Chapter 56: You're Just Jealous That Ah-Yan Treats Me Well

The exact same ring is worn on my ring finger, while another men's ring rests on Zhou Chenyan's hand.

At the wedding, we listened to each other's vows and placed the rings on each other amidst the blessings of the guests.

In my past life, I never took it off until the day I died.

After my rebirth, there were too many pressing matters at hand that I completely forgot about the existence of this ring.

Terrified that I wouldn't see it clearly, Zhou Zhizi even held the ring right in front of my eyes, making me look at it repeatedly to ensure I wouldn't mistake it.

"Guess who gave this to me?"

I didn't speak.

Zhou Zhizi stroked the ring on her finger, a glowing look of happiness on her face. "Ah-yan gave this to me. Ah-yan said this ring is meant to lock me down forever. Even though he can't marry me, he won't allow me to marry anyone else."

She flashed a shy and coy smile.

"Ah-yan also said..."

"Didn't he tell you that I have the exact same one?"

I forcefully interrupted her showing off.

Her expression stiffened slightly. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that Ah-yan had an identical one made for me and put it on my finger himself."

"If he truly loves you, he should have bought you a brand-new pair of wedding bands."

For a fleeting moment, a wave of doubt rose in my heart.

Zhou Chenyan loved Zhou Zhizi—I had never doubted this in either my past life or the present.

It was completely normal for him to buy a ring for Zhou Zhizi.

But would he really buy one that was identical to mine?

Caring about her so much, yet he couldn't even bear to spend money on a brand-new pair of rings?

The smile on Zhou Zhizi's face stiffened visibly to the naked eye. "You're just jealous of me!"

She pulled her hand back and covered the ring.

Suddenly, I felt a twinge of pity for her. "Do you even know how much this ring is worth?"

"The price doesn't matter! What matters is that this ring represents Ah-yan's feelings!"

"I picked out this ring."

There are no diamonds on this ring. It wasn't that I didn't like diamonds; rather, when I went to buy a diamond ring back then, my eyes were instantly drawn to this pair of silver bands.

In that store, this pair of bands wasn't the most expensive, but it possessed a very beautiful name—The Only One.

For someone like me at the time, whose brain was entirely consumed by romantic delusion, that name was enough for me to buy this ring. But looking back at it now...

How melodramatic.

The Only One or not, romantic sentiment is not a necessary condition for measuring the value of a ring.

Money is.

I looked at Zhou Zhizi and said sympathetically, "Of all things you could have bought, you actually let him order this kind of ring for you. This ring costs less than half a million. It's a pity you treat it like a precious treasure."

Growing up pampered in the Zhou family, Zhou Zhizi had always enjoyed the finest food and commodities, and even the jewelry she wore was exceptionally expensive.

Never once had any piece cost less than a million.

Yet now, she was actually wearing a cheap ring and feeling quite pleased about it.

Zhou Zhizi gritted her teeth. "So what? To me, the price of the ring doesn't matter. The most important thing is Ah-yan's heartfelt sentiment!"

Looking at her, I suddenly felt as though I were looking at my former self.

Careless about money, careless about value.

Caring only about meaning and emotion.

However, was Zhou Zhizi really such a person?

I didn't argue with her. "As long as you're happy. If you like this ring so much, you can ask your brother to buy you a few more."

"Preferably enough to cover all ten fingers."

After all, one finger could surely showcase his love for her.

Zhou Zhizi was thoroughly infuriated by me. "You're just envious of me right now because Ah-yan doesn't love you at all. He only married you because of me."

I narrowed my eyes slightly.

"So you knew all along."

In my past life, my relationship with Zhou Zhizi was quite good at the very beginning. Whenever Zhou Chenyan and I had conflicts, Zhou Zhizi would act as the mediator.

I don't know when exactly it started to change.

I had never been able to figure it out.

"Were you just putting on an act from the very beginning?"

I didn't expect this question to get an answer, because I had asked it before in the past, but I simply couldn't make sense of it.

This time, however, Zhou Zhizi actually answered me. "At first, watching you make a fool of yourself was quite amusing. Who would have thought you actually believed we were going to be good best friends... that would have been too boring."

She stood there graceful, slender, and charming.

Yet the words coming out of her mouth were bone-chilling.

"Watching you immerse yourself in a false sense of happiness, I simply couldn't bear it, so I let you know the truth. You should be thanking me."

"Thanking you?"

The pain of my past life remained unforgettable to me. Zhou Zhizi was the ultimate culprit behind all of it, and Zhou Chenyan was the sharpest blade in her hand.

I smiled faintly and suddenly leaned in closer. "I know what you're trying to do, but this time, I won't let you get your way."

Zhou Zhizi looked at me with vigilance. "Do you know something?"

"Care to guess?"

Of course I wouldn't tell her.

Zhou Zhizi gritted her teeth in anger. "It doesn't matter what you know. No one can stop whatever I intend to do anyway."

Having probably collected herself, that resentment of hers morphed once more into mockery and disdain.

"Just look at you, a woman discarded and despised by Ah-yan. Sooner or later, I will drive you out of this house."

I twitched the corner of my mouth. This phrase was all too familiar; I had heard it once before, and back then, I hadn't taken it to heart either.

Because I thought she lacked the capability.

"Since you're so formidable, why don't I ask you for a favor?"

She looked at me with confusion and suspicion.

I smiled sweetly, trying to let her know what a kind-hearted person I was. "Actually, I can see it clearly now: you and your brother are deeply in love with each other, a match made in heaven."

The wariness on Zhou Zhizi's face did not recede.

Probably suspecting I was laying some kind of trap.

I pretended not to notice. "Actually, I've always wanted to divorce your brother, but he won't agree."

"Do you take me for a fool?" She completely refused to believe it. "You went to such lengths to marry my brother, deeply devoted to him—how could you possibly be willing to leave him?"

"No one's love remains unchanged forever."

If one can love, one can naturally stop loving.

I said with utmost seriousness and sincerity, "As long as you can help me divorce him, I can even help you achieve whatever you want to do."

Zhou Zhizi looked at me coldly. "Do you think I'd believe you? You're dying to see me fall into misfortune because Ah-yan loves me instead of you."

I felt a slight sense of disappointment.

I had originally thought I could strike a bargain with her to resolve this marriage that should have ended long ago.

What a pity...

"Never mind then."

Having lost the appetite to converse with her, I turned to walk away, but my wrist was suddenly grabbed by her.

"Actually... you *can* help me with a favor."

What did that mean?

Before I could comprehend the meaning behind those words, she suddenly gave me a shove, let out a startled gasp, and fell hard onto the floor.

It looked as though she had been pushed violently.

My back collided against the wall, and a figure came rushing down the other side of the corridor. Without even sparing me a single glance, Zhou Chenyan hurried over to lift Zhou Zhizi up first.

Tears welled up in Zhou Zhizi's aggrieved eyes. "Sister Yanyan, do you hate me that much? I just wanted to say hello to you, why did you have to push me?"

Her skin was fair, and the palm of her hand had scraped off a layer of skin somewhere, oozing faint threads of blood.

The look in Zhou Chenyan's eyes grew even more profound, piercing through me like sharp icicles.

"And here I thought you had changed for the better, but it turns out you're still the exact same as before."