The woman surnamed Zhuo spoke with unbearable arrogance. From the very core, her values were rotten, yet she could still twist words and wrap everything in her own self-consistent logic.
Would Xie Jinghu be persuaded by her and quietly accept this massive green hat?
Truth be told, Xie Yuping did not particularly care.
They were going to sign the divorce papers today anyway.
Once divorced, if Xie Jinghu wanted to eat shit, he could. Xie Yuping neither could nor wished to stop him.
Half an hour later, the argument in the lounge was still raging. Evidently the humiliation of being cuckolded was so great that Xie Jinghu had temporarily retained his intelligence.
Sara Zhuo’s accusations did contain a grain of truth: Xie Jinghu had never divorced, leaving her as a permanent mistress. In that respect, he had wronged her.
But if they were talking about who he had wronged most, it was Zou Weijun.
Sara Zhuo had always known he was married. If she truly did not want to be a mistress, Xie Jinghu could not have forced her.
Zou Weijun had been kept completely in the dark.
She had neither abandoned Xie Jinghu before marriage to marry someone else, nor had she ever cheated on him during the marriage, made him raise another man’s son, or put a green hat on his head.
When Xie Jinghu and Sara Zhuo were at the height of their renewed passion, Sara Zhuo announced she was pregnant.
Xie Jinghu had indeed hesitated. He feared she wanted marriage, which he clearly could not give. Yet it was Sara Zhuo herself who said she did not wish to destroy his family or hurt the innocent Zou Weijun. Xie Jinghu had believed her.
Now that she was dragging up old accounts, Xie Jinghu could not find the words to retort and could only rage helplessly.
Arguing with a woman was pointless, especially at a time like this. The more beautiful the woman, the better she was at lying. Jin Yong had put those words into Yin Susu’s mouth long ago. Unfortunately Xie Jinghu only understood them now.
In his dazed fury, he did not stop at cursing Sara Zhuo.
He kept trying to force her to reveal Zhuo Yue’s biological father. Sara Zhuo insisted it had been a fleeting affair. Pressed too hard, she laughed coldly. “The Xie family has never acknowledged A-Chen or Yueyue anyway. If that is the case, does it matter who Yueyue’s father is?”
So the cuckold was not even qualified to know who had cuckolded him?
Xie Jinghu slapped Sara Zhuo across the face. “Fine. I won’t ask where this bastard came from. Every penny I have spent on her over the years, you will repay me in cash. And the properties I bought for the bastard, I’m warning you, return them within the time limit.”
Zhuo Yue was on the verge of fainting from crying.
She could not believe Xie Jinghu was not her father.
If he was not her daddy, then who was?
Why had Mummy done such a thing? An illegitimate child was already bad enough, but a bastard of unknown paternity was even more humiliating.
Hearing that Xie Jinghu wanted to take back all the properties he had given her, Zhuo Yue felt both heartbroken and lost.
Had more than ten years of father-daughter affection all been fake?
Knock, knock, knock.
A rhythmic knock sounded. Xie Yuping pushed the door open. “Am I interrupting? I’ll only say a few words. You can continue arguing afterwards, it won’t take long. Third brother, I hear you want to reclaim the money and assets you gave the bastard over the years? Perfect, I’ve brought a lawyer. You can consult him.”
Xie Jinghu was so mortified he wanted to disappear into a crack in the floor.
“Big brother, the lawyer can wait…”
Xie Yuping shook his head. “I don’t have time to waste with you. Now is best. I brought the lawyer mainly to draft the divorce agreement between you and Weijun.”
Xie Jinghu was no longer merely mortified; he was in agony.
Sara Zhuo turned to stare at Xie Yuping, shock she could not hide flashing across her face.
Divorce?
Why divorce?
Had Xie Yuping arranged the DNA tests for Zhuo Chen and Zhuo Yue simply to force a divorce?
Even if that had been the original plan, now that the tests proved Zhuo Yue was not Xie Jinghu’s daughter, why didn’t Xie Yuping seize the chance to add insult to injury, make Xie Jinghu loathe her, A-Chen, and Yueyue completely, and finally “return to his family”?
This was probably a test.
A test to see whether she would lose composure and gloat at the news of divorce.
Could Xie Yuping have discovered something?
Xie Jinghu wore his emotions on his sleeve; Xie Yuping was the exact opposite.
All the Xie brothers had been raised single-handedly by their widowed mother. Had Xie Yuping not been formidable and latched onto the right leader when young, the Xie family would never have risen so quickly.
Sara Zhuo spoke before Xie Jinghu could. “Big Brother Xie, I never forced him to divorce me before, and I certainly have no need to now.”
She was still clinging to her persona of “never wanting to break up Xie Jinghu’s family”.
For the first time, Xie Yuping looked directly at Sara Zhuo, his gaze as if she were a pile of stinking dog shit. “You’re overthinking it. Whether third brother divorces is between him and Weijun; you never have the right to comment. Don’t tell me you imagine I’m making him divorce so you two can finally be together? Also, stop calling me big brother. I’m not your big brother.”
Talk about ugly and delusional.
The divorce was not because the woman surnamed Zhuo had won.
It was because Zou Weijun no longer wanted Xie Jinghu.
The divorce was to protect Zou Weijun and Xie Qian, not only their assets but their personal safety.
If there truly was a major conspiracy against the Xie family that had been brewing for years, Xie Yuping would now protect whoever he could. Going with the flow, he would first extract Zou Weijun and Xie Qian from this whirlpool of trouble.
Sara Zhuo had never been scolded to her face for getting above herself.
Even when Xie Jinghu had gone berserk moments earlier, she had not been afraid.
Because she understood Xie Jinghu and knew exactly how to handle him. He might appear to rage uncontrollably, but the rhythm had always been in her hands.
But she did not understand Xie Yuping.
Men like Xie Yuping were accustomed to controlling the board. No one else could ever set the tempo for him.
Afraid of misspeaking, Sara Zhuo shut her mouth tight after being shut down and refused to utter another syllable.
Xie Jinghu did not want a divorce.
“Big brother, I can’t divorce, at least not now. Xie Qian he—”
“Shut your mouth. You still have the face to mention Xie Qian?”
Xie Yuping suppressed his fury. “I’m not asking for your opinion. This is Weijun’s decision. Think about the current situation. She has been married to you for so many years, a good wife, a good mother, a good daughter-in-law. If you still have the slightest shred of humanity, the slightest marital or paternal affection left, you will sign the divorce agreement right now, unless you truly want to drive her to her death.”
Even Sara Zhuo could not understand why Xie Yuping was forcing a divorce at this precise moment.
Zhuo Chen and Zhuo Yue understood even less.
What on earth had happened to make Xie Yuping this angry?
Zhuo Chen suddenly recalled his sister’s earlier guess.
If a couple could still hold a marriage together after the husband’s affair, that marriage could be called unbreakable. A wife forgiving infidelity usually did so for the sake of feelings, money, or children. For Zou Weijun to insist on divorce now, could something really have happened to Xie Qian?
Zhuo Yue still had tears on her cheeks, shoulders shaking with sobs, but her ears were straining to listen.
If the DNA test today had shown that she, like her brother, was truly Daddy’s child, she would have been the happiest person in the world.
If Daddy divorced, he would definitely marry Mummy.
Once Daddy and Mummy became husband and wife, she and her brother would no longer be illegitimate. They could openly take the Xie surname.
Why had Mummy done such a thing?
Why was she not Daddy’s daughter?
Xie Yuping’s presence was too overpowering. Zhuo Yue dared not wail aloud and could only cry only silently.
Zhuo Chen took his sister’s hand. No matter who her father was, she was still his sister. Their parents were unreliable, staging a twenty-year drama of love and hate. Whatever they chose in the future was their own business. The only pitiful one was Yueyue.
Sara Zhuo stayed silent. Zhuo Chen and Zhuo Yue had no standing to speak. The lounge fell completely quiet. Xie Yuping’s words truly pricked whatever conscience Xie Jinghu had left.
Conscience was something Xie Jinghu possessed very little of.
He was a deeply flawed man.
Weak resolve and a soft ear, those were his fatal weaknesses.
The woman he thought was his true love had just mercilessly ridiculed him.
The wife he thought he was merely putting up with had struggled alongside him all these years.
Compared to Sara Zhuo’s endless charm, Zou Weijun was too dignified, so dignified that Xie Jinghu saw through her at a glance. After being together so long, there was no novelty or challenge left.
Yet after they began living apart and Zou Weijun went to Rongcheng alone to fight for her career, her capable, professional aura had made Xie Jinghu’s eyes light up again.
When she returned to Beijing and started working at Jinhu, her drive never diminished.
At first she had fumbled at Jinhu, but now she was firmly on track.
The stronger Zou Weijun became, the more Xie Jinghu both feared and admired her.
Yet today, outside the ICU ward, the capable, driven Zou Weijun had vanished. All Xie Jinghu saw was a woman worn to the very limit, her gaze empty and numb.
Their marriage had long been dead in all but name. Now Zou Weijun did not even want the name.
Was being with him really that painful for her?
Xie Jinghu could not help remembering twenty years ago, the first time he saw Zou Weijun in the faculty housing at university.
He had stood at the Zou family’s door. Zou Weijun came up the stairs carrying books.
He called out to her.
She looked up. The young girl’s eyes were clear and pure, unable to hide the stunned admiration sparked by Xie Jinghu.
He had merely smiled, and the girl’s cheeks flushed pink.
In that instant, Xie Jinghu knew exactly which path would win Professor Zou’s help.
All these years, Xie Jinghu had believed he was the one who had captivated Zou Weijun.
Actually, there was more to that first encounter, a part Xie Jinghu once remembered but later forgot.
That day, thanks to Zou Weijun’s introduction, he entered the Zou home and finally spoke to Professor Zou.
He stayed until evening. Reading the room, he rose to leave. Out of politeness, Professor Zou asked his daughter to see him out.
They should have parted at the bottom of the stairs, but watching the sunset glow across campus, Xie Jinghu shamelessly asked whether Zou Weijun would walk him to the university gate.
Blushing, Zou Weijun nodded.
They walked side by side along the tree-lined path, the sunset bathing Zou Weijun in gentle warm light.
Her face stayed red the whole way. Xie Jinghu could not resist teasing her, asking many questions about her studies. Though shy, when she spoke about her field her thoughts were remarkably clear.
She was never a chatterbox. Whatever she did was calm and unhurried. She did not say much, but every word counted.
Xie Jinghu had captivated Zou Weijun.
But Zou Weijun had captivated him too.
He had never met a girl like her, steeped in scholarly air, spotless, simple and clean as white paper.
That night he lay awake for hours. From the very next day, he visited Professor Zou far more often.
He kept visiting, and Zou Weijun became his wife, Professor Zou his father-in-law.
So why, later, had he treated Zou Weijun that way?
Today the blows had been too much. Xie Jinghu’s brain could no longer think straight. He was like a defeated army on the battlefield, unable to turn the tide, left only to accept death in dejection.
“I agree to the divorce.”
