I Divorced My Stunning Wife and Now She Wants Me Back - Chapter 2:

Chapter 2: Wife, Mother-in-Law, and Sister-in-Law.

It took quite a while before Qin Chaolu finally calmed down. She glared fiercely at Zhao Xinnian and asked, “How are you going to explain this to Yanyan?”

“What is there to explain?” Zhao Xinnian replied calmly. “I have more free time than you, so I’ll take care of her. Once Yanyan grows up, she’ll naturally understand.”

“You have more free time?” Qin Chaolu laughed sarcastically. “Of course you do. You run a tiny convenience store that barely gets any customers, so naturally you have plenty of time… Over all these years, the 3.5 million yuan I gave you has already filled that financial hole of yours! And now you’re talking about taking care of Yanyan? I’m afraid you won’t even be able to afford her tuition.”

Zhao Leyan was almost seven years old and had just started first grade.

Zhao Xinnian frowned and said, “Do you really have to be that harsh? No matter how badly I’m doing, I’m not so broke that I can’t even afford her tuition.”

Just as Zhao Xinnian knew there was someone else in his wife’s heart, Qin Chaolu also knew that he had been using the money she gave him to repay his debts.

After seven years of marriage, many things were no longer secrets between them.

Back then, Zhao Xinnian’s father, Zhao Cheng, had opened a factory. Unfortunately, the investment failed, and the business went bankrupt overnight. Unable to withstand such a devastating blow, Zhao Cheng suffered a sudden heart attack and could not be saved.

He was gone, but the debts remained.

In modern society, there was no rule saying that a son had to repay his father’s debts, especially since Zhao Xinnian had not inherited any of his father’s assets.

He could choose not to concern himself with the money owed to the bank. However, the money borrowed from relatives and his father’s former comrades was different. Those were debts Zhao Xinnian felt he had to acknowledge.

Thus, immediately after graduating from university, Zhao Xinnian found himself burdened with nearly 4 million yuan in debt.

It was about as disastrous a start to adulthood as anyone could imagine.

Fortunately, after seven years, he had nearly finished paying it all back.

“Hehe, the only thing hard about you is that mouth of yours,” Qin Chaolu said disdainfully. “You want a divorce? Fine, I agree. But Yanyan stays with me.”

“With you? So she can watch you bring home some uncle she doesn’t even know to sleep with?” Zhao Xinnian asked sarcastically. “Do you really think I’d agree to that? Do you think Yanyan could accept it?”

Qin Chaolu’s expression immediately darkened.

She looked at him seriously and said, “Zhao Xinnian, don’t make it sound so disgusting. This is between the two of us. Don’t drag Awei into it.”

“Fine, fine.” Zhao Xinnian waved his hand dismissively. “I don’t want to drag him into it either. We’ll put Yanyan’s custody aside for now. She can stay with whichever one of us she wants.”

Qin Chaolu thought for a moment before nodding. “Fine.”

Their marriage had been contractual from the beginning, with each of them getting what they needed. There was no point talking about who owed whom or who had wronged whom.

In a sense, this could even be considered an amicable separation.

Zhao Xinnian let out a soft breath and stood up. “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow morning, we’ll take Yanyan to school together, then go to the Civil Affairs Bureau.”

Qin Chaolu said nothing.

Zhao Xinnian turned and walked toward the door. Just as he reached it, Qin Chaolu suddenly spoke behind him, “There’s nothing dirty going on between Awei and me like you’re imagining.”

Zhao Xinnian paused.

‘Was that supposed to be an explanation?’

‘But I don’t need one…’

He turned around with a broad grin and said, “All right. Go back to your phone call. He might already be getting impatient waiting for you.”

“You!”

Furious, Qin Chaolu grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him.

…

Zhao Xinnian went downstairs. As he looked around the familiar home, a trace of regret still lingered in his eyes.

In truth, he had always been quite satisfied with the Qin family.

There was his mischievous and eccentric sister-in-law, as well as his sharp-tongued but soft-hearted mother-in-law…

However, every gathering eventually came to an end. Perhaps their marriage had been a mistake from the very beginning.

Zhao Xinnian knew this better than anyone.

He had always been nothing more than an accidental substitute.

When he reached the ground floor, a voice immediately came from the living room.

“What were you two arguing about? I could hear you bickering all the way from downstairs.”

His mother-in-law, Qin Fengjiao, was lying on the sofa with a facial mask covering her face. She glanced sideways at Zhao Xinnian and questioned him in an indifferent tone.

On the other side of the living room, Zhao Leyan was playing horsey. His twenty-year-old sister-in-law, Qin Wanshuang, was down on all fours, entertaining the little girl.

Zhao Xinnian thought for a moment and decided it would be better to tell the truth. Lowering his voice, he said, “Mom, we’re planning to get divorced.”

“What?!”

Qin Fengjiao shot upright from the sofa.

Meanwhile, Qin Wanshuang, who was still crouching on the floor, visibly perked up her ears before turning around in disbelief. “Huh?”

Zhao Xinnian repeated, “We’re going to complete the divorce procedures tomorrow morning.”

Qin Fengjiao ripped the facial mask from her face, revealing features that remained attractive despite her age. Her expression turned cold as she ordered, “Wanshuang, take Yanyan upstairs and tell Chaolu to come down.”

“Okay.”

Qin Wanshuang glanced at Zhao Xinnian, then picked up Zhao Leyan and hurried upstairs.

Five minutes later, Qin Fengjiao asked coldly, “All right, explain yourselves. What exactly is going on?”

Qin Chaolu frowned and snorted. “I wasn’t the one who brought up the divorce.”

“And you?” Qin Fengjiao turned toward Zhao Xinnian, her tone distinctly unfriendly.

Zhao Xinnian sighed. “We’re emotionally incompatible.”

“Emotionally incompatible?” The moment Qin Fengjiao heard those words, anger surged through her. “You’re a grown man who eats my food and lives under my roof. Have we ever deprived you of money or anything else? And now you’re suddenly getting all sentimental on me? Emotionally incompatible, my ass! I’m telling you right now, you are not getting this divorce.”

Normally, Qin Fengjiao ruled the household with unquestionable authority. Once she said something, no one dared contradict her.

Zhao Xinnian also had a mild temperament and had almost never argued with her.

This time, however, his expression remained unchanged while his voice was exceptionally firm. “Mom, this isn’t something you get to decide.”

“You… you… you!!”

Qin Fengjiao pointed at him, her finger trembling with rage.

Qin Chaolu curled her lips and muttered, “See? I told you it wasn’t my fault. Who knows what got into this guy? He’s suddenly as stubborn as a mule.”

“You’ve rebelled! You’ve really rebelled!”

Qin Fengjiao slammed her palm against the table and shouted furiously, “You little brat, listen carefully! If you dare ask for a divorce, if you dare walk out of the Qin family’s door, then don’t expect it to be so easy to come back! With my daughter’s figure and looks, the men chasing after her could form a line from Tiannan University all the way to City Hall. You’d better think this through carefully!”

Zhao Xinnian remained calm. He even smiled as he said, “Mom, don’t get so angry. It’s not worth damaging your health over something like this. This is between us younger people, so please don’t get involved.”

“So now you’re calling me old? Well done, Zhao Xinnian! You heartless, ungrateful little bastard!”

Qin Fengjiao immediately launched into a furious tirade.

The corner of Zhao Xinnian’s mouth twitched.

He was beginning to regret telling his mother-in-law about the divorce at all. Wouldn’t it have been much easier if he and Qin Chaolu had simply handled the paperwork quietly?

“Um… it’s getting late. I’ll go run Yanyan’s bath. Mom, you should get some rest too.”

With that, Zhao Xinnian immediately left the living room.

When he reached the upper floor, however, he discovered Qin Wanshuang standing beside the staircase with her ears perked up, secretly listening to everything happening downstairs.

Zhao Xinnian’s sudden appearance startled her.

She hurriedly grabbed a broom from beside her and pretended as though nothing had happened. Unfortunately, her eyes kept darting around guiltily, making her look exactly like someone who had just been caught doing something suspicious.

Zhao Xinnian said nothing and simply walked past her.

Unable to restrain her curiosity, Qin Wanshuang asked, “Brother-in-law, are you really going to divorce my sister?”

“Yeah. We’re going to handle the paperwork tomorrow,” Zhao Xinnian replied.

Qin Wanshuang curled her lips and said, “My sister is so beautiful, yet you actually want to divorce her! Sure enough, men are all terrible.”

Zhao Xinnian’s expression darkened as he complained, “Go, go, go. Find somewhere else to play! Do you even know what happened between us? You don’t know anything, yet you’re already jumping to conclusions.”