Chapter 18: In the Same Hospital

Xie Yunshu really wanted to sneer—she had never met someone so shameless. But in the end, she couldn’t even be bothered to say anything.
“You should pay me back the 3,000 yuan first. As for whether we divorce or not, that’s not for you to decide.”

As long as she was determined to leave, Lu Zhixing might delay her for a while, but could he stop her forever?

Lu Zhixing gave her a deep look. “I’ll send Xingyue off and we’ll talk when I’m back.”

But to Xie Yunshu now, Lu Zhixing wasn’t even worth 3,000 yuan anymore.
She didn’t even glance at this pair of lovesick fools and simply turned to pack her things. After a year of marriage, most of her belongings were here. She had left in a rush last time, so she couldn’t have taken everything with her.

By the time Lu Zhixing returned, Xie Yunshu had already packed everything. Two bundles sat in the corner, and she was sitting at the desk writing something.

He breathed a sigh of relief—at least she hadn’t left yet.

As the door closed behind him, Lu Zhixing stood behind her and reached out to touch her hair.
“Yunshu, we’re husband and wife. Do we really need to make things this ugly? You weren’t like this before…”

Xie Yunshu frowned and avoided his hand, looking at him coldly.
“When someone who’s always endured injustice and mistreatment finally refuses to keep swallowing it, people say she’s changed.”

Lu Zhixing stared at his empty hand, and for a moment, he felt a hollow emptiness inside. He lowered his head and looked at her.
“If I’ve wronged you, I’ll do my best to make it up to you. I’ll change too.”

“I don’t believe you,” Xie Yunshu said calmly. Her gaze swept slowly across his face. She admitted that when she agreed to marry him, it was because this man truly had everything going for him.

He was handsome and refined, with a calm and reserved personality. He had studied abroad and came from an elite family background. A man like him was bound to attract countless women. Back then, she had even asked him why he chose to marry her.

And what had Lu Zhixing said? He’d looked at her with eyes full of affection:
“Yunshu, I like how I feel when I’m with you.”

Looking back now, she realized how foolish she’d been. He had never liked her—he liked how she loved him so selflessly, how she sacrificed herself without even realizing it. Even a simple smile from him had made her feel blissful.

Only when the illusion of happiness was shattered did she finally wake up.
To love someone, one must first love oneself.

Love is unconscious tenderness and favoritism—but he had never given her either.

Lu Zhixing’s tone carried helplessness and a hint of reproach, as if she was being unreasonable.
“Yunshu, you don’t have a job right now. If we divorce, how will you live? Go back to your parents’ home?”

Xie Yunshu let out a small laugh.
So he knew!
He knew how hard it would be for her to survive without a job. He knew how poor her family background was. So he had known all along—and he still locked her in a psychiatric ward!

“None of that is your concern. You just need to pay me back my 3,000 yuan.”

Her face was filled with sarcasm as she turned and placed the divorce petition she had just written on the desk in front of him.
“I’ve already signed it. Let’s get the paperwork done quickly. Don’t let it interfere with raising your son—after all, I’ve never heard of a child having two mothers!”

Xiao Wei’s household registration was under Lu Zhixing’s name, which meant she was legally the child’s mother. But the child still called Zhou Xingyue “Mom.” Just thinking about it made her feel sick.

Until now, Lu Zhixing had always assumed that Xie Yunshu’s talk of divorce was just an emotional outburst—a way to vent. So even if her words stung, he never really took them seriously.
She had loved him so deeply, given him her whole heart—how could she ask for a divorce after losing her job and all support?

He didn’t believe it.
But now, with the divorce petition in front of him, and the wife’s signature neatly written: Xie Yunshu—three graceful characters—he was at a loss.

Lu Zhixing was momentarily dazed. He even belatedly realized that his wife had really beautiful handwriting.

Xie Yunshu didn’t give him any time to process it. Seeing his confusion, she gave a mocking laugh and set the divorce petition on the desk.
“Don’t worry. Our official reason for divorce is ‘irreconcilable differences.’ It won’t damage your precious Xingyue’s reputation. Besides, with you—Chief Physician Lu—watching over her, who would dare gossip?”

“It’s not like that…”

Lu Zhixing stood frozen. His fingers curled involuntarily, his voice hoarse.
“Yunshu, it was all a misunderstanding. Why can’t you just believe me? You slapped her in front of everyone. I did that to protect her reputation—and yours too…”

What a joke!

Xie Yunshu actually laughed out loud.
“Your idea of protecting me was locking me in a mental hospital? Five days and nights in a dark cell without light, eating moldy steamed buns and cold porridge? Nearly dying in there, and you didn’t even notice. And when I finally got out, the first thing I did was lose my job!”

“Heh… Lu Zhixing! Your protection is so precious! Please, go protect someone else. I can’t afford it—and I’m too scared to accept it.”

Xie Yunshu couldn’t help but recall those ten years of despair she had seen in her dream—ending in the fire, watching him carry Zhou Xingyue away as she died. She shut her eyes tightly to keep the burning tears from spilling out.

Lu Zhixing was stunned. He looked at her in disbelief.
“I clearly told them to give you the cleanest private room, with three meals a day…”

He stopped mid-sentence. His face suddenly turned pale.

He wasn’t stupid. He’d believed Zhou Xingyue’s clumsy lies because he wanted to believe them—maybe because of teenage sympathy, maybe because he owed something to the Zhou family. But in any case, he wasn’t unaware of how others treated Xie Yunshu.

The nurses and Zhou Xingyue were from the same camp. That they would act behind his back was hardly surprising.

Xie Yunshu looked at him calmly. All her tears and grievances were no longer worth it. She sneered.
“Don’t believe me? You’re the hospital’s chief physician. Besides the director, who has more authority than you? You could have found out with a simple question.”

“Five whole days, and you didn’t come to see your wife even once. You didn’t even care whether I’d gone insane or died! What were you doing? Let me guess—you were busy taking care of Zhou Xingyue and her son, right?”

Only now did Lu Zhixing finally realize—he regretted it.

If he’d known she would go through all that during those five days, he never would’ve done it.
But now he just stared at Xie Yunshu, unable to say a word in response.

Because she wasn’t wrong.

In those five days, he only thought about letting her cool off and reflect on her mistakes. He never once considered going to see her.

And during those five days, Xiao Wei had come down with a persistent high fever—he had stayed at the hospital the entire time…

In the same hospital.