"Well, well, look who I've spotted here? Is this not the up-and-coming starlet, Su Mo Nuan?"

Outside the Civil Affairs Bureau, Su Mo Nuan is seen lugging a suitcase, the household register in her grip now deeply creased. From the seemingly indifferent look in her eyes, it's clear that she's not interested in responding to the woman's petty provocation.

The heiress to the Tang Corporation, who gets whatever she desires with a simple wave of her hand, and is pursued by countless men. What is she doing here?

Could she possibly be here to get married as well?

"It's none of your concern, Miss Tang."

Su Mo Nuan replies curtly before swiftfully turning her gaze away, only to freeze in shock upon laying eyes on a particular figure.

"Yi Fan?"

With his delicate features, he looked like a man who had stepped right out of a comic book. He was arm in arm with a woman in her thirties, who shot her a sharp and repulsed glance.

If she's not Ji Bao Yun, then who else could she be?

"Xin Zhi, don't bother talking to riff-raffs. Quickly go get the certificate with Yi Fan," Ji Bao Yun coldly advises, her eyes locked on Su Mo Nuan.

Tang Xin Zhi raises an eyebrow triumphantly, "Understood, Mom."

Mom?

Su Mo Nuan's expression freezes upon the use of that term, and she feels a sudden chill in her heart.

Since when did Tang Xin Zhi become Gu Yi Fan's mother?

Didn't Gu Yi Fan come here to obtain the marriage certificate with her? Why did the woman on his arm turn out to be Tang Xin Zhi?

She was stunned, even finding it comical.

She had waited the entire morning for the man who was going to marry, the man she had intended to spend her life with, even against her mother's wishes?

And the person he was marrying wasn't even her?

For a moment, Su Mo Nuan didn't know how to digest this news, while Gu Yi Fan deliberately avoided her gaze and didn't dare to respond to her.

How heartless indeed!

But was it not reasonable?

He was a rich young master, while she was just a small actress. How could he possibly marry her and tarnish his reputation?

On the side, Tang Xin Zhi watched Su Mo Nuan's expression, her lips twitching into a faint, sarcastic smile.

The man Tang Xin Zhi wanted, she always got.

And this was just the beginning!

"Yi Fan, let's go inside."

Boldly linking her arm with Gu Yi Fan's, she flaunted her ownership, twisting her body intentionally and pulling Gu Yi Fan into the Civil Affairs Bureau.

And Gu Yi Fan, from beginning to end, dared not to look back at the pair of eyes behind him.

Not far away, a black Maybach was parked at the corner. Inside the slightly lowered car window, a pair of bright eyes, as black as obsidian and as dark as ink, calmly gazed at the heartbroken, yet resolute young girl, deep in thought.

A pair of deep, greedy eyes watched her, seemingly wanting to hide but unable to.

"Is it Su Mowan?"

This question full of disdain rang in Su Mowan's ears, as if speaking more to her would reduce her worth.

Su Mowan rigidly nodded her head, raised her eyebrows slightly, and showed no sign of weakness.

"Do you have any advice, Madam?"

Ji Baoyun, the mother of Gu Yifan, knew from the day she first started dating Gu Yifan and met this woman, that she would not allow her to marry Gu Yifan. It was just unexpected that she would be this heartless.

"I don't have any advice per se, I just hope you will accept this money and disappear completely from my son's sight." Saying this, Ji Baoyun paused and continued, "Actually with someone of your caliber, I wouldn't mind at all if my son played around a bit. But marriage, ha, you better let go of that idea."

The noble lady, at this moment, was speaking words that sounded no better than those of a commoner.

Su Mowan laughed sarcastically, "Rest assured, I will never have any designs on your son again. From the moment he took the marriage certificate, from the moment he walked out of the civil affairs bureau, there aren't any ties between Su Mowan and him."

Three years of knowing and loving each other, turned out to be nothing more than a pathetic joke.

How much sincerity could one expect from these aristocratic masters?

In fact, even she wasn't clear. Why had she chased after this figure so eagerly from the moment she first saw Gu Yifan at university, knowing full well there would be no fruitful result? She had persevered relentlessly, even going as far as falling out with her own mother for him.

Even she herself thought she'd gone mad, bewitched at the time. A feeling that still persisted till today.

There seemed to be a shadow in her heart, and Gu Yifan just happened to overlap with that shadow making the always calm her, crazy.

"Take this check, after all, only when you have accepted the money, can I be at ease."

At the moment when Su Mo Nuan turned around, Ji Baoyun stubbornly handed her a cheque. As far as Ji Baoyun's concerned, the best way to deal with women like Su Mo Nuan was to smooth things over with money, to avoid any future endless disputes.

Su Mo Nuan looked at the cheque in front of her, her hand forming into a tight fist beside her body.

For the first time, her dignity was completely trampled underfoot.

Yet all she could do was accept it with a smile.

"Alright."

She slowly raised her hand, her trembling arm something she couldn't even control.

Since Ji Baoyun decided to give it, she would take it. Sooner or later, she would use this money to buy back her dignity from Ji Baoyun.

She firmly gripped the cheque and after a while, she let out a long breath, revealing a casual smile.

"Thank you for your generosity, madam. I will surely repay this favor in the future."