I Divorced My Stunning Wife and Now She Wants Me Back - Chapter 3:

Chapter 3: Divorced Today, Dating System Activated?

Downstairs, Qin Fengjiao finally calmed down after a while. Frowning, she asked, “What exactly happened?”

Qin Chaolu avoided meeting her gaze and stammered, “How would I know… He’s the one insisting on getting divorced. I think he’s just had it too comfortable for too long and suddenly decided to stir up trouble.”

Qin Fengjiao stared directly at her daughter. After a long while, she said, “Looks like something really did happen. Let me guess… You have another man?”

The moment Qin Chaolu heard this, she sprang to her feet like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

“Mom, how can you say something like that? Do you really think I’m that kind of woman?”

Seeing how agitated she was, Qin Fengjiao sneered and said, “You got defensive that easily. Looks like I hit the mark.”

Qin Chaolu froze.

When she saw the expression on her mother’s face, she finally slumped back onto the sofa and said, “Fine. It’s not what you think. It’s… Awei. He’s coming back.”

“Awei? Zhuang Ziwei?” Qin Fengjiao asked.

Qin Chaolu spread her hands helplessly and said, “Zhao Xinnian happened to find out about it, and now he insists on divorcing me. Isn’t he overreacting?”

Qin Fengjiao knew perfectly well about the history between Zhuang Ziwei and her daughter. She said nothing more and simply studied Qin Chaolu carefully.

Being scrutinized like that made Qin Chaolu increasingly uneasy. Finally, she said, “If you have something to say, just say it. Stop looking at me like that.”

“Zhuang Ziwei is about to return, and you’re already rushing to get divorced. What exactly are you thinking? Are you planning to marry Zhuang Ziwei and find Yanyan a stepfather?” Qin Fengjiao asked calmly.

Qin Chaolu stared blankly for a long moment before answering, “I haven’t thought that far… Besides, Yanyan’s father will only ever be Zhao Xinnian…”

“But you two are getting divorced,” Qin Fengjiao emphasized.

Qin Chaolu snapped back to her senses, and anger surfaced on her face. She snorted and said, “Mom, do you really think he can actually divorce me? Give him half a month at most. He’ll regret it!”

“So you’re treating marriage like a game?” Qin Fengjiao asked coldly.

Qin Chaolu gritted her teeth. The moment she remembered Zhao Xinnian’s mocking smile earlier, anger churned in her stomach.

‘I didn’t do anything wrong. What gives you the right to ask for a divorce? How dare you even ask for one?’

She snorted and said, “Zhao Xinnian is the one treating marriage like a game. Fine, let’s get divorced. Who’s afraid of whom? Once he suffers enough, he’ll naturally come crawling back to me!”

Something stirred in Qin Fengjiao’s mind. “So you never actually intended to separate from Zhao Xinnian for good?”

“I…”

Qin Chaolu hesitated for a while before saying, “We’ve lived together for so many years, and Yanyan is already this old.”

She offered two reasons that sounded reasonable enough.

Qin Fengjiao nodded thoughtfully before continuing, “Then what are you going to do about Zhuang Ziwei? When he returns to China this time, are the two of you… planning for something to happen?”

Qin Chaolu shook her head, looking somewhat lost.

Qin Fengjiao sighed softly and stood up. “I suggest you think everything through carefully before making a decision.”

Watching her mother walk away, Qin Chaolu suddenly felt a flicker of panic in her heart.

She hurriedly explained, “Mom, don’t misunderstand either. Awei is bringing a huge amount of capital back with him this time.”

Qin Chaolu worked at a bank as a VIP relationship manager. Putting everything else aside, Zhuang Ziwei was also a major client.

Without even looking back, Qin Fengjiao slowly replied, “You don’t need to explain it to me.”

…

Upstairs, Zhao Leyan had finished her bath and was lying in her little bed.

“Daddy, I want you to tell me a story!” she pleaded sweetly.

Zhao Xinnian glanced at the time and scolded her with a smile, “Look how late it is. Hurry up and sleep. You still have school tomorrow!”

“Nooo.”

Zhao Leyan pouted, wrapped both arms around her father’s arm, and shook it repeatedly. “Tell me a story! Daddy~ Daddy~ Daddy~”

Zhao Xinnian was a man of principles.

Unfortunately, Zhao Leyan ranked equal to or above those principles. After hearing one “Daddy” after another, he could only surrender. “Fine, but I’m only telling you one story.”

“Wow! Daddy is the best! Mwah~”

Beaming with delight, Zhao Leyan hugged Zhao Xinnian and planted a loud kiss on his cheek.

A smile also appeared on Zhao Xinnian’s face.

Twenty minutes later, once he saw that his daughter was sound asleep, Zhao Xinnian quietly slipped out of her room.

He returned to his own bedroom.

He had barely lain down when the connecting door inside the room suddenly opened.

Qin Chaolu appeared in the doorway.

Although the two slept in separate bedrooms, there was a door between their rooms that allowed them to enter each other’s space directly.

“Are you satisfied with how things turned out today?” Qin Chaolu asked coldly.

Zhao Xinnian frowned and said, “I don’t want to argue with you.”

Qin Chaolu gritted her teeth and stared intensely at him.

Seven years together had given her more than enough time to understand this man.

Zhao Xinnian had always been extremely mild-tempered. Throughout all their years together, she could count on one hand the number of times she had seen him truly impatient or agitated.

No matter what happened, he always seemed capable of facing everything calmly.

Even this divorce was no exception.

“I’m only going to ask you one question,” Qin Chaolu said, emphasizing every word.

Zhao Xinnian nodded. “Ask.”

“All these years, did you always treat our relationship as nothing more than an agreement? Were you only with me for the money?” Qin Chaolu finally asked the question she had been unable to suppress.

She couldn’t understand how Zhao Xinnian could ask for a divorce so easily. No matter how much she thought about it, she could only come up with one explanation.

Perhaps Zhao Xinnian had never cared about her at all.

That possibility left Qin Chaolu feeling deeply frustrated.

Zhao Xinnian shook his head and answered without hesitation, “At the beginning, it was only an agreement. I was only doing it for the money. But later, that changed.”

He was completely honest.

Only a few months after they married, he had fallen in love with this woman.

Unfortunately, seven years of companionship still couldn’t compare to the man who had always occupied a place in her heart.

Qin Chaolu merely sneered. “Really? I don’t believe you!”

“Believe whatever you want. I’m going to sleep,” Zhao Xinnian replied irritably.

For some reason, those words seemed to infuriate Qin Chaolu.

She suddenly rushed over, yanked Zhao Xinnian’s blanket away, and snapped furiously, “Sleep, huh? I’ll let you sleep! Go ahead and sleep!”

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Shut up. I want to use you tonight.”

“Calm down first…”

…

Before they knew it, the two had become entangled together.

However, Qin Chaolu seemed different tonight.

This time, she no longer suppressed herself. Her cries rose so loudly that even Zhao Xinnian felt nervous listening to them.

Fortunately, the house had excellent soundproofing…

As for Zhao Xinnian, although they were getting divorced tomorrow, that didn’t interfere with his current privileges.

…

A long time later, an exhausted Qin Chaolu nestled against his chest and fell into a deep sleep.

Looking at her flawless, peaceful face, Zhao Xinnian still felt a trace of regret in his heart.

She had once been his deskmate, and later, the wife whose name appeared beside his on their marriage certificate.

In the end, however, they were destined not to grow old together.

…

The next day, neither of them mentioned what had happened the previous night.

After dropping Zhao Leyan off at elementary school, Zhao Xinnian drove toward the Civil Affairs Bureau.

The atmosphere inside the car remained heavy and silent throughout the journey.

Before long, they arrived outside the Civil Affairs Bureau.

Qin Chaolu was the first to break the silence. “Did you bring your documents?”

Zhao Xinnian nodded and pulled them from his pocket. “I did. What about yours?”

Qin Chaolu remained silent for two seconds before taking her documents out of her handbag. Smiling, she said, “I brought mine too.”

Zhao Xinnian smiled as well. “All right. Let’s go.”

Half an hour later, the two walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau holding their brand-new divorce certificates.

“Ex-husband, I hope you have a bright future ahead of you,” Qin Chaolu said.

Zhao Xinnian replied, “Ex-wife, then I hope your unforgettable first love doesn’t turn out to be a disappointment.”

Qin Chaolu stared at him for several seconds.

In the end, she said nothing and simply turned away.

Yet the instant she turned around, her eyes still reddened.

Zhao Xinnian, however, was a different story.

[Ding!]

[Dating System activated.]

Immediately afterward, an unbearably sweet voice echoed inside his mind.

[Host, you truly are exceptionally charming. A beautiful romance often begins with an ordinary, seemingly insignificant encounter. As a young man, you must not be timid. You need the courage to face everything head-on. Now, please ask your deskmate, the perfect girl Qin Chaolu who just transferred to your school, for her contact information.]