Volume One, Chapter 12: The Blunder Incident

“Don’t do anything foolish, you know that—you’re my only pillar of strength.” Shen Yixiao stroked my damp hair, his eyes full of pleading and sorrow.

I held his hand. “Alright.”

I was curious to see if, one day, when his sole pillar of strength disappeared, he would regret lying so shamelessly in front of me.

After changing clothes, Shen Yixiao personally dried my hair. His gentle and meticulous care revealed his deep affection for me.

We lay entwined, sharing a bed but dreaming different dreams.

—

Early the next morning, I was roused by Shen Yixiao’s angry voice.

“Take down those news reports immediately, or wait for my lawyer’s letter—I won’t let you off easily!”

I approached him; he was on the phone with his back to me.

Just then, Su Ying sent me a message: “Shen Yixiao and Secretary Lu are trending on the headlines. Aren’t you going to check it out?”

My heart sank as I hurried to look.

At yesterday’s anniversary celebration, several photos were taken of Shen Yixiao and Lu Xiaoyun. The two looked perfectly matched, a handsome couple. But the headline read: “Shen Corporation Anniversary: Shen Yixiao and Wife Publicly Show Affection.”

Someone had mistaken Lu Xiaoyun for me.

What a colossal joke.

So that was why Shen Yixiao was negotiating with the media earlier? A guilty conscience makes even a simple misunderstanding unbearable. I smiled bitterly.

I retreated to the bedroom without interrupting his dealings with the media company.

Before Shen Yixiao returned, Lu Xiaoyun called me.

As Shen Yixiao’s secretary, she had my number but rarely initiated contact.

“Madam, I’m sorry!” Lu Xiaoyun’s voice trembled slightly as she spoke. “Yesterday, some malicious people took photos of Mr. Shen and me and fabricated falsehoods. I sincerely apologize for any hurt this caused you.”

Was this a preemptive strike to avoid my retaliation?

In the previous life, this confusion never occurred because I stayed with Shen Yixiao until the anniversary event ended and didn’t cut my hair short, so there was no chance for mistaken identity.

—

“Secretary Lu, this is just a small misunderstanding. I’ve seen it and didn’t take it to heart. Yixiao is currently negotiating with the media and is very angry,” I said calmly, suppressing all my loathing for Lu Xiaoyun.

The more jealous I appeared, the more delighted she was—exactly the effect she wanted.

It felt like punching cotton: utterly powerless.

Lu Xiaoyun clearly didn’t expect my composed attitude, nor Shen Yixiao’s anger. She seemed reluctant to be involved and fell silent.

I continued, “Secretary Lu, why don’t you issue a statement clarifying your relationship with Yixiao? Oh, and you can bring your boyfriend into the picture—that would make it more credible.”

Her boyfriend was Shen Yixiao; there was no way she’d publicly reveal that.

Unless Shen Yixiao himself chose to go public, she lacked the courage.

Beyond secretly competing with me, she had no other options.

“Madam, I…” Lu Xiaoyun stammered, unable to follow my suggestion.

“What’s the matter? Do you want everyone to keep misunderstanding?” I interrupted, feigning gentleness but barbed beneath.

Lu Xiaoyun hesitated, then reluctantly agreed, “Alright, I’ll clarify. But my boyfriend doesn’t like being in the public eye, so I’ll have to do the explanation alone.”

“Fine,” I said and hung up.

Just then, Shen Yixiao returned. Seeing me hang up, his expression tightened.

“Wife, who were you talking to?”

I shook my phone. “Secretary Lu called me, worried I’d misunderstand your relationship with her. Didn’t you two get photographed? People thought she was me.”

Hearing that Lu Xiaoyun had contacted me, Shen Yixiao’s face darkened with anger.

He never wanted Lu Xiaoyun reaching out to me—about anything.

Unable to show his anger before me, he approached instead to explain, “Wife, it’s just a misunderstanding. I’ve contacted the media company to clarify, and I’ll make a statement myself. Secretary Lu can’t be you—you’re my one and only treasure.”

Really? I looked up at him. His peach blossom eyes, usually tender enough to melt hearts, framed by beautiful eye bags, gave him a roguish charm I had once adored.

Now his face was serious, devoid of any smile.

If I ever found out he cheated, he wouldn’t just face my disappointment and departure but the collapse of his beloved husband image. Everyone who knew our history would mock him.

“Hm, Secretary Lu said she’ll clarify too. She mentioned having a boyfriend who treats her like a little princess, pampering her endlessly, but he hates being in the spotlight, so she’ll have to go solo. Pity—it would’ve been more effective if he joined her,” I said casually.

—

Shen Yixiao was boiling with suppressed rage. He only wanted to enter Lu Xiaoyun’s body, not her life, and certainly didn’t want her to ruin the precious family happiness he’d painstakingly built.

He comforted me briefly, then left citing company matters.

Two hours later, Lu Xiaoyun’s clarification statement was released, insisting the photos were a misunderstanding and that she and Shen Yixiao were merely superior and subordinate.

“Don’t you think she looks a lot like Li Yue?”

“Shen is famous for being a wife-adoring maniac. Even his secretary has to resemble his wife. Amazing!”

“I have a friend at Shen Corporation. Shen Yixiao was furious over this, cursing the PR team like crazy. Hahaha…”

“What does Li Yue think?”

And what do I think? I lay in bed, scrolling through my phone.

Soon after, I got up to go out and buy some gifts. My parents were about to return to their country, and if I planned to visit them, I needed to prepare presents.

The thought of going home made me uneasy. I feared they still wouldn’t forgive me, and even if I divorced Shen Yixiao, I wouldn’t be able to return to that once familiar home.

I drove to a shopping street.

I wandered through various luxury brand stores, hoping to find a necklace for my mother, but none caught my fancy.

A sales assistant patiently helped me choose when suddenly, Meng Zicheng’s voice came from behind.

“Baby, we’ll look at bags another time. I’ve got something to take care of!”

He stood with his back to me, a heavily made-up, busty woman clinging to his arm.

“Every time you shop for bags, you have something to do. You don’t love me at all.”

“Of course I love you, but my best buddy called me over. I can’t just ignore him. How about I take you out later?” Meng Zicheng wrapped his arm around her waist, grinning slyly.

His best buddies were Shen Yixiao and Liang Feng.

I caught the address he mentioned and filed it away in my mind.