InterContinental Hotel corridor.
Ruan Yi was wearing a light-colored cheongsam with high slits and stood in front of her father Ruan Jianggu, listening to him arrogantly ordering her how to please the young master whom she married.
She stood quietly, her eyes slightly lowered, looking at the ground, half of her eyes covered by her long and dense eyelashes.
No one could see her expression clearly.
"I finally persuaded the Jiang family to give you some face. It's a great blessing for you that Master Jiang doesn't dislike you. Can you be smarter and coax men?" Ruan Jianggu chattered for a long time, but nothing happened. Hearing Ruan Yi's response, he couldn't help but lose his temper: "Ruan Yi, did you hear me talking to you!?"
Ruan Yi slowly raised his head, "Can you let my grandpa and grandma out first?"
Ruan Jianggu: "I will naturally let them out when the matter is over. Don't play tricks on me. If you can't get this investment, don't even think about it!"
Ruan Yi pursed her lips and said, "Grandpa and grandma used to treat you as their own son."
Ruan Jianggu patted her shoulder, "As long as you do what I say, they will be fine. The Ruan family is prosperous, and it will be good for you, right? Just prepare yourself."
Ruan Yi looked at Ruan Jianggu's retreating back and showed a self-deprecating smile.
Her biological father asked her to go to Israel to serve a man who was a well-known young man.
The cheongsam she wore and her makeup today were all based on the other person's taste.
Ruan Yi stood in front of the mirror and looked at the woman inside, despair gradually rising in his eyes.
"Ruan Yi." When she was about to close her eyes, she suddenly heard someone calling her.
Ruan Yi opened his eyes suddenly and saw a face in the mirror.
A face I’ve only seen in the news.
Zhou Li.
He was as indifferent as in the news, and his voice sounded like ice slag.
Ruan Yi turned around and looked at him. Just by looking at each other, he felt goosebumps from the chill on his body.
"Mr. Zhou." Ruan Yi called him softly, "Do you know me?"
Zhou Li: “I don’t know him.”
Ruan Yi: "..."
Zhou Li: “Let’s make a deal.”
He got straight to the point, and Ruan Yi was caught off guard: "What deal?"
No matter how hard Ruan Yi tried, she couldn't think of anything valuable in herself that would make Zhou Li talk about a deal with her.
Moreover, they did not know each other before this.
If we have to talk about intersection, at most they only went to the same school for two years in middle school.
Ruan Yi noticed Zhou Li because he was Xu Siyan's good friend.
"Ruan Jianggu kidnapped your grandparents and threatened you." Zhou Li said, "I want to give you to the Jiang family."
Zhou Li spoke very directly, but Ruan Yi was not embarrassed and nodded without being humble or arrogant.
Zhou Li: "I can help you."
Ruan Yi: "What are Mr. Zhou's conditions?"
Ruan Yi did not let himself wallow in shock for too long and quickly calmed down.
Zhou Li must have found out these things before coming to her. It is impossible for someone like him to help her for no reason.
Zhou Li: "You like Xu Siyan."
Ruan Yi's calm expression froze, and he clenched his right hand into a fist.
Zhou Li had no intention of observing these details and said bluntly: "Marry him and I will help you escape from the Ruan family."
No matter how it sounds, Ruan Yi made the profit in this transaction.
She was very curious: "Can I take the liberty to ask Mr. Zhou the reason?"
Zhou Li: "No."
His rejection was still cold and straightforward: "You just have to do what I say."
Ruan Yi lowered his eyes and looked at the floor under his feet. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath and raised his head: "Okay."
Zhou Li: "Go out and chat."
Ruan Yi stopped and didn't move.
Zhou Li: "Your grandparents should have gone home."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ruan Yi's cell phone rang.
Ruan Yi picked up the phone and saw a call from his mother Qinghe.
Ruan Yi quickly answered: "Mom."
Qinghe: "Yiyi, your grandparents are back, do you promise your dad to go -"
"No, Mom, I'm fine now." Ruan Yi comforted her, "I met a noble person who is willing to help me. You can wait until I go back later. I have something to deal with now, okay?"
After answering Qinghe's call, Ruan Yi bowed to Zhou Li: "Thank you, Mr. Zhou."
Zhou Li turned around and walked out. Ruan Yi put away his phone and followed closely.
——
After talking to Zhou Li, it was already half past ten.
Although Zhou Li was indifferent, after the negotiation, he still asked his assistant Liang Cong to take her home.
Before getting off the bus, Liang Cong said to Ruan Yi: "Miss Ruan, I will pick you up tomorrow."
Ruan Yi: "Sorry to trouble you, please be careful on the road."
After saying goodbye to Liang Cong, Ruan Yi took out his mobile phone and turned it on.
As expected, all of them were missed calls from Ruan Jianggu.
He had been planning for tonight's event for so long. Ruan Yi escaped from the battlefield like this, and the two elders were sent back safely. Ruan Jianggu's lungs must have exploded with anger.
When Ruan Yi was about to call Ruan Jianggu back, his call came in again.
Ruan Yi picked up directly this time.
Before Ruan Jianggu could scold him, she calmly started negotiating with him: "I will give you the investment you want, within a week at most."
Ruan Jianggu on the other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds: "Where can you get tens of millions?"
Ruan Yi: "You don't have to worry about this. I will do what I promised, but before that I hope we can sign an agreement."
Ruan Jianggu: "What?"
Ruan Yi: "After this time, I will never owe you or the Ruan family any more. Whatever happens to the Ruan family in the future will have nothing to do with me."
Ruan Jianggu: "Do you want to get rid of me completely?"
Ruan Yi: "When you divorce your mother, the custody rights have nothing to do with you."
Ruan Jianggu: "Okay! I want to see how capable you are!"
——
Ruan Yi stood downstairs in the old unit for a long time. It wasn't until the headlights from the opposite car pierced her eyes that she regained her composure.
Ruan Yi showed his signature smile and walked towards the rusty door of the building.
There is no elevator in the community, so she lives with her mother, grandparents, and four others in a second-floor apartment of less than 100 square meters.
When Ruan Yi came back, her mother Qinghe was still awake and sitting in the living room waiting for her.
"Yiyi." Qinghe came up and took Ruan Yi's hand, checking it carefully, "What did they ask you to do? Why were your grandparents suddenly released?"
Ruan Yi: "I met a former friend and he helped me."
Ruan Yi took Qinghe's hand and sat down on the sofa with her. "He was my classmate before I transferred to middle school. He happened to be participating in the activity, so he helped me by the way."
Qinghe looked at Ruan Yi doubtfully.
After all, middle school classmates who haven't seen each other for so many years are unlikely to be able to help with such a big thing.
Ruan Yi patted her hand, "It's true. Don't you remember? I talked about him with you before."
Qinghe was stunned for a moment, and then asked after recalling: "You mean... the one you liked before?"
Ruan Yi: "Yeah."
Her eyes widened when she smiled, "I didn't expect to meet him again after so many years."
Qinghe: "That boy is very handsome. I remember I saw the love letter you wrote. What's his name? Is his surname Xu?"
