“What does he mean by this?” Zhuang Yan stared at the four bold words Divorce Agreement finding it difficult to accept. “Has he been playing with me all this time?”
“I am only responsible for conveying the Young Master’s orders. I do not ask about things I shouldn’t,” the butler replied with the same respectful attitude, his demeanor unchanged by the fact that his master was about to divorce Zhuang Yan.
“I don’t believe it.” Zhuang Yan thought he was hallucinating or perhaps trapped in a dream.
Weren’t things perfectly fine between him and Yue Lu just a few days ago?
How could it suddenly end in divorce?
“I apologize, Young Madam, but these are the Young Master’s arrangements.” The butler placed the divorce agreement and a black ballpoint pen on the side table.
Before withdrawing, the butler offered a “thoughtful” reminder: “The Young Master has prepared many copies of this agreement. If this one is destroyed, I will simply bring a new one for you to sign.”
“Get out!” This was the first time Zhuang Yan’s emotions had become so unstable.
“Please sign as soon as possible, Young Madam.” Leaving these words behind, the butler exited the room and closed the door.
Zhuang Yan looked at the document on the table, momentarily speechless.
Was Yue Lu… mocking him?
It was already winter, and the air outside was freezing. Zhuang Yan opened the window, hoping the chill would clear his head, but the cold was too much. He shut it and turned on a fan instead, letting the artificial breeze blow against his face.
To say he wasn’t sad would be a lie.
In hindsight, Zhuang Yan realized he didn’t just want to give Yue Lu a child and leave. He wanted to live with him; he wanted Yue Lu to be his Alpha.
Did Yue Lu find out that Zhuang Yan was only using him? Or did Yue Lu know from the start and simply find him an amusing toy?
His WeChat chat log was a wall of green unanswered calls and messages. Yue Lu had seemingly vanished from the face of the earth.
The divorce papers were delivered, and the man was missing. The signs were glaringly obvious. Zhuang Yan, what are you still hoping for?
He gently touched his flat stomach. A child their child was growing there.
The saying was true: in this line of work, the greatest taboo is falling for the client.
He hadn’t been after Yue Lu as a person from the beginning, so why was he so heartbroken now?
Calming his emotions, Zhuang Yan prepared to take the prenatal test results and the divorce agreement to find Gao Ying.
Gao Ying was the one who promised him money; Gao Ying was the one who said she would help him investigate. Did Yue Lu’s feelings even matter?
Sometimes Zhuang Yan wondered if he was emotionally detached. When a close childhood friend moved away, everyone else cried, but Zhuang Yan who was closest to her remained calm.
He couldn’t understand why people made such a scene. The person wasn’t dead; they hadn’t disappeared forever. Couldn’t they just grab a meal together when the opportunity arose?
Just like now, Zhuang Yan quickly accepted the reality that Yue Lu was missing and had likely abandoned him. Some things simply couldn’t be forced.
Yue Lu still had a shred of conscience; though they were divorcing, he still allowed Zhuang Yan to use the villa’s resources and servants. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known how to get from the south of the city to the north.
Zhuang Yan met Gao Ying at a shop in the north.
The decor was exquisite, the prices on the menu were terrifying, and the shop was filled with Omegas taking photos for social media. Zhuang Yan couldn’t fathom why Gao Ying chose this place.
Was it simply because it was the furthest point from where he lived?
“You arrived quite quickly,” Gao Ying said elegantly, taking a sip of her coffee.
“With a driver, things move faster than usual.” Zhuang Yan pulled out the chair opposite her. “I don’t understand where your malice toward me comes from. I recall our original agreement was for me to marry your son and give you a grandchild. Now that I’m actually pregnant, why are you unhappy?”
Gao Ying had always looked down on Zhuang Yan. If it weren’t for the high pheromone compatibility, someone like him would never have caught her eye.
She rolled her eyes. “My son doesn’t want you, so why should I?”
Smart people usually knew when to stop, offering a graceful exit. Did this Omega really want to tear off the mask and have a confrontation? Gao Ying’s impression of him, already poor, soured further.
“Ms. Gao, I think you’ve mistaken something. We are in a partnership. Is this how you treat a partner? Perhaps you think that since I’m pregnant, I wouldn’t dare abort the child? If so, you’re wrong. I am not someone who feels sentimental about sunk costs.”
Gao Ying had only ordered coffee for herself. There was nothing in front of Zhuang Yan, leaving him with no “props” to act out a dramatic scene.
Finally, Gao Ying looked him in the eye. This Omega was very different from the data in her investigative reports.
He was articulate and sharp-tongued. Such an Omega could not stay by her son’s side. Once the child was born, he had to be sent away immediately.
“Speak plainly. Why did you look for me this time?” Gao Ying glanced at his stomach, hoping it contained the Alpha she desired.
“I will give birth to the child, but I will not sign the divorce papers yet. After all, the future heir of the Yue Group cannot be an illegitimate child. I also expect you to keep your promise the money should be transferred soon, and I want all the recordings and surveillance footage from that day.” Zhuang Yan pushed the divorce agreement and the test results across the table.
“Fine. I’ll have my secretary transfer the money once I return.” As Gao Ying reached for the documents, Zhuang Yan pressed his hand down on them. “What is the meaning of this?”
Zhuang Yan pulled another document from his small bag. “I don’t think we should rely on a verbal agreement. I’ve drafted a contract. Why don’t you take a look? If there’s anything you find unreasonable, we can negotiate.”
“And if I refuse to sign?” Gao Ying tested him. She didn’t intend to go back on her word, but she detested people who were difficult to control.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t. Perhaps I’ll sign the divorce papers and tell a certain paparazzo that Yue Lu has an illegitimate child. Or perhaps I’ll just terminate the pregnancy. Who’s to say if this might be his only child?”
By this point, Zhuang Yan’s distress had faded. Maybe he really was emotionally cold.
Seeking revenge for his brother was out of duty; the pain of the divorce was out of indignation. He had never truly loved anyone. Whether it was people or things, he only “liked” them.
He liked his brother, he liked Yue Lu, and he liked his childhood friends. But his “liking” wasn’t the bone-deep, soul-shattering kind. He would never let a “liking” override his own well-being.
Realizing this, Zhuang Yan felt he truly loved himself above all else. And that was the right way to live.
“I’ll sign,” Gao Ying conceded. “But you must add a clause: once the child is born, you leave immediately.” She would not keep a liability around.
“Leave for where? How? Do my family members come with me? Let’s make everything clear.” Zhuang Yan leaned back, relaxed. The gossip of a Yue heir’s illegitimate child would surely fetch a high price from the paparazzi.
If Gao Ying’s conditions weren’t satisfactory, he would use the paparazzi’s money to clear his debts, take on more freelance work, and move abroad with his parents and Chi Xiaocheng. New Zealand seemed nice beautiful scenery, peaceful, and safe.
Gao Ying took a deep breath. Did this Omega really intend to cling to their family? Pure delusion. He had to be dealt with quickly.
“I will arrange visas and flight tickets for you and your family, provide housing abroad, and give you a relocation fund. Rest assured, the house will be excellent and the money will be substantial. Are you satisfied?” Anything that could be solved with money was a minor issue to her.
“Let’s settle on that for now. One more thing regarding ‘abroad,’ can I choose any country I want?” He didn’t want to be dumped in some backwater where he’d be at someone else’s mercy.
“Yes, you can choose. If there are no more issues, draft the contract. Once it’s ready and signed, send it directly to my secretary.” Gao Ying stood up and grabbed her bag. “I have private matters to attend to. My secretary will handle the rest of the details.”
“Fine. I’ll have it ready as soon as possible.”
Back at the villa, the servants were busy preparing dinner. Zhuang Yan told the butler he would be eating at home. The butler didn’t press him to sign the papers; perhaps because Yue Lu hadn’t returned, the divorce couldn’t be finalized anyway.
As for why it was “perhaps,” Zhuang Yan remembered the precedent with their marriage certificate things weren’t always as they seemed.
The baby was being well-behaved. If he hadn’t tested for it, he wouldn’t even know there was a little life inside him. Perhaps it was just too early for the morning sickness to start. Regardless, he hoped the little one would stay quiet.
Right, ‘Secret Crush Bro’s’ diary.
They say pregnancy makes you forgetful, and it was true he had almost forgotten about the blogger. However, there were no new updates there either. The latest post read: “I’m going abroad for a business deal. Once it’s over, I can finally be with him properly.”
The comments were filled with congratulations.
Had Zhuang Yan been wrong? Was the blog just a series of coincidences? Was the person not Yue Lu at all? Or was it Yue Lu, but the object of his affection wasn’t Zhuang Yan? Maybe Yue Lu had just “tested” those experiences with Zhuang Yan before doing them with his real love.
Whatever the reason, the divorce agreement was real. Yue Lu’s signature on it was real. Yue Lu was relatively straightforward; if he had his mother’s ruthlessness, he probably could have gotten a divorce certificate without even needing a signature.
There was no point in overthinking. He just needed to take care of the little one, take the money, and leave. It was just an embryo; Zhuang Yan wasn’t so overcome with maternal instinct that he’d lose his mind.
The servants had also caught wind of his pregnancy. The dinner spread was different nutritious, light dishes. They didn’t even ask what he wanted to eat, only what he couldn’t eat.
Just as he was about to head to bed after dinner, Chi Xiaocheng’s video call came through. Chi Xiaocheng usually only sent texts or voice notes. A video call could only mean one thing…
Sure enough, when the call connected, his parents’ faces appeared on the screen.
“Xiao Yan, our family’s debts… they’ve all been paid off. You didn’t do anything… anything dangerous, did you?”