Jiang Yu pressed her lips tightly together and couldn’t refute what he said.
She had met him during her sophomore winter break in college. After graduation, she had tried to find jobs, but for various reasons, none of them worked out.
And at that time, her mind wasn’t on work at all either.
Less than a year later, she married him.
Soon after the marriage, she became pregnant. After giving birth to Shen Mo, she personally raised him until about one and a half years old—until Tang Yun intervened and took the child away.
With the child gone, Jiang Yu suddenly had nothing to do, and only then did she start thinking about working.
Shen Chengyan actually supported it. He didn’t need her to earn money; for him, her job was just a way to pass time.
At that time, Jiang Yu didn’t know what she wanted to do. She wasn’t suited for office work, and she couldn’t pass interviews for experienced roles.
After searching around, she ended up working in luxury retail.
A sales associate.
A “shop assistant,” as people called it.
Her idea was simple: if she worked there, she could earn money, and also buy luxury goods at employee discounts.
But good times didn’t last.
A few months later, news that she was “working as a salesgirl” reached Tang Yun.
Tang Yun mocked her harshly, calling her shameless and disgraceful, saying it was no different from selling smiles.
“Can you think of Chengyan for once before you do things? If his business partners find out his wife is selling bags in a store, what will they think?”
“And those rich ladies and wives—do you even know how they laugh at you behind your back? You’ve completely embarrassed the Shen family!”
At that time, Jiang Yu was still a “silent turtle.” No matter how badly she was scolded, she only endured it.
She never once complained about Tang Yun in front of Shen Chengyan.
In the end, she quit her job and went back to being a full-time wife, focusing entirely on taking care of her husband.
In the past, she was too self-consuming and too concerned about pride.
When Hu Youyue looked down on her, she desperately tried to prove herself.
When Tang Yun looked down on her, she lowered herself further to gain approval.
She lived too tiredly—wanting everything, yet getting nothing.
Just like now, when Shen Chengyan belittled her inability to find work.
If it had been the old Jiang Yu, she would have been devastated.
But now, she was surprisingly calm. She even nodded in agreement.
“You’re right. I really don’t have skills or ability.”
Shen Chengyan frowned. “Do you think I’m threatening you?”
She shook her head. “No. You never threaten people.”
Then she changed tone slightly. “But you do have ability, you do have money. So just give me a bigger divorce settlement. Then I won’t need to work or struggle at all.”
“Five million isn’t much,” she added. “Come on, sign it, man. Let’s part peacefully. Don’t turn this into hatred over such a small amount of money.”
Shen Chengyan fell silent.
He suddenly remembered a message from Xu Xing.
“Cousin, I think sister-in-law is really serious about divorcing you.”
He had always believed Jiang Yu would never divorce him.
She had tried so hard to marry him, finally achieving the life she wanted—how could she ever let go?
But reality had slapped him hard.
Maybe she really was serious.
She really wanted a divorce.
For the first time, he felt uncertain.
He couldn’t understand her motive.
So he tried another angle.
“Did you find someone richer than me? Is that why you insist on divorcing?”
“……”
Jiang Yu found it almost ridiculous.
So this is the kind of man I used to love?
“Why do you never reflect on yourself?” she said flatly. “I want a divorce because I simply can’t live with you anymore. Do you understand?”
“Why can’t you live with me? I didn’t go bankrupt. I still have money. More than before.”
“Money, money, money,” she snapped. “All you care about is money. Do you think this is about money?”
Shen Chengyan paused. “Isn’t it?”
“……”
She had nothing to say.
“Just sign it,” she said coldly.
His patience finally snapped. He stood, went to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, and drank half of it in one go.
Sweat had formed on the bottle, leaving a handprint. He frowned at it, as if it were dirty, then went to the sink and washed his hands.
Jiang Yu followed him, holding the divorce agreement like a weapon.
“Sign it. Sign it. Sign it.”
His temper exploded.
“You can forget about it. I will not sign.”
She gritted her teeth. “My lawyer already told me I can file a lawsuit for forced divorce. I just don’t want it to get ugly.”
“You think I’m afraid of court?”
“You’re not afraid of anything. So just sign it.”
He gave a cold laugh, anger rising.
“If you take this to court, I’ll make sure you leave with nothing. You’ll go back to living the way you used to.”
“I won’t agree, and you think you can divorce me? Impossible.”
Jiang Yu’s head buzzed with rage.
Everything she had held back all night exploded.
“Why can’t I divorce you? What right do you even have to refuse? Are you hearing yourself right now? You think I need your permission to leave? That’s hilarious! You lying, cheating, emotionally abusive bastard—if I were the judge I’d sentence you on the spot! You think you can threaten me? Why don’t you just go die? Every word you say is like garbage text messages! Just looking at you makes me sick—get lost!”
The faucet was still running.
Water echoed loudly in the background.
Shen Chengyan looked at her expressionlessly, then wiped his hands dry.
When he turned to leave, he realized his hands were shaking.
After walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
He turned back, grabbed her wrist, and forced out through clenched teeth:
“Tell me clearly. What lies did I tell? Who did I cheat on you with? How did I emotionally abuse you?”
She shook him off like he was something filthy.
“You act cold whenever you’re unhappy, disappear whenever you want, and block me whenever you feel like it. That’s emotional abuse. And you and Hu Youyue—your disgusting little affair—you think I don’t know?”
He gave a cold smile. “And what else? Keep going. Where did I lie?”
Truthfully, Jiang Yu couldn’t immediately think of a specific lie.
She had just blurted it out in anger.
But she couldn’t take it back.
So she pointed at him.
“You did lie! You clearly hate chicken stew with mushrooms, but you’ve been pretending to like it for five years!”
He went quiet.
Then calmly said, “And what about you? Are you so clean?”
“You’ve been lying from day one. You built an entire persona to marry me. You fooled me for five years.”
“You never really rejected Hu Youyue properly—you just agreed to everything to appear generous.”
“You say you don’t eat high-calorie food, but you secretly binge snacks.”
“You act gentle and fragile in front of me, but you’re actually impulsive, foul-mouthed, and strong enough to kill a cockroach bare-handed. You used vulnerability to make me feel like I had to protect you…”
Her anger froze.
Then he added quietly:
“And your name—are you really called Jiang Yu?”
His gaze darkened.
“How many things have you hidden from me? And how many truths have you ever told me?”
Jiang Yu stood frozen.
Then he turned and left.
The sound of running water filled the room again.
Only after a long time did she finally reach out and turn off the faucet.
His words echoed in her mind over and over.
How did he know…
that she wasn’t really “Jiang Yu”?