Zhan Bei Jue?
Was she seeing things?
How could she, after not returning to Nan Cheng for six years, run into her damned ex-husband less than 24 hours after arriving?
And in such a narrow, inescapable place!
Jiang Nan Fang couldn't believe her eyes. She closed them, then opened them again.
It was still him.
Zhan Bei Jue, in a custom-made black suit, tall and long-legged, with a stern and solemn expression, already possessed an imposing aura that commanded respect without anger.
Now, upon suddenly seeing the "enemy" he had painstakingly searched for six years, a storm quickly brewed in his eyes, and his aura turned chillingly frigid.
Their eyes met. After just two seconds, he stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Nan Fang's wrist.
"Jiang Nan Fang, you still have the guts to come back?"
In an instant, he was upon her. The familiar scent filled her nostrils, and the familiar features met her eyes. Jiang Nan Fang almost felt as if she had never left the Zhan family.
Zhan Bei Jue was still the same Zhan Bei Jue. His voice, his eyebrows, his hair, his features – every part was etched into her bones, so clear, so unforgettable...
This was the first time he had ever been so close to her. Their body heat mingled, their breaths intertwined. Everything felt so strange, yet so familiar...
And Zhan Bei Jue, looking at her face, so clean and flawless, so identical to his daughter's, felt a trace of an unfathomable emotion amidst the rolling anger in his eyes.
Six years had passed, yet she hadn't changed at all. Instead, she seemed more alluring and...
She had never been like this when she was Mrs. Zhan!
This scheming woman who dared to toy with him, humiliate him, and act so presumptuously!
"Speak, where did you run off to all these years? Since you went to such lengths to escape, why have you returned today? What wicked scheme are you plotting now?"
His words were so harsh, so cutting.
He was still the same cold, detestable Zhan Bei Jue.
Jiang Nan Fang's momentarily lost reason returned. She looked up at him boldly, her eyes like still water.
"Sir, I believe you have mistaken me for someone else. Please let go. If you continue to be rude, I will call for help."
Call for help? Rude?
For a woman who first stole his seed and then sold their child, wasn't that ironic?
Zhan Bei Jue pulled her into his arms, his large hand clamping onto her chin.
As their gazes locked, he lightly parted his thin lips. "Don't think you've truly changed just because you tore off that mask. I'd recognize a scheming woman like you even if you turned to ash."
"..."
Was it that big of a deal to sleep with him once on the day of their divorce! As husband and wife, fulfilling their marital duty once every three years was too much of a hardship for him?
She didn't let him impregnate her, didn't let him raise the child, and he didn't lose anything. What was with the endless fuss?
Jiang Nan Fang forcefully pushed his hand away, took a step back, her expression turning cold. "I don't know you. If you want to pick someone up, find someone else. Go away!"
After speaking, she saw that the elevator was still stopped on the first floor. She reached out to press the open button to exit.
The siblings Zhan Jing Rui and Zhan Jing Ge watched the entire scene unfold on the monitor.
"Oh no! Daddy and Mommy are arguing, and Mommy is going to leave! Quick, activate Plan Two!"
Jiang Nan Fang pressed the button once, but the elevator doors didn't respond. She pressed it twice, still no response.
On the third press, Zhan Bei Jue behind her twisted his fingers, feeling the lingering smooth scent of her, and a cold smile curved his lips.
"Trying the same trick again? Playing hard to get? Is that your goal today?"
"On the surface, you pretend not to want any more ties with the Zhan family, but in reality, you're finding ways to attract my attention?"
"..."
What a terrible elevator! The doors were closed and wouldn't open, making her a laughingstock.
She didn't even need to turn around to guess Zhan Bei Jue's expression.
The assistant glanced at the two of them, then at the time, and couldn't help but say, "Mr. Zhan, the party is about to start."
Zhan Bei Jue glanced expressionlessly at Jiang Nan Fang, who was wearing only a black strapless long dress, her back exposed from the waist up, smooth and glistening. He unconsciously twisted his fingers again.
"Go up."
A Zhong walked over and pressed '8'. The elevator immediately began to move.
"??"
Jiang Nan Fang looked at the elevator.
The eighth floor? Could it be that they were attending the same event?
They soon reached the eighth floor.
As the elevator doors opened, a row of hotel staff stood at attention in the hallway, bowing ninety degrees. "Mr. Zhan!"
Zhan Bei Jue resumed his stern and solemn demeanor. As he walked past her, he deliberately bumped her shoulder.
"I don't have time now. We'll settle our accounts later. I'll let you off today. We'll meet again."
"..."
Meet again? Settle accounts later?
Wait, why was he walking this way too?
The celebration banquet for the Fifth Nan Cheng Electrical Star Competition. Was he invited too?
It was truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road.
Jiang Nan Fang had already received her award and didn't want to attend these boring gatherings. Now, with Zhan Bei Jue there, she definitely wasn't going in.
In the lounge, Zhan Jing Rui looked at the computer screen with concern. "Mommy hasn't come in. It looks like she's not planning to."
Zhan Jing Ge asked, "Then what should we do? We haven't cleared things up with Daddy yet!"
Zhan Jing Rui frowned and thought for two seconds. "I'll distract Uncle A Cheng and the others. You find a way to bring her here."
Jiang Nan Fang stood at the entrance of the banquet hall, about to call the vice president who had invited her to cancel the banquet.
Suddenly, a shiny toy ball rolled to her feet.
"Brother, my ball is gone!"
This voice...
It sounded just like her daughter's!
Jiang Nan Fang picked up the ball in confusion and followed the sound.
In the spacious and brightly lit lounge, stood two children as cute as porcelain dolls.
One wore a white shirt and a black swallowtail coat, the other a wine-red princess dress and a crown.
Her two children, impeccably dressed, had appeared before her out of nowhere!
Jiang Nan Fang looked at them, stunned for a moment, a mixture of surprise and anger. Grasping the ball, she rushed to the children and crouched down.
"Jiang Jing Yu, when did you two come back?"
"When did you return? With your godmother, or just the two of you?"
"Who told you to come here? Do you know how dangerous it is!"
On the opposite side, Zhan Jing Rui and Jing Ge, who had been temporarily arranged by their father, Zhan Bei Jue, to wait there to go home, exchanged a knowing glance. Their eyes held a maturity beyond their years.
It was true that Jiang Nan Fang was their mother. Blood relations wouldn't lie. Even though it was their first meeting, look, she had recognized them as her siblings!
However, who was Jiang Jing Yu? And who was this godmother?
A year ago, after learning computer programming, he had hacked into the hospital system and clearly saw that their mother had only given birth to the two of them!
Could it be that during the years they were separated from their father, their mother had completely abandoned them and remarried and had more children?
Jiang Nan Fang wore a necklace, and inside the pendant was a photo of the three of them.
In the picture, a boy and a girl, leaning their heads together with her, looked exactly like her siblings!
They had never met before, so how did she have photos of him and his brother?
Could it be...
Zhan Jing Ge reached out and touched the photo in her necklace, asking, "Mommy, is this the only photo you brought out? Do you have any others?"