Chapter 84 Every time you abandoned her, it was me.

Si Yuan never expected that she would have such courage to confront Song Yan about everything.

She grabbed Jiang Wang's hand and led him out of the private room. It took them quite a while to realize what had happened.

She suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Jiang Wang.

"Just now..." Si Yuan steadied herself, her eyes shining, and asked Jiang Wang, "Weren't you scared at all?"

Jiang Wang looked down at her, a gentle smile slowly curving his lips.

He reached out and smoothed her hair, nodded, and let her be: "Yes, I'm not afraid at all."

Si Yuan smiled, pursing her lips: "I felt as brave as you were just now."

Jiang Wang looked on with admiration, pinched Si Yuan's cheek, and commented, "That's right, I never thought that one day, Si Yuan would be able to protect me too."

It's like coaxing a child.

Si Yuan lowered her head, looking thoughtfully at their clasped hands.

It turns out that resisting Song Yan wasn't as terrible as I had imagined.

She knew that the main reason was probably because Jiang Wang was standing behind her, giving her support.

"Now the Song family should be at ease. Song Yan's mother will also return my things to me as soon as possible..."

The only thing she couldn't let go of was her mother's belongings.

Jiang Wang squeezed her hand, then, as if remembering something, narrowed his eyes and said, "Then I'll teach you something else."

"What?"

"If people like to threaten you with their weaknesses, going along with them will only backfire and make you sink deeper."

Jiang Wang held her hand and walked out, his gaze darkening. He said, "You need to find a way to get leverage over them and turn the tables on them, gradually putting them under your control."

Si Yuan looked up at Jiang Wang: "But how did we find incriminating evidence against them?"

"If there is no leverage, create leverage."

"Handbook is for those who are prepared."

——

The next day, early morning.

The weather in the capital is already getting a bit chilly.

Jiang Wang woke up, while Si Yuan slept soundly beside him.

She can fall asleep without medication now.

Part of the reason is that the condition is stable, and another reason is... that Jiang Wang is causing too much trouble every day.

She was tired.

Jiang Wang gathered all the hair from Si Yuan's face and looked at her face carefully. It was a delicate and small oval face that was pleasing to the eye no matter how you looked at it.

He kissed Si Yuan, and when he looked up, he saw that his phone screen was lit up.

He picked it up; it was a message from Song Yan, inviting him to meet at a teahouse in the suburbs.

Jiang Wang smiled and turned off his phone.

He pressed his lips against Si Yuan's earlobe and whispered, "I'm going out for a bit. Wait for me at home."

Si Yuan agreed in a daze.

"I'll leave your breakfast outside, remember to eat it."

Si Yuan's lips twitched slightly, and she nodded.

——

This teahouse is located in the suburbs, with its green tiles and white walls nestled among lush bamboo groves. A plaque hangs above the wooden door, its calligraphy vigorous and powerful.

Jiang Wang pushed open the door to the private room and was greeted by the refreshing fragrance of Longjing tea.

Song Yan had already arrived, clearly well in advance.

Upon seeing Jiang Wang enter, Song Yan gestured, "Sit down."

Jiang Wang sat down opposite him, looked him over, and smiled, "As expected of Young Master Song, I rarely come to such an elegant place. I'm so glad to be here today."

Song Yan couldn't smile; the weariness in his eyes was almost overflowing.

He raised his hand to signal the tea master to serve tea.

The tea master was a young woman wearing a blue and white porcelain cheongsam. She gracefully sat down, carrying a tea tray in her slender hands.

Jiang Wang smiled with interest and said to Song Yan, "I've never been a big fan of tea."

He turned to the tea master, casually twirling the cigarette case between his fingers, a hint of roguishness in his eyes and brows. "May I smoke?"

The tea master had rarely seen a man like Jiang Wang. Even though it was just a casual glance, the aroma of tea seemed to freeze for a moment, and even the wind on the eaves seemed to slow down.

The tea master blushed slightly at his gaze and gently shook his head: "Sir, smoking is prohibited here."

"Alright." Jiang Wang shrugged regretfully, not making things difficult for him.

That nonchalant attitude made Song Yan frown.

After the tea master left, Song Yan finally couldn't help but ask, "Does Si Yuan know about what you've been doing outside?"

Jiang Wang was taken aback: "What happened to me?"

Song Yan didn't want to point out his frivolous behavior, so he could only turn his face away coldly.

The bamboo shadows outside the window cast a particularly gloomy look on his tense profile.

He tapped his fingertips lightly on the sandalwood tabletop, speaking casually: "Talking about work?"

Song Yan lowered his eyes and said in a deep voice, "No, let's talk about something else."

Jiang Wang raised an eyebrow as expected: "What do you want to talk about?"

Song Yan's fingers unconsciously traced the rim of the teacup, his voice low: "We've known each other for almost five years. I consider you a friend, so I treat you with sincerity."

He raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife. "Tell me the truth, when did you and her get together?"

Jiang Wang recalled for a moment, and realized that it shouldn't be called "together," but rather... "overlapping."

"The day of the high school reunion, I guess."

Song Yan's pupils suddenly contracted, and he almost dropped the teacup in his hand.

He didn't expect it to happen so soon—Si Yuan had only recently returned to China.

"Back then..." His voice trembled slightly, "did you know she was my sister?"

Jiang Wang frankly admitted, "I know."

I'll always know.

It could even be said that if Jiang Wang hadn't known that Song Yan was Si Yuan's brother, he wouldn't have even gone to the same university as him.

"Then why did you provoke her?" Song Yan slammed his hand on the table, splashing tea all over it. "You have so many women, why did it have to be my sister?"

People like Song Yan rarely lose control.

But in these past few days, I've hardly had a moment of calm.

The smile on Jiang Wang's face gradually faded.

He tilted his head slightly, his eyes sharp as knives: "Who told you I have many women?"

"You've never been a virtuous person!" Song Yan gritted his teeth and sneered, "In college, and all these years, haven't you been surrounded by plenty of girls?"

“Ha,” Jiang Wang suddenly laughed, his tone sarcastic: “Not being surrounded by women means being promiscuous.”

He slowly picked up his teacup, his words carrying a hidden meaning: "Some people are upright and self-disciplined, but what then? Don't they still treat other people's affection and sincerity as playthings?"

Song Yan clenched his teeth, his jawline taut.

He could tell, of course, that Jiang Wang was alluding to him.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to argue, and said coldly, "You don't understand what's going on between us, and you have no right to comment."

He abruptly changed the subject, returning to his initial question, his voice trembling slightly: "So, the person Si Yuan spoke to on the phone that day was you?"

Jiang Wang raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying, but the smile in his eyes tacitly acknowledged everything.

"The hickey on her neck is also from you?"

The same answer.

Song Yan's voice grew increasingly urgent, yet also increasingly deep: "You were the one who took her away at the birthday party?"

"The boyfriend she said she wanted to marry, is that you?"

"Was it you who picked her up from the Song family's old residence that day?"

Jiang Wang interrupted him impatiently: "That's right, every time you abandoned her, it was me who appeared."

These words struck Song Yan like a heavy hammer blow.

Outside the window, bamboo shadows sway gently, and sunlight filters through the window frame, casting dappled patterns on the ground.

Song Yanming was standing where the light was falling, but he still felt cold all over.