After abandoning his wife and children, Bo Xilai coaxed and begged her to reconcile.

As night fell, the two men faced off in a tense standoff in the darkness downstairs.

"Did you have to go this far?" Yang Lisheng asked coldly, his whole body radiating coldness and anger.

"Is that too much?" Yan Xiao sneered, her voice chilling.

"Do you know that because you suddenly spoke up, I've been put on the hot seat? Now the company has suspended me and reassigned me to a branch office. All my hard work over the years has gone down the drain. Are you satisfied now?" Yang Lisheng unleashed all his anger on Yan Xiao.

Yan Xiao remained expressionless and gave a soft "Mmm," adding, "I'm quite satisfied."

This is the fate that unfaithful people deserve.

"You! What good does it do you to ruin my reputation? Yan Xiao, how did you become like this!" Yang Lisheng's gaze pressed down heavily, his emotions filled with disgust.

"Don't try to manipulate me. I'm not some 18 or 19-year-old girl who can be easily fooled. First of all, it's not me who has changed, it's you. Secondly, it wasn't me who ruined your reputation, it was yourself. You reap what you sow. If you were upright and honest, how could you have been exposed online?"

"I……"

Yan Xiao was too lazy to argue with him: "Instead of coming to me with all this nonsense, why don't you go back and persuade that Miss Liu to prepare all the necessary funds? The court hearing is next week."

"you!"

"If there's nothing else, I'll go upstairs now. Xiaoxin will be scared to be home alone."

With those words still lingering on her lips, the cold smile faded as she turned away, her steps crisp and decisive, without looking back.

Yang Lisheng stood in the deep night, the evening breeze brushing his face, bringing a genuine coolness.

The tense atmosphere of the confrontation vanished abruptly with Yan Xiao's departure, but a strange emptiness welled up inside, as if something had quietly slipped away, leaving the heart feeling empty.

*

After dinner, Song Jin also noticed an unread message on her phone.

It was Lou Yin who sent it to her.

In two weeks it will be the birthday of their mentor, Professor Wu.

Lou Yin's idea was to gather Professor Wu's students together to celebrate their teacher's birthday. He wanted to ask Song Jinye for his opinion.

Song Jin naturally had no objections.

After returning to China, she visited Professor Wu twice. The old man had long since retired, but in his early years he devoted himself to his work, which took a toll on his health. Now his condition is not good, and he has to spend about half the year in the hospital recuperating.

This birthday celebration was a rare and joyous occasion, with everyone pitching in to help. Professor Wu is frequently hospitalized and rarely has such opportunities for family gatherings, so everyone wanted to take advantage of his birthday to let the elderly gentleman relax and have some fun.

So Lou Yin added her to the group chat.

"Junior Sister is here!"

"The legendary junior sister, this time I finally have the chance to see her in person."

"If you ask Professor Wu about his proudest student, it would be your junior sister. Last time I visited him, the old man praised you constantly and mentioned your research to everyone he met."

Song Jin was also in the last class Professor Wu taught, so everyone affectionately called her "Junior Sister". Although she had never met many of her senior classmates, people in the industry knew that she had inherited Professor Wu's mantle, making continuous breakthroughs in academia and producing a series of groundbreaking research results that amazed the industry.

"Thank you for your kind words, senior brothers and sisters. Fortunately, I received guidance from Professor Wu back then, which allowed me to continue working in his direction." Her words were gentle and unassuming, and she showed great respect for her seniors, which made everyone admire her character and professionalism.

"Alright, we're all from the same school, so there's no need for such formalities." Lou Yin stepped in to smooth things over, worried that Song Jin might feel awkward from all the praise. He then smoothly transitioned to the main topic, talking about the various arrangements for Professor Wu's birthday celebration.

"My senior brother's arrangements are always very thoughtful, so let's do as you say."

"Yes, junior brother, we trust you the most when it comes to getting things done. When we were in school, you took the lead and made all the arrangements, so we didn't have to worry about anything. We just had to lend a hand."

"I wholeheartedly agree. You've considered things more thoroughly than any of us. Over the years, everyone has become accustomed to following your arrangements."

Lou Yin: "Alright, it's settled then. Please remember the time, senior brothers and sisters, and junior brothers and sisters, and don't be late."

"Who are you chatting with? Why have you been chatting for so long?" Jiang Yiran plopped down next to Song Jinye, striking a gossip-loving pose.

"Group chat." Seeing that the conversation had ended, Song Jin put her phone aside.

Jiang Yiran happened to glance at it and said, "Why does that profile picture look like my cousin?"

Song Jinye: "Yes, it's him."

Lou Yin is indeed Jiang Yiran's cousin; he's from her aunt's family.

"Why did he contact you? Could he still have feelings for you?" Jiang Yiran asked in surprise. "We were wondering about this at our family gathering the other day: he suddenly threatened to break off the engagement, and then went abroad without a word. You know, my aunt had already paved the way for him back then. And this time he came back to China just like that. My aunt doesn't know whether to be happy or worried, she's afraid he'll do something earth-shattering again."

Song Jin frowned. "Why do you all think he...?" She spread her hands to indicate her incomprehension. "I'm not familiar with Senior Brother Lou at all."

Jiang Yiran waved her hand dismissively, "What does it matter if we're familiar or not? There's a kind of feeling called love at first sight. There's a kind of sleeping arrangement called 4-1-9."

Before she could finish speaking, she felt a cool gaze sweeping over her from a 45-degree angle to her right rear.

Subconsciously turning around, I saw Bo Sinian's handsome features with a forced, indifferent smile, his tone so light it seemed to drift from a distant place, yet it was shrouded in an unyielding sense of oppression.

"What are you talking about?"

"Let's talk about my cousin, Lou Yin, you should know him too. He was originally going to marry your Cheng Sijin, but the engagement was broken off later. This time when he came back to China, my aunt went to great lengths to arrange a lot of blind dates for him, but he didn't like any of them. My aunt was so angry that she almost severed ties with him." Jiang Yiran said with great enthusiasm, her tone full of undisguised gossip.

"Why are we suddenly talking about him?" He asked casually, his gaze falling on Song Jinye.

"Professor Wu's birthday is coming soon, and he wants to organize everyone to celebrate with him." Song Jin was also thinking about what birthday gift to prepare for Professor Wu, and replied casually.

Bo Sinian twitched his thin lips, but the smile didn't reach his eyes at all. Lou Yin had found a good excuse.