“Let’s wait a little longer.”
Gu Anyun pulled her wrist free from his large hand and bent down to pick up the agreement that had fallen on the bed.
“Sign the agreement, make time in the next couple of days, and we’ll go get the divorce certificate. After that, you can call me Little Sweet Candy again.”
Jin Chenyue’s hand suddenly felt empty, and his heart inexplicably felt the same.
His brows, which extended toward his temples, furrowed slightly. “If you don’t like me calling you by your nickname, I won’t.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it.” Gu Anyun’s lips curved slightly as she let out a faint sigh, her tone still cold. “We’re husband and wife, yet you’re both a brother and a husband. Don’t you find that disgusting?”
Jin Chenyue’s pupils contracted.
Did she just say… disgusting?
“These past three years…” Jin Chenyue took a deep breath to suppress the emotions rising in his chest. “You never once intended to, or even tried to, truly accept this marriage, did you?”
Gu Anyun met his unwavering gaze, her delicate oval face devoid of any emotion.
She nodded. “That’s right.”
“Fine.” Jin Chenyue lowered his gaze, staring at the agreement, and suddenly let out a short, faint laugh.
It was brief, extremely light, and filled with mockery.
Gu Anyun’s eyelashes trembled slightly at the sound of his laugh.
He took the agreement from her.
His deep voice rang out: “I’ll have a lawyer look it over. If there are no issues, I’ll sign it and give it back to you.”
“Mm.” Gu Anyun responded, feeling a wave of relief wash over her.
Finally, they could get divorced.
Jin Chenyue turned and strode directly toward the door.
He opened it, his hand gripping the doorknob tightening slightly.
Gu Anyun watched his retreating figure as she slowly sat back down on the bed. Seeing him linger, she asked softly, “Is there something else?”
Jin Chenyue turned back, unable to resist asking, “Do you hate me?”
Gu Anyun was slightly taken aback.
She hadn’t expected Jin Chenyue to ask such a question.
However, the answer to this question had indeed changed three months ago.
“I didn’t hate you before,” she replied, her tone remarkably frank.
Jin Chenyue’s grip on the doorknob suddenly loosened.
She didn’t hate him before.
Which meant she hated him now.
“I understand.” He nodded, strode out of the room, and even politely closed the door behind her.
As the door clicked shut, Gu Anyun’s hand, which had been clutching the blanket, relaxed, but her spirit seemed to drift away somewhere.
The phone on the nightstand vibrated.
Snapping back to reality, she picked it up. Seeing the caller ID, she took a deep breath and pressed the answer button.
“Mom.”
One hour later, a black Phantom pulled into the Jin family’s ancestral home.
The driver got out to open the car door for Gu Anyun.
After she stepped out, the driver retrieved the nutritional supplements she had prepared for the Jin elders from the trunk.
The estate’s butler, Uncle Jin, personally came to greet her. Seeing the supplements in the driver’s hands, he smiled and sighed, “The young mistress is so thoughtful.”
“They’re just some nourishing supplements. Please make sure Dad and Mom take them on time, Grandpa Butler.”
“Rest assured, Young Mistress. I’ll make sure the task is completed.” After saying this, Uncle Jin turned and called a servant to put the supplements away.
Turning back, he looked at Gu Anyun warmly and respectfully. “Young Mistress, the Third Madam is with the Madam in the master bedroom. The Third Master and the Master are in the back garden.”
Gu Anyun acknowledged with a faint sound and stepped into the villa.
A maid bent down to place her personal cotton slippers by her feet.
Gu Anyun took off her coat and handed it to the maid, then accepted a steaming hot disinfectant towel handed to her by another maid. After wiping her hands clean, she said, “I’ll go see Mom first.”
“Please, Young Mistress.”
Gu Anyun went up to the second floor and arrived outside the master bedroom door. She raised her hand and knocked.A moment later, a gentle voice came from inside, “Come in.”
Gu Anyun took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
On the bed, two elegant noblewomen—one lying down, the other sitting—turned their heads toward her simultaneously.
Mrs. Jin, Fu Jinyu, beckoned with a wave, her eyes filled with affection. “Our little Xitang is here!”
“Come, let Mom take a look.” The third wife, Cui Tang, extended her hand toward Gu Anyun. Her gentle, almond-shaped eyes crinkled with faint smile lines when she smiled, yet it did nothing to age her. When she laughed, the charm in her eyes bore a slight resemblance to Gu Anyun’s. “It’s been over half a year since we last saw each other. Come, let Mom give you a hug.”
Gu Anyun’s pink lips curved slightly as she walked straight to the bedside, bent down, and opened her arms to embrace both mothers. “Mom, Mommy, I missed you too.”
The three of them hugged, their mother-daughter bond undoubtedly deep.
When Gu Anyun was born, her biological mother, Cui Tang, and the third master, Gu Qiaoxi, had already separated due to a misunderstanding. Cui Tang was a celebrity at the time and suffered from severe depression. To provide Gu Anyun with a healthy upbringing, Cui Tang and Fu Jinyu discussed and decided to place Gu Anyun under the care of the Jin family.
At the time, the Jin family publicly claimed that Fu Jinyu had given birth to twins. In reality, Jin Chenyue and Gu Anyun were born a week apart. Until the age of three, Gu Anyun and Jin Chenyue were raised as siblings.
It wasn’t until Gu Anyun turned three, when Cui Tang and Gu Qiaoxi reconciled, that Gu Anyun returned to her biological family.
The Jin couple’s love for Gu Anyun was genuine, so even after she left the Jin family at three to return to the Gu family, her bond with the Jin parents remained close. The terms “Daddy” and “Mommy,” which she had grown accustomed to since birth, remained unchanged to this day.
Cui Tang and Gu Qiaoxi supported this arrangement.
“Has Tangtang lost a little weight?” Fu Jinyu examined Gu Anyun. “Last time you came, your chin was fuller than it is now.”
Gu Anyun smiled faintly. “My weight hasn’t changed.”
“Really?” Fu Jinyu looked skeptical.
She lay half-reclined on the bed, her youthful appearance still intact, but her spirit visibly weary. Her body had developed a series of complications after donating a kidney in her youth, and as she aged, she required meticulous care.
Gu Anyun held Fu Jinyu’s hand, her usually cool and refined face softening considerably in the presence of her two mothers.
She asked Fu Jinyu, “Mommy, how have you been feeling lately?”
“Same as always.” Fu Jinyu smiled, clasping Gu Anyun’s hand in return. “A Yue returned to the country last night. Why didn’t you have him accompany you back?”
Gu Anyun remained expressionless, her voice gentle. “You know how busy he is.”
“Your daddy wasn’t like that when he was young.” Fu Jinyu expressed dissatisfaction with her son at every turn. “In the three years since you married, he’s visited me less than half as often as you have. I might as well have raised you instead of him! Daughters are truly more considerate!”
Cui Tang chimed in with a smile, “Isn’t that the truth? I only have this one precious daughter, and I still had to endure the pain of sending her to your family.”
“Look at what you’re saying. Tangtang grew up drinking my milk when she was little.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. With our poor health back then, how could we possibly breastfeed?” Cui Tang glanced at Gu Anyun. “Tangtang, don’t listen to your mommy’s nonsense. You and A Yue were both formula-fed.”
Fu Jinyu grew flustered and lightly tapped the back of Cui Tang’s hand. “What a plastic friendship! Don’t expose me like that!”
Gu Anyun watched her two mothers bicker, feeling somewhat helpless but thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere.Putting everything else aside, having two sets of parents who loved and cherished her so much already made her far more fortunate than most.
She shouldn’t be too greedy.
…
Half an hour later, Fu Jinyu grew tired. Cui Tang and Gu Anyun waited until she fell asleep before leaving the room.
Mother and daughter walked down the stairs, step by step.
“What happened?”
Gu Anyun’s arm, linked with her mother’s, was suddenly held. She looked up and met her mother’s gentle gaze.
Her nose inexplicably tingled, but she quickly composed herself, her expression unchanged. “There’s something I want to say, but I don’t know how to bring it up.”
Cui Tang stared into her eyes. “Is it about the divorce?”
Gu Anyun’s steps faltered.