Chapter 4: Offering Up the Wife

“It’s rare for Mr. Huo to accept an invitation. I’ll go ahead and book a table right away.”

Stepping out of Huo Qisheng’s office, Zhou Jisheng finally felt the crushing weight on his chest ease slightly. Yet almost instantly… a dull, sickening uneasiness began to spread through him.

No matter how foolish he was, he could clearly tell Huo Qisheng was interested in Xu Nian.

And the most absurd part was that he had to pretend to be completely oblivious — worse yet, hand his own wife over on a silver platter just to save himself and his suffocating company. There were moments in life where a man was both pale with fear and green with humiliation.

“Ah, right, Mr. Zhou.” Just as Huo Qisheng was about to leave his office, he suddenly paused, turning back to look at Zhou Jisheng. “The same rule still applies: I have zero interest in another man’s wife.”

Zhou Jisheng stood frozen for a long time before it finally dawned on him just how truly stupid he had been.

It turned out Huo Qisheng had made himself crystal clear from their very first meeting. It wasn’t that he lacked interest in Xu Nian—it was that he minded, deeply so, that Xu Nian was still Zhou Jisheng’s wife.

—

When Zhou Jisheng returned home, I had just woken up from a afternoon nap. He stood beside the bed, staring down at me for so long that I began to wonder if there was something on my face.

“Things at the company still aren’t resolved?” I asked, my brows furrowing slightly.

“Niannian.” Zhou Jisheng unexpectedly reached out and took my hand. “All these years of marriage… I’ve wronged you.”

I was taken aback. Before I could even react, he spoke again, his voice barely above a murmur:

“Let’s get a divorce.”

I froze completely.

“Don’t worry. The divorce won’t affect the Xu family, nor will it strip away any of your assets or rights.”

Zhou Jisheng looked terrible, his eyes bloodshot as though he hadn’t slept for days. Yet it felt less like he was asking for my consent and more like he was desperately trying to convince himself.

Truth be told… it wasn’t as if the thought of divorce had never crossed my mind. It was just that for people in our social circle, walking away from a marriage rarely meant freedom. More often than not, stepping out of one golden cage meant being pushed straight into another — nothing more than an upgrade to a prettier confinement.

At least Zhou Jisheng and I had known each other for years. Bad as he was… he still retained a sliver of a conscience. Besides, the business interests between the Xu and Zhou families were far too deeply entwined; divorce was never something you could just decide on a whim.

Yet now, Zhou Jisheng was taking the initiative himself, and even guaranteeing that my family wouldn’t suffer any fallout.

Suddenly, I realized a divorce might not be such a terrible thing after all. I had long since abandoned all hope for marriage anyway; perhaps living on my own would be infinitely more peaceful. At the very least, I wouldn’t have to share a bedroom with a cheating husband who loved preaching moral lessons every time he strayed.

—

The decision to end our marriage was finalized with astonishing speed — taking less than two hours. The divorce agreement was so overwhelmingly stacked in my favor that I briefly wondered if he’d been possessed by a ghost.

Without second-guessing it, I signed my name on the dotted line.

“Let’s have dinner together,” Zhou Jisheng said, turning to look at me as he drove. “I reserved a table at your favorite restaurant.”

I didn’t overthink it and simply nodded in agreement. In my mind, I treated it as the final closing meal of our marriage.

Yet the moment I stepped into the private dining room, I locked eyes with Huo Qisheng.

“…?” I whipped my head back toward Zhou Jisheng, my tone instantly hardening. “You invited Mr. Huo?”

Zhou Jisheng avoided my eyes:

“Niannian, it’s just a casual dinner.”

I let out a bitter laugh:

“Just a casual dinner?”

When a person lies enough, it becomes second nature. He didn’t answer, but I already understood everything.

I looked down at my ring finger, where a faint indentation still remained from where my wedding band used to sit. The love I once felt for Zhou Jisheng had drained away long ago. But realizing that the man who was once my husband was now using me as a bargaining chip with another man… still filled me with a deep, humiliating ache.

Tears spilled over my lashes, impossible to hold back.

Zhou Jisheng hovered nearby for a few awkward seconds before… turning around and walking out of the room. Before leaving, he even thoughtfully pulled the door shut behind him, so considerate that I almost wanted to applaud him for being such a text-book ex-husband.

Huo Qisheng stepped up to me. He offered no hollow comforts, no soothing platitudes, nor did he seize the moment to drop flirtatious hints. He simply pulled out a tissue in silence and gently wiped away my tears.

For as long as I cried, he quietly wiped them away.

Only when I had exhausted myself, my eyes red and swollen, did he gently pull me to my feet:

“Go wash your face. Then get something to eat.”

—

I headed into the restroom while Huo Qisheng walked to the far end of the hallway to light a cigarette. Unbeknownst to him, Zhou Jisheng had quietly followed him out.

“Mr. Huo… Niannian and I are officially divorced.”

Huo Qisheng’s tone was razor-cold:

“Then from this day forward… remember your place.”

Zhou Jisheng suddenly let out a strained, forced laugh:

“A man of your status surely won’t keep just one woman for long. Once you head back to Hong Kong and this whole affair blows over… I’ll remarry Niannian.”

“Zhou Jisheng.” It was the first time Huo Qisheng had ever addressed him by his full name.

Zhou Jisheng instinctively lifted his head.

“You won’t get that chance.”

Zhou Jisheng’s face instantly paled:

“Mr. Huo… what do you mean?”

Huo Qisheng slowly crushed out his cigarette:

“Do you really think… I was merely chasing a fleeting thrill?”

His presence was overwhelmingly calm, utterly absolute. Standing there, he effortlessly made everyone else around him feel a head shorter.

For years, Huo Qisheng had endured countless sleepless nights. But from this night forward… he already knew exactly who he wanted to spend those sleepless nights with.

Zhou Jisheng stumbled back a couple of steps, a sudden, horrifying realization dawning on him. He pointed a trembling finger straight at Huo Qisheng:

“It was you! You set me up! You deliberately threw Qiao Lu out as bait!”

Huo Qisheng looked at him, the corners of his lips curving into a faint, mocking smile:

“Zhou Jisheng, you’re even dumber than I thought.”

Qiao Lu had never been his fiancée. And a man who truly loved a woman would never use her as a pawn on a chessboard.

“Huo Qisheng! Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Xu Nian everything?”

Huo Qisheng let out a cool, effortless laugh:

“If you want her to hear the full details of how you begged for mercy on your knees… feel free.”

“You’re completely shameless! Despicable!”

Zhou Jisheng’s eyes flushed red with fury, but his voice cracked with clear defeat.

Huo Qisheng couldn’t have cared less. Call him shameless, call him despicable, it didn’t matter. It was still vastly better than going insane every single night, aching for a woman he didn’t even have the right to touch.