Chapter 182: It’s Not Too Late to Regret

Chapter 182 -141: It’s Not Too Late to Regret

Did I hire you people just to be decorations?

I might as well just go watch influencers online!

Hearing this, the person standing opposite her jumped, immediately lowering their head like a chastised child. “Yes, President Yan. I’ll go and negotiate again!”

With that, they hastily turned and left Yan Li’s office.

‘Seriously, nothing’s going right at work, and nothing’s going right in my personal life either!

The more I think about it, the more my head hurts!’

Glancing at the still-lit phone screen, Yan Li let out a cold laugh.

‘So now they decide to call me?

When I tried to call them last night, what were they so busy doing?’

Meanwhile, Yan Xici had called several times, but her calls remained unanswered.

She bit her lip hard, her small face etched with a fury she had never felt before.

‘What does she mean by not answering my calls?

Is she trying to get back at me?’

Just as she was about to try calling again, Xiao Ran reached out and took the phone from her hand.

He smiled. “Instead of wasting time calling, I think you should just take out your SIM card so I can put mine in.”

As someone with a bit of life experience, Xiao Ran wasn’t flustered at all; in fact, he was quite calm.

After just a few minutes, he had already figured out who was behind this.

‘No doubt about it, it has to be Yan Li!’

Why was he so certain? Because he knew her all too well.

He had a feeling last night that things wouldn’t end so simply.

‘And now she’s not answering her phone. If this isn’t deliberate, what is?’

The video was already out there. Even if it were deleted now, plenty of people had already seen it. Panicking would only make Xici worry herself sick.

Yan Xici looked at Xiao Ran, her tear-filled eyes brimming with unspeakable guilt.

“This whole thing… you also think my sister did it, don’t you?”

Even now, she still found it hard to believe that her own sister could do something like this.

Xiao Ran nodded. “It’s okay. Don’t worry, and don’t overthink it.”

In his heart, Xiao Ran was certain that no one besides Yan Li could have done this, but he didn’t say it out loud, afraid of hurting Yan Xici.

But even without him saying it, Yan Xici understood. It had to be her sister.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, her nails digging so deeply into her palm that the soft, pink flesh turned white.

‘He’s done nothing wrong in this whole affair, from start to finish!

If anyone’s to blame, it’s me, not Brother Xiao Ran!

Why is she doing this? If she has a problem, she should come after me!

I’m not afraid!’

Xiao Ran gave a broad, carefree grin and tried his best to comfort her. “Look how worked up you are. This is no big deal. Don’t forget, your Brother Ran here can handle anything!”

Then he reached out and patted her on the head, as if she were a small child.

“But this kind of thing will definitely do a lot of damage to you! For all we know, people at your school might have already seen it!” Yan Xici’s unease grew the more she thought about it. After all, this wasn’t just one blogger talking.

She had already seen two, and who knew how many more were out there that she hadn’t seen.

At this thought, the tears in her eyes welled up even more.

It felt like she was about to start crying at any second.

Xiao Ran smiled. The most urgent task right now was to calm Yan Xici’s emotions.

He smiled. “So, do you think what the video is saying is the truth?”

‘If I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it. First, while it’s true I don’t make a lot of money, I’m no freeloader. She did earn more than me, but I was the one who paid for most of our daily expenses!

Besides, she was the one who didn’t want to be with me anymore and chose to divorce.

I only got together with Yan Xici after we divorced. Everything is perfectly legal and aboveboard.

If I were actually guilty of something, the law would be the one to punish me. But there’s no way I’m taking the fall for something someone just made up out of thin air!’

Yan Xici pressed her lips together. Since Yan Li wasn’t answering her calls, she couldn’t reach her and didn’t know what to do. The most urgent thing, she decided, was to make sure Brother Xiao Ran could stay in contact with the outside world.

With that in mind, she turned, walked to the table, took a toothpick from its container, and poked it into the phone’s SIM card tray slot.

With a little tug, she successfully pulled out the SIM tray.

“Okay, Brother Ran, here’s the phone.”

Xiao Ran took out his own SIM card and inserted it into Yan Xici’s phone.

He then opened his contacts and walked outside. Once he was a short distance away, he dialed Yan Li’s number.

He hoped to God she would answer.

Unfortunately for him, Yan Li had no intention of answering calls from Yan Xici or Xiao Ran.

‘It’s deliberate—pure and simple revenge. They took turns ignoring my calls, so now I’ll let them have a taste of what it feels like to be anxious!’

After two unanswered calls, Xiao Ran understood. Yan Li was doing this on purpose.

He decisively sent her a text message.

Xiao Ran: I expect to receive a call from you within ten minutes.

With that thought, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and calmly returned to the private room.

‘Ten minutes. That was the most time he could give her.’

Seeing him return, Yan Xici hurried over. “How did it go? Did my sister answer your call?”

Xiao Ran shook his head. “No.”

Then he forced a bright smile. “Alright, don’t dwell on it. Let’s head back for now. We can’t just stay here forever. Besides, I think you have a class this afternoon.”

Looking at his warm face and his clear eyes, Yan Xici’s heart ached terribly.

‘Even now, at a time like this, he’s still thinking about me!’