Chapter 78

Chapter 78

After sitting down, Jiang Yiyan suddenly remembered something. Both she and Wen Mochuan had taken showers, but Wen Mochuan was just faster, managing to do so many things while also bathing.

Thinking about it, men are simply not as meticulous as women. Even the cleanest man probably wouldn't spend too much time on skincare.

Indeed, after her bath, Jiang Yiyan even put on a face mask for hydration and whitening. She even applied various essential oils all over her body.

When she came out, the evening breeze made her smell delightful.

Now there was a dilemma in front of her: already smelling fresh, if she were to eat grilled crayfish, she would surely end up smelling like it later.

But then again, who cares? She could always take another shower when she got back. Between not eating the crayfish and not taking another shower, or eating the crayfish and taking another shower, Jiang Yiyan chose the latter without hesitation.

After each having a can of beer, Wen Mochuan suddenly spoke sincerely, "You've changed a lot, completely different from before." From temperament to daily habits, the changes were significant.

Jiang Yiyan stiffened, feeling conflicted inside.

In truth, she didn't want to deceive anyone, but some things were just too hard to explain.

So, Jiang Yiyan was indeed in a difficult position. It wasn't that she was unwilling to leave the original body and enjoy the life that belonged to someone else. If she could, she would tell Wen Mochuan the truth.

Then she would leave completely and live her own life freely.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Yiyan hesitantly asked, "Do you really think I'm completely different from before? Like I've become a different person?"

Wen Mochuan nodded.

He didn't want to hide his thoughts and feelings from his wife. He knew that honesty was the foundation for a closer relationship between them. So he said, "It's like you've become a different person."

Jiang Yiyan lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes. After a moment, she asked, "When did you start feeling that way?"

When did it start? Wen Mochuan recalled carefully and gave a specific time point.

"Before the summer vacation, during the business trip in June. When I came back, I noticed a clear change in you."

Jiang Yiyan was startled, straightening her back. But thinking about it, the change was indeed noticeable, making it hard for him not to notice.

At that time, she hadn't tried to hide anything. She was simply being herself, not pretending to be the old Jiang Yiyan.

So how could Wen Mochuan, being close to her, not notice?

"Yes, that's true. I did change then," Jiang Yiyan admitted straightforwardly.

But Wen Mochuan couldn't possibly think of metaphysical reasons, never imagining that someone else had taken over his wife's body.

He would only think that she had suddenly realized something, leading to such a big change.

"Do you feel like I've changed too?" Just as Jiang Yiyan thought he would continue questioning her, Wen Mochuan shifted the topic to himself.

Jiang Yiyan exclaimed softly, turning to look at him, and then suddenly laughed.

"Yes," Jiang Yiyan said, "you've changed too." The Wen Mochuan in the book would never have done what he did yesterday.

Thinking about the intimacy between them yesterday, Jiang Yiyan felt a flutter in her heart.

She didn't dare to look into his eyes and lowered her head, feeling quite embarrassed.

Similarly, Wen Mochuan couldn't help but recall last night. To be honest, although he was sober, he was still a bit fuzzy compared to his usual state.

Or perhaps it wasn't fuzziness; he clearly knew what he was doing, just emboldened by a little alcohol.

If asked to repeat what he said and did yesterday, he might feel a bit awkward.

But... if she liked it, he was willing.

Thinking this, Wen Mochuan suddenly smiled.

Hearing his laughter, Jiang Yiyan thought he was laughing at her and immediately asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Wen Mochuan shook his head, "Nothing."

If it was nothing, then it was nothing. Jiang Yiyan wouldn't ask further. Pursuing the matter would make her seem overly concerned.

Forget it, let's drink. Tipping her head back, Jiang Yiyan took another sip of beer.

Jiang Yiyan actually didn't enjoy drinking, especially beer. She disliked its taste. However, sometimes when she felt stressed and wanted to relax, she enjoyed the slight buzz after a drink.

Stronger spirits had a strong aftertaste, which she avoided, so she stuck to beer with lower alcohol content or fruit wine.

Sitting quietly, enjoying the cool evening breeze, was a pleasure in itself.

Feeling quite good, Jiang Yiyan proactively offered her beer can, "Cheers."

Wen Mochuan looked at her and smiled gently, raising his can in response.

"Sure, cheers," he said.

Each of them finished three cans. By the time they were done, it was past ten o'clock.

At this hour, Jiang Yiyan was truly sleepy.

Three cans of beer, each five hundred milliliters, amounted to one thousand five hundred milliliters. Not a small amount. Today's state wasn't much better than yesterday's.

Jiang Yiyan was a bit worried about what might happen once the alcohol kicked in, so she quickly stood up to say goodbye, "Let's clean up here tomorrow? I'm sleepy, so I'll go to bed now!" With that, she hurried away.

Wen Mochuan didn't wait for her to clean up the next day; instead, he quietly cleaned everything himself. He flattened the beer cans, put them in a plastic bag, cleared the table, collected the skewers and trash into boxes, wiped the table clean, and then took the garbage downstairs.

The next day, when Jiang Yiyan came up to clean, everything was already spotless.

In fact, she had guessed that given Wen Mochuan's temperament, he wouldn't really leave these things for her to clean up the next day.

Sure enough.

.

Cai Wenqing was somewhat anxious. Over the past two days, she had been repeatedly asking Shu Yao about her progress. Whether there had been any interaction since adding the others' WeChat after that day, and even asked if there had been any progress with Wen Mobei.

Shu Yao couldn't help but laugh. What kind of progress could there be between her and Wen Mobei?

They had only met once.

He was extremely busy, meeting many people and handling numerous matters every day. Perhaps, he had already forgotten about her.

But Shu Yao couldn't bear her mother's nagging and replied irritably, "None! Absolutely none!"

How could there be none? This made Cai Wenqing even more anxious.

"None of them contacted you? Why didn't you reach out to them? Yao Yao, opportunities are in your own hands; you need to seize them when you can." She knew her daughter was rather laid-back and shy, and might not take the initiative unless others did so first.

But now, she wanted to integrate into that circle, and she needed to be more proactive.

"Haven't they posted anything on their Moments? You should give them a like." Cai Wenqing was worried.

Shu Yao casually said, "I can't see their Moments; they've blocked me."

Cai Wenqing: "? How is that possible?"

Shu Yao had just lied to her mother. Seeing her mother's surprised expression, she felt guilty and explained, "They haven't blocked me; I was lying. Okay, I understand."

Shu Yao turned and went upstairs. Cai Wenqing tried to follow, but Shu Yao stopped her at the door.

"Mom, can you stop nagging? Just let me have some peace." With that, she closed the door.

Cai Wenqing was very anxious, wishing she could possess her daughter and handle all the social interactions herself. But seeing her daughter's mood, she didn't dare push too hard and could only worry alone.

After closing the door, Cai Wenqing paced outside for a while before reluctantly leaving.

Inside, although Shu Yao found her mother's words annoying, she listened.

Taking out her phone, she checked her Moments and saw that several friends added that day had posted updates. She liked each one.

Soon, someone reached out to her.

"There's a party this weekend. Want to come?"

Shu Yao glanced at the note and recognized Zhou Sijia, the second daughter of the Zhou Group.

Recalling her memories, she thought for a moment and remembered Zhou Sijia's appearance and personality.

She was very outgoing, even... bold.

Shu Yao hesitated for a long time before replying, "What kind of party?"

Zhou Sijia: "My birthday party. Are you coming?"

Shu Yao hesitated again, then slowly typed, "Happy birthday. I'll come. Where is it?"

After sending this message, there was no response. Just as Shu Yao thought she wouldn't reply and was about to rest, a message suddenly came through.

Zhou Sijia didn't say anything but sent a location, presumably the address of her birthday party.

Shu Yao looked at it, searched online for the general location, and replied with an "Okay."

Zhou Sijia was also known to Jiang Yiyan.

To be precise, the previous Jiang Yiyan knew Zhou Sijia.

Since Jiang Yiyan had taken over, she had severed ties with her former friends.

However, it wasn't a complete break; she simply declined invitations to social events. They remained friends on WeChat.

Therefore, Jiang Yiyan could see Zhou Sijia's posts.

Shu Yao's likes on Zhou Sijia's posts were also visible to Jiang Yiyan.

Jiang Yiyan was quite surprised. When did Shu Yao become close to Zhou Sijia and the others? After thinking about it, she understood.

It must have happened that night.

Cai Wenqing had encouraged Shu Yao to attend such parties for this very reason.

Cai Wenqing, despite appearing gentle and harmless, was actually quite cunning and ambitious. Perhaps she had her own plans regarding Shu Yao's marriage.

In the original book, Cai Wenqing's scheming wasn't explicitly mentioned. It only described her as adept at gauging situations and understanding people, making her an extremely intelligent woman.

As for the original Jiang Yiyan's mother, perhaps due to having built a business with her husband, she was quite strong-willed. The book stated that the couple had been deeply in love in their youth, but later drifted apart.

This led to constant arguments, which eventually escalated into divorce proceedings.

After divorcing, Jiang Cheng remarried Cai Wenqing soon after. The original Jiang Yiyan's mother, however, fell ill after the divorce. Her illness was severe and incurable, leading to her quick demise.