Human nature tends to favor those things we cannot easily obtain.
The sense of achievement in one’s heart doesn’t come from a satisfactory outcome, but rather from overcoming challenge after challenge throughout the process.
This feeling is like playing soccer—only when there’s a goalkeeper guarding the goal does kicking the ball in bring true joy.
Right now, Xu Ruobing was completely caught in this kind of situation.
In her heart, Jiang Lai was a pitiable, pitiful little treasure, someone who found no happiness in marriage and could only vent through drinking.
Even when her mood was suffocatingly oppressive, she had to abide by certain moral constraints.
Not long ago, she was still struggling just to keep a job.
Jiang Lai was like a fairy fallen to the mortal realm, surrounded only by hardship, with no one to guide or save her—until now, when she had met Xu Ruobing.
Xu Ruobing didn’t consider herself overly narcissistic, but in front of Jiang Lai, she placed herself in a radiant position.
To Miss Jiang, she was the best savior, determined to rescue her from the darkness and suffering of her past.
She wanted Jiang Lai to shine with the brilliance and charm she deserved.
For that, Xu Ruobing devised her exclusive Plan of Three Steps.
The first step was to have Jiang Lai run a short video account together with her, gradually helping Jiang Lai cultivate her own confidence, letting her realize that she was truly outstanding—her value far surpassing what she had previously shown—and that she was worthy of someone better’s devotion.
The second step was to swiftly push Jiang Lai toward divorce.
If the proposal hadn’t been so abrupt, Xu Ruobing would have brought it up already.
But after all, this was someone else’s family matter.
Even though she constantly thought of Jiang Lai’s well-being, bringing it up made her feel somewhat unjustified.
So Xu Ruobing came up with a nearly foolproof approach: once Jiang Lai’s short video career took off, she would suggest that now was the best time to maintain a single-person image during this career upswing, avoiding any messy situations.
Only then would Jiang Lai naturally express many reasons urging divorce.
As for the third step, Xu Ruobing was thinking of herself—once the first two were fully accomplished, she could use work as an excuse to have Jiang Lai by her side nearly 24/7.
No matter how far or how remote, Xu Ruobing deeply wished Jiang Lai would always be with her.
After spending enough time together and growing feelings from daily interaction, they wouldn’t be able to part even if they wanted to.
Xu Ruobing knew their first meeting had been driven by hormones and their mutual attractiveness.
High beauty often leads to a night of ambiguous intimacy.
But now, Xu Ruobing sought more than that.
She wanted the whole Jiang Lai—not just the almost-obtained body, but the soul as well.
Today’s first video they needed to shoot was simple—a straightforward self-introduction—but even this simple introduction required hours of preparation.
Jiang Lai experienced firsthand the legendary makeup team of celebrities today: the makeup was tailored exactly to her features, perfectly matching her appearance with no unnatural traces.
Despite using many products, the effect was still very natural, different from bare skin but not overly made-up.
Jiang Lai felt like a prearranged puppet, shuffled around throughout the entire process.
This face was no longer hers—it was a canvas for others’ creation.
Only then did Jiang Lai realize how difficult it was for a girl to go out.
Even with five or six people assisting her—a dedicated makeup artist, a dresser, a hairstylist, and two others helping them—the preparation took a full two hours.
Jiang Lai had never imagined her first makeup experience would be like this.
Not only was she deeply concerned about the makeup result, but even Chi Yingyu, who usually had little interest, was filled with concern.
People rely on clothes to dress themselves, and horses rely on saddles.
The old Jiang Lai had always depended on her innate hard beauty, but now, with her clothing and makeup, every detail amplified her charm infinitely.
When Jiang Lai stepped out of the makeup room, all eyes fell on her.
Her flawless, precise features were like a framed masterpiece worthy of admiration.
Her figure was excellent, with elegant shoulders and neck, clear contours, and a natural pride softened by the melancholy in her eyes.
Just with her beauty alone, Jiang Lai captivated everyone around her.
She had been like a gem covered in dust, but at this moment, she radiated the brilliance she was meant to.
While everyone marveled at how Jiang Lai had become so stunning, Xu Ruobing’s expression remained calm—this was all as expected.
Xu Ruobing’s long lashes lowered gently, the contours at the corners of her eyes both cold and soft.
Under the glow of the overhead lights, a fleeting shimmer crossed her eyes, carrying a strange tenderness like spring water.
Such a simple interaction was glaringly painful and impossible to accept for Chi Yingyu in person.
Her brother-in-law was becoming better and better, but why did she still feel so upset?
Although Chi Yingyu said that her brother-in-law had to be present for future video shoots, she simply couldn’t bear to watch him being so close and intimate with someone else, even sharing a tacit understanding.
All of this made Chi Yingyu’s barely calm heart increasingly restless, until finally, she couldn’t tolerate the idea of her brother-in-law appearing alongside someone else.
This should have been a turning point for her, but these days felt like the most painful time in her life.
The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
Now that Chi Yingyu finally had the chance to be openly with her brother-in-law, unexpected hardships kept hitting one after another.
Every person around him brought unforeseen difficulties that hurt her deeply.
Chi Yingyu didn’t watch the entire video shoot.
The teacher left the studio early, and she just wanted some time alone to calm down.
On her way home, Chi Yingyu drove fast.
If not for the deeply ingrained sense of law in her mind, she would have been driving like a racer—both of them giving off an equally tense and hostile aura.
When Chi Yingyu disappeared from the studio, Jiang Lai had already noticed.
But the video shoot was halfway through and absolutely couldn’t be paused; otherwise, the makeup and costumes would be ruined, and they’d have to film a second time, which would be even harder to perfectly match the first take.
Jiang Lai didn’t rush after her immediately but took the pause to send her sister-in-law many messages, telling her to wait quietly at home.
After they finished filming most of the footage, Jiang Lai didn’t even think to ask how the shoot had gone or what the results looked like.
Instead, she hurriedly thought about returning home.
Jiang Lai felt a little guilty returning home because she had let her sister-in-law down today.
She hadn’t told her the truth about Xu Ruobing’s identity in time, nor had she confided everything that had happened between them in detail.
She hadn’t expected that what was supposed to be a simple contract signing today would spiral out of control so quickly, catching even her off guard.
No doubt, her sister-in-law must have many questions now, needing explanations.
But when Jiang Lai got home, she saw Chi Yingyu alone, seemingly packing.
But the bag she was packing was a cute pink one…
Jiang Lai had seen almost all of Chi Yingyu’s belongings before, but this pink bag was new to her.
Xiao Heizi was quietly sorting through the small bag’s contents.
Jiang Lai wasn’t particularly interested in the items, though one looked strikingly like a lipstick, so she instinctively assumed Chi Yingyu was organizing her makeup.
Just as Jiang Lai was about to approach and explain everything that had happened recently, a simple glance froze her in place.
Because as Jiang Lai got closer, she finally saw the full picture of her sister-in-law’s packing—all the items in that pink bag could only be described as indecent.
Having physiological needs was normal for a person, but if so many toys were necessary, wasn’t that a little abnormal?
Jiang Lai suddenly felt her timing was all wrong.
If she had come home a little later, she definitely wouldn’t have walked in on this scene.
“I didn’t see anything. If possible, I can leave right now,” Jiang Lai thought, feeling so embarrassed she wished she could hide in a hole.
Just then, the already despairing Chi Yingyu pulled a small rubber object out of the pink bag and held it in her palm.
Something meant to be private had now become painfully obvious to all—it was so embarrassing…
Just as Jiang Lai was about to politely excuse herself, Chi Yingyu grabbed her arm tightly, threw everything Jiang Lai was holding onto the sofa, and then lifted her up.
The look in her sister-in-law’s eyes was filled with wicked intent.
“Brother-in-law… whatever I do next, don’t be afraid, okay?
You have to believe that I would never hurt you—not even a single hair will be harmed.
So just leave everything to me and rest assured.
I promise, you won’t be able to resist this feeling…”
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