TDLWTAHATD CHAPTER 8

Chapter 8 Subtly Pressing Her Down

“……”

Nan Xiao’s eyes widened.

Old Master Xie had canceled her divorce application?

That was far too sudden!

And besides, in this day and age, how could there still be discrimination against celebrities? They earned plenty of money.

“Grandpa, please don’t do this.”

She walked over and said, “Not telling you before we filed for divorce was wrong on mine and Xie Chengyu’s part, but it was a decision we made after careful thought. The two of us just aren’t suited to live together.”

When she spoke the last sentence, she lowered her head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

The truth was, it wasn’t that they weren’t suited to live together—they had simply never lived together at all.

In three years of marriage, Xie Chengyu had never once returned home, leaving her alone in the villa, a living widow. She had long since become a laughingstock in Beicheng’s upper-class circles.

Old Master Xie also knew her grievances. His tone immediately softened, and he held her hand.

“Xiaoxiao, it’s Chengyu who wronged you. These three years, you’ve truly been wronged. Grandpa knows…”

Every time they touched—openly or subtly—on the subject of Xie Chengyu never coming home, Old Master Xie always carried that look of guilt.

Nan Xiao pressed her lips tightly together. This time, she didn’t defend Xie Chengyu in front of him as she used to. She simply listened silently.

After Old Master Xie finished, she went to the corridor and called Xie Chengyu, wanting to tell him that Old Master Xie had canceled the divorce application.

But she dialed three times, and none went through. She had no idea what he was so busy with.

Nan Xiao thought a moment and decided to talk to Old Master Xie again, to tell him that she truly didn’t want to stay with Xie Chengyu. Just then, she received a call from an unfamiliar number.

“Hello, who is this?”

The number showed as Beicheng, so it probably wasn’t a spam call. She answered.

But she never expected the caller to be Xu Ruoxin.

“Miss Nan, it’s me. We met yesterday at the Chanel counter in Xinglong Plaza. Do you remember?”

The voice on the other end was gentle and pleasant. Nan Xiao froze for a moment.

Yesterday at the Chanel counter she had only seen two people—Xie Chengyu and Xu Ruoxin. After a pause, she said, “Does Miss Xu need something from me?”

When Xu Ruoxin introduced herself, she hadn’t directly given her name, instead speaking vaguely.

She did this with two purposes: first, by calling her “Miss Nan” while not naming herself, she created a sense of “enemy in the dark, me in the light,” subtly pressing Nan Xiao down.

Second, by deliberately blurring her own name, she indirectly blurred her own identity.

Of course, the identity she wanted to obscure wasn’t her status as an actress, but her identity beside Xie Chengyu.

Nan Xiao, as a screenwriter, was well-versed in the psychology of dialogue. She saw through Xu Ruoxin’s little trick instantly, but showed nothing, simply asking directly what she wanted.

Xu Ruoxin said, “I heard from Chengyu that you’re at home now. Let’s meet up.”

Nan Xiao’s fingers tightened slowly, knuckles whitening.

So she and Xie Chengyu were that close—close enough that even something like her being at home, he would casually tell Xu Ruoxin.

Of course. Xu Ruoxin was carrying his child now. With such intimacy, what couldn’t be said?

But why was Xu Ruoxin phrasing it as a command? Not “can you come meet me,” but a direct order.

Did she think Nan Xiao was easy to bully?

The corner of Nan Xiao’s lips curved slightly.

Yes, she was easy to bully—but only when she had no strength to fight back. She wasn’t someone just anyone could push around.

“Miss Xu, I don’t want to meet with you.”

The other side went quiet for a few seconds. Xu Ruoxin clearly hadn’t expected her to say that, stunned briefly, before quickly thinking of a counter.

Then, she laughed softly and spoke a single sentence.

Nan Xiao froze, her fingers tightening abruptly against the window ledge.

Standing at the windowed corridor, phone pressed to her ear, she was silent for a few seconds before replying:
“Fine. Send me the address.”

Hanging up, she glanced at Xu Ruoxin’s text, then left the Xie residence and headed to a café on Chenghua Street.