Chapter 22: Divorce

It was Jiang Cuihua’s voice.

Liu Yinyin was just about to speak when she was interrupted, nearly biting her tongue.

But…

Wait!

What did her mother just say?

Her husband was back?

Whose husband was back?

Liu Yinyin was momentarily stunned. Following the direction of the voice, she turned her head to look—

She saw Jiang Cuihua running toward her from a distance, frantically waving her hand.

Beside her… a tall, imposing man was striding toward her with large steps.

To be honest, in these times of food shortages, men in the countryside were generally not very tall—most barely reached over 1.6 meters.

Seeing someone this tall was indeed eye-catching.

But… the man was walking toward her with an excited expression.

Liu Yinyin felt that something was off. Her heart started pounding wildly.

“Yinyin.” Jiang Cuihua, panting heavily from running, reached her and said excitedly, “Child, your husband came back alive! Why are you just standing there in shock? What’s wrong, don’t recognize your own husband?”

Although she herself had been stunned when she first caught sight of Gu Cheng, after coming to her senses, she was beyond ecstatic.

So, Gu Cheng wasn’t dead after all! Her daughter wasn’t a widow!

Liu Yinyin stared blankly at the man in front of her and stammered, “Gu… Gu Cheng?”

Damn!

Wasn’t this her so-called husband, Gu Cheng?

But wasn’t he supposed to be dead?

“Yinyin.” Gu Cheng’s shock at seeing Liu Yinyin’s pregnant belly was no less than hers.

Jiang Cuihua was grinning so widely that her eyes disappeared. She teased, “This child must be so overjoyed she doesn’t know what to say.”

After all, how could she not be happy that her husband was back?

Liu Yinyin glanced up at the sky, then looked at Gu Cheng again…

Alright, it was broad daylight. No way could this be a ghost.

The original owner’s husband wasn’t dead after all. That was… good news, she supposed.

Taking a sharp breath, Liu Yinyin looked at the man in front of her—the original owner’s husband—and asked flatly, “So, you’re not dead?”

This man hadn’t even bothered to send word to his family that he was alive. The original owner had really suffered because of him.

“No, I was injured back then and unconscious for a while. I recovered after waking up.” Gu Cheng gave a vague explanation.

In reality, his condition had been extremely critical at the time. He had narrowly escaped death and had spent months recovering.

But since it was all in the past, there was no point in bringing it up and making people worry.

“Oh,” Liu Yinyin responded expressionlessly.

Seeing her reaction, Jiang Cuihua grew anxious. Why was her daughter acting like this? She hurriedly murmured to Gu Cheng, “Yinyin must be happy deep down.”

“Mother, it’s fine,” Gu Cheng said, not overthinking it. He assumed Liu Yinyin was just angry at him.

And she had every reason to be…

After all, he had been gone for so long without sending a single word.

Plus, she was pregnant. He had indeed wronged her first.

“Mother, don’t you need to go back to work?” Liu Yinyin asked.

Jiang Cuihua suddenly slapped her thigh. “Oh dear, look at me! I got so excited that I forgot. I only took a short leave from the team leader. I need to get back to work.”

She also realized that she was being tactless.

With so many people around, the young couple probably wouldn’t feel comfortable expressing their emotions publicly.

She didn’t want to be in the way.

So, with that, Jiang Cuihua turned and left in a whirlwind.

Once she was out of sight, Liu Yinyin asked Grandma Cai to cover for her for a while. Then, she turned to Gu Cheng and said, “Come with me.”

With that, she held her belly and walked toward the village.

Gu Cheng silently followed behind her.

Grandma Cai was left standing there, utterly dumbfounded.

Oh my! Yinyin’s husband wasn’t dead after all.

Sigh!

She had just been trying to set Yinyin up with someone—talk about worrying for nothing. Hopefully, Yinyin hadn’t taken her words to heart.

Since everyone else was still at work, the village was empty at this time.

Liu Yinyin walked to a shaded spot, stopped, then turned around to face the man in front of her. “Alright, speak. Why are you here looking for me?”

Gu Cheng lowered his gaze and studied her from head to toe. She looked the same as before, except… for the round belly she was carrying.

His heart pounded with emotion.

A surge of overwhelming feelings washed over him.

No one had ever told him that Liu Yinyin was pregnant.

A thousand words welled up inside him, but in the end, he could only ask, “Yinyin, are you doing okay?”

Liu Yinyin replied calmly, “Not bad. I eat well, sleep well, and my life has been quite peaceful.”

She truly was doing well. And if no one came to disturb that peace, things would be even better.

Gu Cheng was perceptive and could clearly see that Liu Yinyin’s attitude toward him was cold—completely different from before.

He had no idea what had happened.

With sincerity, he said, “Yinyin, I don’t know what happened. If my parents did something wrong, I’ll apologize on their behalf. Now that I’m back, I won’t let you suffer anymore. If you’re no longer upset, come home with me, alright?”

“Go back?” Liu Yinyin let out a cold laugh. “Do you even know what your wife has been through? And you expect me to just go back with you?”

The life the original owner had endured at the Gu family… to put it bluntly, it wasn’t even a life worth living.

Now that those people were gone, there was no way she would ever return to that house.

Besides, Liu Yinyin didn’t even want to stay in the Liu family for too long—why would she ever consider going back to the Gu family with Gu Cheng?

Seeing her dark expression, Gu Cheng asked, “Then tell me—what have you suffered? Don’t worry, you’re my wife. I’ll always be on your side.”

Liu Yinyin couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.

The things the original owner had gone through were disgusting enough—she had no desire to relive them by recounting them.

She simply said coldly, “Go back and ask your own family. Either way, I’m not going back with you, so give up on that idea.”

Gu Cheng didn’t force her when he saw her unwillingness. He simply said in a low voice, “Alright. Then I’ll wait until you’ve cooled down before we talk again.”

Liu Yinyin: “…”

She was so furious she almost laughed.

Did this man not understand human language?

After thinking for a moment, she reminded herself that she wasn’t the original owner. She didn’t want to keep entangling herself with the Gu family.

So, she told him directly, “Since you’re back, let’s find a time to finalize our divorce as soon as possible.”

Gu Cheng was truly stunned this time. His voice dropped as he asked, “Liu Yinyin, what do you mean by that?”

Liu Yinyin glanced at him and said plainly, “Just what the words imply. I can’t continue this marriage with you. Let’s get a divorce.”

Gu Cheng was good-looking and had decent conditions in many aspects.

But she wasn’t the original owner—she had no feelings for him at all.

And with the kind of family the Gu family was…

She had no interest in getting entangled with them. Now that Gu Cheng was alive, it was best to get the divorce done quickly.

If she was going to cut ties, she might as well make a clean break.

Dragging things out would be pointless.

Gu Cheng’s face tensed. “Have you fallen for someone else?”

Liu Yinyin: “…”

What kind of person was this?

As expected, birds of a feather flock together.

So this was how the Gu family saw people?

Feeling indignant on behalf of the original owner, Liu Yinyin asked, “Is that what you really think of your wife?”