Chapter 616 - 612: Asking about Gu Jiaojiao
’Gu Jiaojiao?’
The name instantly shattered Xu Wenwan’s composure, but she managed to steady herself.
She forced herself to speak in her usual gentle tone. "I know who Gu Jiaojiao is, but we’re not close. Why do you suddenly ask about her?"
An Dongyang didn’t seem to read too much into it. "I’m a teacher at the commune, but I haven’t been back since the semester started. Gu Jiaojiao has been substituting for me. I only found out later that she’s also from Qingshan Team. It really feels like fate."
An Dongyang said that last word with particular emphasis, then chuckled to himself.
Xu Wenwan gripped her chopsticks tightly. She knew An Dongyang was a womanizer even before she married him. ’There’s nothing wrong with a man being a philanderer,’ she thought. ’Only poor, incompetent men are faithful, and that’s only because they don’t have the means to cheat.’
So, she had expected that she wouldn’t be the only woman in An Dongyang’s life. But she didn’t care.
What she wanted was the status of being An Dongyang’s wife. As for anything else, she couldn’t care less.
But there was one thing she would not permit. The other women in An Dongyang’s life could be anyone—anyone at all—except Gu Jiaojiao.
Xu Wenwan forced a stiff smile, feigning nonchalance as she said, "Gu Jiaojiao is Leng Yuan’s wife. They’ve been very much in love ever since they got married. Now that they’re both teachers at the commune, it’s become big news in our village!"
As she spoke, Xu Wenwan kept her eyes fixed on An Dongyang’s face, but his expression remained placid, as if he had only been asking out of casual curiosity.
Xu Wenwan couldn’t read anything from his expression. She let out a huge sigh of relief, and the tension in her back finally eased.
’Looks like An Dongyang just mentioned her casually. He isn’t really interested in Gu Jiaojiao. I was just overthinking things.’
With that thought, Xu Wenwan’s expression softened considerably, and she even finished washing the dishes afterward in a cheerful mood.
With An Dongyang at home, even if Mrs. An couldn’t stand Xu Wenwan, she didn’t dare to go too far.
He was her son, after all, and he always protected Xu Wenwan. She didn’t want to drive a wedge between them over some woman.
That evening, Xu Wenwan returned to their room feeling a little tired. But when she remembered that her standing in the An Family depended entirely on An Dongyang, she took a bath, perfumed herself, and then sidled up to him.
They had been married for less than a month and should have been in the thick of their honeymoon phase.
Normally, An Dongyang would never have refused her. But ever since seeing Gu Jiaojiao, he had been completely captivated by her fair, delicate face.
Now, faced with Xu Wenwan’s own charming and seductive features, he inexplicably found them gaudy and cheap, and his interest vanished instantly.
He shoved Xu Wenwan away, his tone cold. "It’s late. I’m exhausted from a full day of teaching, and you’ve been busy too. Let’s get some rest."
Xu Wenwan bit her lip, torn. A part of her was touched that An Dongyang acknowledged her hard work, but another part was furious that he had pushed her away.
But there was nothing she could do about it, so she could only lie on her side of the bed in a silent huff.
Just as Xu Wenwan lay down, the system’s voice sounded in her mind.
"If you ask me, this An Dongyang’s fortune is quite good. We should just absorb it directly."
The system regarded An Dongyang like a delicious prize ripe for the taking.
It had absorbed the fortunes of many people recently, but among them, only Eldest Chen had possessed a decent amount. The rest were just average, which, for the system, was barely a mouthful.
An Dongyang’s fortune was good, and it had suggested absorbing it to Xu Wenwan several times, but she had always refused.
The system was getting impatient.
Ever since Xu Wenwan had married An Dongyang, it hadn’t absorbed any fortune at all.
Worse, there was no progress with Leng Yuan, yet Xu Wenwan had taken quite a few items from its store.
The system vaguely sensed that something was off.