Chapter 27

Evening.

Jiang Ciyou returned to the Yan family’s old residence.

The old master was practicing calligraphy in his study. Yan’s mother had just returned from a beauty treatment, and Yan’s father was trimming the flowers and plants in the garden.

Everything was as usual.

Jiang Ciyou went to the study to grind ink for the old master and chat with him, as usual. Then she returned to her room to start packing her things.

She planned to move out for good.

In the past, she didn’t live in the Yan family’s old residence every day. She often stayed outside, and the Yan family had long been accustomed to it.

But this time, she intended to move out completely.

After living there for three years, she felt a lot of reluctance.

Especially since the Yan family had treated her like their own daughter, providing her with a shelter during her most difficult times.

Sometimes she thought that if Yan Feng never returned, living with the Yan family for the rest of her life wouldn’t be bad.

But since Yan Feng came back,

Everything seemed to gradually deviate from its original path.

Bo Jinxiu was right; Yan Feng would never turn back. She and Yan Feng had long become parallel lines that would never intersect again.

What’s the point of holding onto this empty shell?

Perhaps it was time to completely let go of her obsession and start a new life.

Amidst her chaotic thoughts,

The door to her room was pushed open with force.

Yan Feng’s angry figure appeared in the doorway.

He immediately grabbed Jiang Ciyou by the arm and pushed her hard.

Jiang Ciyou, who was crouching and packing her things, fell to the ground from the push.

“Yan Feng, what are you going crazy about?” Jiang Ciyou scolded loudly, showing no mercy.

“Jiang Ciyou, how dare you ask me that? What did you do to Xia Ling, causing her to almost have a miscarriage?”

Hearing the word “miscarriage,” Jiang Ciyou was momentarily stunned.

Yan Feng looked at Jiang Ciyou’s innocent expression with a cold smile. “Stop pretending. Isn’t it enough that you stole Xia Ling’s interview? You even publicly insulted and slapped her. Jiang Ciyou, how did you become so malicious? If anything happens to Xia Ling’s baby, I will never forgive you.”

Jiang Ciyou finally came to her senses.

She stood up, elegantly arranging her hair. “Xia Ling told you it was me who stole her interview?”

“She doesn’t need to tell me; I already know. Ever since you were young, you’ve always been competitive. Whatever I learned, you followed, always wanting to outshine me, seizing things that originally belonged to others.”

Yan Feng’s mouth was full of sarcasm. “If you’re like this with me, how much worse must you be with Xia Ling?”

Jiang Ciyou had always been like this since she was young.

When he was learning golf in elementary school, she also joined in, but always performed better, receiving praise from everyone.

Later, when he stopped playing golf and started learning Go, she learned Go too, and ended up winning awards nationally and internationally, even becoming a closed-door disciple of the Go master Zong Lu.

He was so frustrated that he stopped playing Go.

Later, he took up Taekwondo, and she joined too. By the time he was only a red belt second dan, she was already a black belt sixth dan.

From childhood to adulthood, he could never outfight her.

It seemed that the first half of his life was lived in her shadow.

Jiang Ciyou was somewhat surprised that Yan Feng mentioned their childhood.

Indeed, when they were young, whatever Yan Feng learned, she followed suit.

She simply wanted to spend more time with him, so she would explore whatever interested him.

But she never intended to overshadow him or take anything from him.

She didn’t care about reputation or glory.

She didn’t expect Yan Feng to think of her this way.

But now explaining this was already redundant.

Jiang Ciyou sighed. “Yan Feng, no matter what I say now, you won’t believe me, because in your heart and eyes, there’s only Xia Ling.”

Jiang Ciyou paused. “Since that’s the case, let’s separate.”

Yan Feng then noticed that Jiang Ciyou was packing her things.

There were two large suitcases in the room.

Her clothes and personal items were already packed full.

Yan Feng’s smile grew even more sarcastic. “Threatening me again? Jiang Ciyou, can you come up with a new tactic?”

Jiang Ciyou bent down and zipped up the suitcase.

Jiang Ciyou then walked up to Yan Feng.

Her voice was calm but carried a lot of weight. “This time it’s for real. I will move out tonight. I’ll explain everything to Grandpa and the others later.”

Just then, the butler called them to the dining room for dinner.

Jiang Ciyou strode out.

The atmosphere at dinner was somewhat heavy.

Both Jiang Ciyou and Yan Feng seemed lost in their own thoughts.

Halfway through the meal, Jiang Ciyou set down her chopsticks.

“Grandpa, Dad, Mom, I have something to say.”

Everyone looked at her seriously, their attention focused on her.

Yan’s mother spoke up, “Xiaoyou, what’s wrong?”

“Thank you for taking care of me these past three years. I plan to move out tonight.”

Yan’s mother was shocked and immediately turned to Yan Feng with a scolding tone.

“Did you do something again to make Xiaoyou unhappy? You’re a scoundrel. Hurry up and apologize to Xiaoyou.”

Jiang Ciyou stopped Yan’s mother. “Mom, Yan Feng and I are planning to separate.”

“You’re getting a divorce?” Yan’s mother was incredulous.

Jiang Ciyou replied calmly, “Actually, we never got a marriage certificate from the start, so it doesn’t really count as a divorce.”

The others were visibly surprised.

Yan’s father was confused. “But you clearly had a marriage certificate before; it’s still in the drawer at home.”

Jiang Ciyou said, “That’s fake. I bought it online, nine yuan with free shipping.”

Yan’s father’s expression changed. “Nonsense, it’s just nonsense.”

At that time, the old master forced Yan Feng to marry her, but Yan Feng suddenly changed his mind on the day they were supposed to go to the civil affairs bureau. To deal with the situation at home, she had to find a fake certificate online and edit a marriage photo. In reality, she and Yan Feng were never legally married.

Yan’s mother stood up and punched her son’s shoulder. “It’s you, isn’t it?”

Yan Feng’s face was dark and he remained silent.

He didn’t expect that Jiang Ciyou was serious this time.

Was she forcing him to choose between her and Xia Ling?

Jiang Ciyou remained calm. “Mom, stop hitting Ah Feng. He’s not at fault; he just doesn’t love me. There’s no law in this world that says he must love me. Don’t force him.”

Yan’s mother started crying. “But you two grew up together. I’ve always thought of you as my daughter-in-law. How can I accept this?”

“Mom, Dad, Grandpa, even if Yan Feng and I separate, you will always be my family in my heart.”

“But feelings can’t be forced. Yan Feng loves Xia Ling, and Xia Ling is already pregnant. I don’t want to torment them, nor do I want to torment myself. So I want to end all this and start anew.”

Yan’s mother was deeply shocked. “Xia Ling is pregnant?”