Jiang Ruoqiao was very clear-eyed about her own capabilities.

The distance between her and someone who had perhaps spent a decade scheming her way back from rock bottom — in terms of cunning — was vast. She could see through Jiang Yan’s mother only because of the original novel’s plot. If her entire future lay in the hands of someone like that, she would be hopelessly outmaneuvered. Changing that dynamic meant not going head-to-head with Jiang Yan’s mother, because Jiang Yan’s mother occupied an impregnable position — able to advance or retreat at will.

She might not have any way to stop Jiang Yan’s mother herself. But there was one person who definitely could.

That person was certainly not the thoroughly useless Jiang Yan. The natural bond of blood between mother and son was a given — no matter how much weight she held in Jiang Yan’s heart, it would never outweigh the mother he had depended on his whole life. And what could Jiang Yan even actually do? At most, he could shout at his mother (and even that was probably the best possible outcome), while Jiang Yan’s mother walked away completely unscathed.

So Jiang Yan was entirely out of the equation — he couldn’t help with anything and would only drag things down.

Naturally, it couldn’t be Lin Kexing either.

Jiang Ruoqiao’s feelings about Lin Kexing were complicated. She couldn’t exactly say she deeply disliked her — but she certainly didn’t like her either. Going up against Lin Kexing would feel like picking on someone too weak — perhaps because the other girl seemed so fragile, there was an almost uncomfortable sense of bullying involved. But most importantly, to Lin Kexing, Jiang Ruoqiao was a romantic rival. And Jiang Yan’s mother, to Lin Kexing, was a figure even closer than her own mother. Anyone could figure out with minimal thought which side Lin Kexing would believe.

But Madam Lin was different.

She’d always had a bit of an uneasy feeling about the phrase “the fairer sex becomes strong for the sake of their children” — something about it didn’t sit right with her — but when it came to certain things, that principle genuinely held. In the original novel, Jiang Yan had already shown some of his ability and potential, and Lin Kexing clearly adored him without reservation. Even so, Madam Lin had initially not been particularly enthusiastic about the pairing — and that was without any blemishes on Jiang Yan’s record whatsoever.

Now, circumstances were entirely different. If Madam Lin were to learn from the very beginning that her daughter had been targeted by Jiang Yan’s mother — that part of her family’s business connections were being coldly calculated against — would she tolerate it? She absolutely would not. And her daughter had only just come of age. No mother, no matter who, would accept that.

Jiang Ruoqiao spoke politely to Madam Lin on the phone: “Madam Lin, the reason I’m calling today is not about work — it’s something personal. I’m very sorry to bother you with this. I simply feel that this is something you have the right to know.”

She was willing to wager that Madam Lin had no idea about the countryside resort incident.

If Madam Lin had known, would Jiang Yan’s mother still be casually tracking down her son’s ex-girlfriend right now?

On the other end of the line, Madam Lin was caught off guard. “Miss Jiang — you said this is personal?”

It was understandable that Madam Lin would be surprised. The gap between the two of them was enormous — in age, one could easily be the other’s mother; in standing, one was a university student and the other was the wife of the Chairman of Lin Family Jewelry. By any measure, it was hard to imagine what personal business could exist between the two of them.

“Yes.” Jiang Ruoqiao said carefully. “You should know my former boyfriend — he’s the son of your personal assistant, Jiang Yan.”

Madam Lin: “Oh?”

“A little while ago, Jiang Yan and I broke up.” Jiang Ruoqiao chose her words with care. “You may recall, recently, Jiang Yan took Miss Lin to a countryside resort. I was also there that day — and that was the day Jiang Yan and I broke up.”

Madam Lin began to sense something was off. “Wait, let me make sure I understand. You were Ah Yan’s girlfriend, and you two broke up at the countryside resort — you brought up Ke Xing specifically…” She asked hesitantly: “Are you saying the reason you broke up with Ah Yan was because of Ke Xing?”

Jiang Ruoqiao was also careful to maintain the right tone with Madam Lin. “That wasn’t the only reason. But — that night, Jiang Yan’s mother went to pick up Miss Lin. Were you aware of that, Madam Lin?”

Madam Lin went silent.

Either she was trying to recall what had happened that night, or she had already remembered.

“Madam Lin, by the time Jiang Yan and I broke up, the matter was already over — and I had no desire to have any further involvement with him.” Jiang Ruoqiao said, with a slight note of helplessness in her voice. “I had no intention of arguing or proving anything. But Jiang Yan’s mother has now come to find me. Madam Lin — I genuinely don’t want to be pulled back into all of this. That’s why I’ve taken the liberty of calling you. You can see for yourself — if I’d wanted to say anything, I would have said it when we met at the company.”

Madam Lin was quiet for a few seconds. “I understand. Is there anything I can do to help you?”

Jiang Ruoqiao said: “If you’re interested, I can leave the call open. You’d be able to listen to my conversation with Jiang Yan’s mother directly.”

Madam Lin considered briefly. “That would trouble you, Miss Jiang.”

When the call was placed, Jiang Ruoqiao had also pressed the record button.

The original novel’s plot had treated her far too unkindly — she had no choice but to keep more than one safeguard in place.

Jiang Ruoqiao deliberately changed into comfortable athletic wear.

She placed the phone in her pocket and headed downstairs. Jiang Yan’s mother’s face still wore that warm and pleasant expression.

And that expression made Jiang Ruoqiao think of Lu Yicheng — because having known Lu Yicheng, she found Jiang Yan’s mother’s so-called warmth hollow and false by comparison.

Jiang Ruoqiao wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but Jiang Yan’s mother’s eyes, though they appeared gentle on the surface, seemed to conceal a cold, calculating gleam.

Jiang Yan’s mother smiled faintly. “I know today was quite sudden on my part. But Ruoqiao — ever since Ah Yan mentioned you to me, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. And you’re exactly as I imagined — no, you’re even more beautiful and accomplished than I pictured.”

Jiang Ruoqiao also smiled politely. “You’re far too kind. I’m sure I can’t compare to even a fraction of your own beauty in your younger years.”

So they were finally face to face.

Both were accomplished at putting on a front, and both knew how to calculate. Every word, every exchange was airtight. Jiang Ruoqiao followed Jiang Yan’s mother to a restaurant near the school, clearly on the higher end — well beyond the reach of any student’s budget.

Jiang Yan’s mother was being careful. Just the two of them, and she still had the attendant lead them to a private room.

Once the attendant withdrew, leaving only the two of them in the private room, Jiang Ruoqiao glanced down at her phone to confirm the call was still connected.

Jiang Yan’s mother assumed Jiang Ruoqiao was checking the time. She said gently: “Have I taken up too much of your time?”

Jiang Ruoqiao shook her head and placed the phone face-down on the table. “I was just thinking it’s not quite dinnertime yet — not very hungry.”

“Ah Yan always said you were so slender.” Jiang Yan’s mother laughed softly. “Looking at you, I’m reminded of my younger self. Back then I was the same — always trying to eat as little as possible. Ah Yan’s father used to say I was impossibly vain. Ruoqiao — to be honest, I should have come to meet you much sooner. But I worried about being too forward. Even now this is rather sudden — I really should have made a proper visit to your family first.”

She could have done without bringing family into it. The moment she did, Jiang Ruoqiao was back in the dream — her grandparents’ pained, humiliated expressions.

Jiang Ruoqiao’s hand tightened quietly under the table. The smile on her face softened even further. “Auntie, I’m sorry to mention this, but Jiang Yan may not have told you — we broke up a while ago.”

Jiang Yan’s mother appeared genuinely taken aback. After a moment, her expression became one of subdued sorrow. “No wonder. Ah Yan didn’t say a word to me.”

Jiang Ruoqiao smiled. “I thought you already knew. That evening, I heard from my friends that you went to pick up Miss Lin.”

Jiang Yan’s mother looked up and met her eyes. “So you’re saying you and Ah Yan broke up because of Ke Xing?”

“Ah, well — how to put it.” Jiang Ruoqiao’s manner was entirely casual. “You heard what happened that night?”

Jiang Yan’s mother gave a soft sigh. “I know. Ah Yan wronged you, and wronged Ke Xing too. But the two of them have grown up together — perhaps you’ll feel I’m making excuses as his mother, but truthfully, they’ve always been like siblings. What happened that night was a misunderstanding. It was an accident.”

“Misunderstanding? Accident?” Jiang Ruoqiao rolled these two words around on her tongue, then suddenly let out a light laugh. “Fine, you can call it whatever you like. But let me ask you something, Auntie — if the same thing happened to you, if you saw with your own eyes your boyfriend holding his sister close and kissing her late at night, what would you do?”

Jiang Yan’s mother understood that Jiang Ruoqiao was carrying resentment.

If the situation hadn’t become so impossible, if Ah Yan hadn’t so resolutely refused to go back to the Lin household, Jiang Yan’s mother would never have gone to find Jiang Ruoqiao — of all people, his ex-girlfriend — at a time like this.

Jiang Yan’s mother said softly: “I would want to know the whole story before making any decision.”

Jiang Ruoqiao smiled faintly. “Auntie — I may not be as magnanimous as you. In your eyes, one is your own son, and the other is ‘more like a daughter than a daughter herself’ — your god-daughter. So on the night it happened, you were able to rush to the countryside resort and take Miss Lin away with you. I do want to ask — do you genuinely feel their dynamic was normal? They have no blood connection. One is twenty, the other eighteen. After what happened between them — how do you think they’re supposed to be around each other going forward?”

Jiang Yan’s mother reined in her expression slightly. “They’ve grown up together since they were small. It’s only natural that Ah Yan would look after Ke Xing a little more. Ruoqiao — there’s really no need to take Ke Xing to heart like this.”

Jiang Ruoqiao smiled faintly. “It’s not just my own view. Jiang Yan’s three dormitory-mates, my own friends, even the owner of the countryside resort — they all felt that Miss Lin’s feelings toward Jiang Yan are not what a younger sister feels for an older brother. And you clearly have such affection for Miss Lin, and clearly don’t agree that Jiang Yan should keep his distance from her going forward. Given all of that — I feel the most sensible thing for me to do is step aside.”

Jiang Yan’s mother fell silent for a long moment.

The situation truly was a mess at this point. Ah Yan had broken up with Jiang Ruoqiao because of Ke Xing. No matter what she tried to do to patch things up, no matter how she tried to get Ke Xing to keep burying her feelings — Ah Yan would never be close with Ke Xing again.

What had happened that night was an undeniable reality. No matter how you framed it, Jiang Ruoqiao’s reason for breaking up was entirely defensible.

Now, if Jiang Ruoqiao and Ah Yan reconciled, Jiang Ruoqiao would be on her guard around Ke Xing, and Ah Yan would be determined not to repeat the same mistake — he’d inevitably distance himself further from Ke Xing. And when Ke Xing found out they were back together, she would certainly be devastated.

But if the two of them didn’t reconcile, given Ah Yan’s temperament, he would absolutely refuse to go back to the Lin household. Missing Mid-Autumn Festival could be explained away to Madam Lin and the Master — but a prolonged absence would raise suspicions. And because of Ah Yan’s refusal to come back, Ke Xing would fall into sorrow and despondency either way.

Jiang Yan’s mother had never imagined things would come to this.

If she could turn back time, she would never have talked Ah Yan into bringing Ke Xing to the resort.

That one step — she had truly taken it wrong.

Jiang Yan’s mother’s thoughts were in disarray. She felt more and more that she shouldn’t have come to find Jiang Ruoqiao today at all. She said: “I’m sorry, Ruoqiao. You’re the one who was wronged in all of this. I shouldn’t have imposed on you with all these demands. I was simply anxious — the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up, and I called Ah Yan, but he won’t come back. I’m sorry, Ruoqiao. I hope today’s conversation hasn’t caused you any distress.”

Jiang Ruoqiao smiled pleasantly. “Of course.”

So he won’t come back. No wonder Jiang Yan’s mother was so anxious.

There was no dinner to speak of. Jiang Ruoqiao cited other commitments and excused herself early.

Some distance from the restaurant, she took out her phone — still showing an active call.

She brought the phone to her ear and spoke to the person on the other end: “Madam Lin, Jiang Yan and I have already broken up, and there will be absolutely no reconciliation. I won’t hide anything from you — perhaps I’m a small-minded person, but I truly did sense Jiang Yan’s mother’s intentions. She doesn’t approve of me. And my feelings for Jiang Yan were never deep enough to be worth being dragged into someone else’s scheming. That’s why I ended things. I had thought that after the breakup, I would finally be left in peace — but today Jiang Yan’s mother came looking for me again. This was my way of protecting myself. Please understand.”

After a beat of silence, Madam Lin’s voice came through — considerably less light than it had been at the start of the call. She said: “Miss Jiang, I understand completely. I want to thank you — thank you for letting me know about all of this. Please don’t worry. I’ll take care of things from here.”