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“If you’re not in a rush to remarry, that’s alright. Wait a year or two, and if you find someone you like, you can marry again,” Madam Qing knew her son very well. Since he had spoken this decisively, there was no turning back.
At this moment, Gu Xiruo also realized that Qing Yukong was serious this time, not joking.
Staring blankly at Qing Yukong, Gu Xiruo’s eyes showed confusion, “You don’t want me anymore?”
“It’s not that I don’t want you, but I can’t afford it,” Qing Yukong replied.
“I gave you a genuine chance to apologize to Mother. It was our last opportunity. If you had sincerely apologized, I would have treated you well as before and asked Mother not to hold it against you. Unfortunately, you disappointed me,” Qing Yukong said calmly to Gu Xiruo.
He remembered a phrase Lu Lingfeng once told him, “Gu Xiruo’s heart can’t be warmed.”
She only saw interests, not emotions; they were all tools being used by Gu Xiruo.
Back then, he didn’t believe Lu Lingfeng’s words at all.
But now, he did.
After believing those words, Qing Yukong surprisingly began to envy Lu Lingfeng.
Upon knowing Gu Xiruo’s true nature, he decided to step back, displaying a freedom that he didn’t possess.
“I…” Gu Xiruo felt flustered, unsure of what to do at that moment.
Instinctively grabbing onto Qing Yukong’s clothes and shaking her head repeatedly, she said, “I don’t want this. You don’t want me anymore?”
“Xiruo, let’s end it here. Let’s part ways.”
When Qing Yukong uttered those words, he remained surprisingly calm while looking at Gu Xiruo.
“You bastard, Qing Yukong.”
Ming Ye lay on the rooftop, a blade of grass in his mouth, a faint smirk on his lips as he listened to the voices below.
He had thought Qing Yukong could endure Gu Xiruo’s behavior all along.
However, after this incident, even Qing Yukong had reached his breaking point.
Listening to Gu Xiruo’s hysterical voice, Ming Ye felt a sense of pity.
From Lu Lingfeng and the others to Gu Sheng, and now Qing Yukong.
With Gu Xiruo’s current situation, she seemed not far from facing real isolation and betrayal, but she had little left to lose.
Ming Ye suddenly thought of the possessions Gu Xiruo held.
If Gu Xiruo were clever, she should have prepared herself with a modest home and enough money. Otherwise, with her current situation, it was hard to predict what would become of her.
“My father only wishes for Wang Jinhe to return to the Gu family. He doesn’t want me. You don’t want me anymore, and now you want to part ways. Are you trying to drive me to my death?”
Could Qing Yukong not know how kind Gu Sheng was to Gu Xiruo?
“He treated you so well, why would he suddenly not want you?” Qing Yukong asked Gu Xiruo.
Gu Xiruo instinctively wanted to mention Wang Jinhe, but faced with Qing Yukong’s calm gaze, she found herself unable to say a word.
Qing Yukong chuckled self-deprecatingly, “See, you’re speechless, right?”
“If your foster father, who cherished you so much, suddenly gave up on you, it must be because you did something to break his heart, much like what’s happening with me now.”
“Xiruo, initially, my family gave you a substantial dowry, which your foster parents accepted. Along with what they provided and what you possess, you could live well. There’s no such thing as being unwanted. Moreover, with so many people around you, as long as you are willing, they would probably be happy, right?”
Qing Yukong’s words drained the color from Gu Xiruo’s face. She looked at Qing Yukong, wanting to explain, but found herself unable to say anything.
Qing Yukong found paper and pen in Madam Qing’s room, wrote a divorce letter, and handed it to Gu Xiruo. “Xiruo, this is it. I wish you happiness.”
Once, he wanted to bring happiness to Gu Xiruo, but now he realized he wasn’t the one who could make her happy. Since Gu Xiruo wouldn’t choose him, he decided to let go completely.
Gu Xiruo looked at the divorce letter and instinctively took a step back. If she had known things would come to this, she wouldn’t have acted that way towards Madam Qing.
Looking up at Qing Yukong, she asked, “Is it really necessary to end things like this?”
“Once there’s a rift in the heart, things can’t return to how they were,” he replied. In his heart, there was now a thorn when it came to Gu Xiruo, along with opinions. Continuing the relationship begrudgingly would only lead to endless arguments; he no longer had the time to deal with that.
Gu Xiruo stared at Qing Yukong for a while, realizing he was serious this time, took the divorce letter, and returned to her courtyard.
After returning, Gu Xiruo instructed her trusted servant and the nanny to find people to help move her belongings. She had no intention of returning to the Gu family. Fortunately, she had bought a three-section courtyard a few years ago, with a pleasant environment. Staying there seemed like a good option.
Within a day, all of Gu Xiruo’s belongings were moved. She left the Qing household with her people without saying a word.
Two days passed before Qing Yukong, finished with his tasks, learned that Gu Xiruo had already left.
Arriving at the place where Gu Xiruo had stayed, seeing it empty and devoid of anything, Qing Yukong felt an unsettling feeling in his heart. He covered his eyes with his hand, reminding himself not to regret the decision made, as some things couldn’t be undone, much like the divorce.
Wang Jinhe learned about the divorce several days after it happened. She was in disbelief, spitting out water upon hearing the news from Nan Qiao and others.
“Are you serious? Gu Xiruo and Qing Yukong really divorced?” Could Qing Yukong’s obsessive love for Gu Xiruo lead him to let her go so easily?
Why did she feel a bit skeptical about this?
Nan Qiao nodded, “It’s true. Qing Yukong’s insistence on having Gu Xiruo apologize to Madam Qing this time was to give them both a chance. If Gu Xiruo had sincerely apologized, Qing Yukong would have treated her as before. Unfortunately, Gu Xiruo didn’t comply.”
“With Gu Xiruo’s personality, expecting her to genuinely apologize to someone is absolutely impossible. It’s a hundred times more difficult for her than facing death.”
That’s just who Gu Xiruo is.
“Did Gu Xiruo return to the Gu family?”
“No, she went back to the courtyard she purchased. She probably knew she wouldn’t be welcome back at the Gu family, especially after offending even Gu Sheng,” Nan Qiao shrugged.
Nan Qiao thought Gu Xiruo showed good self-awareness, understanding that even the Gu family wouldn’t welcome her.
“That’s quite normal.”
“Did the Gu family find out, especially Gu Sheng?”
“Gu Sheng already knows, but there hasn’t been much of a reaction. It seems like Gu Xiruo is no longer the child he cherished for so many years; she’s become a stranger.” Nan Qiao marveled at how composed Gu Sheng was in this situation.