She racked her brains trying to find her place in family and society, only to be torn apart by the cruel truth.
How had it come to this?
Qi Sui wanted to ask the same question.
How had it come to this?
She wiped away the powder smudged by tears on her face. The woman in the glass became calm and somber.
Enduring even one day of such a marriage in name only was the worst. And this woman had endured it for six whole years.
If she looked at the world from another perspective, the story seemed entirely different.
Qian Jin was not a traditional "phoenix man" who climbed up by marriage. In his youth, to repay his university professor's kindness, he married Qi Sui and played the role of a good husband for many years. But in truth, he didn't like women, yet he could never bring himself to tell his wife the whole truth.
After his wife's only relative died, his attitude toward her took a sharp turn for the worse.
But that wasn't his intention.
He was in pain, struggling, always wanting to reveal everything, but when he saw his wife's delighted smile, he couldn't bear it.
With such a complex and conflicted heart, he encountered a new boss who was transferred in during a company reshuffle.
The new direct superior was young and handsome. Qian Jin was initially unconvinced by Xiang Yu, but as they worked together, he gradually realized he was developing some inappropriate feelings for his new boss.
He struggled painfully again but ultimately chose to pour out these emotions.
Fortunately, he received a response from his crush.
As for his wife, Qi Sui, he completely forgot about her.
After all, he didn't love her.
Between the emotional needs unmet in his youth and his long-standing wife, he chose to indulge himself.
Qi Sui was utterly hopeless in this twisted relationship. Time and again, she questioned and cursed their feelings, but it only pushed her husband further away.
The most ridiculous thing in this relationship was this self-righteous man. On one hand, he spoke gently to his wife, acting as if he were the victim in this marriage; on the other hand, he was sweet and affectionate with another man, completely disregarding this pitiful woman who should have had a say.
"How pathetic."
Qi Sui touched the haggard, weak face on the glass. Her pupils were light brown, making her look even softer.
A beautiful woman.
Even sadder.
In that moment of pitying herself, she seemed to change.
She resignedly picked up her phone.
Qi Sui wasn't particularly smart. She had been well protected by her parents in her youth, or else she wouldn't have fallen head over heels for Qian Jin without looking back.
But women have innate intuition, especially in an already unhappy marriage.
Her fingertips opened her photo album, where there was a picture of that man taken from a third-person perspective, and a screenshot with an unfamiliar contact method.
The avatar was a cartoon cat of an undetermined breed holding an umbrella, leaning sideways to shield itself from the fine rain. Below was attached his corporate WeChat contact—Xiang.
Qi Sui painstakingly compared the string of English letters she couldn't understand until the profile picture appeared in the search bar.
She hesitated, as if struggling to determine whether her actions were right or wrong.
A woman stirring up trouble, hysterical—once she made a decision, there was no turning back and winning back her husband.
She smiled bitterly. It seemed Qian Jin didn't want to save this marriage either, right?
Then let whoever wanted this dignity have it.
Gritting her teeth, she pressed "Add Friend." At that moment, Qi Sui felt an immense relief, as if she had finally broken free from a six-year prison.
Almost maliciously, she typed away, pouring out all her anger to the man on the other end of the screen.
What did it matter?
He was the third party anyway.
"Hello.
Are you Xiang Yu? Qian Jin probably never mentioned my name to you, so let me introduce myself.
I'm Qi Sui, his wife of six years."
"I'm not sending this for any other reason. I just want to inform you: I've decided to divorce Qian Jin and make him leave with nothing. We don't have children, almost no shared assets. The house and car he lives in were bought with my savings, and fortunately, the titles are under my name."
"I don't understand but I respect your relationship. However, I am very unhappy with his extramarital affair. I heard you're his boss. So, Mr. Xiang, regardless of whether office romance is allowed, knowing he has a family, you still chose to accept his advances. If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be?"
In the pitch-dark room, only the glow of the electronic screen illuminated the man's face. He casually swiped the screen lock to physically stop the phone from vibrating incessantly. Opening the social app, the screen belatedly popped up four messages at once.
He raised an eyebrow and tapped on them, only to see the last two words—
"Bitch."
Author's note:
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Pre-reading warnings:
1 This work is a product of my personal kink explosion. The male lead will not respond to any one-sided feelings. It's just a theme for everyone's amusement. Please don't take it seriously. If you don't like it, don't read.
2 All the so-called "jerk" characters in the storyline are typical of secular definitions. In any novel, they should be punished severely. So there's no defamation or comparison. I respect everyone's preferences and hope we can discuss peacefully.
3 I am currently a pure romance author. I declare I write strict BG to ensure I won't add garbage to the storyline. Writing romance is writing romance; there's nothing hidden. All plot serves the theme of the story. The female lead will act according to her character logic to advance the plot.
4 The male lead in this work is service-oriented. My preference is the female gaze. I will write many observations of men from a female perspective. If you don't like it, just avoid it.
5 I didn't expect a small potato like me would have to clarify this. In short, I write without using my brain—whatever feels good, I write. I don't expect to produce any masterpieces. As long as someone enjoys reading it, I'm satisfied.
6 Recently, many new readers I don't recognize have come. Thank you for your comments and views. Please read after accepting the above warnings. Respect individual preferences. Long live happiness!