CHAPTER 183: CHAPTER 181 I JUST LIKE THEM YOUNG

"Yuhan, listen to me explain..." Jiang Qimeng immediately got up. She was still nursing the wounds from Jian Xi’s bodyguards a few days prior, and her urgency made her limp slightly.

Si Yuhuan shook off her arm, undisguised disgust in his eyes. "You truly disappoint me!"

Jian Xi had also been with men before, but she always maintained her dignity; men would flock to her. She wasn’t like Jiang Qimeng, who practically threw herself at men, eager to press her chest against theirs.

Linking arms to drink with them! How could she stoop to that?

Any lingering affection he might have had for her completely shattered.

The surrounding bosses, however slow-witted, quickly grasped the situation and scurried away.

"Miss Jiang, with Director Si backing you, what problem can’t you solve? Coming to us like this is just asking for trouble for us!"

"Exactly. Let’s not contact each other anymore."

Jiang Qimeng’s nostrils flared with fury.

Were they even speaking like human beings?

Just moments ago, every single one of them had been eager to take advantage, like peacocks preening and spreading their feathers. Now they were all shirking responsibility. Despicable!

"Yuhan, it’s not what you think. I assure you, nothing happened between me and them. Someone must be framing me."

Jiang Qimeng didn’t know how her actions, which she thought had been so discreet, had been exposed.

Her priority now was to salvage her image in Si Yuhuan’s eyes.

Seeing Si Yuhuan about to brush her off and leave, Jiang Qimeng cried out, "I did this for your brother, Si Junyan! Si Yuhuan, I, as a friend, went to such lengths. What about you? What are you doing?"

She turned the tables, rushing to confront Si Yuhuan and pointing at him. "We grew up together, childhood sweethearts! And you’d abandon him just because of Jian Xi? Do you have any idea the torture he’s enduring at the police station, the humiliation? He’s barely hanging on! If I could have found any other way, do you think I would have stooped to drinking with those disgusting men?"

Tears streamed down her face.

Jiang Qimeng sobbed, wiping her eyes. "I know you don’t care if Junyan lives or dies, but I do! Right or wrong, he’s family! I can’t just stand by and watch him die."

She went over and grabbed Si Yuhuan’s arm. "Yuhan, you can’t be so heartless. Junyan made mistakes, yes, but they don’t warrant death! He’s lived a life of luxury since childhood. He’s suffered so much already; surely that’s enough to atone. Can you really bear to watch him die?"

"Save him! If you think that’s not enough, then send him off to some remote country to toughen him up. How about that?"

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

Jian Xi leaned against the doorframe, clapping her hands with genuine admiration. "Impressive. Truly award-worthy acting. Jiang Qimeng, I’ve said it before: if you weren’t so focused on men and actually pursued a career in entertainment, you might achieve far greater things. That crying scene just now? Definitely award-winning."

Jiang Qimeng was practically exploding with rage. She desperately wanted to roar at Jian Xi in front of Si Yuhuan, to lunge forward and tear her to shreds.

"You were the one pulling the strings behind this, weren’t you?"

Jian Xi pointed to herself. "Wronged, I tell you! You should be thanking me. If I hadn’t happened upon you, you might very well be in bed with those men by now, right? Secrets never stay secret for long. By then, even if Si Junyan was rescued, your chances with Si Yuhuan would be completely shot."

Jiang Qimeng gradually calmed down.

Better safe than sorry.

If she really had been tricked into sleeping with those men... Then the position of Mrs. Si would truly be out of her reach!

Jian Xi crossed her arms. "Truly unappreciative. But I’m feeling generous, so I can forgive you."

Jiang Qimeng felt a wave of impotent fury.

She used to be the one pulling these kinds of strings, masterfully orchestrating everything. Now, Jian Xi was playing her at her own game with such finesse!

"No need to thank me for today. Goodbye."

Jian Xi slung her bag over her shoulder and strode out confidently.

Jiang Qimeng still wanted to explain things to Si Yuhuan, but he pushed her away.

Si Yuhuan chased after Jian Xi.

"Si Yuhuan! How can you treat me like this!" Jiang Qimeng stomped her foot and roared.

A car sped past the front of the shop.

Si Yuhuan rushed out and blocked Jian Xi’s car.

The high-performance Porsche screeched to a halt right in front of him, missing him by a mere inch; any closer and he would have been sent flying.

Jian Xi was furious. "Si Yuhuan, do you have a death wish?!"

This wasn’t the first time he’d pulled a stunt like this. Next time, she vowed, she’d floor the accelerator and ram right into him.

The passenger door was pulled open, and Si Yuhuan slid in.

"Drive."

"You’re insane."

Jian Xi tried to push him out, but she was no match for his strength. Behind them, traffic was backing up, and horns were blaring incessantly.

An impatient driver yelled, "What are you doing blocking the road? Get a move on! If you want to get lovey-dovey, do it at home! Can’t you see everyone’s in a hurry?"

Jian Xi immediately scrambled off Si Yuhuan.

Get lovey-dovey? Bullshit! These people must be blind!

Still, she returned to the driver’s seat and, huffing angrily, stepped on the accelerator.

"Si Yuhuan, you should be comforting your idealized love. What are you doing getting in my car and coming with me?"

"Weren’t you deliberately trying to get me to leave her and come with you?"

Si Yuhuan sat in the passenger seat, legs crossed, his demeanor composed and distinguished. He was a stark contrast to the furious man who had stormed in, dragged Jiang Qimeng out, and berated her. It was like he was a completely different person.

Jian Xi retorted stubbornly, "Who said that? What makes you think I was trying to lure you out to provoke her?"

Si Yuhuan sneered. "Every scheming bone in your body practically screams that you’re just using me to provoke her."

"So you knew I was provoking her, and you still came out with me? What’s wrong? Is your idealized love not important anymore? Or does your ex-wife suddenly carry more weight in your heart?"

Si Yuhuan’s face darkened.

He wasn’t afraid of her harsh words; he was afraid they were true. Having his hidden emotions dragged out and voiced so bluntly deeply annoyed him.

"You’re not even worthy of being compared to her."

Jian Xi pressed her lips together, a sharp pain clenching her heart.

She’d heard such words before, but they still hurt. He really knew how to deliver a fatal blow with words.

Jian Xi gritted her teeth. "No, I can’t compare to her shamelessness—stopping at nothing to achieve her goals, even willing to offer her own body to others."

"You’re seeing other men."

Si Yuhuan pictured Jian Xi surrounded by a crowd of fawning Little Naigous and more predatory young men, and an inexplicable anger surged within him—even more intense than when he saw Jiang Qimeng drinking with other men and sitting on their laps.

Jian Xi was incensed. "We each do our own thing! What business is it of yours? Can you even control me?!"

She pulled over to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes, nearly sending Si Yuhuan lurching forward.

"Get out!"

Si Yuhuan’s face was thunderous. He was an imposing 187 cm tall. As he loomed over her, his presence was as intense as a towering mountain, and he forcefully grasped Jian Xi’s chin. "Are young men really that attractive to you? Do they have my money? My power and status?"

Jian Xi scoffed. "I have power and money too. Now that my eyes are healed, I happen to like younger men. What about it?"

She had never felt so vindicated and free in her entire life.

Watching Si Yuhuan look like he wanted to tear someone apart, his face as dark as the bottom of a sooty pot, was quite satisfying.

Jian Xi didn’t dare provoke him further. "Let go of me. You’re hurting me."

Si Yuhuan looked as if he wanted to crush her. "Jian Xi, that mouth of yours is truly... detestable."

He bent down and kissed her fiercely, a punishing assault as his lips moved relentlessly over hers, biting and gnawing.

Jian Xi whimpered, her small hands gripped tightly, unable to move an inch.