AMRWFA -Chapter 277 Heh, Men

Tingting had a deep impression of it and immediately grabbed onto the woman she had seen that day, demanding to know who she was from Bai Zhengqi.

Bai Zhengqi hadn’t expected Tingting’s memory to be so good—she had actually dug one out.

But how could he possibly remember which one it was? He only vaguely recalled that there had been two or three times when he had carelessly let Tingting run into them.

After that, he had given the woman a sum of money and sent her away.

As for what kind of mindset he had at the time, even Bai Zhengqi couldn’t explain it clearly. Maybe… he didn’t want to “corrupt” a young girl.

Fortunately, Ruan Yaoyao didn’t know what he was thinking. If she did, she would definitely have mocked him:

【What mindset?】

【Guilty conscience, obviously~】

【You want to take responsibility for your actions? No—you dare to do it but not admit it. Clearly harboring those filthy “grooming” intentions, wanting to raise a little woman tailored to your taste with your own hands, yet still pretending to be a gentleman—saving face and too embarrassed to admit it.】

Ruan Yaoyao felt a bit sorry for Bai Zhengqi’s good brother. He had practically been a complete sucker—entrusting his daughter to Bai Zhengqi before his death, never imagining the man was playing some twisted “raising game.” Tsk tsk…

【I wonder if his brother would be so angry he’d jump out of his grave if he knew.】

Yu Xiangqiao silently thought: If the dead truly had awareness, even if he couldn’t jump out, he’d probably strangle Bai Zhengqi the moment he went down to join him.

As a mother, just imagining that one day some man might treat her daughter like this was enough to make her fight him to the death.

Meanwhile, Bai Zhengqi was still explaining, insisting it was all baseless nonsense. He claimed Ruan Yaoyao was just “jealous”—jealous that he had seen through her true nature and was now trying to sow discord.

Tingting cried pitifully, asking whether it was true—had he lied to her again?

“No, I didn’t lie to you. I swear, everything I said is true. Don’t you know what kind of person I am? We’ve been together for so many years.”

“Wuu… then why would she say that?”

“Didn’t I tell you? She wants to rekindle our old relationship, but I refused.”

“You’re lying! It’s clearly you who wanted to get back together with her—she’s the one who refused!”

“That’s because she changed her mind. She’s just playing hard to get.”

…

He dared to say all this right in front of Ruan Yaoyao. She couldn’t even imagine how he must have “brainwashed” Tingting behind her back.

【Could it be that Tingting liking Bai Zhengqi… was actually all because of his manipulation?】

Ruan Yaoyao stared at the two of them, her mind spinning with speculation.

【The novel said Tingting fell first, then relentlessly pursued him, doing all sorts of impulsive things before finally moving this older man. But what if the novel is fake?】

【It wouldn’t be the first time.】

【Those so-called “detail pages” always paint things in a way favorable to the male and female leads—half truth, half lies.】

【As for what really happened… who knows?】

Yu Xiangqiao and Ruan Zhihe exchanged glances: If that were true, it would be downright terrifying.

This Bai Zhengqi… was pretty scary.

【Yeah, definitely a bit scary.】

【The more you think about it, the more unsettling it gets.】

【Then… should I help her?】

Looking at Tingting, who seemed simple-minded and easy to manipulate, Ruan Yaoyao hesitated.

【Bai Zhengqi has used me as a “tool” for so many years. If I don’t do something, wouldn’t that be letting myself down?】

【But with someone as simple as Tingting, won’t it be troublesome to deal with?】

【Should I or not?】

Yu Xiangqiao and Ruan Zhihe had no opinion—it all depended on Ruan Yaoyao.

After a long internal struggle, Ruan Yaoyao decided to step in. Otherwise, someone might get too arrogant and keep dragging her out as a pawn whenever convenient.

Just as the two were getting all lovey-dovey again, about to reconcile, Ruan Yaoyao lightly coughed twice.

“Ahem! That’s enough. There are still so many people here watching.”

Tingting blushed and immediately pushed Bai Zhengqi away.

Bai Zhengqi’s face turned cold. “Why are you still here? Don’t you have any sense of shame? Can’t you see no one here welcomes you? Don’t you know to leave on your own?”

“You invited me here, and now you expect me to leave by myself? What do you take me for—someone you can summon and dismiss at will?” Ruan Yaoyao smiled lightly, as if at a loss for words. “Tsk tsk… I really don’t know what I saw in you back then. Looks like I was too young and had poor judgment to fall for a man like you.”

After pulling their attention back to herself, she spoke earnestly to Tingting: “Little sister, don’t be fooled by him. This whole ‘white moonlight’ and ‘devoted lover’ persona—if he really liked me, my husband has been dead for so many years, so why didn’t he show up earlier? Why did he only remember me and come looking for me after you came of age? Think about what that implies.”

Tingting froze. “Yeah… if Uncle really liked you, why didn’t he come find you earlier?”

“Because you weren’t an adult yet,” Ruan Yaoyao said bluntly. “If you weren’t of age, how could he make a move? And if he couldn’t act, what was the point of finding me? The whole act wouldn’t work.”

“He doesn’t actually want me—he just wants to put on a show. To make you believe he’s a devoted man, that he once loved me so deeply, so in the future he can love you just as devotedly. Once you buy into that persona, you won’t worry about him keeping other women outside. Then he can do whatever he wants with you…”

Tingting’s eyes instantly turned red as she looked at Bai Zhengqi. “So… your ‘devoted lover’ persona is fake?”

Of course Bai Zhengqi wouldn’t admit it. He insisted Ruan Yaoyao was spouting nonsense. Yes, he used to like her—but he hadn’t expected her to become so unworthy of that affection.

“What I liked was the pure, gentle, sweet Ruan Yaoyao—not this woman who keeps a boy toy and spouts lies like it’s nothing.”

“It’s you who betrayed our love.”

“Wait—when did I betray anything?” Ruan Yaoyao quickly cut in, refusing to take the blame. “What’s our relationship now? Are you the one trying to rekindle things, or me?”

“I haven’t even agreed to your pursuit. Even if I have a younger boyfriend, that’s a legitimate relationship. How does it become ‘immoral’ or ‘keeping a toy boy’ when you say it?”

“So what—you can date an eighteen-year-old girl two generations younger than you, but I can’t date a thirty-year-old man one generation younger than me?”

“Isn’t that a double standard? After we separated, you can come back to me, but I can’t find someone else? Who made that rule?”

“So that ‘boy toy’ is actually your boyfriend, not someone you’re keeping?” Tingting finally sensed something was off.

If he were truly a kept man, that would be one thing—but if it was a proper relationship…

Ruan Yaoyao snorted. “Xie Xiuming is the CEO of the Xie Group. You think I can afford to ‘keep’ a CEO of a major corporation? Are you joking? If I really wanted to keep someone, I’d go for some college boys without a background.”

“Or better yet, I’m currently working on a talent show—there are so many handsome trainees there. Wouldn’t that be easier?”

Hearing that Ruan Yaoyao’s younger boyfriend was also a CEO, Tingting’s eyes widened.

Wow! This older sister is amazing—even at her age, she managed to land such a young CEO!

Unlike her… stuck with someone so old.

If not for the fact that he took good care of himself and still had that “mature charm,” she wouldn’t have been interested at all.

She immediately asked Ruan Yaoyao whether there were many young CEOs, whether they were easy to find, and if she could introduce her to one.

Suddenly, Bai Zhengqi didn’t seem so appealing anymore—even if he was also a CEO, he really wasn’t young.

Ruan Yaoyao: 【???】

【Wait—don’t you like Bai Zhengqi?】

【Do you actually like him as a person, or just his status as a CEO?】