Volume One, Chapter 15: I Have the Right to Stay Sober, Don’t I?
Anne took a deep breath. With a choked voice, she continued, “Qianqian almost caused President Ye’s grandmother’s death! She lied to the old lady, saying she was pregnant with your child. The old lady nearly passed away because of her. And yet, you hit President Ye for her.”
Zhou Jinghuai was stunned for a moment.
Qianqian pregnant? How could that be?
His gaze toward Qianqian darkened. “You told Ye Wu’s grandmother you were pregnant?”
Qianqian was frightened.
She pitifully coaxed Zhou Jinghuai, “I just couldn’t take it! She kept showing off in front of me, so I... Zhou Jinghuai, I didn’t mean to.”
Zhou Jinghuai suddenly let go of her and strode outside, leaving behind Qianqian’s frantic calls: “Zhou Jinghuai...”
But he didn’t look back.
Qianqian was stunned—it was the first time she failed to hold onto Zhou Jinghuai.
She refused to believe that Ye Wu held any place in Zhou Jinghuai’s heart. It was clearly a relationship of convenience. How could Zhou Jinghuai have feelings for her?
Anne spat at her and followed after him.
...
Zhou Jinghuai reached the door just as Ye Wu was getting into the car.
The farewell between husband and wife was final—never to return to what it once was.
Through the car window, Zhou Jinghuai’s voice was hoarse: “It was my fault for blaming you.”
In truth, he wanted to say much more than those few words. But he had been harsh on himself in his youth, and equally harsh on Ye Wu, making tender words hard to come by.
On those restless nights recently, after Ye Wu fell asleep, Zhou Jinghuai often stared at her sleeping face, trying to understand if, beyond the bond of marriage, he harbored any romantic feelings for her.
He did, but very little.
Yet he knew clearly—he did not want to lose Ye Wu.
Ye Wu did not get out of the car.
She refused to look at him, refused to see the husband she had shared a bed with for four years. She treated Zhou Jinghuai like air—unnoticed, unimportant.
Love and hate were both superfluous when it came to him.
Ye Wu looked straight ahead, her voice calm: “Zhou Jinghuai, you did nothing wrong. The one at fault is me—the me who once liked you. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have succumbed to temptation and been with you, knowing there was no love, yet entering this marriage like a moth to the flame.”
“The me back then was ignorant and fearless; the me now is sober.”
“Is being sober enough?”
“Zhou Jinghuai, don’t I have the right to be sober?”
...
Ye Wu’s expression was serene, neither happy nor sad, as if falling in love with Zhou Jinghuai belonged to a past life, as if she would forget everything about them the next moment.
---
Zhou Jinghuai’s heart tightened.
He was never an impulsive man; every step he took since youth was carefully calculated. Yet now, he flung open the car door recklessly, wanting to hold Ye Wu’s hand, to embrace her, to start anew.
He said, “Awu, I will make it up to you!”
But Ye Wu roughly brushed his hand away—
“Make it up?”
“Zhou Jinghuai, what can you possibly make up to me? We’re husband and wife, and all I want is for you to sign the divorce papers, to give me back the peaceful life I once had.”
“Zhou Jinghuai, I thank you!”
...
Ye Wu’s voice was choked with emotion.
Zhou Jinghuai’s palm covered the back of her hand—the strong masculinity of a man meeting the softness of a woman. His plea met her disappointment.
Ye Wu gritted her teeth: “Let go!”
Zhou Jinghuai refused to release her. After a tense standstill of several seconds, he finally let go.
The black car window slowly rose, separating the former couple into two worlds. Ye Wu slightly raised her head, her voice subdued: “Drive.”
The driver nodded and stepped on the gas.
The black SUV slowly pulled away, its wheels rolling over the withered fallen leaves, passing Zhou Jinghuai by.
The car disappeared into the distance...
Zhou Jinghuai stood there, expressionless, unreadable.
...
At the door, Qianqian’s parents arrived. Seeing the villa in disarray, Mrs. Bai shrieked, “What happened here? Who dares to wreck President Rong’en’s home?”
Qianqian covered her face, “It was Ye Wu.”
Mrs. Bai’s arrogance immediately deflated, but moments later she sneered, “She won’t be arrogant for long! Once Zhou Jinghuai divorces her, that lone girl will be at our mercy.”
Her husband, Bai Chunian, still retained some conscience and frowned, “Don’t speak so harshly. She and Jinghuai are still legally married.”
Mrs. Bai was displeased, “Legal or not, they’re fake spouses. If it weren’t for...”
Bai Chunian scolded sharply.
Mrs. Bai fell silent.
She called a servant to fetch ice and personally applied it to Qianqian’s face. “Look at what they did to Qianqian! Don’t you want to do something? You know Mrs. Chen from Meiya, right? Talk to her. If Mr. Chen cooperates for Qianqian’s sake, her position in the Zhou family will be secure.”
Qianqian’s eyes filled with tears. “Dad, please say something!”
Bai Chunian’s face showed a trace of embarrassment.
Mrs. Bai shot him a sharp look, her voice biting, “You still haven’t forgotten her, have you? She’s already married.”
---
Bai Chunian retorted, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
He felt guilty. At night, he often dreamed of his former lover and their child—the child who disappeared at five years old and had been missing for many years.
Bai Chunian only learned this himself a couple of years ago.
He dared not tell his wife.
He hid in a corner, smoking; smoke swirled around him, his eyes red-rimmed.
Mrs. Bai did not notice his distress and continued nagging, “I don’t care about your past. What matters is that you plan for our daughter’s future.”
Bai Chunian inhaled deeply through the cigarette.
He wanted to meet the woman again, to ask if their daughter had been found.
...
In the hospital VIP ward, Ye Wu sat by the bedside, peeling an apple. The elderly lady stared intently at her face. Ye Wu lightly touched her cheek—she had asked the doctor to treat it before coming back. She asked, “Grandmother, what are you looking at?”
The old lady suddenly asked, “How does Jinghuai treat you?”
Ye Wu hesitated: “Zhou Jinghuai treats me well.”
But the old woman’s mind was clear as a mirror. After much thought, she spoke with painful resolve—
“If you’re unhappy, then get a divorce.”
“We ordinary people entering such a prestigious family can hardly expect everything to go smoothly. I can’t say much about how you liked Jinghuai before, but now I see your feelings have faded.”
“It’s better to part ways.”
...
“Grandmother.”
Ye Wu’s voice was choked. She hadn’t expected her grandmother to be so open-minded.
At the door came a knock.
Ye Wu looked toward the sound and saw Zhou Jinghuai standing there, his black eyes fixed on her, deep and unreadable...
He seemed to have stood there for a long time, surely having heard everything just said.
Ye Wu no longer cared.
Zhou Jinghuai slowly walked in, placed a fruit basket on the coffee table, then sat beside the elderly lady to keep her company. Having endured the intrigues of the powerful, comforting an old woman was effortless for him.
By the side, Ye Wu’s expression remained indifferent.
In four years of marriage, Zhou Jinghuai had accompanied her to visit her grandmother only a handful of times. Love or indifference—he showed it all clearly. Yet she had endured four years of this; in hindsight, she felt she deserved it.
Suddenly, Zhou Jinghuai’s voice whispered in her ear: “What are you thinking about?”