"She has a point. No matter how you look at it, this is a set up. I don't know of anyone who would plan to do something secretly but end up doing it on the streets in broad daylight, while knowing that surveillance cameras are all over.

On the other hand, if someone wants to set someone else up, they will focus on creating as much irrefutable evidence as possible and will often forget how unreasonable it turns out to be." Lin Jian remarked, earning gazes of ridicule.

"So what if she was set up? She tarnished our company's reputation and must go." Mr. Lu insisted.

Lanni's eyebrows knitted. Had this man been bribed?

"If we are taking reputation so seriously, then I have something to talk about." She pulled up an old article from her phone, which she had seen weeks ago and it just happened to be convenient. "You were once entangled in a scandal that involved a married woman, Mr. Lu. This is a blow to the reputation of Lin Media Group, don't you think?" She hinted meaningfully.

"Don't you pull that crap on me!" He roared.

When he realized that everyone else was giving him glances that called him out for hypocrisy, he conceded. "Fine. She can stay. But only because she is a hard worker."

"Thank you." Lanni took a slight bow and left the conference room. She didn't have too much work lately. It was probably because Lin Jian made her subordinates filter out the unimportant documents before sending only the ones that mattered to her, to make her work easier.

She would reward them later, she thought as she gathered the remaining work to take home with her.

The chauffeur opened the back passenger door as soon as he saw her leaving the building and rushed to help her carry the files even though she didn't think they were heavy.

"Madam, are we going home?" He asked politely when she got in.

"Let's give Aunt Meiling a surprise visit first." She smiled, wondering how the woman would react to her sudden visit. It was still unbelievable how fast one could change, and even worse to think that Xiehan had offered her a place to stay. When she had just arrived with her husband, he had invited her to stay over at his mansion. Luckily, she had found herself an apartment when she decided to stay in the city for a few years.

The thought of it made Lanni's eyebrows knit. Ji Meiling loved Australia so much. At first, she had only wanted to watch over her daughter and leave once Xiaoshi was settled. What changed her mind? Why did she only leave for a month and come back to stay for a few years? It was easy to assume that it had something to do with her husband but Lanni knew it was not that simple. The woman might just have skeletons in her closet which she would be pleased to set free.

They arrived at the apartment complex and Lanni couldn't get in unless Ji Meiling allowed her, so she waited in the lobby. Minutes passed although Ji Meiling was home, but she neither let them in nor denied them entry.

"Madam, maybe we should go back first and come some other time." The chauffeur suggested, worried that she was going to stand for too long.

"Don't worry about me." Lanni was determined to have a good chat with Ji Meiling today, and it didn't matter how long it took to meet her.

Half an hour later, Ji Meiling finally dropped the act and let her in.

"Lanni! I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting. I was taking a nap and didn't know you were here. Did you wait for too long?" She feigned happiness.

Lanni flashed a meaningful smile. "Not at all. Thirty minutes isn't a long time in a pregnant woman's clock."

Ji Meiling frowned and offered her a glass of juice. "I blended this naturally. It's very nutritious."

"Thank you." Lanni didn't make a move to drink it even though she knew that Ji Meiling couldn't dare to do anything to her directly.

"I'll cut the chase, aunt Meiling." She spoke up. "What exactly are you going to gain from breaking Xiehan and me apart?"

The woman stopped in her tracks. "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. You are behind everything. The rumors about me and Lin Jian, the document I've been framed for stealing, the murder accusation, what do you gain from all of these?"

"You are so naïve, Lanni." She scoffed. "Do you have a camera on you? Are you intending to get words out of my mouth that will incriminate me?"

"I wouldn't be at my current level if I had to rely on those." She spoke with a hint of warning in her voice. "I am here to warn you. If you want to talk about it and come up with a solution that will save both of us trouble, you are welcome to discuss it with me. But if you are hell set on trying to destroy me, don't blame me for being rude."

"You and what army? Do you think you kids are a match for me?"

Lanni raised an eyebrow at her words. If she wasn't certain before, she now was. She looked at the woman over her shoulder. "You have been warned, Aunty."

She hurried down the stairs and was surprised when she bumped into Cheng Yu who was coming up.

"I don't understand. Is it Halloween or something?" She scrutinized her friend, who was wearing a food delivery uniform and had a box in her hands.

"What are you doing here, Lanni? Wait. I have to go up first."

"No. Come with me." Lanni pulled her all the way out of the building with her.

Cheng Yu was displeased. "Why did you do that? I had to pretend to be a food delivery girl so they would let me in. If I go back now, they will not let me in again!"

"Were you going to find Ji Meiling?" Asked Lanni, as she shoved Cheng Yu into the backseat of the car with her.

"Before you ruined my plan, yes. That old hag has to pay for what she did."

"That was going to end up in chaos no matter how you think about it." Lanni instructed the chauffeur to drive off as she explained. "Think about it. I went to her house to give her a warning just now. If you appeared there too, what would happen? It would put us at a compromising spot. She could easily accuse us of threatening her life and the fact that you snuck in under the guise of delivery would prove that."

"I was so angry that I didn't think about it." Cheng Yu felt wronged. In actual sense, she would never have minded it if she got in trouble as long as she taught that woman a lesson. But she couldn't risk pulling Lanni into trouble with her.

"I'll drop you off at work and…" Lanni rubbed her forehead when she remembered the latter's get up. "Never mind. Get changed at my place first, then I'll drop you off at work."

"Thank you." Cheng Yu knew that she would be late for her next meeting if she went back to her apartment. She had planned to drop by a clothes store and get something to change into but this was easier.

After dropping Cheng Yu off, Lanni worked from home and only realized how fast time had flown when the front door opened and she heard Xiehan's footsteps. She left what she was doing and bashfully rushed down to welcome him home.

"Hubby, you are home." She smiled.

He changed out of his shoes into indoor flip flops and pinched her cheeks. "And you have done something wrong."

"Something wrong? I didn't do anything. I've been obedient all day." His tone flustered her. She could never get used to his charming voice.

"That's after paying a visit to aunt Meiling. What did I tell you about putting yourself in dangerous situations?"

"Ow!" She winced when he spanked her backside. "It was not dangerous. She would never do anything to me directly. Besides, she suspected that I had a bug on me."

"That doesn't change anything. Who is to say that she wouldn't turn animalistic and try to hurt you no matter the consequences?" He frowned in disapproval.

"Well, I wasn't on my own." Her voice lowered into a squeak when she realized that he was determined to punish her no matter how safe she was.

"Let me handle her, okay? Don't get yourself all worked up." He held her.

There was something odd about how he said it. Nonetheless, she didn't think much of it. She nodded and rested her head in his chest. His heart was racing faster than usual. It made her want to question what had him flustered. But then again, it was often racing when they were this close to each other. It didn't have to mean much.

But why did she have a bad feeling out of the blue?

____

1.Mass release of 5-10 chapters tomorrow. It will be at different times of the day because I will post every chapter after writing it. Please be patient!

2. I don't have an editor for this book and I don't often notice my own mistakes after writing.. Anyone willing to be an editor? If interested, dm me on Instagram (Author Avalorian) or Discord (Author Ava #3776) and we can discuss the terms.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like