Having to lie and act again?

"Looking at your current state, are you someone who can bear to divorce your wife? Don't go divorcing only to remarry later; your marriage is not child's play."

Who was it that made him swallow his pride last time to trick Shen Qingyi into going to Lincheng to take care of him? With Lu Yan's temperament, would he put in that kind of effort if he didn't care about someone?

He knew a thing or two about a person like Lu Yan.

Lu Yan said with calm helplessness, "What else can be done then?"

He was actually admitting to it? Wang Zhifang pinched the bridge of his nose. Was this something a human being would say?

If there had been anyone else who could serve as a substitute, he would never have allowed this brat to be so arrogant.

Seeing his expression of anxiety and exasperation, Lu Yan smiled and said, "I'll give you an idea. Want to hear it?"

"Spit it out!" Wang Zhifang couldn't do anything with him. Fortunately, there were still plenty of problems waiting for him to solve.

"If someone calls to ask you, just say my divorce application has already been submitted for review. However, due to my special status, the review process is a bit complicated, and the timeline might be rather long..." As Lu Yan spoke, his dark, starry eyes were filled with absolute sincerity.

"A... another lie to put on a show?"

Lu Yan sighed. "If you're not willing, forget it. Anyway, I've already written the divorce application. But once my wife finishes handling her matters, we will definitely remarry. If I fail the political background check, I'll simply have to seek my fortune elsewhere."

"Fine! Fine! Fine!" Wang Zhifang said "fine" three times in a row. "How long is the divorce application going to be under review?"

Lu Yan made a thoughtful gesture and said cautiously, "Reviewed until I retire!"

Wang Zhifang: !!!

He didn't want to stay in Lu Yan's office for even another second. "I have matters to attend to, I'm leaving."

"I have one more thing!" Lu Yan called out to stop him.

Wang Zhifang felt a sudden chill at the back of his head. "What is it?"

"Pretend to accidentally let this matter slip, so that the people who need to know will understand implicitly, yet dare not discuss it openly."

Wang Zhifang's head grew huge. "What do you mean?"

"The more confidential something needs to be, the more genuine it appears." His main purpose was to have it reach the ears of his wife and Han Lanzhi through someone else's mouth.

This way, fewer people would suspect he was faking it. If anyone came to verify it with him, he could simply deny it while reading the person's reaction.

Logically speaking, since he had promised his wife, he ought to keep his word. But a few days ago, Fan Lei had called to ask him whether he intended to divorce his wife.

He had asked Fan Lei who told her.

Fan Lei told him that she had accidentally overheard him talking to Han Lanzhi on the phone while visiting Xia Xiyue to discuss business.

No wonder she didn't like him; it turned out she had long since had her ideal candidate for a son-in-law in mind.

Heh! So that was how it was...

Was he, Lu Yan, really that terrible? So unlikable to so many people?

Originally, he didn't care whether those people liked him or not.

After all, he didn't like them either.

Yet, the moment he finally tasted the sweetness of affection, they were in such a desperate rush to tear it away from him.

He would not give them any chance.

Wang Zhifang wanted to say something more, but seeing his grim expression, he awkwardly offered, "I guarantee I'll handle this cleanly for you. I'll make sure Cheng Youqing is the first to know."

Lu Yan said nothing, and Wang Zhifang hurried away.

He didn't want to dig too deeply into the Shen family's case either; the more he knew, the more trouble it would bring. Anyway, he would just do whatever Lu Yan told him to do.

The next day, Cheng Youqing was indeed the first to learn the news. She had been sent on a random errand to deliver documents to Wang Zhifang, and upon walking up, she happened to hear him on the phone, seemingly reporting to his superiors about Lu Yan's divorce proceedings.

The moment Wang Zhifang turned around, he saw Cheng Youqing standing dumbfounded at the office doorway, her complexion looking rather poor. "Give me the documents."

Cheng Youqing mechanically placed the documents on Wang Zhifang's desk and was about to leave when she heard Wang Zhifang call out to her again, "Did you just overhear my phone conversation?"

Cheng Youqing shook her head like a rattle-drum. Wang Zhifang was the highest-ranking leader in the entire research institute; she couldn't afford to offend him—she really had just overheard it by accident.

Reading the expression written all over her face, Wang Zhifang understood immediately. "I'll take your word for it this time. If wind of this matter leaks out, don't blame me for holding you accountable."

Cheng Youqing closed her eyes and nodded heavily.

"Get going!"

Cheng Youqing bolted out of Wang Zhifang's office, returned to her desk, and panted heavily.

Just yesterday, she had heard Shen Qingyi happily confess that Lu Yan treated her wonderfully. How could this happen...

Her heart was in turmoil, and she longed for the workday to end immediately.

When closing time finally arrived, Cheng Youqing rushed out of the office, hopped on her bicycle, and pedaled furiously to find Shen Qingyi.

Since it was dinnertime, Lu Caiqing had just finished cooking and warmly greeted her, while Shen Qingyi had just taken her seat at the table.

Cheng Youqing pulled Shen Qingyi up and said to Lu Caiqing, "Sorry, I have a few important words I want to ask Qingyi in private. Go ahead and eat first."

"Go ahead!"

Shen Qingyi was pulled away in a daze. As soon as they entered the room, the door was slammed shut.

After catching her breath and finally calming down, Cheng Youqing asked Shen Qingyi in a low voice, "What is going on between you and Lu Yan? Why did I hear his leader reporting to the organization about his divorce application?"

"He actually submitted it?"

Cheng Youqing nodded heavily. "Yes, I heard it crystal clear!"

Once she caught her breath, she noticed there wasn't a trace of surprise on Shen Qingyi's face.

"What on earth is going on with you two? It's driving me crazy!" Seeing how calm she was, Cheng Youqing grew anxious.

Shen Qingyi patted her back to help her soothe her breathing. "Don't panic, we discussed this beforehand."

Hearing this, Cheng Youqing almost jumped up again. "Didn't you just admit that your relationship is great? How did it come to this..."

Shen Qingyi never kept secrets from the Cheng family. She told Cheng Youqing the whole story about her divorce from Lu Yan from beginning to end.

Hearing this, Cheng Youqing let out a breath. "I never imagined Aunt Han could dislike Lu Yan so much."

Shen Qingyi nodded. "I want to accommodate her first, let her testify to clear my father's name, and then slowly let her understand Lu Yan."

Cheng Youqing sneered. "She doesn't even understand Professor Shen, how could she ever understand Lu Yan? At the end of the day, she is just someone who centers everything around her own feelings and expects everything to bend to her will.

"Under such conditions, apart from you before you got married, Professor Shen could only manage about a third of it due to his work.

"I advise you not to hold out any hope; come back to Lu Yan as soon as this matter is resolved."

Shen Qingyi smiled awkwardly. "Lu Yan is quite different from my father. As long as he's willing, he knows how to be flexible. My father is truly hopeless in that regard."

Shen Qingyi spoke with absolute fairness.

"What if she refuses to change herself?"

Shen Qingyi said calmly, "Then I won't be able to accommodate her for the rest of my life either."

Before leaving, Cheng Youqing warned her again, "Make sure you never mention that I was the one who told you, or my job will be on the line."

"I know, I wouldn't want people to know either."

After clearing the air, the two of them came out and resumed eating as if nothing had happened.

Just then, several neighbors who had never previously visited came by. Although they weren't particularly close to Shen Qingyi, they had seen the biographical documentary about Professor Shen on television and felt deeply remorseful upon recalling their past slanders.

More importantly, Lu Yan's career was flourishing, with projects rolling out one after another. Previously, they had wanted to butter him up but lacked any excuse; now, they could use the pretext of an apology to drop by for a visit.