Chapter Forty-Three: Isn’t It Just Playing Innocent? I Can Do That Too.

"You are dreaming. I said I would not agree to a divorce with you..."

Zhou Chenyan's words were cut off.

Old Master Zhou rebuked sternly, "Kneel down!"

Zhou Chenyan looked at him in disbelief. "Dad?"

"Did you not hear what I said? Or do my words no longer carry any weight with you?"

Old Master Zhou's words held absolute authority within the Zhou family.

At least for now, that was the case.

While Zhou Chenyan had already taken control of the company, he had always been a dutiful son who accommodated his parents' every request and placed filial piety above all else.

This kneel was something he could not avoid.

Old Master Zhou snatched a water glass from the coffee table and hurled it at him. Zhou Chenyan tilted his head slightly, and the glass crashed against his shoulder.

He let out a muffled groan.

Old Master Zhou glared at him in utter disappointment. "You are becoming more and more outrageous! She is your wife. We didn't force you into this marriage, nor did I introduce her to you—you brought her home yourself!"

Madam Zhou chimed in, "Son, you really went too far this time. No matter how big the issue is, you can never make a joke of your wife's innocence!"

Zhou Chenyan's face tightened. "The drug I gave her only causes a sensation of heat and weakness in the limbs. It didn't have that kind of effect at all."

"It didn't need to have that kind of effect," I immediately accused him. "You left a helpless me, with no strength in my limbs, in front of a strong, able-bodied man. I don't think I need to spell out your intentions."

"I didn't let anyone in!" Zhou Chenyan looked up at me. "I had the bodyguards stand guard at the door. No one could have gotten inside to hurt you."

So the bodyguards at the door had been placed there by him.

That meant the person who lured the bodyguards away wasn't trying to help me, but trying to frame and destroy me.

"But you called the bodyguards away later!"

Zhou Chenyan blinked in slight surprise. "I did not. I admit that because of Zhizi, I held some resentment toward you, but no matter how much of a bastard I am, I remember that you are my wife. How could I possibly let you go to another man..."

His face turned a faint shade of blue.

"Speaking of Zhizi," Madam Zhou produced a document and handed it to Zhou Chenyan, "take a look at this yourself."

I didn't need to look inside the document to know it contained undeniable proof of my innocence—something that would finally convict Zhou Zhizi.

Zhou Chenyan's hands trembled as he held the folder.

He looked like he had been struck by a massive blow.

Madam Zhou sighed. "Son, I told you long ago that woman is untrustworthy. If she can pull off a stunt like this today to frame your wife and drive a wedge between you two, who knows what kind of harm she might bring upon our family tomorrow? It's about time you thought this through."

I scoffed inwardly. My mother-in-law was entirely right.

Zhou Chenyan remained completely silent.

Old Master Zhou rubbed his temples, a severe headache coming on from this farce. "Why can't you just live a proper, peaceful life? When you decided to marry her and bring her into this family, was it just to keep her around as a decorative ornament?"

You hit the nail on the head again.

I must call this elderly couple the prophets.

Or rather, they had never truly understood their own son.

He loved Zhou Zhizi; marrying me certainly hadn't been out of a transferred affection.

Zhou Chenyan lowered his head and kept silent.

Seeing him like this, Old Master Zhou's anger flared up again. "I don't want to get involved in whatever is going on between you and Zhou Zhizi, but you went way too far this time. You had no right to treat Muyan like this. She is someone you pursued and insisted on marrying. If you are still a man, apologize to her immediately."

Zhou Chenyan knelt on the floor, still clutching the document. Hearing this, he raised his head to look at me, and I was surprised to see that his eye rims were actually red.

Ha, shedding tears for true love, are we?

Looking back, across both past and present lives, this man had never shed a single tear for me.

It just goes to show that whether someone loves you or not is entirely reflected in the details.

"I'm sorry."

Hearing those two words, I seriously doubted something was wrong with my ears.

I must have been experiencing auditory hallucinations.

Zhou Chenyan was too proud; how could he possibly apologize?

With a low, hoarse voice, Zhou Chenyan said, "I'm sorry. I misunderstood you. I know you probably won't believe me, but I still want to say that I didn't let anyone in to find you. I just wanted to scare you, to make sure you wouldn't pull stunts like that again, which is why I stationed bodyguards outside the door to ensure your safety..."

If it wasn't him, then it could only have been Zhou Zhizi.

Well, well. Her schemes were truly interlocking, one after another, endlessly.

She had almost made me capsize in the gutter.

"I won't accept your apology." Such a wonderful opportunity; it would be a shame to waste it. "I have completely lost trust in you. I think there is no need for this marriage to continue."

Zhou Chenyan immediately declared, "I don't agree."

"To put it nicely, a divorce requires signatures from both parties. To put it bluntly, unlike getting married, a divorce doesn't require the other person's consent."

As long as the separation exceeded the legal limit, I could completely file for a unilateral lawsuit.

It would just make things very messy and ugly.

Unless absolutely forced to, I really didn't want to go down that road.

Because doing so meant completely cutting ties with the Zhou family. But would Zhou Zhizi let me off the hook?

Not necessarily.

Just like in my past life, when my younger brother and my best friend had already left me, and I was pregnant and emaciated. In truth, even if I hadn't aborted that child, I wouldn't have been able to carry it to term.

Because my body was already too weak to support childbirth.

Not aborting it earlier was simply because I couldn't bear to let go.

Yet even so, Zhou Zhizi still refused to spare me. Everything Zhou Chenyan did to me was just to vent her anger.

If she had uttered even a single word on my behalf, she could have held back that rabid-dog-like Zhou Chenyan.

She didn't.

She wanted me dead.

After all, the last person I saw before I died was her.

"Mom, Dad, I'm genuinely terrified. He could feed me this kind of drug today; who knows, next time he might just poison me to death. My cheap little life isn't worth much, but I don't want to die."

I sobbed and wept, looking utterly pitiful.

I had learned this trick directly from Zhou Zhizi.

And the results were remarkably fruitful.

Madam Zhou hovered beside me, chattering away to console me. "Don't think like that, it's not that serious. A-Yan was just a bit impulsive in his temper, but he didn't actually mean to harm you—he only wanted to scare you. I'll make him apologize, admit his wrongdoing, even kneel down for you if you want! Just don't leave. Our family recognizes only you as our daughter-in-law."

In my past life, hearing those words would have melted my heart with gratitude.

But now, it sounded terrifying.

Didn't a statement like this clearly and unmistakably tell Zhou Zhizi that as long as I was around, she would never stand a chance of taking my place?

It would be a miracle if Zhou Zhizi let me go.

"Mom, please don't force me anymore." I stepped back repeatedly, acting as though I had been frightened out of my wits. "I really dare not have anything more to do with him anymore. I'm scared... Please, just let me go. Even if I end up destitute afterward, it's still better than losing my life here. Besides, I have a seriously ill younger brother. If I'm gone, what will happen to him?"

Madam Zhou was driven into a corner by my dramatic performance, utterly helpless.

"Old Zhou, look at this..."

Old Master Zhou rubbed his forehead and said to me, "Come upstairs to the study with me."

I sobbed as I followed behind him, watching him strike Zhou Chenyan across the back once more.

Zhou Chenyan stiffened, stubbornly refusing to budge an inch.

The two of us entered the study one after the other. Neither of us spoke, and the room was filled only with my muffled weeping.

Old Master Zhou said, "Stop crying. A divorce is absolutely out of the question."

My sobbing grew even more pathetic.

He continued, "You know our family, and you know the situation between A-Yan and Zhou Zhizi. Once you leave, those two will have completely unbridled freedom. That is something the Zhou family will never allow."

I slowly raised my head.

He probably realized his demand was rather unreasonable, as he avoided my gaze. "However, since you were wronged, I will compensate you."

He pulled open a drawer, took out an object, placed it on the desk, and slowly pushed it toward me.