Chapter 9
Xia Qiu was young, beautiful, and captivating.
Jiang Heng had been attracted to her for some time.
Although he had spent nights at her place before,
he had never crossed that moral line.
He insisted on sleeping in the living room.
Xia Qiu, meanwhile, played the frightened employee seeking her boss’s help.
She wanted to work her way into his heart, little by little.
Unfortunately for her, Lin Mo came back.
And fired her.
Xia Qiu was afraid that if she didn’t act now, she would lose her chance for good.
So, while Jiang Heng still felt a little guilty toward her,
she seized the chance to lure him over.
A man and a woman alone, with a spark ready to catch.
And the woman taking the initiative.
It was all too easy for something to happen.
By the time Jiang Heng came to his senses,
it was too late.
Xia Qiu cried and said she just loved him too much.
She hadn’t meant to break up his family.
She didn’t expect him to take responsibility for her either.
They could simply treat it as a beautiful dream that belonged to her alone.
But Jiang Heng couldn’t accept what had happened.
Before, he could tell me indignantly that I was making a fuss
because he believed he had done nothing wrong.
Nothing had actually happened between Xia Qiu and him.
Now, he could no longer say that.
Once he crossed that line, it was crossed.
The damage could never be repaired.
Watching Jiang Heng kneel before me, weeping bitterly and begging for forgiveness,
I merely gave a cold laugh and signed my name.
“Jiang Heng, you’re the one who gave her the chance.”
“If you hadn’t, her scheming could never have worked, however hard she tried.”
He jerked his head up.
His eyes were full of regret.
Jiang Heng moved out.
He rented a place near the office.
My mother-in-law came to help him pack.
When she saw me, she only sighed.
Years ago, after divorcing my father-in-law,
she had raised Jiang Heng on her own.
After he and I married,
she sold her house back home and bought one in our complex.
When I was pregnant, she came to look after me for a while.
Before Xiaoxiao turned one, she often came over to help too.
She had always treated me courteously.
She never interfered in what happened between Jiang Heng and me.
She only appeared when she was needed.
Jiang Heng didn’t have many things.
Once everything was packed, my mother-in-law asked me to sit down.
She stared at the top of my head for a long time.
“Yaoyao,” she said, “I won’t try to change your mind, and I won’t speak up for Ah Heng.”
“He’s brought this on himself.”
“If you need anything in the future, call me.”
“You and Ah Heng may be divorced, but Xiaoxiao will always be my granddaughter.”
Before leaving, she glanced at the top of my head again.
Jiang Heng’s involvement with Xia Qiu
couldn’t be kept secret in the end.
She often went to see him at his rented apartment.
Before long, everyone at the company knew.
The gossip spread like wildfire behind their backs.
They said Xia Qiu had come between us and caused our divorce.
The women at work sneered at her.
“You’d never have guessed. So quiet, yet she did something so shameless.”
“You’d never have guessed with Mr. Jiang either. I thought he really loved his wife!”
“I could see it back when Secretary Lin was on wedding leave.”
“Mr. Jiang kept taking Xia Qiu out to eat. I just didn’t feel comfortable saying anything then.”
Jiang Heng was called in for a talk with his superiors.
Everything they said hinted that he should leave of his own accord.
Unable to stand the gossip at work, he resigned.
As he was packing his things in the office, Lin Mo came in.
She glanced at him and said only, “Serves you right.”
A month later,
Jiang Heng and I went to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
When we received our divorce certificates,
I saw that the number above his head had risen to 90%.
He looked at me with guilt in his eyes.
“Yaoyao, after ten years together, how did we end up here?”
“Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“Jiang Heng, from the day you broke your promise on Yaoyao’s birthday, I knew we’d end up here.”
Seeing his utter bewilderment,
I smiled.
“I told you, I can see the loyalty score above your head.”
“When you came home that day, it had dropped to 87%.”
He froze.
“So you were already planning to leave me back then?”
“Yes!”
He lowered his head, as though something had occurred to him.
Then he said, “I’m sorry.”
My life didn’t change much after divorcing Jiang Heng.
I heard that when Xia Qiu learned he had resigned and left the marriage with nothing,
she went over and made a scene.
Their scandal had spread through their entire circle.
Jiang Heng couldn’t find work at all.
He wanted to leave Qing City and try his luck elsewhere.
Xia Qiu refused to agree.
They fought every day.
But none of that had anything to do with me anymore.
Every day, after taking my daughter to school,
I went to the gym or the yoga studio.
I even bought a package of beauty treatments.
At thirty-five,
it was my turn to enjoy life.