also returned to the company to report back.

After a long, exhausting afternoon, everyone was drained.

After dropping Lin Shanshan off, they each headed home.

By the time Jiang Qiuyi got home, Lu Mingcheng had already finished work.

The moment she saw him sitting in the living room, her eyelid twitched.

Her luck really wasn’t great today.

Hearing the noise, Lu Mingcheng glanced up at her.

Their eyes met in silence.

Uncle Xu emerged from the kitchen, breaking the tense atmosphere.

“Madam is back. Dinner is ready.”

Jiang Qiuyi let out an awkward chuckle. “Mm.”

She rubbed her nose, feeling a little guilty. “I’ll just… go upstairs and change first.”

And with that, she bolted.

Uncle Xu had no idea what had happened and looked a bit confused.

“Sir, what’s wrong with Madam?”

Lu Mingcheng, still focused on his documents, didn’t even look up. “She has a guilty conscience.”

Uncle Xu: “?”

Seeing that Lu Mingcheng had no intention of elaborating, Uncle Xu wisely chose not to ask further.

Meanwhile, the guilty party upstairs was feeling rather sheepish.

Jiang Qiuyi had no problem spending Lu Mingcheng’s money—after all, this scumbag wouldn’t even be around in a year.

But today’s incident… Well, she had to admit, it was a bit of a disgrace to the Lu family. That part did make her feel a little guilty.

Still, in that situation, she really couldn’t hold back.

She figured if it had been anyone else, they probably would’ve done the same.

After spending three minutes in the walk-in closet mentally preparing herself, Jiang Qiuyi came downstairs with a perfectly composed expression, as if nothing had happened.

She glanced at the clothes she had changed out of and felt they were completely jinxed—she wasn’t wearing them again.

Downstairs, Lu Mingcheng didn’t say anything. He didn’t even look at her.

The two ate in silence.

Jiang Qiuyi was actually quite hungry.

After an exhausting afternoon that had drained her both physically and mentally, she ended up finishing an entire bowl of rice—a rare occurrence.

Once dinner was over, she didn’t bother waiting for Lu Mingcheng and immediately headed back to her room.

If it weren’t for the fact that soaking in a hot bath right after eating wasn’t ideal, she would’ve already been in the bathroom by now.

Her phone screen was completely shattered, but she hadn’t had time to buy a new one yet.

Struggling to tap through the cracks, she checked her messages—several people had texted, letting her know they had arrived home safely.

After reading the messages, Jiang Qiuyi finally felt at ease.

She stood on the balcony, resting her chin on her hand as she gazed into the distance.

The lake view at night was stunning. Streetlights cast a warm glow, and the shadows of the trees swayed gently, flickering in and out of the light.

Just as she was lost in thought, footsteps approached.

Her body stiffened as she turned to see Lu Mingcheng walking onto the balcony.

Pressing her lips together, she debated whether to apologize first—but before she could decide, Lu Mingcheng handed her a phone.

Jiang Qiuyi blinked in surprise. “When did you get this?”

“Xu Chen had someone deliver it,” Lu Mingcheng replied.

“Oh,” Jiang Qiuyi murmured, suddenly feeling a little awkward. “Thanks.”

She stole a glance at him, then hesitated before asking in a quiet voice, “Did I cause you a lot of trouble?”

“No.”

He paused for a moment, then looked at her. “But next time, you can leave this kind of thing to the bodyguards.”

Jiang Qiuyi: “…”

She blinked in surprise before breaking into a laugh. “So… you’re not mad at me?”

Lu Mingcheng let out a quiet “Mm” and said indifferently, “It wasn’t a big deal.”

After hearing Yan Xu’s report at the office, he had a general idea of what had happened.

Jiang Qiuyi might seem gentle, but deep down, she had a fiery, impulsive side. The fact that she had thrown a punch (or in this case, a phone) didn’t surprise him much.

In some ways, she was quite rebellious.

Given how foul the man’s words had been, it was only natural she couldn’t tolerate it.

Hearing this, Jiang Qiuyi’s eyes lit up.

She couldn’t help but ramble, “Right?! That’s what I’m saying! Anyone would’ve lost their temper. You have no idea how disgusting that scumbag’s mouth was.”

The more Jiang Qiuyi spoke, the angrier she got. “He even bragged about how much money he has—like he’s proud of cheating and becoming someone’s live-in son-in-law.”

Zhuo Peng’s confidence came from one thing: latching onto Xinze.

Xinze might be a small company, but since its founding, its total assets had grown to tens of millions.

For an average person, that kind of money could easily shave twenty years off the grind. No wonder he was so smug.

The thought alone made Jiang Qiuyi furious.

If companies were something you could just throw money at and buy on a whim, she’d have already marched over and bought Xinze out.

Unfortunately, that lousy company wasn’t for sale, and the paperwork was a nightmare. The whole thing was just frustrating.

Lu Mingcheng watched her simmer with rage, then fell silent for a moment before asking, “Do you still want Xinze to change its name?”

Jiang Qiuyi was mid-rant when she abruptly stopped.

She blinked, staring at him in confusion. “Huh?”

She thought for a moment, then asked in a low voice, “Didn’t you say you had no interest in small companies like that?”

Lu Mingcheng: “Mm.”

Jiang Qiuyi frowned. “Then why are you bringing this up?”

She huffed. “Are you just trying to mess with me?”

Lu Mingcheng shot her a glance and said calmly, “Go take a shower first. When you’re done, come to my study.”

Jiang Qiuyi: “…?”

After soaking in the bath and completing her full skincare routine, she suddenly remembered—oh right, she was supposed to go to Lu Mingcheng’s study.

When she arrived, he was on a call.

Jiang Qiuyi raised an eyebrow.

As soon as he saw her, Lu Mingcheng ended the call and handed her a document.

Jiang Qiuyi glanced down—and completely froze.

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she held back.

Suppressing the wild thumping of her heart, she flipped through the document.

^_^