Chapter Thirteen: If You Want to Be Mrs. Li, Then So Be It.

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Qiao Chenye held a freshly printed report between his fingertips, worrying the edges until they curled slightly.

Leaning back in the leather seat, he curved his lips into a meaningful smile. “If Li Jingyan is impotent, then whose child is Liu Yanyan carrying?”

Assistant Liu whipped around, his glasses sliding to the tip of his nose. “You mean Miss Wen’s husband…”

“See for yourself.”

Qiao Chenye pushed the report toward him and lightly tapped the section marked “abnormalities of the reproductive system” with one long finger.

“No wonder they remained childless for five years. No wonder she said what she did back then…”

A hint of amusement flickered through his eyes. “Then Liu Yanyan’s pregnancy is going to be interesting.”

“And another thing—how did Li Jingyan manage to rise to this position in just two years? Look into both Liu Yanyan’s and Li Jingyan’s accounts. There’s bound to be something else waiting to surprise us. Let’s find out whose child this really is.”

“Understood! I’ll handle it right away!”

Assistant Liu immediately took out his phone to make a note. After a pause, he could not resist asking, “Boss, are we leaving now? We’ve been keeping watch outside this complex for several days, but Miss Wen still hasn’t come home.”

Qiao Chenye glanced out the window and gave a cold snort.

“Forget it. We’re leaving. Have someone keep watch here, and report immediately if anything happens.”

He straightened his cuff, his tone carrying a trace of mockery. “She slept with me and ran off without even saying goodbye. What a lack of manners.”

Meanwhile, another kind of “spectacle” was unfolding in Li Jingyan’s home.

Wen Yan had perfected the art of dealing with Liu Yanyan.

She no longer confronted her head-on. Instead, she hid needles in cotton—stinging so painfully that Liu Yanyan could not even cry out. She responded to everything Liu Yanyan said, yet accomplished nothing she asked for, and every move was so faultless that Li Jingyan could not find the slightest flaw.

She was impeccable in everything she did, and every word struck straight at the heart. This torment, impossible to criticize yet impossible to endure, drove Liu Yanyan to the brink of collapse.

Li Jingyan’s attitude began to change almost imperceptibly. Watching Wen Yan keep the household in perfect order and treat the child with gentleness and patience, then comparing her with Liu Yanyan, who spent all day complaining in the bedroom, he had long since tilted the scales.

Every time he came home from work, he was greeted not by warmth, but by endless sobbing:

“Wen Yan gave me another dirty look. She can’t even mix formula properly…”

At first, he could still take Liu Yanyan’s side and say a few words. But after hearing the same crying and bickering day after day, even he grew impatient.

Wen Yan watched the points on the system panel creep upward, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

This week alone, she had earned seven points from Liu Yanyan through nothing more than “psychological torment.”

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The feeling of leaving her opponent furious and aggrieved, yet utterly unable to retaliate, was truly exquisite.

But before Wen Yan could unleash her final move, Liu Yanyan lost her nerve first.

When Li Jingyan came through the door that evening, he saw Liu Yanyan sitting on the sofa with the child in her arms, unusually dressed and made up.

“Brother Jingyan,” she said, her voice soft enough to melt.

“I’m feeling much better now. Sister Wen has worked so hard taking care of us. Why don’t you let her go home for the time being?”

Li Jingyan raised a brow. “Weren’t you the one who said you needed someone to help?”

Liu Yanyan tugged at his arm and gave it a little shake, like a spoiled cat.

“I keep making Sister Wen do things, and I feel terrible about it. Besides, if the three of us continue living together, the neighbors will gossip… I’m worried it will ruin your reputation.”

“And you know what happened at the hospital last time, when Sister Wen lost control. With her here, I’m afraid she’ll still feel resentful…” As she spoke, her voice grew thick with tears.

Li Jingyan knew that most of the chaos over the past week had indeed been caused by Liu Yanyan’s unreasonable behavior. If he did not make Wen Yan leave, Liu Yanyan would never stop.

“All right.” In the end, he nodded and agreed.

Wen Yan had been waiting just outside the door. At once, she stepped in, her face filled with concern.

“Are you really all right, Yanyan? The baby is still so young. How will you manage on your own…”

“I can manage.”

The moment she saw Wen Yan, Liu Yanyan cut her off through clenched teeth. Hatred nearly spilled from her eyes, though she forced a smile onto her face.

“Don’t worry, Sister. I’ll take good care of Jingyan and the baby.”

“All right, then.”

Wen Yan returned to the bedroom with reluctance and began packing her suitcase.

Liu Yanyan stared at her back, grinding her molars so hard they nearly cracked.

“Host, that retreat-to-advance maneuver was brilliant!” the system praised from the background.

After packing everything, Wen Yan put on one last display of affection. Her eyes brimming with reluctance, she gazed at little Jingyan.

“Mommy’s leaving. Can I come visit you when I have time, sweetheart?”

“Just go home and get some proper rest. I’ll contact you if I need you.” With Liu Yanyan there, Li Jingyan could not very well cause a scene, so he could only keep his emotions in check and urge Wen Yan to leave, lest she create more trouble.

“Take a taxi yourself. I won’t see you out,” Li Jingyan added from beside her.

“All right! All right!”

Wen Yan agreed readily and hurried out of the room. After all, her next plan would be difficult to carry out with Li Jingyan around.

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Before leaving, she still had to put on an appropriately reluctant performance. The moment she turned her back, however, she hurried out of the residential complex.

“What’s the plan now?” the system asked.

“Next, we provoke a conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law?” Wen Yan asked, brimming with confidence.

Wen Yan gave a cold laugh. “Do you know the fastest way to tear a family apart?”

“What?”

“Let the elders interfere.” Wen Yan spoke with leisurely composure.

“Doesn’t Liu Yanyan want to become Mrs. Li? Then I’ll let her experience the warmth of the Li family ahead of time.”

“Once there’s conflict between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law—especially over raising a child—even the strongest relationship cannot withstand the constant strain.”

“She ought to thank me. A considerate first wife like me is hard to find. She deserves a taste of the ‘perfect family’ the Lis are always talking about.”

The system suddenly understood. “Brilliant!”

Wen Yan opened her photo album. It was filled with pictures of Liu Yanyan feeding the baby formula, secretly eating greasy and heavily salted takeout, and several shots of her frowning impatiently while the baby cried.

Taking a deep breath, Wen Yan attached the photos to a message and sent them to Wang Xiulian:

“Mom, I know I shouldn’t interfere, but Yanyan has just given birth, and it really isn’t good for her to keep feeding the baby these things. She doesn’t seem willing to breastfeed either, and the baby has gotten so thin. Given my position, I don’t feel comfortable saying much, but I truly can’t stop worrying. Perhaps you could try persuading her? ”

After sending it, she began calculating the points in her head and worked out the revenge score with the system.

Suddenly, the window of a familiar black Porsche parked at the entrance of the complex rolled down, revealing Assistant Liu’s smiling face.

“Miss Wen, what a coincidence! Where are you headed? I’ll give you a ride.”

Wen Yan raised a brow. “Mr. Liu, what are you doing here?”

“I happened to be passing by and saw you, so I came over to ask. It’s not easy to find a taxi around here.” Assistant Liu smiled with perfect openness.

Wen Yan found it inexplicable; she was hardly acquainted with him. But since a free ride had presented itself, she did not refuse. She opened the door and prepared to get in.

The moment the door opened, a cool, familiar fragrance curled around her.

She looked up and found herself gazing straight into a pair of smiling, foxlike eyes.

Qiao Chenye was dressed in a khaki suit. He tilted his head toward her, and before Wen Yan could make sense of what was happening, a hand reached out to her.

By instinct, Wen Yan placed her hand in his. Then she simply stared at Qiao Chenye’s face, forgetting what she was supposed to do next.

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