Xie Qian looked at the old lady, then at Xie Yuping.
Finally, he turned to his mother Zou Weijun and his aunt Hou Zhixiu.
Zou Weijun’s face was calm, while Hou Zhixiu still looked furious. Xie Qian suddenly understood: so everyone already knew that Zhang Zhijun had gone to Jinhu.
In response to the old lady’s instruction, Xie Qian neither agreed nor refused. He only asked quietly, “Is it because Uncle Zhijun went to the company?”
Both the old lady and Xie Yuping frowned at once.
“How did you know?”
Xie Yuping glanced at Zou Weijun, whose expression showed open surprise.
It clearly wasn’t Zou Weijun who had told Xie Qian. Then who did?
Xie Qian had no mental burden as he added fuel to the fire. “Yesterday outside the exam hall I saw Uncle Zhijun. He had come to pick up Zhang Nan. He didn’t say anything when he saw me, but at noon my dad rang and asked if I had stirred Uncle Zhijun up to cause trouble at the company… I said I hadn’t, but Dad didn’t seem to believe me.”
Xie Yuping and the old lady were both stunned.
Although everyone had long given up hope on Xie Jinghu, nobody expected him to be this despicable!
He might not love his wife any more, but the child was still his own flesh and blood, right?
Yesterday was the first day of the gaokao. Families with candidates took it very seriously; everything gave way to the exam. Parents were terrified of doing anything that might affect their child’s performance.
Xie Jinghu could be cold and indifferent, but to pick this exact time to hassle Xie Qian and disturb his exams was beyond the pale!
Let alone a biological father, even most stepfathers or adoptive fathers wouldn’t do this. Only an enemy would, someone desperate to stop Xie Qian doing too well…
As for Xie Jinghu’s accusation, not a single person in the room believed it.
Nobody thought Zhang Zhijun’s visit to the company had been instigated by Xie Qian. Xie Qian simply wasn’t that kind of person!
Hou Zhixiu was livid. “You silly boy, something that big happened and you didn’t tell me when you got home yesterday!”
In the Xie family, Hou Zhixiu had always been the good-tempered “eldest sister-in-law”. It was all Xie Jinghu’s fault for pushing the easy-going Hou Zhixiu to the point of explosion.
Xie Yuping had entrusted her with looking after Xie Qian during the exams, and now Hou Zhixiu felt she had failed badly!
Xie Qian gave a wry smile. “If I’d said something, it would only have made the conflict worse. I didn’t want the family to keep fighting.”
Listen to him.
So sensible.
How could Xie Qian be this sensible?
Hou Zhixiu’s heart ached. She turned to her husband and made a request. “Yuping, a family isn’t a place for strict law, but it should at least be a place of reason and affection. We can’t keep letting Weijun and Xie Qian suffer and be bullied, can we?”
Xie Yuping nodded heavily. “I know what needs to be done.”
Zou Weijun opened her mouth to speak, but Hou Zhixiu gripped her sister-in-law’s hand tightly. “Don’t worry, we’re here. We’ll stand up for you and Xie Qian.”
Warmth flooded Zou Weijun’s heart, and she truly stopped feeling anxious.
Moments earlier, when she heard that Xie Jinghu had tried to disrupt her son’s gaokao, even the gentle Zou Weijun had felt a surge of violent anger. Her eyes had kept drifting towards the kitchen, half tempted to grab a cleaver and chop Xie Jinghu into pieces!
Xie Qian had been home nearly half an hour before Xie Jinghu finally dawdled in.
After taking two slaps from Zou Weijun yesterday, Xie Jinghu’s face had stayed swollen for ages.
The marks on his cheeks had faded, but the slap to his pride had not.
Zou Weijun had not only struck him; she had mentioned divorce right in front of Zhang Zhijun and Assistant Qi!
After declaring it, she had walked straight out, left work early, and hadn’t gone to the company today either. Ever since returning to Beijing, Zou Weijun had worked at least six and a half days a week at Jinhu, rarely taking weekends off, let alone requesting leave. This was the first time she had ever missed a day.
Her unusual behaviour made Xie Jinghu realise that when Zou Weijun said “divorce”, she might actually mean it.
This woman really wanted to leave him?
When Xie Jinghu rang Xie Qian, it wasn’t mainly to upset his exam mood; he mostly wanted to test whether Zou Weijun had told their son about the divorce threat.
Of course, Xie Jinghu had no paternal affection for Xie Qian. The reason he hadn’t deliberately tormented the boy during the gaokao was simply because Xie Qian’s grades were too good.
Unless he physically prevented Xie Qian from sitting the exam, a few harsh words wouldn’t change the outcome.
Even if Xie Qian felt down and lost a few marks, when someone’s total was already close to perfect, a few marks either way made no real difference. He would still score over 700 and have his pick of the country’s top universities. Xie Jinghu wasn’t stupid enough to play the villain for no gain.
From the phone call, Xie Jinghu concluded Xie Qian knew nothing, so the divorce threat was just Zou Weijun venting in the heat of the moment.
That illusion lasted until today, when he received a call from his elder brother Xie Yuping asking him to come over.
Although Xie Yuping claimed it was for a family meal to celebrate the end of Xie Qian’s gaokao, Xie Jinghu felt uneasy.
The moment he stepped inside, he saw the old lady sitting bolt upright on the living-room sofa, Xie Yuping standing, and Hou Zhixiu stony-faced. Three pairs of cold eyes stared at him in silence.
Tonight really was a trap.
The thought sent a chill down Xie Jinghu’s spine; sweat beaded on his neck. He stiffly shifted his gaze and saw Zou Weijun and Xie Qian sitting in the dining area.
Neither mother nor son looked at him.
Zou Weijun even turned her face away.
Before Xie Jinghu could gather his thoughts, Xie Yuping beckoned him.
“Third brother, come and sit down. We need to talk.”
Xie Jinghu moved over reluctantly. The moment he managed a “Mum”, the old lady gave a cold laugh. “Well, this is rare. So you still remember you have a mother!”
Xie Jinghu lowered his head and admitted his mistake. “Yesterday I just lost my temper for a moment—”
Xie Yuping cut him off. “Lost your temper for a moment and accused Weijun of an improper relationship with Zhang Zhijun? Lost your temper for a moment and decided to ring Xie Qian and shout at him first? Third brother, I am truly disappointed in you.”
Xie Jinghu was speechless.
The old lady’s tone was heavy. “After the disgraceful things you’ve done, I no longer have the face to see the Zou family. I thought you would mend your ways eventually, but you only sank lower. Now Weijun says she can’t go on with you and wants a divorce. What do you have to say?”
“I’m not divorcing!”
The words burst out before he could think. “Mum, big brother, big sister-in-law, I have never once considered divorcing Weijun. No matter what has happened, we will always be husband and wife, always family!”
After his affair was exposed, Xie Jinghu had told his family plenty of lies, but “no divorce” was absolutely sincere.
A man with wealth and status simply could not afford a divorce.
Xie Jinghu spoke with earnest conviction, pouring out heartfelt words.
Yet neither Zou Weijun nor Xie Qian reacted, and even Xie Yuping and the old lady remained unmoved. Fine words were useless; actions were what mattered. If he had said all this earlier and firmly cut ties with the mistress abroad, the family might have believed he was repentant.
Coming out with it now, insisting on no divorce, was far too late!
For the first time, in front of the whole family, Xie Yuping ripped away the last veil and openly laid Xie Jinghu’s mistress and illegitimate children on the table. “Saying you won’t divorce means nothing. Weijun’s heart has been broken by you; she no longer trusts you! Even if we could persuade Weijun to drop the idea of divorce, what proof of sincerity can you offer? Can you guarantee you will never contact that woman again, never send money to those siblings again?”
Xie Jinghu gave an awkward defence. “I already stopped contacting her…”
His words carried no weight; the atmosphere remained icy.
Xie Yuping pointed at the coffee table. Only then did Xie Jinghu notice two documents lying there.
One was a share transfer agreement, the other a divorce settlement.
“Choose one and sign. The sooner you sign, the sooner this ends. We don’t want to keep playing the villains stopping you from pursuing your happiness.”
