Chapter 28: Divorce

"Are you his friend? You have no idea—that man has quite a lot of energy. He and that woman really know how to have a wild time." The man said this with a smacking of his lips.

"We neighbors hear them moaning and screaming every single time. Since you're his friend, what’s the deal? Are you his mistress?" After saying this, the man leered, his gaze sweeping up and down over Qiao Yanxin.

Qiao Yanxin was furious; she raised her hand and slapped him across the face. "Shut your mouth!"

Qiao Yanxin was as foolish as ever. Why on earth would she think that man was me? She didn't even stop to consider how the room was a pigsty; there was no way I would ever stay in a place like that. Unfortunately, she wasn't very bright, and she was blind to boot. Once she made up her mind about a "fact," her brain became nothing more than a decoration.

The man, slapped for no reason, initially wanted to fly into a rage, but one glare from Qiao Yanxin silenced him immediately. After all, Qiao Yanxin was draped in designer labels and clearly came from wealth and status; offending her might bring down all sorts of trouble upon himself.

Qiao Yanxin turned to Secretary Zhang behind her and said, "Search! Send more people to search. I don't care what methods you use—even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, you must find Qiao Yunzhou for me!"

Secretary Zhang’s expression soured, but he nodded repeatedly. "Understood, Ms. Qiao."

Hearing Qiao Yanxin’s unrealistic demands, I felt a sense of irony. Qiao Yanxin, you want to find me, but where are you going to look? Besides, you don't need to find me anymore. Aren't I right here at Grandma's house? But tell me, Qiao Yanxin, have you even recognized me?

Yet, no one present could hear my voice, and no one knew that I was actually right there at the Qiao residence. Qiao Yanxin’s eyes were bloodshot as she stared at the chaotic scene before her, unable to utter a single word. Seeing her shattered appearance, I felt not a shred of pity, only amusement. Oh, Qiao Yanxin, why are you so convinced that the person living here was me?

"Qiao Yunzhou, how could you? How could you do this to me?!"

Gu Tingchu looked at Qiao Yanxin with a pained expression and stepped forward to pull her into his arms. "Yanxin, don't be too sad. Maybe Brother Yunzhou was just feeling lonely for a moment..."

"Enough! Don't make excuses for him anymore! I should have seen his true nature long ago. Nothing—absolutely nothing—justifies him doing something like this."

"It’s all my fault for being blind and failing to see his true colors. We grew up together; how did he end up like this? It seems his genetics are just flawed. The Qiao family never should have adopted him in the first place!"

That was a harsh thing to say, and even Gu Tingchu, standing beside her, looked taken aback. I couldn't help but wonder: if I were still alive, how heartbroken would I be to hear such words? Compliments can be spoken on a whim, but defamatory words should be weighed carefully. Sadly, Qiao Yanxin would never understand that.

I no longer felt anything toward her. I just wanted to see what her reaction would be the day she learned of my death.

Qiao Yanxin didn't find me, and she had no heart left to keep looking. She followed Gu Tingchu and rushed back to the Qiao house without stopping. I don't know who did it, but the video of that man dancing intimately with a woman at the bar had surged onto the trending topics. Logically, such a video shouldn't have gained that much traction, which meant someone was fueling the flames from behind the scenes. I didn't even have to guess who it was. Apart from Gu Tingchu, who else could hate me this much?

Back at the Qiao house, Qiao Yanxin told the family everything she had encountered in Xicheng. Upon hearing her account, Mother Qiao furrowed her brows so tightly it looked like she could crush a fly between them.

"Yanxin, is what you're saying true?"

Qiao Yanxin’s face was cold. "Do you think I’d lie to you? Qiao Yunzhou has done something like this—did he even consider the Qiao family?"

Mother Qiao’s expression was grim. "How did that child, Yunzhou, turn into this? I remember he wasn't like this at all. Now that he’s done something like this, how will outsiders look at the Qiao family? They’ll think this is just our family’s character."

"Mother even talked about giving him shares. For a person like this, giving him shares is a waste! If you ask me, you should just give them to me instead, but you wouldn't hear of it."

To say I wasn't hurt would be a lie. After all, Mother Qiao had treated me very well since I was a child. Perhaps it was because I was the child of an old friend, and she saw someone else whenever she looked at me. But ultimately, I wasn't her biological son. Once I did something detrimental to the Qiao family, I could be discarded in an instant.

I had genuinely called her "Mother" for over twenty years, and hearing those words felt like a dull knife scraping repeatedly against my heart.

Perhaps thinking of something else, Mother Qiao sighed. "Yanxin, Yunzhou didn't even come back on the day of the wedding. If you ask me, you should just get a divorce."

In truth, Qiao Yanxin and I had only registered our marriage; we had never held a formal wedding. Father Qiao, hearing this, quickly objected, "No, absolutely not. If you get a divorce, what will outsiders think of our Qiao family?"

Mother Qiao shot him a look. "Do you think our reputation is that pristine right now?"

"Besides, the two of them don't have children. Even if they divorce, it’s not as if..."

"No, I don't agree to a divorce!"

Father and Mother Qiao looked up in surprise. Qiao Yanxin’s eyes were bloodshot, her hands gripping the table tightly. "I will never agree to a divorce."

Gu Tingchu was startled at this. Then, feigning good intentions, he stepped forward to persuade her, "Yanxin, Aunt and Uncle are only doing this for your own good. Right now, Brother Yunzhou is being cursed by everyone online. If you don't divorce him, you might end up being targeted too. A divorce would be better for both of you."

"So what? I’m not afraid of being cursed!" Qiao Yanxin said resolutely.

Hearing this, I finally understood Gu Tingchu's plan. It seemed he wanted me and Qiao Yanxin to divorce so he could take my place! He had gone through so much trouble, all for the sake of marrying Qiao Yanxin. It appeared he knew he had little hope of winning her over otherwise, so he resorted to such a malicious scheme. He slandered me, accused me of eloping, and did everything in his power to ruin my reputation—only then would Qiao Yanxin despise me enough to divorce me.

As long as Qiao Yanxin filed for divorce, after two years of separation, our marriage would be legally dissolved. I was already dead; two years would pass in the blink of an eye.

I just never expected that Qiao Yanxin would refuse to divorce me.