Chapter 61: Claiming Sovereignty

Wen Yu Wang could clearly sense a trace of jealousy in A Ping’s polite words; when it comes to feelings, women instinctively see anyone who might be a threat as a rival in love.

Feigning disdain, she pointed at Jiang Fan’s swollen face and said, “Look at him—does he really deserve to be called a prized catch? If any woman wants to take him in, I’d gladly hand him over.”

Having declared her claim, the real impact would come only if Jiang Fan acknowledged it; Wen Yu’s contradictory words were meant to see how Jiang Fan would behave in front of another woman.

Jiang Fan, aware of Wen Yu’s meaning as soon as she finished her act of disdain and fixed her gaze on him, decided to play along to both appease Wen Yu and discourage A Ping’s hopes.

He pulled Wen Yu close and said, “You little troublemaker, you treat your man like a toy and are ready to give him away for free. Just wait till tonight—I’ll show you how to deal with you.”

Seeing Jiang Fan respond in such perfect harmony with her intentions, Wen Yu deliberately twisted his ear and retorted, “Don’t think I’ll spare you just because you’re injured. Between us, who’s really in charge? Tell me now; if you can’t make it clear, don’t even think about coming back to our rented place tonight.”

Both of them mentioning “tonight,” A Ping immediately understood the hidden meaning behind their words, and her heart was a mix of emotions.

Thanks to her striking looks and sharp mind, A Ping was never short of admirers—handsome, wealthy, powerful men all vied for her attention. Most of the wealthy and powerful ones had families, and their pursuit was nothing but an attempt to barter for her beauty. The handsome ones lacked capability, failing to catch her eye.

Though a year younger than Jiang Fan, A Ping had two years of wandering experience. She had witnessed the prosperity and openness of Dongguan, and seen all manner of strange relationships unfold in the city.

In this dazzling world, as secretary to the lecherous Chen Anlong, she managed to keep herself untainted amid countless temptations. It was not just her own resistance but also the stories of her aunt, who started wandering a year before her, and her own experiences that had taught her to see through affairs based on money and power—the coldness and ruthlessness that follows men's laughter made her extremely cautious about relationships.

Jiang Fan, not conventionally handsome, caught A Ping’s attention because of his rebellious yet clear-cut personality, and the differing opinions about him from the cunning Chen Anlong and Deputy General Manager Tang made A Ping develop a fondness for him.

Human nature is such that what cannot be obtained always stirs the heart. When she first met Jiang Fan, she believed her beauty would make it easy to win him over. Yet, every time she took the initiative, Jiang Fan played dumb, making her realize he was no fool, but a man with his own ideas and a touch of arrogance. This made her care even more.

She never expected that her budding feelings would be shattered so thoroughly by the scene before her.

Now matured by years of wandering, A Ping, though heartbroken, did not lose her reason. She thought first that even if she couldn’t be Jiang Fan’s lover, befriending someone who valued humanity and friendship was certainly better than associating with those men who offered favors with ulterior motives.

As the two deliberately flirted in front of her, A Ping suppressed her resentment and praised, “Yu, you haven’t seen how your Deputy Manager Jiang acts like a big shot in the factory—he dares to offend anyone, but only you can handle him.”

She changed the way she addressed Wen Yu, and deliberately emphasized “your” to signal goodwill.

Seeing A Ping had smartly understood her declaration of sovereignty, Wen Yu, without any small-mindedness, released Jiang Fan’s ear and said to A Ping, “He’s just thick-skinned; as long as he doesn’t do anything heartless, I don’t bother with him.

You mentioned Boss Chen earlier. It’s not that I’m making things difficult for him, but the security team is full of opportunists with too many schemes.”

Hearing Wen Yu’s explanation, A Ping responded sincerely, “I used to think you were petty, blowing a small matter out of proportion, but now I see it was my narrow-mindedness.

Forgive my bluntness, but it’s not just the security team—some powerful figures are also trying to take shortcuts. Mostly, they’re afraid to offend you, and the factory can’t handle them. Deputy General Manager Tang has tried to find people for this, but everyone just pushes responsibility away. Could you do me a favor and not hold onto this matter? Only your word counts now.”

Mention of Chen Anlong filled Jiang Fan with anger, but he held back at Wen Yu’s urging.

Hearing A Ping ask for help on his behalf, Jiang Fan interjected, “A Ping, if this were your own affair, I’d do anything, but if you’re asking for that lecher’s sake, there’s no way.”

Seeing Jiang Fan’s stubbornness flare up, Wen Yu quickly pulled him aside and said, “Didn’t I tell you before not to fuss about this? Why are you at it again?”

She turned to A Ping and continued, “I’m not a fool. I saw this morning how those security guys acted and knew what they were thinking. But Boss Chen’s behavior was disgusting—he deserved punishment, so I didn’t want to intervene.

Since you’re a friend of my man, I’ll give you this favor, but I don’t want Boss Chen to get off too easily.

Here’s the plan: we just rented a place today and haven’t bought any daily necessities. Let me finish up, then I’ll go—let him stay a bit longer and learn a lesson. Is that alright with you?”

Seeing Wen Yu’s open-mindedness, A Ping replied with a hint of meaning and regret, “Thank you for not holding a grudge. Compared to you, I’m really petty. I wrongly blamed you, and I’m truly sorry. Deputy Manager Jiang has good taste—I sincerely wish you both happiness.”

Wen Yu responded, “You did nothing wrong, so there’s no question of grudges. We should thank you for your blessing.”

As they parted, Wen Yu leaned in and whispered a few words into A Ping’s ear.

A Ping glanced at Jiang Fan, nodded solemnly, and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll pass on your message.”

Still angry at Chen Anlong, Jiang Fan watched the two women whisper secrets he wasn’t allowed to hear and could only pout helplessly.

Feeling she had dispelled the threat to her relationship and made a new friend, Wen Yu linked arms with Jiang Fan and smiled, “Stop being petty. We have nothing in our rented place yet—do you still want to sleep tonight?”

Jiang Fan, who had been looking forward to sharing a bed with Wen Yu, was cheered up by her mention of “sleep.” His habitual mischievous grin spread across his face as he said, “You showed me up in front of others just now—tonight, you’d better listen to me, right?”

“You think I’m stupid? If I listen to you, I’ll go from a maiden to a woman overnight. I won’t fall for your tricks. For now, don’t even think about it. Let’s go, buy what we need, and get the room ready.”

After buying household items and having dinner at a dumpling shop, Wen Yu and Jiang Fan finally arrived at the security team office.

A man, nearly six feet tall, as round as a Buddha, balding in his early forties, greeted them with a big smile. He reached out to shake Wen Yu’s hand, then, realizing she might not want to, withdrew his hand and introduced himself, “Miss Wang, hello! I’m Zheng Xiaolin, the new captain of the security team.”

Seeing Zheng Xiaolin’s ingratiating manner, Wen Yu didn’t bother with pleasantries and bluntly mocked him, “This morning’s incident was just a personal dispute and didn’t cause any harm, yet you brought Boss Chen here for tea. Are you trying to use my reputation to make a big deal out of it, so you can look upright and honorable?

I advise you to stop doing things just for show. If you treated everyone without a residence permit as you did me, I’d sincerely thank you on behalf of all those innocent wanderers.

But now, I see I was too naive. Your actions are no different from your predecessor’s.”