Marriage

Ye Shuang led Chen Hai directly out of the ward, and the two of them walked to the end of the hallway, to a balcony area where people could rest.

The air and the view here were both pleasant—you could see the seaside and the trees.

Seeing that Chen Hai seemed to be in a bad mood, Ye Shuang patted his pocket and finally pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Stop looking so down. Have one.”

“Already smoked half a pack,” Chen Hai said, finally speaking. He seemed a bit subdued, and he handed a cigarette to Ye Shuang. “Here, join me.”

“I’ll keep you company with one.” Ye Shuang took the cigarette Chen Hai offered, took a single drag, and then just held it between his fingers.

“Feng Shan is going to get an abortion?”

“Mm,” Chen Hai answered. “Let her. It’s not like I wanted it that much anyway. I’m sick of it.”

“Dad will kill you. Everyone’s counting on you to carry on the Chen family name,” Ye Shuang said, glancing at him. Clearly, Chen Hai was just saying the opposite of what he truly felt.

“Doesn’t matter. With you and Chen Qin passing down your excellent genes, they don’t need me,” Chen Hai said, letting out a cold laugh.

“Not having a kid is better.”

At that, Ye Shuang calmly asked, “Are you trying to pick a fight with me too?”

Chen Hai fell silent.

“I wasn’t being sarcastic,” Chen Hai said. “I’m sorry.”

“If it’s that painful, then get a divorce. But what about the child?” Ye Shuang asked.

“Abort it.”

“That’s irresponsible.”

“I don’t know,” Chen Hai said. After all, it was because of Qiaoqiao that he had kept putting off divorcing Feng Shan.

“I’ve thought it through. Life is only a few decades long. I don’t want to be trapped,” Chen Hai continued.

“I’m really exhausted. Especially these past days, I’ve been draining myself mentally every single day. You probably don’t know this, but I never actually got angry with Feng Shan—it’s always been her yelling and hitting me, one-sided. I think I’ve done pretty well on that front.”

“And what about Qiaoqiao?”

“I want to fight for custody of the child,” Chen Hai said, looking away. “Without the kid, it’ll be easier for her to remarry—or she doesn’t have to marry at all.”

“That’s a bit cruel,” Ye Shuang said, glancing at the cigarette in his hand, which had already gone out. He patted Chen Hai on the shoulder.

“Come on. Let’s all go in and talk.”

Ye Shuang brought Chen Hai back into the ward. By then, Feng Shan’s emotions had calmed down somewhat, but the moment she saw Chen Hai come in, she still wore a cold face and said nothing. Clearly, Chen Hai’s parents had already done their best to comfort their daughter-in-law.

“Dad, I want a divorce,” Chen Hai said the moment he walked in. Before he could even finish, his father boiled over.

“You damn fool! Say that again!”

“I want a divorce…”

No sooner had Chen Hai said it than his father started pounding on him, thud after thud.

“Dad, Dad, take it easy.” Ye Shuang quickly jumped in to hold his father back, while Chen’s mother scolded her son—how could a grown man come to this?

“I’m not like Ye Shuang. I can’t live up to his sense of responsibility. I’m really tired,” Chen Hai said. “No matter what it takes—even if I have to walk out of this house—I’m getting divorced.”

“Then get the hell out!” his father barked, more furious than he had ever been. “You fool around out there, and now you want a divorce? Which fox spirit has stolen your eyes?!”

Chen Hai was silent.

“There isn’t one.”

"Dad, I want a divorce too." Feng Shan spoke with a blank expression. "I've thought it over. We really aren't right for each other. All these years we've only been staying together for the kid's sake, and the novelty wore off years ago."

Chen's mother chimed in, "Oh, Xiaoshan, don't say things in anger. Let me teach Ahai a lesson."

"Mom, we're both serious. Let's just end it. With his perfect aim, you won't be short on grandchildren," Feng Shan said earnestly.

"..." Chen Hai looked at Feng Shan and only said one thing, "I'll compensate you. The money you've held onto all these years, you can take all of it."

"No need. I don't want anything," Feng Shan said with a faint smile. "But I'm taking Qiaoqiao with me. And the money I've saved up for you all these years, I'm returning every cent."

"Absolutely not."

"..."

Chen's father and mother felt their heads spin when they saw the two actually starting to talk about divorce.

"Dad, Mom, I've made up my mind."

It had really come to this. Watching the scene, Ye Shuang thought quietly to himself, he shouldn't get involved in something like this. Everyone was at fault, and debating who was more wrong now was completely pointless.

"Separate for a while and cool down first. Don't talk about divorce or not. Go stay with your parents for a bit," Chen's father said to Feng Shan, planning to take her home and talk some sense into her. Once she calmed down, she'd come around.

"No need."

Feng Shan seemed to have dug herself into a corner, and no one could talk her out of that stubborn streak. That was just the way she was.

...

An hour later —

"That's how it went down. Chen Hai is probably going to divorce Feng Shan." Sitting in the driver's seat, Ye Shuang was on the phone with Chen Qin, but he added, "Don't get angry."

"The way Chen Hai acted, I'm so annoyed with him I could scream," Chen Qin said irritably on the other end. "But honestly, the two of them aren't suited for marriage."

Chen Qin's reaction caught Ye Shuang off guard. "What do you mean?"

"Chen Hai has always been a dominating person. When he met Feng Shan, who's even more dominating than him, it was like two blades clashing — both end up wounded," Chen Qin said. "Someone with a gentler temperament would suit him better."

"True, no wonder Feng Shan fit Chen Hai's standards at first. A lot of Sichuan girls do seem pretty gentle at the start?" Ye Shuang said, starting to piece it together.

Maybe Feng Shan had never planned to marry Chen Hai either. It was just an unexpected pregnancy that bound two incompatible people together.

"Divorce is the only way out now," Chen Qin said. "Last time with Zhou Min, Feng Shan already couldn't accept it. Let alone this mess now."

"Yeah, looks like there's no turning back, especially after saying something like that."

The moment divorce was brought up, there was no going back in the relationship.

"Where's Chen Hai now?"

"Probably about to get beaten by Dad, like when they were kids — tied up to the window with a rope and whipped with a leather belt," Ye Shuang said.

"Hmph, serves him right."

After hanging up, Ye Shuang was still lost in thought —

"Crack crack crack crack crack... So marriage really is the grave of love?"

"Crack crack crack... Isn't being the mistress more appealing?"

"Crack crack... Yeah, makes sense."

Hearing the noise from behind, Ye Shuang turned around and noticed An Shiyu and Anshi Yi sitting there, shelling sunflower seeds.

"You two, when did you sneak in?"

"XX, XXXX?" Anshi Yi said.

"I don't understand." Ye Shuang was speechless.