Jiang Hua turned over, her hand reaching for the edge of the bed only to find empty coldness.
She instinctively sensed something, and her drowsiness vanished instantly as she became fully awake.
Her expression was momentarily dazed…
The morning light seeped through the gaps in the heavy curtains. Jiang Hua glanced at the time—it was already 7:30.
She had forgotten what time she fell asleep last night.
Sitting up in bed, she touched her forehead; it felt feverish. Lying back with her eyes closed for a moment, she didn’t forget what she had to do today.
Jiang Hua went to the bathroom, applied light makeup, and casually picked up a limited-edition designer bag worth over 800,000 from the walk-in closet. As she walked downstairs, she saw Pei Zhan sitting at the dining table, discussing company matters with her father.
She hadn’t expected him to come.
Jiang Hua slowed her steps as she descended, her gaze fixed intently on him before shifting to the person beside him. Her father was chatting happily with him.
He had never been willing to come before. This time… what was his reason?
Jiang Hua smoothed her wavy long hair. The perfume she wore was a high-end limited edition from a luxury perfume brand under Jiang Corporation. New releases were always delivered to Jiang Hua’s room first.
Jiang Weiguo: “The company’s performance has been good these years, but don’t neglect Hua Hua because you’re focused on work.”
Pei Zhan: “I won’t.”
Jiang Hua didn’t know how he could utter that “I won’t” so easily.
After bringing up divorce last night, Pei Zhan could now calmly pretend everything was fine here.
When it came to acting, no one was better than Pei Zhan.
Servant: “Young Miss.”
“Mm.” Jiang Hua responded and walked over to sit beside Pei Zhan, placing her bag down. She smiled and said, “If Pei Zhan ignores the company, I don’t believe you can stay calm enough to go fishing at home.”
A servant brought over sterilized bowls and chopsticks, placing them in front of Jiang Hua.
Pei Zhan served her a bowl of sweet soup. “Thank you, husband.”
Jiang Hua leaned in and gave Pei Zhan an intimate kiss on the cheek.
A complex emotion flashed in the man’s deep eyes, unnoticed by Jiang Hua. Pei Zhan’s body stiffened momentarily, his fingers tightening slightly.
Jiang Weiguo was accustomed to such scenes.
Noticing Jiang Hua’s meticulous appearance, he said, “Where are you planning to go fool around today? The school has called. When do you plan to return? If you delay any longer, they might expel you.”
Jiang Hua: “Next week.”
Jiang Weiguo: “Once you’ve decided, I’ll reply to the school.”
Jiang Hua: “Mm.”
Seeing the affectionate display between the young couple, Jiang Weiguo decided not to be a third wheel and stood up. “I’m going out for a walk. Take your time eating.”
As soon as Jiang Weiguo left, Jiang Hua didn’t touch the soup in her bowl, and the smile on her face faded.
“No need to come pick me up specially. Don’t worry about me going back on what I said last night. Hurry up and eat; I’ll wait for you in the car.” Having lost her appetite at the sight of him, Jiang Hua stood up and left directly.
Jiang Hua sat in the passenger seat waiting for him. She still remembered how they had chosen this car together at the dealership—it was their first car after marriage.
She hadn’t expected him to still be driving it.
When Pei Zhan came out and sat in the driver’s seat, he noticed that the perfume and decorations Jiang Hua used to keep in the passenger seat had all been removed by her.
“Aren’t you taking her to class today?” Jiang Hua looked at him, her tone flat and devoid of emotion.
Jiang Hua saw him leaning in and leaned back, resisting his approach. “I can fasten the seatbelt myself.”
But Pei Zhan didn’t withdraw his hand, instead proceeding with what he considered routine.
The fabric of their shoulders pressed tightly together, and Jiang Hua caught the scent of her perfume from Hua Yuan lingering on him.
After completing the task,
Pei Zhan remained silent. Only when he had driven for a while and reached the city center did Jiang Hua realize this wasn’t the route to the civil affairs bureau but back to Hua Yuan.
Her eyes accusatory, she glared at him. “Pei Zhan! I thought I made myself perfectly clear! We’re going to the civil affairs bureau today to get divorced!”
“Whenever something happens, can you stop playing dead? This really annoys me! Do I need to spell everything out?”
“Song Qingran – having an affair, you’ve been keeping her at Fan Hua Si Jin for five years… Do you want me to elaborate further? I’m not blind, and I can’t pretend nothing happened and continue spending the rest of my life with you.”
“Pei Zhan, I’m telling you to speak!”
Suddenly, a sharp brake.
Jiang Hua’s body jerked forward violently as the car pulled over to the roadside.
The sudden stop began to make her feel uncomfortable.
Pei Zhan’s voice was heavy as he asked, “When did you find out?”
Jiang Hua: “From the moment you forgot our first wedding anniversary. Actually, I could already sense whether you loved me or not. No matter how much I’ve done, I could never warm your heart – you simply had another woman outside.”
“…What, do you want me to continue?”
Pei Zhan: “Think carefully! Once we’re divorced, I won’t keep acting with you.”
Acting? So all these years of marriage, their entire relationship had just been an act?
Jiang Hua’s heart wrenched painfully. Suppressing the agony in her eyes, she retorted sarcastically, “Yes! All these years of marriage – it must have been so exhausting for you to keep acting with me.”
Her gaze shifted from him to the view outside the car window. “Divorcing me would perfectly suit you and Song Qingran…” She added stubbornly, “I’m tired of being with you too. If you don’t divorce me, I’ll still go back to Song Qingran and tell everyone, let all those media reporters see what kind of person Song Qingran really is – seducing a married man, willingly being the other woman.”
“Isn’t she supposed to be the model student?”
“Pei Zhan… think carefully!”
From these threatening words, Jiang Hua clearly sensed the cold, restrained anger emanating from Pei Zhan.
He… was angry!
How much he cared about Song Qingran!
Jiang Hua wasn’t unaware!
Otherwise, on the day her father died, he wouldn’t have left the funeral because of something Song Qingran said.
In his heart, in his eyes, nothing compared to her!
As her words faded, the car swiftly changed direction while moving.
This time… it was indeed heading toward the civil affairs bureau.
Half an hour later.
Jiang Hua got out of the car first.
The staff member holding their marriage photo and household registers glanced at the couple. “You two just got married. Why are you divorcing already?”
Without hesitation, Jiang Hua replied, “I had an affair and got pregnant. The child isn’t his.”
The staff immediately shifted her gaze from the handsome and noble-looking man to Jiang Hua, her eyes carrying an indescribable strangeness. “I’m saying, for a young girl like you, how can you not have any self-respect at such a young age? The most fundamental thing in marriage is loyalty between husband and wife.”
Pei Zhan remained expressionless: “It’s my problem, it has nothing to do with her.”
The staff: “You don’t need to speak up for her either.” She tossed the marriage certificate back to them and said, “There’s a new policy just implemented. Couples who want to divorce need to go through a three-month cooling-off period. If you still decide to divorce after three months, then come back.”
“I’ll make the reservation for you first.”
Jiang Hua: “Why? Can’t you process it for us now?”
The staff: “Madam, if you want to make trouble, I’ll call security.”