Jiang Wenze pushed open the door and entered the house, where he saw Jiang Hexi still sitting on the sofa in the living room waiting for him.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

“Brother, I’m afraid you’ll get upset by him and won’t sleep well all night,” Jiang Hexi said with great concern.

Jiang Wenze sat down opposite her. Compared to that stubborn and unruly girl, his younger sister's obedient and sensible nature was much more endearing.

The attitude towards this kind of thing should never be too forceful, otherwise it will provoke her rebellious mentality like last time, and the result will be counterproductive.

He leaned forward and said patiently, "I've finished my work here, and I'd like to take you back to Shenzhen and Hong Kong tomorrow."

Jiang Hexi readily agreed, "Okay."

Jiang Wenze raised an eyebrow slightly and probed, "Don't you want to stay in Yicheng a little longer?"

"Brother, I know what you want to ask."

Jiang Hexi adopted the persona of a highly educated individual and said with utmost clarity, "If I had to choose between you and Yan Jie, I would definitely choose you, as long as you continue to make payments every month."

Jiang Wenze smiled and said, "I'll double your monthly payments, can you break off your relationship with Yan Jie in return?"

"Brother, don't use money to challenge my views on love."

Jiang Hexi narrowed her eyes and said with unusual seriousness, "But my career is fine. When the variety show starts airing in September, in order not to be kicked out of the list of regular guests by Director Chen, I broke up with him."

The rest of the sentence was left unsaid; they would quickly get back together during the variety show's hiatus.

Her first priority is to calm Jiang Wenze down and prevent him from revealing this, otherwise she and Yan Jie will both be finished.

"You made such a big fuss, and then you broke up in the end. What was the point?"

"I'm attracted to his looks."

Jiang Hexi used her last trump card, saying with a sorrowful expression:

"Brother, I didn't talk about it before because I was focused on farming, but all my wheat was flooded. I still can't get over that trauma. I just wanted to do something fun, and in a moment of confusion, I accepted his confession."

Jiang Wenze thought of how withdrawn she was last year, staying at home all the time, and he didn't dare to stop her anymore.

He said softly, "You are no match for Yan Jie. He is a cunning wolf. If you, an innocent sheep, are sent into his mouth, he will devour you without leaving a trace."

Jiang Hexi said with deep feeling, "Brother, I will handle this calmly and break up with him in September."

Jiang Wenze felt that something was wrong.

The whole communication went smoothly, and her quick agreement made him suspect something was amiss.

But what she said was logically consistent, and he couldn't find a single flaw in it.

Jiang Hexi returned to her room and lay flat on the bed, spread-eagled.

Having won over Jiang Wenze, she felt incredibly happy. She picked up her phone, about to share the good news with Yan Jie, when she saw a message from Yu Xiangwan:

Yu Meiren: [Xi Mei, what an absolutely terrible movie you picked!!!]

Yu Meiren: [Do you know what the final ending is?]

Yu Meiren: [The entire main cast transforms into evil spirits. After defeating the old ghost, they take his place to wreak havoc on the next group of people.]

Smiling: 【Wanwan, calm down.】

Smiling: [Are you so angry because the movie was terrible, or were you scared?]

Smiling: [If it's the latter, I'm not responsible.]

Yu Meiren: [I was scared, but that's because the movie you chose was so crude and vulgar.]

Smiling: [Wanwan, just asking you, was Actor Xie scared?]

Smiling: [Silence is a denial; the facts are clear.]

Smiling: [We watched the same movie, so why wasn't Xie, the movie star, scared, but you were? Wanwan, you should look for the reason within yourself.]

Yu Meiren: 【(￣ε(#￣)☆╰╮o(￣皿￣///)】

Smiling: [I'm just wondering, this movie is so bad, and you're terrified, what kept you watching?]

Smiling: [Come out late, don't play dead.]

Smiling: [If you don't tell me, I'll boldly guess—is it Xie Yingdi's tenderness?]

Yu Meiren: [I just borrowed his arm for a hug.]

Smiling: 【(﹁﹁)~→ Just the arm?】

Yu Meiren: [There's still half a shoulder left.]

Smiling: 【(﹁﹁)~→ Just the shoulder?】

Yu Meiren: [There's still a neck.]

Yu Meiren: [If he dares to borrow it, I dare to use it. I dumped him the moment I left the movie theater. What, what else do you want to say?]

Smiling face: [I feel genuinely sorry for Actor Xie for three seconds.]

Smiling: [Wanwan, Xie Yingdi's service was so good, are you planning to renew your loan next time?]

Yu Meiren: [It depends. If there's a need, we'll renew the contract; if not, he can go wherever he wants.]

Yu Meiren: [Why are you asking this?]

Smiling: [Screenshot and forward to Yan Wang.]

Smiling broadly: [Look at how obsequious other people's boyfriends are, and then look at how arrogant he is! I need to teach him a lesson.]

Yu Meiren: [I'm speechless.]

Jiang Hexi sent the screenshot to Jie without saying anything, just waiting for him to take the initiative to express his opinion.

Yan Jie then forwarded the screenshot to Xie Wanyi, and quickly received a reply from Xie Wanyi:

Actor Xie: [All I saw was the word "boyfriend," and the fact that Wanwan didn't deny it.]

Actor Xie: [Xi Mei has helped me time and time again, and I have no way to repay her. The only way I can thank her for making our relationship possible is to win over Wanwan.]

Actor Xie: [I'm taking this screenshot as evidence, and I'm going to confront Wanwan right now.]

Yan Jie then sent a screenshot of Xie Wanyi's reply to Jiang Hexi.

Smiling: [? ? ?]

Jie: [Actor Xie doesn't even have a boyfriend yet, how can he compare to me?]

Jie: [I have a title and status, so naturally I cannot do something that would lower my status and damage Xibao's reputation.]

Jie: [Sweetie, just watch the show and don't join in the commotion.]

Jiang Hexi threw down her phone and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

She was too hasty in the end; she shouldn't have agreed to his confession so easily, which only fueled his arrogance and ultimately diminished her own prestige.

The next morning, as dawn was breaking.

Jiang Hexi, dressed in a sports short-sleeved shirt, waited outside the gate. It was three minutes to seven o'clock, and she hesitated whether to send Yan Jie a text message.

Last night she silently told him, "See you at seven tomorrow morning," without knowing if he could read her lips.

The sky was somewhat overcast this morning, and a light breeze was picking up, like a lingering rain that hadn't yet fallen.

She craned her neck and looked expectantly towards the end of the street.

The time on her wristwatch was almost seven o'clock. She thought that it was one thing to lack chemistry, but what if it rained and both of them got soaked?

It was exactly seven o'clock, but the figure still hadn't appeared at the end of the street.

Just as her joy was dashed, she was unexpectedly embraced from behind and fell into a thick, warm hug.