Chapter 64: Tell Him That Reuniting in Marriage Is Impossible, and Stop Giving Him Hope

"Beep—"

"Click—"

The door opened, and the warm yellow light from the entrance spilled into the room.

An Ling closed the front door, changed her shoes, and walked into the living room.

Just as she was about to head upstairs, a faint male voice suddenly came from the sofa.

"Working late?"

Caught off guard, she shuddered and turned her head in astonishment. "Brother? You're not asleep yet?"

An Zhou, dressed in pajamas, sat lazily on the sofa propping up his head and yawned.

"Mom said you were working overtime and asked me to wait for you."

An Ling nodded, unwrapping her scarf as she walked up the stairs. "Well, I'm back now, so hurry up and go to sleep."

But An Zhou didn't move.

He stared at the woman's back as she went upstairs and suddenly spoke, "Was the colleague you were working overtime with Shen Linyan?"

"..."

An Ling stopped in her tracks, turning her head in shock with wide eyes. "How did you know?"

Did An Zhou follow her?

Seeing right through her thoughts, An Zhou scoffed. "I didn't follow you."

Working overtime? Only Mom would believe that.

"Shen Linyan missed an investment conference today. The organizer told me it was a pity they didn't get to see him."

This had never happened before.

He stood up. "So you were really with Shen Linyan tonight?"

Why did that sound so strange?

An Ling corrected him, "He had a fever, so I took him to the hospital."

"Same thing."

An Zhou's gaze grew heavy. "He's the chairman of the Shen Corporation. Does he not have a secretary? No family? Why does he need his ex-wife to accompany him? An Ling, you're divorced. You shouldn't have any more contact with him."

The people in the Shen family were all scheming. Only his sister would still think Shen Linyan was a good person.

Little did she know, the most calculating one of them all was Shen Linyan.

After taking control of the Shen Corporation, how many of An Zhou's projects had he swallowed up? Now, several major companies didn't dare cross the Shen Corporation.

He didn't know what that man's intentions were in approaching his sister after their divorce, but it was highly likely he was playing the long game to eventually swallow the An family whole.

An Zhou furrowed his brows, his tone turning serious.

"An Ling, you're the one who brought up the divorce, so make a clean break from Shen Linyan. You know what the Shen family is like, especially Mother Shen. She hates you, which is why you divorced him in the first place. You keep meeting and spending time with Shen Linyan like this—don't tell me you're planning to marry back into that family."

The woman on the stairs remained silent. Pursing her lips, she turned her head slightly. Her soft, long hair fell, revealing a patch of snow-white neck.

After a long moment, she let out a heavy breath and looked down to meet An Zhou's eyes.

"I know what you mean, Brother. I won't marry back into the Shen family."

Jiang Mai was right; her soft-heartedness was indeed a problem.

She lowered her eyes and folded her scarf, her tone calm. "I just took him to the hospital and watched over him for a bit. Nothing happened. You should get to bed early."

Just as she was about to continue upstairs, An Zhou's voice rang out behind her.

"An Ling, you said your body was taken over by a system for the past two years. I believe you now. My real sister wouldn't be so hopelessly love-struck."

An Ling turned to look at him.

After a silent exchange of glances, she waved her hand casually.

"I'm not, I'm not. Don't worry, you're just overthinking."

-

Returning to her room, she closed the door.

An Ling flopped onto her bed and covered her face in frustration.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have gone to the hospital..."

Now look what happened. Shen Linyan suddenly said he wasn't going to get married. She had dragged him down after all.

According to the normal progression of things, Shen Linyan should have forgotten her by now and started a new relationship.

She had only gone to the hospital because she saw he wasn't wearing a ring, and during their last dinner, he seemed to have moved on.

But she didn't even do anything! She had even fallen asleep while taking care of him!

An Ling opened her eyes, remembering what the man had said today, and touched her burning ears.

"This is killing me."

Saying he didn't want to get married because he didn't want to drift apart from her—that was way too ambiguous.

But what could she do if he couldn't let go? She couldn't possibly remarry him. She had planned to cut ties with him completely.

An Ling silently took out her phone and sent a message to Jiang Mai.

[(T▽T) I think I messed up, Jiang Mai.]

Jiang Mai: [?]

-

The next day at noon, in a coffee shop.

After hearing the whole story, Jiang Mai put down her teacup and nodded in agreement.

"Ah... I get it. So you're saying you accompanied someone who needed saving to the hospital, and he accidentally fell in love with you?"

"..."

An Ling silently hid her face behind her coffee cup and muttered, "You make me sound so narcissistic. It might not even be love."

"What else could it be? Shen Linyan has already gone this far with his words. You know what he means, right?"

Refusing to get married because of An Ling—it was just too obvious.

She couldn't tell if Shen Linyan had said it on purpose or if he truly didn't realize the implications of his words.

Jiang Mai leaned back, her expression complex. "An Ling, you really have the potential to be a heartbreaker."

Saying you're not playing games, but actually flirting everywhere.

An Ling let out a frustrated sigh. "I am not! When I saw him sick yesterday, my mind was entirely focused on his illness. I completely forgot about any saving nonsense. Plus, I really feel like I didn't do anything."

"People are at their most vulnerable when they are sick. You really took advantage of the situation," Jiang Mai said, nodding meaningfully.

"..."

An Ling slumped over the table and waved her hand weakly. "Alright, alright. Just tell me what I am supposed to do now."

"What do you mean, what to do?" Jiang Mai took a calm sip of her coffee. "Since Shen Linyan is so fixated on you, just bag him. Go all out and claim him."

An Ling looked completely dead inside. "...Are you serious?"

What the heck did she mean by bagging him?

Jiang Mai raised an eyebrow at her. "Dare you tell me you weren't even a little bit thrilled when Shen Linyan said that yesterday?"

An Ling had absolutely zero resistance to Shen Linyan's face. There was no way this girl could hold her ground after hearing him say something like that.

Besides, from the looks of it, Shen Linyan had feelings for An Ling long before the hospital incident. It had nothing to do with what happened there.

"..."

An Ling quietly turned her head away, her face flushing as she muttered, "I was completely stunned at the time. I don't even remember how I felt."

Her mind had been completely consumed by the thought that it was all over, and that she was going to drag Shen Linyan down with her.

Jiang Mai stared at her, picking up her teacup thoughtfully.

"An Ling, I know you think Shen Linyan is a good guy and you don't want to hurt him. But if you don't want him pining after you, you need to be decisive. Tell him that getting remarried is out of the question. Don't give him any more hope, and stop trying to be friends. Your idea of an amicable divorce is useless now. Cut ties early while his feelings aren't too deep. Don't go near him again, and ignore him if he asks you out."

An Ling froze.

She lowered her head and took a sip of her drink, her eyelashes casting small, fan-like shadows under her eyes. After a long moment, she gave a soft murmur of agreement.

Jiang Mai then slowly added another thought.

"Of course, if you feel too sad and can't bear to let him go, you could always just play around. You like his face and his personality anyway, so not getting married isn't a dealbreaker. Just be a total heartbreaker. Shen Linyan wouldn't blame you anyway."

"..."

An Ling was slightly taken aback. "I can do that?"

Jiang Mai blinked and flashed a wide grin.

"Bring it up with Shen Linyan. He might just say yes."

"Don't be ridiculous."

An Ling didn't believe it for a second.

Even when they had kissed before, Shen Linyan had been incredibly restrained and never crossed the line. How could he possibly agree to something so outrageous?

He barely even dared to interlock fingers when holding her hand, let alone agree to something like that.