A jerk? Everyone was stunned by Xiao Lingyu's choice of words.
Everyone knew Xiao Lingyu and Manager Chen Ran were a couple. Chen Ran treated Xiao Lingyu very well, even though the latter was quite unattractive. It made the women in the company envious and jealous. Chen Ran was meticulous in the ways he cared about Xiao Lingyu.
At work, Chen Ran couldn't keep Xiao Lingyu by his side, so he asked his friends to take good care of Xiao Lingyu. He would patiently teach her if she had something she didn't understand.
Off work, Chen Ran also lavished Xiao Lingyu with attention. Xiao Lingyu was a workaholic, so much so that she would sometimes forget to eat. So, Chen Ran would call a takeout for Xiao Lingyu every day at mealtimes. He would also call her to remind her to eat.
Therefore, all the women in the company were jealous of Xiao Lingyu. They all wished Chen Ran was their boyfriend. So Chen Ran became the dream guy of many female workers.
Many girls had confessed to Chen Ran, but they were all rejected. They turned their bitterness towards Xiao Lingyu and tried to trip her whenever they had the chance.
Xiao Lingyu and Chen Ran were the paragons of love. No one could shake their relationshio. This meant that Xiao Lingyu was the target of many women at the company.
Therefore, when they found out Xiao Lingyu had slept with another man and betrayed a good man like Chen Ran, these women secretly rejoiced. They immediately rallied around Chen Ran and rebuked Xiao LIngyu.
However, the perfect man they adored was deemed a jerk by Xiao Lingyu! This puzzled many people.
Just the day before, Xiao Lingyu was heads over heels with Chen Ran, so what changed?
Chen Ran exited the elevator and heard Xiao Lingyu call him a jerk. His face turned lived. Zhao Wenman beside him sneered slightly. She turned her body sideways and whispered into Chen Ran's ear. "Looks like you're not that important to her after all. All those years you've treated her so well, and it has all been for nothing!" Her words were dripping with mockery.
Chen Ran's face was white from anger. He wanted to rush over to shake Xiao Lingyu, but he forced himself to calm down for the sake of his plan and future.
He strode towards Xiao Lingyu. He asked with concern. "Yu 'Er, what's wrong? Who bullied you!" His sharp eyes scanned the surroundings and said, "I'll protect you! But you shouldn't say things in anger."
He emphasized the second phrase of his statement. He was telling everyone that Xiao Lingyu was calling him a jerk because she was not thinking straight.
Chen Ran was the perfect boyfriend. He cared deeply about Xiao Lingyu. He did everything for her and fended her from the world.
However, Xiao Lingyu realized that this was his way of controlling her. He had painted out the path for Xiao Lingyu's life, and she only needed to follow his orders. Xiao Lingyu was his puppet. Whenever the puppet wanted to go her own way, Chen Ran would patiently ease her back under his control.
Chen Ran assumed Xiao Lingyu would follow his words and admit her mistakes like she usually did. Xiao Lingyu would fix his image.
However, this time, Xiao Lingyu only looked at him coldly. She flashed him a frigid smile and asked, "Didn't you see the photo?"
She then glanced at Zhao Wenman, who arrived with Chen Ran. The hatred was deep in her eyes.
Chen Ran's expression froze. Then, he asked stiffly, "Photo? What Photo?" He was slightly surprised. 'Has she discovered something?'
Things didn't happen the way he expected. He felt some changes in Xiao Lingyu, but he couldn't pinpoint them. But what he needed to do was continue his role as the victim.
Xiao Lingyu didn't want to play this game with Chen Ran. She was not interested.
Xiao Lingyu chuckled, "Chen Ran, you didn't see the picture of me at the hotel with a man on your phone or computer? Your girlfriends didn't tell you?"
Xiao Lingyu glanced at Lin Xiangyu and then Zhao Wenman when she said the word, girlfriends.
Zhao Wenman frowned, and her eyes glinted, but she didn't say anything.
Chen Ran was shocked. He was puzzled. He did not know how to respond to Xiao Lingyu's question.
Before he came down from his office, he had already pictured the image in his mind. Xiao Lingyu would face criticism from the whole company. Everyone would look down on her, and she'd be on the verge of breaking down.
Then, he would come to question her about her betrayal. He would be painted as the victim, and everyone would sympathize with him.
Then, the news of his engagement with Zhao Wenman would not be questioned. They would receive everyone's blessings.
But when he arrived, Chen Ran realized everything was different from what he expected.
Chen Ran and Zhao Wenwan didn't receive any news when they were upstairs, so they decided to come down in person. But as soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Xiao Lingyu called him a jerk and was about to give him away to someone else!
He was so pissed!
But he believed it could still be rectified. Xiao Lingyu was soft-hearted and easily bullied. Whenever he pushed slightly, she would always admit she was wrong. So why didn't that happen this time?
Chen Ran had many questions, but he had something else to do.
Chen Ran shook his head. "Yu 'Er, my only girlfriend is you." Then he turned his face up with shock as if something had just hit him. "But what did you say earlier? You went to a hotel with another man?" Chen Ran was in disbelief.
Internally he sighed. 'Things are going back on track.'
Since Xiao Lingyu had admitted everything, Chen Ran would still be the victim.
Lin Xiangyu saw the anxiety on Chen Ran's face, and she added, "That's right, Manager Chen. Xiao Lingyu sold her body to another man at the hotel yesterday night. Look, I have the evidence here!" She showed the photo to Chen Ran. "Manager Chen, I saw Xiao Lingyu book a room with a middle-aged man with a big belly with my own eyes. That man is ugly. I have no idea why she would go with him. Unless... she knows the man is rich." Lin Xiangyu's eyes colored with disdain.
Chen Ran was dumbfounded. It was like he couldn't accept he had been betrayed by his lover.
He suddenly grabbed Xiao Lingyu's thin shoulders tightly. The buttons on her shirt loosened, and her collar opened. There was a hickey on her neck.
The hickey was from a man's kiss.
Chen Ran saw this and his pupils trembled. It was as if he couldn't believe his eyes. He raised his hand and swung his palm at Xiao Lingyu's face.
Tsk, tsk. How can a man hit a woman?
Even though Chen Ran and Zhao Wenman set Xiao Lingyu up with the man, he was incensed by the betrayal when Chen Ran saw the hickey. He was so angry that he slapped Xiao Lingyu! It felt like Xiao Lingyu had really betrayed him.
His anger overshadowed his rationality. His palm waved towards Xiao Lingyu.
But...
"Who are you?" Chen Ran asked angrily when a man stopped him. He had not seen the man before, so he was not their colleague. Everyone who saw Yan Siming would have remembered him with his handsome appearance and extraordinary bearing.
'That means that he could be a company client.' Chen Ran held back since he didn't know the man's real identity.
Yan Siming grabbed Chen Ran's wrist and sneered, "To think that a grown man would actually hit a woman. You've really broadened my horizon today, bastard!"
Chen Ran's expression turned ugly.
He and Xiao Lingyu were a couple. Xiao Lingyu had betrayed him and left behind photographic evidence. Chen Ran was incensed by the betrayal, so he wanted to slap her. Everyone would think that he was right and he hadn't gone too far to smack the unfaithful bitch.
Chen Ran needed to solidify his position as the victim. Then everyone would buy the story further. However, he was called a jerk and a bastard for no reason. Chen Ran was really angry.
He gritted his teeth and asked sternly, "This is between her and me. What does it have to do with an outsider?"
He purposely emphasized the word, outsider.
A playful smile appeared on Yan Siming's handsome face. He adjusted his sleeves, "Oh, but this is my business. Because I'm this woman's... friend from yesterday night."
Since he had accepted the job, he would play along.
Yan Siming had already guessed that things were not that simple. The private life of an inconsequential company employee shouldn't grab the whole company's attention. Or did the workers here spend their time gossiping all day?
"What?!" Everyone was shocked by Yan Siming's admission.
Lin Xiangyu was the most surprised. She blurted out, "Impossible! She was photographed with an ugly middle-aged man!"
The man before them was handsome, not even inferior to Chen Ran. The hint of unruliness on his smile added to his charm. There was something about him that charmed the women, and it made their hearts flutter.
Many women were willing to pay to have sex with such a man, much less the other way round. Therefore, Lin Xiangyu couldn't accept that Xiao Lingyu could be so lucky. In her mind, Xiao Lingyu only deserved the world's ugliest man.
"Why is it not possible?" The one who answered was Xiao Lingyu. She looked at Lin Xiangyu's surprised expression, and her lips curved into an arc. "If I'm looking for a man to look after me, why would I settle for an ugly, old man? Of course, I'd find someone who is handsome and suave." Then Xiao Lingyu walked over to hook her arm around Yan Siming. She said with a sweet smile, "You all claimed that I'd betrayed Chen Ran, and you're right. I did it with him! He's quite handsome, isn't he?"
The surroundings fell silent! They were all shocked!
No one expected Xiao Lingyu not only to betray Manager Chen but also to bring her new man to the company. What was she thinking? Was she trying to one-up Manager Chen?
At that moment, no one knew how to answer Xiao Lingyu. But they turned to Chen Ran with sympathy.
"Xiao Lingyu, you've really thrown away our relationship?" Chen Ran asked in anger and shock. But at the same time, he was thinking. 'Why haven't things followed according to plan? She should be raped by the middle-aged man in the picture and not this... guy.'
The middle-aged man was specially selected by Zhao Wenman. He was a difficult client of the company, Li Yuanfa.
Li Yuanfa was a pervert and a womanizer. He liked to play rough in bed. He once killed a woman by accident. Thankfully, the woman didn't have any background, and her death was covered up easily.
Li Yuanfa's company, Hong Fa Group, wanted to collaborate with the Huiqing group. Li Yuanfa's demand was a woman.
Xiao Lingyu ticked all of Li Yuanfa's boxes. When he found out Xiao Lingyu was the lover of Chen Ran, the deputy manager of Huiqing Group, he was even more delighted.
According to the plan, the company arranged for Xiao Lingyu to go to the Marriott Hotel to sign the contract. Then they would send someone to drug her. But what happened in the middle that Li Yuanfa was switched out for someone else?
Chen Ran was flustered and confused, but most importantly, he was angry. His anger came from the fact that Xiao Lingyu had betrayed him, and it appeared like she felt no guilt at all.
When Chen Ran saw Xiao Lingyu hold Yan Siming's arm, it angered him. He questioned in a roar, "Xiao Lingyu, what have I done to you to deserve this? How can you hurt me like this and betray our decade of love?"
That made even more people pity Chen Ran. In an instant, it lit up the anger of every woman present. Of course, it was Lin Xiangyu who led the pack.
She scolded shrilly, "Xiao Lingyu, you slut..."
Before she could finish, Xiao Lingyu slapped her again.
Xiao Lingyu told Lin Xiangyu, "I've tolerated you for a long time. Who are you to mind my business? Speak out of turn again, and I'll slap out all of your teeth!"
Lin Xiangyu was stunned. Then, she glared at Xiao Lingyu and shut her mouth.
Xiao Lingyu turned to Chen Ran and chuckled sarcastically, "Chen Ran, is this... not exactly what you want? Why are you being so angry?" She deliberately glanced at Zhao Wenman.
Xiao Lingyu then snapped her fingers. "Oh, I was wrong. Things didn't really follow your plan. I didn't end up with that ugly man. That's why you're angry, yes?"
Everyone, "..."
So, what was going on?
Yan Siming,"..."
I knew it!
Things are heating up~