Chapter 1 — The Wrong Ring, The Right Deception

Shortly after, I overheard the man lowering his voice, speaking in French to Yan Shi:

"Yan Shi, why do I have this lingering feeling that An Wei actually understands French?"

"The way she is tapping her fingers against the back of her hand right now is precisely the habit she exhibits whenever she is deep in thought."

Yan Shi furrowed his brows and glanced in my direction.

"She has indeed been studying French recently."

"But she has only picked it up for a few days; could she really comprehend it already?"

His tone of skepticism drew a light chuckle from Yu Xin.

"I must say, you two are making a mountain out of a molehill."

"French is notoriously difficult to master; it took me two whole years to become completely fluent."

"A complete beginner like her—how could she possibly understand a word?"

Yu Xin turned her gaze toward me, her eyes shifting with a sly calculation.

"Shall we place a wager, then?"

"If she fails to comprehend it, she must remove the ring she is wearing and hand it over to me."

Yan Shi relaxed his expression, leaning leisurely back into his chair.

"As you wish."

A male friend standing nearby chimed in excitedly, "How thrilling! Go on, test her immediately!" Yu Xin spun around to face me, letting out a string of fluent French sentences. The moment the last syllable left her lips, Yan Shi’s expression darkened instantly. Instinctively, he whipped his head around, fixing me with a tense, anxious stare. I put on a completely bewildered expression and asked, "Secretary Tran, what did you mean by that remark?" Yan Shi’s steady, deep voice immediately intervened.

"Yu Xin was merely complimenting your dress, saying how exquisite it looks."

The corners of my eyes crinkled into a smile as I drew out a soft, understanding syllable. Then, turning my gaze directly to Yu Xin, I replied to her in the very same fluent French. To our amusement, the smile vanished from her face in an instant, leaving her complexion flushed a mottled, suffocating red. Without another word, she turned on her heel and hurried off to a secluded corner to drown her humiliation in alcohol. I blinked in feigned confusion and looked back at Yan Shi.

"What is wrong with Secretary Tran? Wasn't I just returning the compliment?"

Yan Shi massaged his temples, not daring to offer a reply. He knew all too well that what Yu Xin had actually uttered was far from a polite remark about my attire. Her words had been: "My dear, your husband is truly wonderful in bed." Yan Shi reached out and pulled me to my feet. "Pay her no mind for the moment; our business partners have all arrived, let us go greet them together." After we made the rounds to toast our guests, a few familiar associates inevitably steered the conversation toward our impending nuptials.

"Director Chu and Director Shen have been devoted to each other through a seven-year marathon of love; when are you two finally tying the knot?"

Yan Shi looked down at me, a tender smile gracing his lips as he answered,

"We are heading to register our marriage tomorrow."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Yan Shi suddenly tightened his grip around my hand, leaning in to murmur in a low voice:

"Do not make a scene."

"The last proposal was ruined by your antics; surely you do not expect me to propose a second time, do you?"

"We have been together for seven years now; we can well afford to dispense with such unnecessary formalities."

I froze, a sharp, bitter wave of sorrow welling up deep within my chest. To the onlookers, his leaning in closely appeared to be an intimate exchange of sweet nothingness, drawing warm murmurs of congratulations from all around. This manufactured sweet illusion persisted until the very end of the reception. Yan Shi offered to drive me home, but we had taken only a few steps when we crossed paths with Yu Xin, who was staggering about in a drunken stupor.

"I am not drunk! Leave me be, I can manage on my own..."

Yan Shi frowned, his body instinctively shifting as if to go to her aid. He was promptly intercepted by his friend, who said, "I will take her home, do not concern yourself with this." Yan Shi silently withdrew his hand and reached out to grasp mine once more. While he answered his friend with words of agreement, his eyes continued to follow Yu Xin’s retreating figure. I calmly withdrew my hand from his grasp, my tone entirely level.

"There is no need for you to take me home; I am visiting a friend shortly."

Yan Shi did not press further, instructing the driver to take me away. He lingered in the same spot for a long while, lingering to light a cigarette. Through the rearview mirror, I watched as Yu Xin suddenly doubled back, hurling herself straight into Yan Shi’s arms. Yan Shi caught her, staggering back a few steps as if attempting to push her away. After a brief struggle between them, Yan Shi finally lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. I calmly withdrew my gaze from the glass. Looking down at the ring on my left ring finger—a band once meant to symbolize eternal love—I slowly slid it off and tossed it carelessly out the moving car window. The following morning, I went straight to the office to submit my resignation letter. The human resources representative adopted a deeply arrogant attitude:

"Director Shen, your position was arranged directly by General Manager Chu; any resignation must also be personally approved by him."

Her tone dripped with unconcealed disdain, clearly having held a grudge against me for quite some time.

"Very well, I shall go speak with Yan Shi directly."

Just as I turned to leave, she called out mockingly,

"The person you need to see is Secretary Tran."

With that, she turned her back to me, dismissing my presence entirely. Clutching my resignation letter, I walked past the pantry and overheard a couple of colleagues gossiping about me inside.

"Say, do you feel like we are about to get a new boss around here?"

"Yu Xin and General Manager Chu have been joined at the hip lately; who knows, she might actually ascend the throne. Being young really is an advantage."

"I agree, the two of them look much more suited for each other. While Director Shen was reasonably attractive once, she is simply old and out of shape now, and after all these years, she is still stuck in administration. If I were General Manager Chu, I would have tossed her aside years ago."

I stood silently outside the doorway, my mind momentarily entirely blank. Instead of pushing the door open to confront them, I turned and walked straight toward the general manager's office. Sitting at his desk, I turned on the computer, logged into Yan Shi’s administrative account, and pulled up my own pending resignation letter. With a single click, the system granted instant approval. I then hailed a cab and returned to my apartment. I had only packed half my belongings when my phone rang; it was Yan Shi on the line.

"Human resources mentioned you came to the office today and even submitted a resignation letter?"

I gave a faint, monosyllabic assent.

"I wish to travel abroad for a while."