Yi An tried her best to suppress the anger surging in her chest.

"Two to one, it passed. So what? Do you still think all the decisions you made were right?"

Meng Jie, who had been silent all along, suddenly laughed, and the eerie laugh made Yi Ruihua's pupils shrink involuntarily.

Meng Jie had no interest in paying attention to him and watched Yi An clapping and cheering.

"Yi'an, you are truly my good son!"

She emphasized every single word.

After saying that, she didn't even want to look at Yi An again. She stood up, turned around, and went upstairs.

As Yi An watched her retreating figure, she felt a strange sense of loneliness. All her strength seemed to drain away, and she slumped there, unable to move.

Yi Ruihua secretly watched Meng Jie's figure disappear at the top of the stairs before daring to stand up, walk to Yi An's side, and pat him on the shoulder.

"Yi'an, you've really grown up and have your own ideas now. Dad has finally made it through."

After he finished speaking earnestly, he let out a long sigh.

Hearing his relieved tone, Yi An felt a churning in her stomach, and even his touch made her feel nauseous.

Yi An slapped Yi Ruihua's arm away, stared at him coldly, and gritted her teeth, saying, "My agreement to this matter has never meant that I condone what you have done over the years. So, stop making excuses for your uneasy conscience."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly thought of something.

"Oh, right, I forgot, you have no conscience."

After saying this with a forced smile, Yi An turned and left without giving Yi Ruihua a chance to speak.

Yi Ruihua turned pale with anger. "Yi An, I'm your father! How dare you talk to me like that!"

No matter how angrily he shouted, Yi'an didn't even turn her head.

As soon as Yi An left the Yi family villa, she made a phone call to Zhao Bo.

When the call connected, all he said was a brief three-word reply: "The usual place."

Zhao Bo answered the busy signal several times, looking completely bewildered.

"What's wrong?" Feng Lin asked, tilting her head.

Zhao Bo hesitated and turned back, "Linlin, I..."

Before he could finish speaking, Feng Lin smiled and guessed, "Let me guess, is it your boss, President Yi, calling you again?"

Zhao Bo nodded with difficulty, and was about to explain when Feng Lin interrupted him again.

Feng Lin, unlike her previous temperament, said very generously, "It's okay, you go ahead. He must have something very important to tell you. I'm tired from shopping anyway, I need to go home and rest."

Upon hearing such understanding words, Zhao Bo was so moved that he almost cried.

"Linlin, you're so wonderful. I'm so unworthy of having such a great girlfriend!"

He took a black card out of his wallet and put it into Feng Lin's hand.

"Here, take this card. Buy whatever you want; your husband won't mind."

Feng Lin held the black card, and her entire face changed.

"Honey, you're so good to me!"

Zhao Bo smiled, kissed her cheek, and left.

Feng Lin watched his retreating figure, her expression changed, and she wiped her face in disgust, saying, "How disgusting."

Zhao Bo arrived at the usual spot with a delighted expression, only to find Yi An drinking alone in silence once again.

"What's wrong with you? Isn't tonight Xiaobao's birthday party?"

He sat down next to Yi An, nervously wondering, "Has Ms. Meng caused trouble again?"

Yi An downed a glass of wine in front of her, hiccuped, and asked Zhao Bo with a puzzled look, "Tell me, am I her son or her slave?"

"Of course it's the son!"

"Then why does she torment me in everything? From childhood to adulthood, from which school I went to, what major I chose, which university I applied to, where I worked, to even what clothes I wore when I was little, she always had to tell me what to do?"

Zhao Bo sighed helplessly. Over the years, he had witnessed firsthand how Yi An had survived and Meng Jie's almost obsessive desire for control.

But he still chose to comfort her with words: "Isn't that an unreasonable way for Ms. Meng to show her love?"

Yi An nodded vigorously. "Okay, those can be said to be her way of loving and caring for me, but why does she insist on making me follow her old path when it comes to my lifelong happiness? She has already lost completely, does she want me to suffer the same fate?"

Zhao Bo was speechless. He racked his brains but couldn't come up with any words to explain Meng Jie's situation.

"She really went too far in this matter."

After Zhao Bo finished speaking, he had another question: "But what exactly happened tonight? What made you look like this?"

When Yi'an heard him mention what happened tonight, she couldn't help but laugh.

He smiled mysteriously and beckoned to Zhao Bo, "I've done something big. Come here, I'll tell you."

Zhao Bo leaned closer curiously to listen.

"I've agreed to let my dad's mistress and illegitimate child move in, giving them a legitimate status."

Zhao Bo was completely dumbfounded.

"Yi'an, are you crazy? Do you even know what you're doing?! People are too busy chasing away mistresses, and you've let a wolf into the house?! Did a donkey kick your brain?!"

After Zhao Bo finished cursing, he realized that he had spoken too loudly, so he quickly lowered his voice and pulled Yi An over to scold her.

"Are you alright? Did Ms. Meng shock you so much that you went crazy?!"

When Yi An heard him say that about her, she wasn't angry at all; instead, she just grinned foolishly.

“I’m not stupid, I’m forcing her.”

Why force her to do anything?

"Force her to escape this already dysfunctional marriage."

Yi An slowly wiped away her smile, her eyes becoming unfocused.

"A marriage that is already riddled with problems will not disappear just because you turn a blind eye to them. Nor will it be restored by desperately trying to cover things up. Covering your eyes with your hands does not mean that the problems will disappear."

Zhao Bo frowned as he listened to his words.

“What you said does make some sense, but isn’t this method too extreme? Can Ms. Meng handle this kind of stimulation?” he asked tentatively.

Yi An listened to his worried words and gave a cold laugh.

“You underestimate her resilience. Even with such extreme measures, I couldn’t force her to utter a single word of objection. She doesn’t care how arrogantly the mistress barged into her home; all she cares about from beginning to end is her reputation.”

He frowned in confusion. "I just don't understand. Why is face so important to her? Even if she's in dire straits, even if everyone abandons her, she still wants to protect that invisible and intangible face."

Zhao Bo listened to his words, frowned, and thought for a long time, but he still couldn't figure out the problem.

"Perhaps strong women think differently?"

When Yi'an heard him mention "strong woman," she remembered something funny and couldn't help but laugh.

"Let me tell you something really interesting. Su Xiaoyu, do you know whose daughter she is?"