“Moonlight Allure” - Chapter 7

Song Zhia was nearing fifty, but she was exceptionally well-preserved. Her skin was fair with few wrinkles, and the navy-blue cheongsam she wore lent her an air of quiet elegance. She looked the very picture of kindness.

Jiang Tingshuo was three years older than his wife. At fifty-two, he still had a full head of black hair at first glance, but a closer look revealed strands of white at his temples. Though his expression remained stern, the concern and excitement in his eyes were impossible to ignore.

“Sit,” Jiang Tingshuo said, gesturing to the seat they had reserved for her.

Jiang Xueyin nodded slightly and took her seat. As she wiped her hands with a damp towelette, she asked, “Where’s Brother? Is he not home?”

“A-Jue is at the office,” Song Zhia replied warmly. “He’s been managing the company for the three years you were away.”

“Now that you’re back, you should go help your brother. Lighten his load a bit,” Jiang Tingshuo added in a deep voice.

Jiang Xueyin was self-aware enough to realize that her brother, five years her senior, had a deeply rooted power base. Trying to wrest control from Jiang Jue would be a monumental struggle. It was better not to fight, to maintain their sibling bond and enjoy her parents’ favor. She would never want for anything; she would at least be financially secure. Moreover, she could use that wealth to do the things she had always dreamed of but never could.

“I don’t want to manage the company.” Jiang Xueyin said softly. “I want to start my own business.”

“Starting a business is fine. What industry are you looking at?” Jiang Tingshuo’s face softened into a doting smile; it was rare to see his youngest daughter show such ambition.

“I want to open a photography studio.” Back in university, Jiang Xueyin had loved photography, but the cost of cameras and lenses had been far beyond her reach. Later, she had the money but never the time. In this world, the original host had studied directing, so she already had a foundation in cinematography.

“Photography does this have to do with that Xiao Nianru again?” Jiang Tingshuo’s brow furrowed.

Jiang Xueyin dazed for a moment, then shook her head. “No. It’s for myself. I like it.”

She loved capturing beauty. If I had a camera back then, she thought, I could have captured the most beautiful version of Xiao Nianru and kept her forever.

Song Zhia gently squeezed her husband’s hand. “It’s good that she has something she wants to do. Xiao Xue is still young; she has room to make mistakes.”

Jiang Tingshuo contemplated for a moment before nodding. “Your bank cards were unfrozen long ago. The balance should be enough for a start-up. If it’s not, just ask us. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask your brother.”

Except when it came to Xiao Nianru, her parents were willing to grant her every wish. Her family provided a safety net for failure that the “real” Jiang Xueyin could never have imagined. For a moment, she felt as if she was walking on air.

“Just don’t contact Xiao Nianru again,” Jiang Tingshuo’s face darkened. “There was a reason we never approved of you two. Now that you’re divorced, surely you understand our good intentions?”

“A reason? What reason?” Jiang Xueyin’s gaze sharpened. “Wasn’t it because she’s an actress and works in the public eye?” That was what Jiang Jue had told her.

Perhaps Jiang Jue lied, she realized.

Jiang Tingshuo frowned. “We aren’t that old-fashioned. An Omega is perfectly entitled to work. But we looked into her family background. Her parents are gamblers; they’ve racked up massive debts.”

Jiang Xueyin faltered. A memory surfaced, in the original novel, Xiao Nianru’s family was indeed toxic. Her parents had forced her into commercials and acting as a child, treating her as a cash cow. Every cent she earned went into the bottomless pit of their debts. Later, Li Han had managed to trick them into going back to their hometown with promises of “passive income,” finally freeing Nianru from her domestic cage.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xueyin felt a pang of sorrow for her. In reality, Xiao Nianru had come from a scholarly family with a warm, harmonious atmosphere.

Jiang Tingshuo continued, “Furthermore, we were convinced she only approached you for money and power. I’ve seen plenty of Omegas like her trying to marry into wealth. We told you this three years ago, but you wouldn’t listen. And look, only three years later, and you’re divorced.”

“You were convinced? Does that ‘you’ include Jiang Jue?” Jiang Xueyin clenched her fists, her voice tight.

“Yes. Why do you ask?” Anxious concern flitted across Song Zhia’s brow.

Jiang Xueyin sneered inwardly. So, he really was the one pulling the strings. But she couldn’t say it directly yet; she had to rely on hints.

She took a deep breath to defend Xiao Nianru’s name. “Her parents’ gambling isn’t her fault; she’s a victim too. I was the one who approached her, who chased her. She didn’t stay with me for money. For the last three years, she’s been the one supporting me while I acted like a bastard. She wanted the divorce because of me. In her first draft of the agreement, she tried to give me a massive settlement. I felt too guilty to take it, so I left with nothing.”

Song Zhia and Jiang Tingshuo stared at her, dumbfounded. They knew she hadn’t accomplished much in three years, but they hadn’t realized she had been “living off her wife” so shamelessly.

“If that’s the case, then you truly mistreated her,” Jiang Tingshuo said gravely. “Is there no way to compensate her? If she needs industry resources.”

“Dad, let me handle this myself,” Jiang Xueyin interrupted.

Song Zhia nodded. “Yes, she’s a grown-up now. She can handle it.”

“Fine.” Regardless of the details, Jiang Tingshuo was relieved. He still couldn’t accept a daughter-in-law with gambling parents, but since they were divorced, he was willing to speak more kindly to mend the relationship with his daughter. Moreover, he could see she had changed, she wasn’t such a “bastard” anymore.

After lunch, Jiang Xueyin returned to her room. It was exactly as she had left it three years ago, not a thing out of place. She ran her finger over the polished desk. Song Siyuan, Xu Wei, the gambler parents and perhaps others. I won’t let a single one of them go.

As for Jiang Jue, her parents clearly didn’t want the siblings to turn on each other. Fine. She would play the role of the innocent, naive Alpha. No need to work herself to death; the company dividends alone would keep her comfortable.

But first, she decided to give Xiao Nianru a “divorce gift.” She picked up her old phone and dialed Song Siyuan.

“Hello? What?” Song Siyuan’s voice was impatient, drowned out by loud music and shouting in the background.

“Are you at a bar?” Jiang Xueyin asked.

“Is that a surprise?” Song Siyuan snapped, still bitter about being “pranked” at the law firm. “Besides, what’s it to you?”

“I only did that the other day because I was trying to win Nianru back. Given our relationship, you wouldn’t hold a grudge over that, would you?” Jiang Xueyin sat back, crossing her legs and tapping her knuckles on the desk.

Song Siyuan let out an ambiguous chuckle. “Of course not.”

“Tomorrow night, 8 PM, at ‘Tipsy Bar.’ My treat, to make it up to you. And those ‘meds’ from before? Bring some more. I didn’t get to use them last time, but I’m definitely going to succeed this time,” Jiang Xueyin said with a smile, though her eyes were cold as ice.

Song Siyuan turned to look at the unconscious Omega beside him. Lust flickered in his eyes as he kissed the Omega’s cheek. “No problem,” he said into the speaker.

Jiang Xueyin hung up before he could say another word. She tossed the phone aside as if it were something filthy, crossing her arms. He’ll take the bait.

After a moment, she used the old phone to message a certain police officer in her contacts—the novel’s protagonist, Ruan Mingyue: [Sending you a “performance gift.” Tomorrow night at Tipsy Bar, there’s an illegal drug trade going down.]

Ruan Mingyue replied with a single: [?]