Chapter 42: You Two Are Both Fools

Cen Wan observed Shen Jianyu while eating dessert. Xu Zhitang was right; she seemed genuinely uninterested in Lu Beixun, not even speaking a word to him.

“Stop looking. I was just teasing you before,” Shen Jianyu said frankly. “I saw how hard Mr. Lu was trying to win his wife back, so I helped a little. Don’t think of me as a rival. I’m just a small catalyst in your relationship.”

Combining what Xu Zhitang had told her, she understood. Cen Wan rolled her eyes at her: “To put it bluntly, you were deliberately trying to make me angry.”

Shen Jianyu didn’t deny it: “You could say that.”

Cen Wan understood. No wonder Lu Beixun wasn’t worried at all about them meeting. She used her fork to stab the dessert in front of her twice: “You two are amazing!”

“So, I’m the only fool?”

Lu Beixun stroked her head, trying to calm her down.

Shen Jianyu denied it: “No, you two are both fools.”

Lu Beixun: “…”

He looked at Shen Jianyu coldly. Shen Jianyu shrugged nonchalantly and said, “A man with money and power can’t handle a little woman. If it were me, I’d lock her up and train her until she obeys.”

Cen Wan lowered her head and remained silent for a few seconds: “If you were the emperor, you’d definitely be a tyrant.”

Shen Jianyu shrugged: “But I’d be happy.”

Cen Wan didn’t know how to refute her.

Shen Jianyu could make her explode with anger with just a few words. She said, “You’re letting the position of Mrs. Lu go to waste. Do you want Lu Corporation to go bankrupt sooner?”

Cen Wan glared at her angrily, gritting her teeth. What should she do? Her hands were itching to hit someone!

It was one thing for Xu Zhitang to say that, she was her best friend. But for Shen Jianyu, this woman, to say the same thing, how could she bear it!

How could she!

She burrowed into Lu Beixun’s arms: “Hubby, you! Make her leave the company.”

“I’m not leaving.” Shen Jianyu looked at her defiantly, arms crossed.

Lu Beixun held Cen Wan, opened his phone with one hand, and made a call.

After a few seconds, the other side answered. Lu Beixun put the call on speaker and asked, “Where are you?”

The person on the other end hesitated for two seconds: “The villa in the southern suburbs.”

The long-lost voice, mixed with a faint electric current, reached her ears. Shen Jianyu’s eyes turned red. Lu Beixun’s gaze fell on her, and he hung up the phone.

Cen Wan could immediately tell that the voice on the other end was Xiao Yan’s. Seeing her red eyes, Cen Wan roughly understood that Shen Jianyu’s target was Xiao Yan.

Because of Lu Beixun, she had met Xiao Yan a few times. Besides polite greetings, she hadn’t spoken much to him. Xiao Yan was very cold, with a “keep out” aura.

Shen Jianyu stood up, picked up her bag: “I’m leaving.”

Her gaze fell on Cen Wan: “Let’s have dinner sometime.”

Seeing her red eyes, Cen Wan opened her mouth, wanting to comfort her, but she didn’t know how to speak. A second ago, she had wanted to punch her.

Cen Wan nodded at Shen Jianyu.

After Shen Jianyu left, Cen Wan asked, “Did something happen between her and Xiao Yan?”

Lu Beixun: “They were together. I’m not sure about the details.”

Cen Wan didn’t ask further. Thinking about Shen Jianyu’s words just now, she looked at him sideways: “Hubby, have you ever thought about using unconventional methods to lock me up and force me to obey?”

Lu Beixun looked at her and faintly hummed in response.

He had thought about it. He wanted to tie her to his side, he wanted to use unconventional methods to force her to submit. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it, he couldn’t bear to. She should be bright and vibrant, not a caged canary.

Cen Wan: “Then why…”

“I couldn’t bear to. Love shouldn’t be like that.”

Cen Wan felt a pang in her heart. He had always been thinking of her, while she had tried every means in the previous life to make him pay for the death of her family.

Cen Wan tilted her head and kissed his lips: “Thank you for loving me.”

Lu Beixun lowered his head and pinched her chin. Just as he was about to lean down and kiss her, the office door was knocked on. Cen Wan quickly pushed him away: “I’ll go work first.”

Cen Wan tidied up her appearance, put away her smile, walked to the door, and opened it. He Yi was standing at the door. Cen Wan, who was still thinking about how to explain, breathed a sigh of relief. She nodded at He Yi and left.

Back at her desk, Chang Ning pulled Cen Wan aside: “How was it? Did you get taken advantage of?”

Cen Wan shook her head: “That girl is Lu Beixun’s former neighbor. I was overthinking. They’re friends.”

“That’s good.” Chang Ning: “I thought you had a rival.”

“Don’t worry.” Cen Wan smiled.

In the previous life, she had always considered Shen Jianyu to be Lu Beixun’s pursuer. She had been trying to find ways to get revenge on Lu Beixun and hadn’t paid attention to Shen Jianyu. She didn’t know that her target was someone else.

Cen Wan was actually curious about what had happened between her and Xiao Yan. They had been together, but why did they break up? Thinking about Shen Jianyu’s red eyes, she must have loved him deeply.

The villa in the southern suburbs.

Shen Jianyu stepped on the brakes. The car stopped at the entrance of the villa. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel. She rolled down the window and looked into the villa.

For over 700 days and nights, she had imagined countless times what it would be like to see him again. She thought she would have the courage to face him, but the truth was, she didn’t even have the courage to ring the doorbell.

She didn’t know if the people inside the villa were still there or if they had gone out.

She let go of the steering wheel, leaned back in her seat, took out a cigarette from the pack, lit it, and took a deep drag. The thin smoke lingered in the air for two seconds before dissipating.

Shen Jianyu reached out and grabbed at the air, her lips curling up in a sarcastic smile. The small space in the car was filled with smoke.

The cigarette in her fingers flickered.

Her hand rested on the car window. When she turned her head to look at the villa, a person was standing at the entrance, looking at her.

Just one glance, and Shen Jianyu reflexively panicked. She hurriedly clenched the half-smoked cigarette in her palm. Her palm was burned by the cigarette butt, but she only frowned. Her panicked look was like a minor caught smoking by their parents, afraid of being scolded and reprimanded.

The person standing there had a very calm expression, no ripples, making it impossible to tell what he was feeling. But the eyes that looked at her were very unfamiliar. He had changed, but it was as if nothing had changed. He was still him.

Xiao Yan was wearing casual clothes, a white long-sleeved T-shirt, and silver-gray casual pants. He was holding a garbage bag in his hand.

He didn’t seem to smile as much anymore.

Neither of them spoke. They just looked at each other for a long time. After a while, Xiao Yan looked away, holding the garbage bag and walking towards the trash can.

Shen Jianyu held her breath, her gaze following him.

Xiao Yan walked about ten steps, stopped by the trash can, threw the garbage bag in, and looked at her car for a few seconds. Then, without looking at her again, he walked into the villa.

During those few minutes, Shen Jianyu struggled internally. She still didn’t have the courage to open the car door, get out, and call his name.

Xiao Yan’s figure was tall and slender. Shen Jianyu watched him walk into the villa. After he went inside, she slowly released her hand. The red glow had extinguished. The cigarette fell at her feet, and her palm was burned.

After a while, she drove away, not noticing the person standing on the balcony on the second floor.