Volume One, Chapter Three: Borrowing Seeds

“Madam said not to bother Mr. Jiang.”

Qiu Yue gave a helpless, bitter smile. “These pieces of furniture were purchased by Madam and delivered directly to the doorstep. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

It seemed Jiang Jinglan had not agreed.

Bai Ruoxi pressed her lips tightly, thinking meekly: Luckily, this wasn’t Jiang Jinglan’s doing; otherwise, she probably wouldn’t be able to hold back her tears.

People kept moving items in and out of the living room one after another.

A knot tightened in Bai Ruoxi’s chest. She snapped, “Stop right now!”

Her clear voice echoed through the living room.

Everyone paused their actions, looking at Bai Ruoxi, then shifted their gaze to Qiu Yue, waiting for his decision.

Her hand clenched tightly beneath her sleeve as Bai Ruoxi turned to Qiu Yue.

“Butler Qiu, whatever these things are, send them back to where they came from.”

“But Madam—”

Bai Ruoxi took a deep breath.

“Just say it was my idea.”

Since someone had to take the blame, Qiu Yue didn’t want to create trouble for her. He nodded, “Very well, Madam. I’ll handle it as you say.”

Originally, Bai Ruoxi had intended to come down for breakfast.

After all this turmoil, her appetite vanished completely. She casually picked up a cup of iced coffee and returned to her room.

—

The master bedroom connected directly to the balcony.

Bai Ruoxi sat on the semicircular balcony with her coffee, staring blankly at a pile of unread emails on the computer screen.

The decision to return the furniture had been a rash impulse on her part.

She never expected Qiu Yue to actually send it all back.

When she met Chen Chunrong in the afternoon, she’d probably be stripped to the bone.

Bai Ruoxi leaned back in her chair, drained of energy, and sighed with melancholy.

“Ring, ring—”

Her phone by the computer suddenly buzzed incessantly.

The screen lit up with the two bold characters: “Husband.”

Jiang Jinglan was already coming to demand an explanation...

Bai Ruoxi pressed her lips together, reluctant, and answered the call in a nasal, weary voice, “Hello...”

“Why are you answering so late?”

Before Bai Ruoxi could explain, Jiang Jinglan pressed on, “Why did you return the furniture Mom sent over?”

Why return it?

Was Jiang Jinglan questioning her or angry about the matter?

—

It felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her from head to toe; Bai Ruoxi shivered with cold.

She and Jiang Jinglan both knew she was a substitute for Qin Yu.

Qin Yu moving in was inevitable, even something Jiang Jinglan desired.

Yet here she was, returning the furniture meant for Qin Yu...

Clearly, she was Mrs. Jiang, and returning the furniture should have been her prerogative, but Bai Ruoxi felt as if she had done something terribly wrong.

It shouldn’t be like this...

Her hand holding the phone trembled slightly. Swallowing the bitterness in her throat, she forced her trembling voice out hesitantly, “I’m sorry, I—I’ll have Butler Qiu re-order the furniture.”

In fewer than twenty words, Bai Ruoxi stammered twice, her voice growing softer and softer.

She had trampled on her dignity countless times to appease Jiang Jinglan.

Her heart would ache, but she could bear it.

But ever since Qin Yu’s name began appearing more and more frequently in her and Jiang Jinglan’s marital life,

Bai Ruoxi found the pain increasingly unbearable, or rather, because of Qin Yu’s presence, the pain intensified.

Silence stretched long on the other end.

Finally, Jiang Jinglan’s voice was cold and repressed with anger.

“That’s enough! Bai Ruoxi, you really are a madwoman. Stop acting so self-righteous and wasting time on pointless things.”

Jiang Jinglan hung up, leaving only the intermittent “beep beep” in Bai Ruoxi’s ear.

“Beep—beep—beep—”

Sitting in her chair, Bai Ruoxi listened to the phone’s signal tones as tears quietly slipped down her cheeks.

The warm summer breeze gently stirred the strands of hair by her temple.

Motionless, she held the phone, her eyes vacant, staring at the pot of bare rose bushes in the corner of the balcony.

That pot was chosen specially by Jiang Jinglan on their second wedding day—the peach blossom variety she liked best.

Bai Ruoxi had been happy for a long time, believing that fate had truly brought her and Jiang Jinglan together.

But sadly, that flower was like the love between her and Jiang Jinglan.

No matter how hard Bai Ruoxi tried, it barely clung to the last breath of life, likely to soon wither away completely.

Her thoughts drifted back.

The words “madwoman” seemed to strike a raw nerve within her.

She chewed over those three words repeatedly in her mind, murmuring, “If loving you truly makes me mad, then yes, I am a madwoman.”

Bai Ruoxi wiped her tears with the back of her hand, drained the ice-cold Americano beside her in one gulp, then set aside all her worries to focus seriously on work.

—

The Jiang Group headquarters towered in the center of Jiang City.

The Yue River split Jiang City into two halves.

The Jiang Group’s headquarters stood right on the dividing line, with the CEO’s office on the top floor.

—

Floor-to-ceiling windows faced the Yue River, offering a panoramic view of over half of Jiang City.

Jiang Jinglan threw his phone onto the desk, irritably unbuttoning his shirt collar, rubbing the swollen bridge of his nose with his fingers.

Zhao Chen set down the folder in his hands, poured a glass of water for Jiang Jinglan, and couldn’t help but ask curiously,

“You always talk to Bai Ruoxi like that. Doesn’t she throw a fit?”

Jiang Jinglan took the glass and drank a sip, his voice low and heavy.

“My wife isn’t like those women you know. She’s very obedient.”

Zhao Chen laughed.

“Obedient? Are you sure she’s not just afraid of you?”

Jiang Jinglan sneered coldly. Behind his glasses, his dark eyes deepened, swirling with complex emotions.

“She’s not afraid of me.”

Zhao Chen shook his head, crossing his arms as he sank into the sofa nearby.

“Last night, Qin Yu complained to me that after years apart, you’ve changed. You’re especially afraid of her touching you or confiding in you.”

Jiang Jinglan said nothing, only staring thoughtfully at a book with a gilded cover on the desk.

His brow furrowed slightly.

Does Bai Ruoxi have no heart? Not once during that phone call did she show jealousy or anger—in fact, she even wanted the furniture re-ordered.

Is she crazy...?

Zhao Chen continued, “Last night, Qin Yu even hinted that you stayed overnight, but you insisted on going home. That confirmed something for me.”

“Jiang Jinglan, you love Bai Ruoxi, but if you truly love her, why treat her this way? She’s had a hard time all these years.”

“You just called her a madwoman. Honestly, I think you’re the one who’s crazy...”

Jiang Jinglan didn’t get angry, only furrowing his brow, muttering, “That madwoman plans to leave me as soon as she’s pregnant.”

Leave Jiang Jinglan as soon as she’s pregnant?

The air hung heavy for almost three minutes before Zhao Chen finally caught on.

Taken literally, it meant Bai Ruoxi had painstakingly married Jiang Jinglan purely to conceive a child.

That was explosive...

Jiang Jinglan was the most favored heir of Old Master Jiang.

Not only was he handsome, but his abilities were absurdly strong. In less than three years at the helm of Jiang Group, the company’s market value had tripled.

Back then, countless high-society heiresses had chased after him, able to circle Jiang City.

Truly top-tier genes.

But Bai Ruoxi wouldn’t just marry him to get pregnant and then run away...

Zhao Chen’s mouth twitched. “You’re kidding, right?”