You tricked me into raising your son? You'll divorce me and become my aunt.

Ruan Ning had anticipated his answer.

"It's alright, I'm not asking you to help me, but at least don't help the Xu family bully me. I don't agree to invest in them, so don't get involved in this matter."

Fu Tingchen paused for a moment, then said, "Okay."

The next day.

Fu Tingchen called Xu Jianye and lied to him, saying that the company's board of directors did not agree to the investment.

Xu Jianye pleaded for a long time, but Fu Tingchen wouldn't budge, only saying that he couldn't help with this.

-

A few days later, Fu Tingchen received an invitation to a business cocktail party.

The other party is Changguang Chip, a well-known chip R&D company in Haicheng, which has a partnership with Fu's company.

Bai Xinyao walked to the desk with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Tingchen, you haven't decided on a date for Changguang's business cocktail party next week, have you?"

Fu Tingchen held a pen between his fingers, looking down as he reviewed a final contract for a transnational cooperation project.

The man's dark eyes were deep and unfathomable, and his voice was low and indifferent: "It's not decided yet."

Bai Xinyao was secretly delighted, looking at him intently with a hopeful expression: "Then I'll go with you."

She had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

She wanted to appear openly and proudly in front of everyone as his female companion, declaring her special status.

Fu Tingchen paused in his movements, then looked up at the woman in front of him, whose eyes were full of expectation.

His gaze was indifferent, and after a few seconds of silence, he said, "Let me ask Ruan Ning first."

Bai Xinyao's smile froze instantly, her heart feeling as if it had been doused with ice water.

Even though she had taken such a proactive approach, Fu Tingchen's first thought was still Ruan Ning.

But she dared not show the slightest displeasure.

Otherwise, it will backfire and annoy Fu Tingchen.

Bai Xinyao could only suppress the jealousy in her heart and pretend to smile understandingly.

"Okay, then you should ask Xiaoning first. If she's not available, I'll go with you."

"Um."

Fu Tingchen took out his phone and called Ruan Ning.

Ruan Ning seemed busy, speaking quickly: "Is there something you need?"

There's a cocktail party next Friday night, are you free to come with me?

Ruan Ning refused decisively: "I'm busy."

Fu Tingchen frowned, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes. "What are you busy with?"

"Everyone in the company will be working overtime next Friday. We're rushing to meet the project deadline, so there's no time."

Fu Tingchen responded calmly, "Understood."

After hanging up the phone, Fu Tingchen looked at Bai Xinyao standing to the side.

"She's not free that day, so you'll come with me next week."

Bai Xinyao was in a great mood and nodded with a smile, "Okay, I'll prepare properly and I definitely won't let you lose face."

"Um."

Bai Xinyao then said, "How about we go pick out evening gowns tomorrow?"

Fu Tingchen nodded slightly, which was considered his agreement.

For him, it was just a social engagement; who his female companion was or what she wore was irrelevant.

Not long after Ruan Ning hung up the phone, she received a call from the dress shop.

"Hello Ms. Ruan, the dress you ordered has arrived. When would be a convenient time for you to pick it up?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"OK."

The following afternoon.

After getting off work, Ruan Ning went to a formal dress shop.

This is one of the top luxury bespoke dress stores in the city, specializing in exclusive limited-edition evening gowns, each one handcrafted by the designer.

The designs are unique and you'll never see the same style anywhere else; of course, the price is also very high.

Fu Tingchen accompanied Bai Xinyao here to buy a dress.

As soon as they entered, all the shop staff bowed and greeted them warmly, showing a very good attitude.

"Hello, Mr. Fu! Hello, Mrs. Fu!"

Fu Tingchen is the store's VIC (Vice President). In the past, a large portion of Ruan Ning's dresses were custom-made here.

He had been to the store several times, and the staff all recognized him.

However, Ruan Ning never came with him.

Those dresses were all made through Fu Tingchen's membership; they were ordered and delivered directly to his home.

Therefore, the shop assistant did not recognize Ruan Ning.

Seeing Bai Xinyao holding Fu Tingchen's arm in an intimate manner, he subconsciously assumed that Bai Xinyao was Mrs. Fu.

Upon hearing the title "Mrs. Fu," Bai Xinyao's vanity was greatly satisfied.

Just as Fu Tingchen was about to deny it, the phone rang.

He took out his phone and glanced at it. It was a very important call. He then turned to Bai Xinyao and said, "You can choose for yourself first. You can try on the ones you like. I'm going outside to take this call."

Bai Xinyao smiled and said "okay".

Fu Tingchen nodded, released his arm from her grasp, and turned to walk out of the store to answer the phone.

Bai Xinyao turned and walked into the dress display area, her eyes slowly sweeping over the rows of dazzling haute couture dresses as she carefully selected one.

She was determined to pick the most stunning dress of the night, hoping to outshine everyone at the party and make everyone feel that she was the most worthy woman to stand next to Fu Tingchen.

Just as she was making her selections, Ruan Ning and Cheng Xi walked in together.

Ruan Ning was dressed casually today, wearing a simple light purple short-sleeved shirt paired with a white skirt, her long hair loosely tied back, revealing her slender and graceful neck.

She wasn't wearing makeup; her clean face revealed delicate and graceful features, and her gentle and refined demeanor was understated yet undeniably beautiful.

She came to pick up her dress today.

The shop assistant took out the dress and asked them to confirm whether it matched the order and whether there were any defects.

This is a moon-white gown with gilded details. It features a strapless, fitted waist and a long skirt. The voluminous skirt is adorned with scattered moonstones that sparkle brilliantly under the lights, like a shattered galaxy. It exudes a cool and sophisticated elegance, noble yet understated.

Upon seeing the dress, Cheng Xi couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, this evening gown is absolutely stunning! It suits you perfectly. You'll definitely dazzle everyone at the party next week if you wear it!"

Upon hearing this, Ruan Ning smiled faintly, "The dress is indeed very beautiful. I chose it at first sight."

Ruan Ning and Cheng Xi carefully inspected the dress. After confirming that there were no flaws, Ruan Ning said, "There's no problem. Please wrap it up for me."

"Okay, Miss Ruan."

As soon as she finished speaking, Bai Xinyao suddenly walked over. "Wait a minute! I want this dress."

She browsed through most of the stores and looked at dozens of haute couture gowns, but found them all unremarkable and not stunning enough, until she saw this one.

The cool color scheme and exquisite diamond embellishments make it so beautiful that you can't take your eyes off it.

If she wore this dress to the party, she would definitely steal the show and become the most dazzling presence of the night.

When Ruan Ning saw Bai Xinyao suddenly appear, a hint of surprise flashed across her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.

She never expected to meet Bai Xinyao here.

"You want it?" Ruan Ning sneered. "No."

Upon seeing this, the sales clerk quickly stepped forward to explain, "Mrs. Fu, I'm sorry, this dress was reserved by Miss Ruan a week ago, and we can't resell it to you."

Before the shop assistant could finish speaking, Cheng Xi exclaimed, "What did you call her?"

The shop assistant smiled and said, "This young lady is the wife of Mr. Fu, the CEO of the Fu Group."

Cheng Xi scoffed: "Thief."

Bai Xinyao's face paled, and she bit her lip. "Xiao Ning, is this your friend?"

Ruan Ning asked coldly, "What's wrong?"

Bai Xinyao spoke softly and innocently, "Xiao Ning, I really like this dress, so please let me have it."

"No."