The Diamond-Laden White Lotus

Tang Mianmian widened her eyes and quickly said, "I've already cooked; let's eat together before you get busy."

An Yi wanted to nod—he was starving.

A pitiful single guy, his plan to sleep away the weekend had been wrecked by a sudden call from his boss, leaving him no choice but to rush over. He had barely delivered the phone and was now being sent away before even getting a bite to eat.

Was there no humanity left in the world?

But such thoughts stayed in his mind. Facing the cold gaze of Lord Jue, he realized that an empty stomach was a minor issue—losing his job was a far greater concern.

He shook his head vigorously, refusing the tempting meal and forcing a polite smile. "Madam, no need; I still have things to do. Maybe another time."

Of course, he knew there probably wouldn't be another time.

"Really? Well, take care, but don't forget to eat; it's already mealtime." Tang Mianmian sounded regretful.

Summoning his courage, An Yi turned to leave. Heaven knew his stomach was ready to go on strike.

Meanwhile, Long Yejue calmly seated himself at the dining table, eyeing the dishes with an unreadable expression. Was he satisfied or dissatisfied? It was hard to tell.

Tang Mianmian, clearly on edge, stepped forward and explained, "I don't know how to make steak or lobster, only these simpler dishes. Please make do with them."

He nodded slightly, his face betraying no emotion, but he pushed the carrots aside. "I don't eat carrots."

Tang Mianmian: "..."

Picky eater?

Raising an eyebrow, she decided to educate him. "Let me tell you, carrots are one of the vegetables richest in vitamins. You should eat more of them—it's not good to be picky. It's also bad for—"

Health.

She swallowed the last two words, forced to stop mid-sentence.

The man's cold gaze made her feel as if the temperature had dropped by several degrees. Shivering slightly, she quickly moved the carrots to her plate. "It's fine if you don't want them. I'm happy you're not eating them—I can have more myself."

Was this flattery?

His expressionless, icy demeanor was terrifying.

However, as she had predicted, he seemed to have a liking for crunchy foods, such as the cucumber slices on the plate.

"Tonight, I have a gathering. Do you want to come?" Long Yejue asked after finishing his meal.

Tang Mianmian shook her head. She wasn't fond of socializing. "I'll pass."

"Alright. Have dinner on your own then; I won't be back. If you need anything, call An Yi or... me."

When mentioning himself, there was a noticeable pause.

Tang Mianmian nodded hurriedly, secretly wishing he would leave right away.

Living with a stranger was far from comfortable.

Seeing her eager expression, Long Yejue felt a trace of displeasure. But realizing this unexplainable annoyance was out of character for him, he rose and left without a word.

Once he was gone, Tang Mianmian relaxed and began eating heartily.

Big bites of food and big mouthfuls of rice—that was more her style.

That man ate simple dishes with such elegance it nearly brought her to tears.

After finishing her meal, Tang Mianmian had nothing to do and decided to accomplish something great—sleep!

However, just as she lay down, her phone rang.

At first, she didn't recognize the ringtone and stared blankly before realizing it was coming from her fancy new phone. She hurriedly answered, seeing that it was her friend Fu Ranyan.

This girl still remembered her?

"Ranyan, you finally called! I thought you were dead!"

"Pfft! Don't curse me like that!"

Fu Ranyan's background was noisy, with blaring music suggesting she was at a bar or some entertainment venue.

By day, Fu Ranyan was the picture of propriety—serious glasses and a demeanor as rigid as an old maid. But by night, she transformed into the queen of the nightclub scene.

No one would ever guess the strict secretary by day was such a fiery and alluring presence at night.

"What's up?" Tang Mianmian cut to the chase.

She could tell Fu Ranyan had been drinking.

"Come to the Emperor Club and have a drink with me," Fu Ranyan said, her tone tinged with melancholy.

"I don't like drinking. No thanks," Tang Mianmian refused without hesitation. Drinking with Fu Ranyan was endless chaos.

But Fu Ranyan was insistent. "Are you coming or not? If you don't, our friendship is over!"

That serious?

Frowning slightly, Tang Mianmian hesitated before agreeing. "Alright, I'll come."

Whenever Fu Ranyan mentioned ending their friendship, it usually meant something significant had happened. Like the time she said it before losing her virginity, crying her heart out afterward.

No one would have believed the queen of nightlife was actually a virgin until then.

Given the circumstances, Tang Mianmian decided to go, sensing something must have gone wrong.

But getting a cab from here was difficult. After some deliberation, she entered Long Yejue's study.

She'd seen a drawer full of car keys earlier and figured she could find one that worked.

Sure enough, when she opened it, there was a neat row of luxury car keys, arranged in perfect order from largest to smallest.

"This guy has OCD too?" she muttered, grabbing a less flashy-looking key and heading for the garage.

As she had guessed, the garage was filled with luxury cars.

A thousand curses ran through her mind. How could the world be so unfair? The rich had countless cars, while the poor couldn't even afford bus fare.

Pressing a button on the key, she found herself with an Audi A8.

Driving such a fancy car for the first time made her nervous. What if she scratched it? She'd be in deep trouble.

Carefully, she drove out of the villa and headed to the Emperor Club.

The Emperor Club was the largest and most luxurious entertainment venue in Jiangcheng, divided into three levels.

The top five floors were for SVIP members, requiring a net worth of at least 10 billion yuan to enter.

The middle five floors were for regular members, though entry still demanded a net worth of at least 1 billion.

The rest were open to the public, allowing people like Tang Mianmian to enter.

Fu Ranyan was naturally in the most ordinary section of the club. After searching for a while, Tang Mianmian finally spotted her tucked in a corner. One look at her disheveled state confirmed that something was indeed very wrong.

"Ranyan, what's going on? Why are you crying like this?" Tang Mianmian asked worriedly, supporting her friend who was slumped on the sofa.

Hearing her voice, Fu Ranyan broke down completely, throwing herself into Tang Mianmian's arms and sobbing uncontrollably. "Mianmian, Mianmian, what should I do?"

It was the first time Tang Mianmian had seen her friend cry like this. Clearly, something major had happened.

She quickly tried to calm her down. "Stop crying first, just tell me—what happened?"

"I... I'm pregnant," Fu Ranyan whispered, her voice trembling with panic.

Tang Mianmian froze, staring at her in shock, unable to process the news. "Whose is it?"

Fu Ranyan shook her head. "I don't know."

Tang Mianmian's heart ached for her friend. She knew Ranyan had grown up in an orphanage and that surviving in a big city was no easy feat for her. Most of Ranyan's earnings were used to support the orphanage she grew up in. She had once vowed never to let her own child grow up without a home.

And now, here she was—pregnant, and not even knowing who the father was. It was a devastating blow.

Tang Mianmian felt panicked too; this was the first time she had encountered such a situation and didn't know what to do. All she could do was comfort her. "Don't cry, don't panic. Let's go back first, and then we'll figure something out, okay?"

Lost and helpless, Fu Ranyan nodded in agreement.

After settling the bill, Tang Mianmian helped her up and was about to leave when they ran into some familiar faces.

Talk about enemies meeting on a narrow path. Tang Mianmian's expression twisted as she recognized the pair walking toward them.

Fu Ranyan also noticed them and glanced back and forth between the two with a look of suspicion. Her gaze settled on Yan Youlan, who was clinging affectionately to Su Shijie's arm. Understanding dawned.

Su Shijie was visibly surprised to see Tang Mianmian. His voice carried an inexplicable tenderness as he called out, "Mianmian, what are you doing here?"

In his memory, Tang Mianmian was someone who would never set foot in a place like this. Running into her here was unexpected but pleasant. 

After the incident at the wedding, he had tried to contact her several times, only for her to hang up on him. When he went to her old address, the landlord told him she had moved out. Her workplace said she was on leave. He had almost believed she'd left Jiangcheng, but here she was. He was overjoyed but failed to notice Yan Youlan's growing jealousy beside him.

Yan Youlan tugged on Su Shijie's arm and sneered, "Well, if it isn't Tang Mianmian. Who knew you had a hidden side, coming to a place like the Emperor Club? I must've misjudged you before."

Suppressing her anger, Tang Mianmian didn't want to argue with them. She turned to Fu Ranyan. "Let's go. It's late."

Fu Ranyan was well aware of Tang Mianmian's past with Su Shijie. Mianmian had given so much for him, even going so far as to secretly take the household registration book from her family to marry him. 

Now, looking at the situation, it all seemed like a cruel joke.

Her heart ached for Mianmian, but she despised this shameless couple even more. 

Already in a foul mood, she wasn't about to let this slide. Mianmian might want to keep quiet, but Fu Ranyan certainly didn't.

Hands on her hips, Fu Ranyan launched into an aggressive tirade. "I was wrong about you before. I thought you were just a plain white lotus, but now I see you're a diamond-studded one! The highest grade of homewrecker! Stealing someone's boyfriend and flaunting it like this—do you want the whole world to know you're a mistress?"

Tang Mianmian nearly spat out her drink at her friend's blunt words.

Yan Youlan's confidence wavered, and her gaze darted nervously around. "Y-you should watch your mouth!"

"Watch my mouth? That depends—are you even human? Does a beast deserve respect?" Fu Ranyan retorted mercilessly.

Su Shijie hadn't expected Fu Ranyan to be so feisty. Embarrassed, especially with people starting to gather and stare, he grabbed Yan Youlan's hand. "Stop talking and let's go."

"Why should I go? You're only defending her, aren't you?" Yan Youlan snapped, her jealousy flaring. "Su Shijie, I knew it—you're still not over her! Are you going to take responsibility for me and the baby or not?"