Dai Shiyuan was very clear that Yao Lu's kind and generous appearance was just an act.

If she guessed correctly, Yao Lu probably hated her now.

Dai Shiyuan wore a proud smile and glanced at Yao Lu from the corner of her eye.

This action was full of provocation and a hint of contempt.

Yao Lu felt humiliated, but still maintained her gentle smile and softly said, "Wenhao, thank you for having me over for dinner. I had a great time."

"Eating and drinking for free is definitely enjoyable." Dai Shiyuan immediately replied with a playful look in her eyes.

Yao Lu's face showed a hint of embarrassment. She stood up helplessly and looked at Dai Wenhao, saying, "Shiyuan seems to dislike me. I should leave to avoid making her unhappy."

After saying this, Yao Lu lowered her head, looking like she was feeling sad.

Dai Shiyuan snorted in disdain in her heart and hurriedly said before the male lead could speak, "Miss Yao is young and beautiful, and she can speak well. She even managed to win my brother's affection. How could I not like her?"

"Xiao Lu, don't think too much. Xiaoyuan is a bit rebellious at her age and has no ill intentions." Dai Wenhao comforted and directly reached out to grab Yao Lu's arm.

Dai Shiyuan heard this and couldn't help but slightly furrow her eyebrows.

Every sentence she said was targeting Yao Lu, and the meaning behind her words earlier was even more direct in clarifying their relationship. However, the male lead didn't seem to notice.

But it was fine like this. At least the male lead was standing on her side.

The only thing that made her a bit unhappy was that the male lead insisted on Yao Lu staying.

Shan Yaxin watched the three people silently and ate her food without interjecting.

She just lingered her gaze on Dai Wenhao's fingers for a while.

That slender finger didn't have a ring on it.

Shan Yaxin's eyes flashed, and she reached out to touch the ring in her pocket, and an idea came to her mind.

"Xiaoyuan, we still have work to do. You'll be sleeping with your sister-in-law tonight," Dai Wenhao said coldly, his words carrying an order.

Dai Shiyuan was happily eating fruit when she heard this and almost choked on it. After coughing several times, she finally managed to speak, "What?"

Her voice was completely uncontrolled in volume, sounding very loud in the spacious living room. The surprised tone in her voice made all three people present turn to look at her.

Feeling the varied gazes, Dai Shiyuan realized that she had been a bit out of line and quickly wiped her mouth, forcing a smile and softening her tone as she asked again.

"It's your birthday. Isn't it a good thing to have her accompany you?" Dai Wenhao frowned in response.

"But you just said..." Dai Shiyuan blinked her eyes, implying that she had left out the part where he had asked her to stay away from her sister-in-law.

"My dad will definitely call you at night and have your sister-in-law accompany you," Dai Wenhao said, his frown deepening. He then turned to look at Yao Lu and said, "Let's go to the study."

Watching their backs as they left, Dai Shiyuan's mind was a bit dazed.

After sitting for a while and thinking about it, she finally understood the connection between the two seemingly unrelated things that the male lead had said.

Her birthday was a great opportunity for the male and female leads to deepen their relationship, and her father would inevitably ask about their situation when he called at night.

The male lead didn't want to be lectured by Dai Wenhao, so he pushed the female lead to her as an excuse to block Dai Wenhao.

This move was really clever.

Dai Shiyuan understood, but she wasn't happy. She didn't want to 'coexist in the same room' with the female lead right now.

Seeing Dai Shiyuan's reluctant expression, Shan Yaxin felt a twinge of discomfort in her heart.

She had been able to remain indifferent even when she saw the other two being too intimate, but now she felt uncomfortable because of the rejection shown by her little sister-in-law.

When did she start to care about this person?

Shan Yaxin was taken aback and lowered her eyes, clenching her fists. Images of the two of them spending time together in recent days flashed through her mind.

When she was anxious and almost collapsed from running around for her sister's illness, it was the slender hands of her little sister-in-law that held her up.

And when she was misunderstood by others, her little sister-in-law's clear eyes were full of trust.

Just now, this person was also speaking up for her.

If...if the young sister didn't harm her family, then they would definitely become good friends.

Even if she divorced and left the Dai family, she would still treat the young sister as a good friend.

But now the danger to her family has not been resolved, she still cannot take it lightly.

Only when the time for her mother and sister's "death" in her past life has passed, can she truly let go.

Shan  Yaxin suppressed the strange feeling in her heart, raised her head and smiled softly, saying in a gentle voice, "Xiaoyuan, you don't have to worry, I'll sleep in my own room."

"Okay." Dai Shiyuan immediately agreed happily, quickly controlling the smile on her face.

I don't know if it's an illusion, but she just felt a hint of hurt in the female lead's eyes.

Is it because of her rejection?

Dai Shiyuan frowned slightly, unsure, and quickly got up and went back to her room.

Only Shan Yaxin and the butler were left in the living room for a while.

Shan Yaxin finished the last bit of food and stood up, saying softly, "I'll clean up."

The butler responded and left.

Soon, several servants came from the kitchen direction, and one of them grinned and said, "The young master and Secretary Yao will definitely have a midnight snack after work, I wonder who has the luck to deliver it."

The others heard this and laughed knowingly, their eyes intentionally or unintentionally glancing at Shan Yaxin.

Feeling the mocking gaze of these people, Shan Yaxin's expression remained unchanged, calmly tidying up the table.

Those people laughed for a while and found it boring, so they all shut up.

Shan Yaxin finished cleaning up by 9 o'clock in the evening, and glanced at a certain closed room on the second floor, lightly chuckling.

But then she suddenly froze, her expression returning to a cold one, and she turned and walked towards the kitchen.

"Madam, could you please take these snacks to the young master's room?" the butler respectfully said.

Shan Yaxin nodded with a smile, picked up the snacks and left.

She took a few steps, and the butler's voice came from behind her again, "The master said that these snacks are all the young master's favorites, and he hopes that the madam can personally deliver them."

"I understand." Shan Yaxin replied with a smile in her voice, but there was no expression on her face.

She understood her father's intentions well - he wanted her to use this opportunity to improve her relationship with Dai Wenhoa and hopefully take it further.

However, she had already decided to get a divorce and did not want to get close to that man.

She could send the snacks over, but she would not stay in that room for another minute.

Shan Yaxin arrived at the room on the south side of the second floor. Just as she was about to knock on the door, she heard a cute and surprised exclamation from inside.

Immediately after that was the voice of a man she was familiar with. "Xiao Lu, are you okay? Be careful."

"I'm fine, sorry President Dai, I accidentally almost fell and messed up these documents."

"As long as you're okay, keep organizing them."

"Okay." This statement was obviously accompanied by shyness.

Suddenly, it became quiet inside.

Shan Yaxin's raised finger stopped in midair, and after thinking for a while, she gently pushed the door, only to find that it was not tightly closed and left a gap.

Dai Wenhoa definitely didn't close the door like that. That man wasn't that careless.

It must have been intentionally left for her by Yao Lu.

Did she want to make her jealous and hurt?

Shan Yaxin sneered inwardly and knocked on the door with force, saying loudly, "Master, I brought some snacks. Please have some."

"Okay, thank you, Miss Shan." Yao Lu quickly responded. Seeing Dai Wenhao's frowning expression, she hurriedly explained, "Wenhoa, she's already standing outside. It wouldn't be nice to refuse."

"You eat, I'm not hungry." Dai Wenhao lowered his head and focused on his work.

Yao Lu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly walked over to open the door. When she saw Shan Yaxin, she immediately showed a smile with an apologetic tone. "Miss Shan, I'm sorry, Wenhoa is busy now. Can you give the snacks to me? We'll eat them after he finishes his work."

Looking at Yao Lu's demeanor of a hostess, Shan Yaxin remained unchanged and ignored the demonstration in her words. She handed over the snacks without hesitation, smiled, and said, "These are all his favorite snacks. You must make sure he eats more, otherwise, Chairman Dai will blame me if he finds out he didn't eat."

At the last sentence, Shan Yaxin showed a distressed expression, as if afraid of being scolded.

She secretly observed Yao Lu's expression and indeed saw a hint of resentment in the other's eyes.

Even if Yao Lu used means to charm Dai Wenhao's heart, without Dai's father's permission, Yao Lu could never enter the Dai family's door for her entire life.

Meanwhile, she was the wife personally chosen by Dai's father, which was enough to suppress Yao Lu's arrogance.

"I got it." Yao Lu tightly held the tray, and a crack appeared in her smiling face, no longer as smug as before.

Shan Yaxin smiled lightly, her expression as calm as ever. "Thank you, Secretary Yao."

She intentionally emphasized the last word.

Regardless of whether Yao Lu could understand it or not, at least she taught this woman a lesson.

Shan Yaxin left in a joyful mood. When passing by Dai Shiyuan's room, she paused for a moment, a hint of contemplation in her eyes, then quickly walked away.

Dai Shiyuan finished using her phone in the room and sighed with relief when she heard the sound of the female lead's footsteps getting farther away.

Just now, when she heard the female lead come to the second floor, she thought she was coming to her room to sleep. She hurriedly thought of several reasons to refuse, but it turned out that the female lead was going to the male lead's room.

She was relieved.

However, not long after, the female lead came back again.

When the sound of footsteps stopped outside her door, Dai Shiyuan felt like her heart was going to stop.

Fortunately, the female lead did not knock on her door.

TO BE CONTINUE...

Author's note: New book seeking collection: After Rebirth, Scum A Became Soft O