Qiao Zhen shook her head. She didn't want to affect Lu Zheng's mood, especially since they were at the Lu family's house, and she couldn't speak ill of others in front of them.

"It's alright, let's eat," Qiao Zhen said casually, then picked up a piece of pork rib and put it in Lu Zheng's bowl.

Qiao Zhen took a couple of bites of food, but then felt a strong gaze fixed on her.

Looking up, I saw Chen Yan's face.

After Shen Yan married Lu Hang, although she managed to preserve the Shen family's wealth, the Shen family's financial strength was not as great as before.

So she was placed in the very corner.

Seeing how carefully Lu Zheng was taking care of Qiao Zhen, Shen Yan must have felt resentful.

"Hurry up and eat, you useless thing."

Lu Hang felt annoyed when he saw that Shen Yan looked distracted.

After this money-losing woman married him, not only did he lose Old Master Lu's favor, but she also repeatedly embarrassed him.

Shen Yan dared not complain and could only eat her meal in silence.

After what had just happened, Qiao Zhen had no appetite and was full after only a couple of bites of food. Soon the meal ended, the dishes were cleared away, and everyone started chatting.

Lu Zheng was quickly pulled away to discuss business, leaving Qiao Zhen alone at the table, bored and playing on her phone.

"Miss Qiao, can we talk?"

Hearing this, Qiao Zhen looked up in surprise. She hadn't expected Shen Yan to take the initiative to talk to her.

"Okay." Qiao Zhen nodded and readily agreed. After all, this was the Lu family home, and even if she wanted to do something underhanded, it wouldn't be possible.

The two went into the shadows, and Chen Yan got straight to the point.

"Miss Qiao, to be honest, I'm quite envious of you. You really are different in Lu Zheng's heart."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Zhen simply smiled self-deprecatingly and didn't take it to heart.

She clearly remembered that Shen Yan told her that Lu Zheng didn't love anyone and was just using Qiao Zhen.

Does standing up for her a few times mean you love yourself?

"Perhaps this is the power of love, enabling Lu Zheng to let go of his hatred and live a good life with you."

At this point, Shen Yan smiled, her eyes filled with envy as she looked at Qiao Zhen.

Qiao Zhen frowned and asked cautiously, "What grudge? I don't know anything about it?"

"You didn't know?" Shen Yan feigned surprise, but inwardly she was overjoyed: "You think Lu Zheng approached you for no reason? It's because there's a story between you two."

"Can you guarantee that what you're saying is true?" Qiao Zhen frowned, but looking at Shen Yan's determined expression, she felt that it didn't seem fake.

Seeing Qiao Zhen's cautious expression, Shen Yan knew she had made the right bet.

It seems that Gu Xijue was right.

Three days ago—

Shen Yan, who had just been slapped by Lu Hang, hid in her room and cried secretly when a phone call suddenly came in.

Seeing that it was an unfamiliar number, Shen Yan wanted to hang up, but a rebellious feeling welled up inside her, and she answered the phone anyway.

"Miss Chen, is it convenient for us to talk?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was unfamiliar, but Shen Yan felt a strange sense of familiarity about it.

"Who are you?" Shen Yan asked hesitantly, wiping away the tears on her face.

"Who I am is not important. What's important is that I can help you break up Qiao Zhen and Lu Zheng."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yan's pupils contracted, and she subconsciously pursed her lips: "Why should I believe you?"

After all, without solid evidence, Shen Yan would never dare to fight against Lu Zheng.

"How about we arrange a place to discuss this in detail?"

After thinking it over, Shen Yan nodded in agreement.

It wasn't until they met that she realized it was Gu Xijue who had called her.

Are you curious why I came to find you?

Gu Xijue naturally noticed the astonishment on Shen Yan's face and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

The two of them had booked a private room, which offered a lot of privacy. Gu Xijue pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Indeed, I didn't expect you to choose me as your helper."

Shen Yan's words were full of surprise; she hadn't expected Gu Xijue to come to her.

"Ms. Shen, you can rest assured that I have no intention of harming you. The reason I want to cooperate with you is very simple: we have the same goal."

"You want to break them up, and so do I, that's enough."

Hearing this, Shen Yan couldn't help but feel a little tempted, but at this moment she didn't dare to trust anyone, so she said it with some caution.

"If I may ask, how can I trust you? After all, breaking them up is no easy task."

Gu Xijue seemed to have known this in advance, and confidently took out a cell phone.

The phone model is very old, one of those ten-year-old models, but it was still very popular at the time.

"This is...?" Shen Yan asked hesitantly, her eyes fixed on the phone in his hand.

Gu Xijue smiled and opened his phone, then pulled out a text message.

The above is a text message from an unknown sender. The message is brief.

"I will avenge this grudge in the future."

After watching it, Shen Yan was still confused and wanted to see something else, but Gu Xijue turned off the phone.

"Miss Shen, you can't rush things."

Gu Xijue gently reminded him, while putting his phone away.

"Then what do you mean by showing me this?"

After reading the text message, Shen Yan was slightly excited, although she couldn't be sure if it was real.

However, seeing this text message was like a reassurance to her, giving her confidence to break up Lu Zheng and Qiao Zhen.

"This phone was discarded by Qiao Zhen years ago. It accidentally fell into my hands that day, and I've kept it ever since. I never expected to suddenly receive this message."

After speaking, Gu Xijue stood up slightly, leaned closer to Shen Yan's face, and said in a rather seductive and magnetic voice.

"Guess... who sent this text message?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Yan immediately understood what had happened. She nodded in realization, and then became somewhat excited.

"Then give me this text message, and I can confront Qiao Zhen!"

“No.” Gu Xijue shook his head, his face full of smiles: “There’s no need for that. You’re too excited right now, and it’s not suitable for you to do this. You just need to put together what you know and tell Qiao Zhen the information you have.”

Hearing this, Shen Yan was somewhat unwilling, but she could only bite her lip and nod.

Now that she knew this evidence, she could test Qiao Zhen.

"By the way, don't tell Qiao Zhen that I told you."

Gu Xijue put his finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture, and Shen Yan obediently nodded.

"I still have one question: how can you guarantee I won't stab you in the back?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Xijue merely curled his lips into a confident smile and said, "The answer is simple: can you bear the consequences?"

Gu Xijue was absolutely right. Shen Yan was powerless and powerless, and even her husband was an insignificant nobody. She truly had no means of resistance.

“And…” Gu Xijue paused, then stared intently into Shen Yan’s eyes.