Zhao Louqin’s defense seemed weak and unconvincing in Zheng Yixu’s eyes.

“We’re not in that kind of relationship~” With a shy tone and a bit of coyness, it was like a scene straight out of a shoujo manga. Though it felt a bit off, Zheng Yixu could ignore these details.

“Jiusi, let’s go. There’s no point in dragging this out any further.”

Zheng Yixu said as he pulled Zhao Jiusi along.

Zhao Jiusi was equally helpless. His father’s defense was less of a denial and more of a veiled admission.

“What the hell, even if you want to divorce me, you can’t just make up random reasons! You know it’s impossible between me and Lin Ninghua!” Zhao Louqin was almost in tears, feeling utterly insulted by the attack on his taste!

“Yixu, have you not regained your memory at all?” Zhao Louqin finally caught onto the key point. If Yixu had regained his memory, even if he was making up excuses, he would never have lumped him together with Lin Ninghua.

“When did I ever say I regained my memory?” Zheng Yixu looked at Zhao Louqin impatiently. “What’s the point of dragging this out? I’ve already seen your sincerity. Everything is my fault, okay? So, can we just quietly get a divorce now?”

“That’s not the point!” Zhao Louqin ran his hand through his hair in frustration, his voice becoming somewhat hysterical. “How could you think I have something to do with Lin Ninghua? It’s completely impossible between us!”

“Do you really want to force me to say it?” Zheng Yixu’s expression towards Zhao Louqin had already turned cold. “Don’t take everyone for a fool. Yes, I lost my memory, but that doesn’t mean I lost my ability to think. You and Lin Ninghua might have been impossible before, but now that I have amnesia, anything could be possible. I’ve already voluntarily stepped aside, but if you keep pushing, don’t blame me for what happens.”

“What are you even talking about? I swear, if I have anything to do with Lin Ninghua, may I be struck by lightning!” Zhao Louqin anxiously swore.

“If men’s promises could be trusted, pigs would be climbing trees,” Zheng Yixu sneered. “Jiusi knows everything now. Do you really want to lose the last shred of dignity you have in front of your child?”

Jiusi looked at Zhao Louqin with disappointment, unable to believe that the person still stubbornly denying everything was the father he had once admired.

Zhao Louqin looked at his partner and child staring at him as if he were scum and felt like banging his head on the ground, shouting his innocence!

“You, hurry up and show me your so-called evidence!” Zhao Louqin was so angry his hands were shaking. He never thought, in his lifetime, he’d be entangled in some ambiguous relationship with Lin Ninghua. Has heaven gone blind?

“Did you secretly meet with Lin Ninghua behind my back, and not just once? Every time Lin Ninghua came around, didn’t you drop everything to meet him? Didn’t you always greet him with a smile when you saw him? Before I lost my memory, you rarely saw him, but after I lost my memory, didn’t you meet him constantly? And at that restaurant, didn’t you kiss him?” Zheng Yixu fired off a string of questions, leaving Zhao Louqin momentarily dumbfounded.

Hearing it all like that, it almost sounded like he really did have something with Lin Ninghua.

But absolutely not!

“I admit to the earlier things, and I can explain them. But that kiss is pure slander! I’m lucky I didn’t throw up in front of him.” Zhao Louqin tried to defend himself further, but the words got caught in his throat when Zheng Yixu shoved his phone in front of him.

Zheng Yixu had the screen facing Zhao Louqin, showing a frozen video still—right at the moment when he and Lin Ninghua were kissing…

“That’s just a matter of angles! It was shot with forced perspective!” Zhao Louqin finally gave a “professional” explanation. This kind of thing happens all the time in acting, doesn’t it?

“Heh,” Zheng Yixu responded with a look that clearly said, “Keep lying, go ahead and keep lying.”

“My dear, listen to me. The reason I was so concerned about Lin Ninghua is because I didn’t want him meeting with you alone. This guy doesn’t have good intentions towards you, really.” Zhao Louqin quickly got up and grabbed Zheng Yixu’s hand as he explained.

Zheng Yixu casually cleaned his ear and turned to Zhao Jiusi, “Son, do you believe this?”

Zhao Jiusi hesitated for a moment before replying, “Father, that excuse is pretty weak. If Lin Ninghua really had bad intentions towards Dad, what he should be doing is meeting with Dad alone, not meeting with you. It doesn’t make sense.”

That’s because he’s provoking me! He’s just bothered that I stole his lover before, so he’s paying extra attention to my actions!

Zhao Louqin was internally screaming, feeling an overwhelming urge to give this rebellious kid a good scolding. As his father’s “little angel,” Jiusi should be unwaveringly on his side. Why was he siding with his dad and interfering?

But Zhao Louqin couldn’t exactly tell Zheng Yixu, “You and Lin Ninghua were madly in love, and I only managed to win you over by using a few tricks to marry you later!”

Saying that would be like slapping himself in the face! All his hard work over the past months would have been for nothing. He’d worked tirelessly to erase Lin Ninghua from Yixu’s memory, to shape a Zheng Yixu who belonged only to him. If he came clean now, and Yixu had a moment of weakness and went running back into Lin Ninghua’s arms, there’d be no one to stop him from jumping off a building in despair!

“Zhao Louqin, let’s part on good terms.” Zheng Yixu patted Zhao Louqin’s shoulder “kindly” and spoke sincerely. “Honestly, I haven’t been able to remember anything from the past over the last six months. To me, you’re at most a friend. I can see you as a friend, but not as a partner. Since you like someone else, why hold on to me? Maybe it’s just that our fate has run its course. So, let’s end it here. I’ll cover the divorce costs and give you a larger share of the assets.”

“What kind of joke is this?” Zhao Louqin gritted his teeth. “I have nothing to do with Lin Ninghua! If you don’t believe me, you can call him right now.” If he had to divorce Yixu because of this, he’d rather die and never reincarnate.

Zheng Yixu said nothing, standing there silently, staring at Zhao Louqin for a long time.

“Zhao Louqin, don’t make me lose respect for you.”

Those words struck deep!

Zhao Louqin felt almost crushed by them. In various films, novels, and even anime, when this classic line is spoken, it usually means a breakup is imminent.

No, it can’t end like this!

Zhao Louqin spread his arms to block Zheng Yixu and Zhao Jiusi’s path. “Wait here. I’ll call Lin Ninghua. I can also contact my brother, Gu Yanqiu, and Zhang Jianxin. They can all testify that I have nothing to do with Lin Ninghua. The person Lin Ninghua is interested in is you, not me. What I’ve done is only to protect our marriage.”

Zhao Louqin’s desperate determination seemed to intimidate Zheng Yixu and Zhao Jiusi, or maybe they just wanted to see his final struggle.

Zheng Yixu stopped pulling Zhao Jiusi and watched calmly as Zhao Louqin made the call.

Zhao Louqin let out a sigh of relief, pulled out his phone, and dialed Lin Ninghua’s number. To prove his innocence, he put the call on speaker so both Zheng Yixu and Zhao Jiusi could hear.

After about half a minute, Lin Ninghua’s cold, slightly lazy voice came through.

“Hello? What’s the matter calling me so late?”

“Of course, it’s something very important,” Zhao Louqin said, feeling a bit more at ease upon hearing Lin Ninghua’s voice. It would have been a real nightmare if Lin Ninghua’s phone had been unreachable. As long as he answered, the misunderstanding could be cleared up quickly.

Though, this misunderstanding was really…

How on earth did Yixu come up with this idea?

The thought that he might be involved with Lin Ninghua could have made him lose his appetite for days.

If Zhao Louqin had to name the person he hated most in the world, it would undoubtedly be Lin Ninghua. And the feeling was mutual.

From their younger days, they had always been at odds, even liking the same people. Fortunately, Zhao Louqin was persistent and loyal, with only one older brother. Otherwise, if he had been slightly less favorable in family background compared to Lin Ninghua, the outcome might have been different.

“The party just ended, and I’m a bit tired. If you have something to say, make it quick,” Lin Ninghua’s voice came with a hint of impatience.

Zhao Louqin looked at Zheng Yixu with hope, clearly indicating that their way of speaking was full of tension and there was absolutely no romantic involvement!

“I’m also tired and don’t want to talk much. But after I returned, my agent informed me that some media outlets are planning to fabricate a scandal between us. This could be damaging to our reputations. Could you help out?” Zhao Louqin wanted to give himself some credit. He certainly couldn’t say he was fighting with Yixu; that would just give Lin Ninghua an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.