Volume One, Chapter 75: Passage

Hearing Yan Yan’s voice, Jiang Wan turned her head in disbelief. The video intercom by the elevator at the entryway was lit up, and Yan Yan’s face appeared on the screen. The background was the lobby on the first floor. Although she had never been to Yu Jing Bay before, she was now standing at the entrance of the building, just outside the elevator that led up to Jiang Wan’s apartment.

Jiang Wan’s eyes widened in shock. She would never have dreamed that Yan Yan would come looking for her.

“Jiang Wan?”

Yan Yan’s voice came through the speaker again. When no one responded, she saw the woman on the screen pick up her phone and hold it to her ear.

“Manager Zhao, she might not have heard me. Can you unlock the elevator for me on your end?”

At those words, Jiang Wan’s eyes widened even further. Almost instinctively, she pushed Lu Wenzhou away and stumbled quickly toward the entryway, her shin banging against a cabinet. She didn’t feel any pain at all.

“Mom?”

Before Yan Yan could get a reply, Jiang Wan had already picked up the handset. She fought hard to steady her trembling voice, trying to sound calm. “What brings you here? I was just about to take a shower and didn’t hear the bell.”

“You left your phone in my car,” Yan Yan replied, making Jiang Wan breathe a silent sigh of relief.

“I’ll come down and get it.”

But before she could finish, Yan Yan said, “No need. I have a few things I need to discuss with you.”

Her eyes on the screen were cool, her tone brooking no argument. Jiang Wan’s grip on the handset tightened.

She turned around. Lu Wenzhou, leaning nonchalantly against the low cabinet, met her gaze with calm, dark eyes, as if nothing in this world could threaten him in the slightest.

Jiang Wan bit her lip.

“Jiang Wan?” Yan Yan’s voice was already impatient. “Hurry up.”

That shift in tone made it impossible for Jiang Wan to refuse. She pressed the unlock button on the intercom, and as soon as the call ended, she darted back like the wind, grabbing Lu Wenzhou and dragging him toward the interior rooms.

She’d lived alone here for over a month, but for the first time, Jiang Wan felt the place was too small. There was only the private elevator, and no matter which room she tried to hide him in, there wasn’t anywhere truly suitable.

Time was running out.

With no time to think, she shoved him into the walk-in closet.

“Don’t make a sound.”

No sooner had she said this than she turned to close the door, but the man, as if possessed, caught her wrist and pulled her back inside.

“Why should I?” His lips curled into a faint, teasing smile. “You want me to listen to you?”

He even had the nerve for banter at a time like this.

Jiang Wan shot him a cold, sarcastic look. “Unless you want to be discovered?”

With that, she shook off his hand, shut the door, and left.

She had just turned into the corridor when she saw Yan Yan stepping into the apartment from the entryway. The elevator doors slid open; the two locked eyes from a distance.

“Mom,” Jiang Wan greeted her, adjusting her clothes as she walked quickly over, doing her utmost to hide her nerves and keep her expression composed.

But Yan Yan’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Am I not welcome here?”

She stepped out of the elevator, her gaze sweeping arrogantly over the entryway, lingering on the shoe rack.

“Is there someone else here?”

“Mom, don’t joke,” Jiang Wan replied quickly. “I just didn’t want to trouble you.”

Yan Yan glanced at her with cool indifference. She seemed ready to let the matter drop, but then she caught sight of the red marks on Jiang Wan’s neck, and her expression changed abruptly, the hard edge returning to her eyes.

Without waiting for an explanation, Yan Yan strode forward and lifted Jiang Wan’s long hair, her tone sharp. “What happened to your neck?”

Immediately wary, she swept her gaze around the room once more.

Before Yan Yan could act further, Jiang Wan pulled open her own collar and offered, “It’s an allergic reaction, Mom.”

She reached for the ointment on the low cabinet. “I was just about to put on some medicine. It’s not easy to do by myself.”

She gestured invitingly. “If it’s not too much trouble, could you help me?”

Her calm, open manner showed no sign of guilt or hesitation. Only then did Yan Yan’s suspicion abate.

She didn’t take the ointment from Jiang Wan, but made her way into the living room and sat down on the sofa. Sensing the shift in her mother’s attitude, Jiang Wan finally let out a small breath of relief. The palm holding the medicine was slick with cold sweat.

She maintained her composure, went to the kitchen, and poured a glass of water. When she returned, Yan Yan was holding her phone, the screen displaying a photo of Jiang Wan and her father.

“Are you trying to check my phone, Mom?” Jiang Wan saw through her mother’s intentions. To clear herself of suspicion, she offered, “The password is—”

“No need,” Yan Yan interrupted, placing the phone on the coffee table as her eyes settled on Jiang Wan. “If you ever do anything to disgrace the Gu family, the Jiang family will be lost to you forever.”

Jiang Wan lowered her eyes and handed over the water. She wasn’t afraid of her mother checking her phone—there was nothing there to hide—but she wanted to get her to leave as soon as possible. After all, there was still a risk hidden in the house. She didn’t know how much patience Lu Wenzhou had, nor whether Yan Yan’s suspicions might be reawakened.

“What did you want to talk to me about, Mom?” Jiang Wan steered the conversation back on track.

“What are your thoughts on the cooperation between Gu Corporation and Lin Group?” Yan Yan’s belated question caught Jiang Wan off guard. She hadn’t expected her mother to ask her opinion.

But she soon understood the reason. Until now, Jiang Wan had drawn a clear line between herself and the Lin family. Over the past two years, Ji Jiali had tried every means to bring her and the Lin family together, but Jiang Wan had never accepted any benefit from them.

Now, the Gu family wanted to cooperate with the Lin Group, and they wanted Jiang Wan to play a role. If she was unwilling, she certainly wouldn’t give it her all. Yan Yan was worried that after finally setting aside her pride to seek help from Lin Hongguang, everything would be ruined by Jiang Wan’s lack of cooperation.

Feeling her mother’s pressure, Jiang Wan fell silent for a moment before replying, “I’m in the same boat as the Gu family now. Whatever the Gu family wants me to do, I’ll do.”

With that assurance, Yan Yan’s face softened a little. “At least you’re still of some use,” she said, then laid out her plans—how the cooperation would proceed, and how Jiang Wan should assist.

Time slipped by. Yan Yan showed no sign of leaving, and Jiang Wan grew increasingly uneasy. She scratched her back and put on a pained expression. “Mom, maybe you should help me put on the ointment?”

Only then did Yan Yan realize how late it was. “I’ll have my assistant send you the details later,” she said, rising and heading for the elevator. “Put on the ointment yourself.”

Without another word, Yan Yan stepped into the elevator. Jiang Wan watched as the doors closed behind her.

Once inside the descending elevator, Yan Yan replayed the events of the evening in her mind. In the end, she decided to call security at Yu Jing Bay once more.

“Manager Zhao, it’s me,” Yan Yan said politely, her voice calm. “Could you check for me—who entered and exited my son’s building this evening?”