Chapter 207: Plan Before Acting, Command the Situation Without Making Noise

"I know." Shen Xun's eyes lowered slightly.

He knew.

When he decided to use this matter to force Jiang Lai's hand, he knew she would only despise him more.

But he had no choice.

He didn't want to and couldn't afford to become a discarded pawn of the Fu Family, nor did he want a non-compete agreement held to his throat like a blade for two years.

If it were before, he still had the capital to take another path, but now—marital infidelity, repaying over a hundred million in shared marital assets, with limited liquid funds on hand...

Shen Xun's situation was like a stray dog being driven toward a cliff—fall down, and his body would be smashed to pieces.

"Jiang Lai, I don't want things to be like this either, but could you, for the sake of our bond as husband and wife, give me a little time?" He raised his eyes, with that pleading look again.

"Shen Xun, you married me but spent money on Lin Shutong, you went in and out with Lin Shutong but refused to acknowledge our marriage publicly, when you slept with Lin Shutong, did you ever think of our bond as husband and wife?"

Shen Xun felt he had no way to defend himself.

Jiang Lai got up and left.

Shen Xun called out loudly behind her: "Tonight at six-thirty, I'll pick you up at Villa Number Nine."

He knew Jiang Lai would definitely agree.

Back in the car, Jiang Lai found a bottle of mineral water, gulped down half of it, glug-glug, and pulled out her phone from her bag.

The phone screen was still recording.

After turning off the recording, Jiang Lai sent it to a group called 【Victory Preparation Group】; the group consisted of her, Ke Zhongyu, Zhong Lü, and Assistant Zhou.

The group was created only after Ke Zhongyu's plane landed, and the name was changed by Assistant Zhou; whenever there was any development regarding the recovery of divorce assets, it would be synced to everyone in the group in real time.

Last night before falling asleep, she had told them about Shen Xun using Ping'an to threaten her.

Before entering the milk tea shop, the message Ke Zhongyu sent included not only that he was returning to the country immediately, but also one line: 【Remember to record.】

The real use of recording isn't necessarily to serve as evidence, but the moment you press the record button, a sense of holding power arises from within.

You subconsciously rein in your emotions, watch your words and actions, not exposing your weaknesses, not letting the other side keep pressing their advantage.

At the same time, you subconsciously catch the loopholes in every sentence he says, analyzing the other side's true motives behind those words.

Ke Zhongyu said this was what his father taught him when he was twelve.

This tactic, in "The Art of War," is called "when substantial, appear insubstantial; when insubstantial, appear substantial; control others rather than being controlled by them."

Also called: plan before acting, command the situation without making noise.

It was also because of Ke Zhongyu's words that Jiang Lai didn't get into a major confrontation with Shen Xun inside the milk tea shop, and at the same time extracted some useful information.

She was still typing when Assistant Zhou was the first to send out a document.

Assistant Zhou: 【Recording-to-text completed, with key information highlighted. Please review, Miss Jiang, President Ke, Zhong Lü.】

Assistant Zhou: 【Shen Xun's assistant Qiao Chuan hasn't appeared in A City for half a month; he was probably sent to G Province to handle this matter.】

Less than a minute later, Zhong Lü's message popped up in the group.

Zhong Lü: 【The regulation for name changes is 26 working days for adults, processed on the spot for those under 14, and 15 to 20 working days for those between 14 and 18.】

Zhong Lü: 【If Ping'an has already passed fifteen, we have at most one week left.】

Zhong Lü: 【It specifically depends on the date on Ping'an's ID card. If the registered birthday hasn't reached fifteen yet, the name has probably already been changed.】

Jiang Lai deleted the half-typed message and replied to them anew: 【The lawsuit can be delayed, but it won't end here.】

Zhong Lü: 【Understood.】

Ke Zhongyu: 【The head of Snow's East Asia region is Soren. Only Secretary Guan hasn't met him. Take Secretary Guan along.】

Assistant Zhou: 【I'll be the driver.】

And just like that, the matter of Jiang Lai accompanying Shen Xun to a social engagement tonight was arranged.

It was also because of such clear and proper arrangements that a bit of the unease caused by Shen Xun hiding Ping'an to threaten her was dispelled.

The phone vibrated again.

Ke Zhongyu sent a private message: 【I'll be back tonight.】

Jiang Lai stared blankly at these few words—too familiar—she typed a few characters, deleted them, typed again, deleted again.

In the end, she replied with just one: 【Mm.】

Ke Zhongyu, squeezing in a reply amid his busyness, received only the phone's constant notifications that the other party was typing, and finally a single simple word—he sharply drew a breath.

He asked the Strategist what it meant?

The Strategist laughed loudly: "So you finally get your day too, son."

Ke Zhongyu, listening to his mother's voice message: "..."

The Strategist: "Do you realize now how infuriating and hard to read you used to be?"

The Strategist: "What goes around comes around?"

Ke Zhongyu: "..."

The Strategist: "Alright, alright, enough about you. What time does your plane land tonight? Going back there or back here?"

The Strategist: "There, right? Okay."

Ke Zhongyu hadn't said anything at all.

The Strategist: "At least Jiang Lai replied to you, so count yourself lucky. She's been married, and that line of yours was definitely something Shen Xun said to her—not identical, but at least four out of five characters overlap. That she hesitated again and again and replied with just 'mm' means she hasn't completely shut you out. Keep it up! Mom hopes to bring her daughter-in-law to visit your grandparents for New Year's greetings this year."

Ke Zhongyu felt his own mother really knew how to make things difficult for him.

Nothing more to say.

He also replied with one: 【Mm.】

Jiang Lai looked at this "mm," thought for a moment, and asked: 【What time is your flight?】

Ke Zhongyu: 【Lands at the international airport at ten-ten.】

Jiang Lai thought to herself, that's quite late. The airplane food probably isn't good? Not necessarily—first class and economy class still make a difference.

She returned to Nanshan Villa and asked Mo Yi: "What is the first-class airplane meal like?"

"Miss Jiang, where are you going?" Mo Yi's first reaction was that she wanted to go take a flight.

Jiang Lai shook her head: "No, Ke Zhongyu's flight lands after ten tonight."

It turns out it concerns the Young Master!

The first-class airplane meal is quite luxurious and varied, with a special menu offering Chinese, Western, French, Italian dishes…… and a wine list; surely the Young Master won't go hungry or thirsty.

But!

"Miss Jiang, you haven't flown first class, have you?"

Jiang Lai shook her head.

"Oh dear! Miss Jiang, you don't know; there's no difference between the first-class and economy airplane meals—just the seats are wider and more comfortable. They're on the same plane, so how could the food be different? It's pretty much the same. The Young Master will only disembark after ten; he'll surely be starving, his stomach pressed to his back." Mo Yi frowned, looking as if she felt sorry for the Young Master.

She continued asking, "What if I go to Number One to prepare dinner for the Young Master? Over there they haven't cooked recently, so there are definitely no ingredients bought; I could bring some from here, though it's a bit troublesome."

Jiang Lai also thought it a bit troublesome: "Let's just eat here."

Mo Yi beamed: "All right! Would Miss Jiang like to have some late-night snack?"

Jiang Lai: "I don't know when I'll be back; I have a social engagement tonight."

"Huh?" Mo Yi expressed confusion: "Can the Ke Clan still let you go to a social engagement? Aren't there Assistant Zhou and Secretary Guan? Besides, if the Young Master isn't around, Assistant Zhou and Secretary Guan also can't go to a social engagement privately, for fear they won't come back. These days, neither men nor women are safe."

Jiang Lai thought that made sense.

"It's not a Ke Clan engagement, it's something else." She didn't say more to Mo Yi.

To avoid letting Mo Yi see Shen Xun, this troublesome thing, before the 6:30 that Shen Xun mentioned, Jiang Lai's car stopped at the entrance of Nanshan Villa.

Assistant Zhou was in the driver's seat, Secretary Guan in the passenger seat, drinking pure milk to protect the gastric mucosa; after finishing, they looked at Jiang Lai and said: "Later you just say I'm your assistant, leave the blocking-alcohol matter to me, Dr. Jiang."

Assistant Zhou pushed up his glasses and said: "Miss Jiang, you can leave Suo Lun's contact information later; it will be useful."

The project timeline is long, but news about Ping'an won't take that long to find.

By then, exposing Shen Xun's earlier affair and divorce, Suo Lun's representative Si Nuo will surely be angry at being schemed against; although they are already cooperating, whether they can cooperate well remains to be said.