Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When I say “cheating,” I don’t mean actually going through with it-though my instructor did mention that blurring the lines between acting and reality wouldn’t hurt.

“The moment your availability decreases, your charm increases. The core of this step is to create a sense of urgent competition. After all, men are animals that love the chase.”

I jotted down the note and asked casually, “Professor, can I take you out to ‘cheat’ tomorrow?”

Professor Jiang smiled elegantly on the screen. “I would be honored.”

The next day, I didn’t return home until late at night. I chose a bar that Gu Congwen frequented as my “cheating location.”

He adored his Jiang Wan, having decided since childhood that she was his only true Sister-in-law. He despised me more than anyone. In the previous cycle, he had even pushed me, while I was pregnant, off the second floor of the family estate. If he discovered me meeting a man in private, he would definitely report it to Gu Jingshen immediately.

I took off my trench coat and flipped on the light. The glow abruptly illuminated a figure sitting alone on the sofa.

If I hadn’t been mentally prepared, I would have been scared half to death.

Gu Jingshen stared at me, his tone flat as he asked, “Do you know what time it is?”

“Um… two in the morning?” I glanced at my watch.

“Where were you?” An undercurrent of emotion swirled in his voice.

“A bar,” I replied matter-of-factly.

“Come here.” Oh, he was using his commanding tone now.

I executed his command flawlessly. Tossing my bag aside, I sat enthusiastically on his lap. “Jingshen.”

I knew very well that I was covered in the scent of another man. Jiang Zhihui had impeccable taste in that regard: the three-piece suit of an academic, the woody cologne of a refined rogue, and that thrilling sense of contrast when he took off his glasses.

Gu Jingshen smelled it too. He turned his face away slightly, eyeing me coldly. “What were you doing?”

I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning in closer as I lied without blinking. “Just a high school reunion. Didn’t I tell you?”

In my social circle, absolutely no one knew about my marriage to Gu Jingshen. Years ago, the family had forcibly broken him and Jiang Wan up. Jiang Wan hadn’t cared at all, walking away with effortless grace, while he had married me-a woman with no background-out of spite. My mother-in-law’s compromise was this: family scandals must not be publicized, so I was forbidden from announcing my status as a daughter-in-law of the Gu Family. To him, I wasn’t exactly a partner worth boasting about either.

Consequently, he naturally wouldn’t show his face in front of my friends.

“They don’t know I’m married, so they even tried to set me up with a boyfriend. I couldn’t really turn them down, so I had a couple of drinks with him.”

Gu Jingshen’s brow twitched, displeasure written all over his face. He was about to say something-

But I just gave a drunken laugh, left a bright red lipstick mark on his cheek, and stood up to leave. “I’m going to shower. You should get some rest too.”

[Marriage Reconciliation Success Rate: 41%]

Just as I entered the bathroom, a message arrived from Jiang Zhihui: “I’ll pick you up on Sunday.”