The Lunar New Year arrived once again. Realizing how much he owed his family, Zhan Bei Jue made a deliberate effort to wrap up all his work before the holiday, determined to spend quality time with Jiang Nan Fang.
The company's holiday break began on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, and he was off work as well.
Roughly calculating, he had a full twelve days off at home until the sixth day of the new year when work resumed.
However, while he was resting, Jiang Nan Fang was not.
On the first day of the holiday, Zhan Bei Jue woke up at seven in the morning. After waiting for nearly an hour, she still hadn't emerged from her room.
At eight o'clock, Zhan Bei Jue’s patience ran out. He went to knock on her door, only to discover she was already gone.
"Strange," he mused. "The winter break started days ago. Why isn't she staying home, and where did she go so early in the morning?"
He called her, but the call went unanswered. He tried a second time; still no answer.
It wasn't until past eight o'clock in the evening that Jiang Nan Fang returned from outside.
Having waited for her all day and seeing she hadn't returned his missed calls, Zhan Bei Jue was furious.
Returning to their room, he questioned Jiang Nan Fang about where she had been instead of staying home. Jiang Nan Fang replied that she was at school.
"Didn't the holiday start days ago? What were you doing at school?"
"Organizing documents for a teacher. It's paid work."
So, she was working?
Zhan Bei Jue remained displeased.
"Didn't I tell you long ago not to waste your time working? If you need money, use my card. You're already Mrs. Zhan, yet you're still running around outside every day. Do I treat you that poorly?"
Jiang Nan Fang remained silent.
Zhan Bei Jue issued her an ultimatum.
"From now on, you're not allowed to come back this late. The house curfew is at five o'clock. If you dare to be out past five, you might as well not come back at all."
He thought this would solve the problem, but the next day, Jiang Nan Fang stayed home until ten in the morning before secretly slipping out again.
At two in the afternoon, Zhan Bei Jue received a text notification that his card had been used to spend twenty thousand yuan.
Assuming she had gone shopping with friends, he was surprised when she still wasn't home by seven that evening!
Her blatant disregard for his words ignited his anger. He called her again.
This time, she finally answered, but the line was filled with background noise. She sounded like she was out drinking.
Zhan Bei Jue demanded to know where she was "fooling around" so late.
Jiang Nan Fang said she would be back soon.
"Where are you? I'll send someone to pick you up."
"Jiang Nan Fang, don't forget who you are. If you do anything embarrassing outside, and it reaches my ears, don't expect me to be lenient with you."
Jiang Nan Fang refused to say where she was, only that she was returning immediately and didn't need to be picked up.
Zhan Bei Jue patiently waited at home.
She finally returned past eight o'clock in the evening.
As expected, she had been drinking. Her stumbling gait, coupled with the deeper purple scar on her face from the alcohol, made for a most awkward sight.
In her drunken state, Jiang Nan Fang lunged at him without a word, apologizing and saying she would repay him well in the future.
Seeing her so disoriented and unusually forward, Zhan Bei Jue knew she must have been up to something behind his back again.
After having the nanny help her clean up and get to bed, he instructed Ah Zhong to investigate.
The next afternoon, Ah Zhong called. Jiang Nan Fang had started a business behind his back.
She had founded a business called "Influencer Shop Queue Proxy Purchasing."
In simple terms, it catered to wealthy individuals who wanted to try new products from popular online stores but didn't want to waste time waiting in long queues. Thus, a service for queuing and purchasing on their behalf emerged.
For example, if a new product at a shop cost thirty yuan, Jiang Nan Fang would sell it to her clients for eighty yuan, pocketing the difference.
While this was a growing trend and earning money through her own efforts wasn't something shameful, she was Jiang Nan Fang, Mrs. Zhan Bei Jue.
The thought of her toiling away every day just to skim a few yuan from others made Zhan Bei Jue feel quite uncomfortable.
That evening, when Jiang Nan Fang returned, he confronted her again.
"I know what you're doing now. You're not allowed to do it anymore."
"Don't talk about being a student. Even if you weren't, the Zhan family doesn't lack your spending money."
Jiang Nan Fang retorted, "Is it because I took twenty thousand yuan from you, and you think it's going to be wasted, that you disagree with me doing this?"
"Don't worry, I'll return the money to you as soon as possible."
"I'll coordinate my own time, you don't need to worry about me. And if you're afraid I'll embarrass you, there's no need for that."
"From the beginning until now, no one knows about our relationship. I've never thought of using your name to gain favors. You don't need to be so afraid."
Zhan Bei Jue was almost speechless at her words.
No one knew about their relationship?
She had never considered relying on him?
Did this mean she never truly cared about him, nor had she ever taken this marriage seriously?
Unsure how to express his feelings, Zhan Bei Jue, in a fit of pique, stormed out to find Lu Ming Zhe for a drink.
For the next few days, he didn't see Jiang Nan Fang again until New Year's Eve.
She, who had been penniless and couldn't even afford a decent outfit before, surprisingly bought their grandfather a New Year's gift worth tens of thousands of yuan.
Perhaps doing this truly allowed her to feel valuable and happy.
Watching her confident and joyous smile as she presented the gift to their grandfather, Zhan Bei Jue relented.
Without his interference, Jiang Nan Fang began returning home even later.
They were both busy with their own affairs and rarely saw each other at home. When they did occasionally cross paths, it was either when he had just returned and she was about to sleep, or when she had just returned and he was preparing for bed.
At least he felt at peace, and Zhan Bei Jue thought there was nothing wrong with this arrangement.
However, in the latter half of the year, during a work-related endeavor, Zhan Bei Jue met the daughter of a certain department head while networking.
This young lady fell instantly in love with Zhan Bei Jue, and the department head also took a special liking to him, intending to set them up. He subtly suggested that Zhan Bei Jue accompany his daughter to a fashion show.
The department head held the ultimate power over project approvals. Although Zhan Bei Jue saw through their intentions and was unwilling to cooperate, he agreed for the sake of the bigger picture.
That day, upon returning home, he requested that Jiang Nan Fang, regardless of her schedule for the next few days, must accompany him to Paris.
Jiang Nan Fang had never traveled abroad in her life. Although she didn't have a passport, she was quite happy hearing that Zhan Bei Jue wanted to take her along.
The next day, Ah Zhong accompanied her to handle the procedures. With Zhan Bei Jue's influence, her passport was obtained the following day.
The three of them traveled to Paris together. Although he didn't explicitly reveal his relationship with Jiang Nan Fang, Zhan Bei Jue believed that as long as she was with him throughout, there would be no issues.
However, he had underestimated Jiang Nan Fang.
Someone who claimed to have never been abroad actually encountered a suitor in the glamorous city of Paris.
The man was slightly drunk and grabbed Jiang Nan Fang, refusing to let go. He asked why she wasn't answering his calls and ignoring him.
He asked how she had ended up like this, if something had happened to her.
As he spoke, he reached out to touch her.
The situation turned ugly. Zhan Bei Jue called for security to remove the man. Afterward, the department head's daughter told him,
"To be honest, your friend looked familiar to me too. I think I've seen her somewhere before."
"But at the time, she didn't have... Be careful not to be deceived."