The Husband From the Original Pairing is Now Divorced - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Abnormality — Shouldn’t it be this way?

Yu Xianghang had initially thought that his life wouldn’t change much after leaving Sheng Jia.

He wasn’t someone unloved or without company; even after divorcing Sheng Jia, he could still occupy a dominant position in any emotional relationship.

Yu Xianghang had always believed this. The thought “I am doing well” was as natural and deep-rooted as the belief that Sheng Jia was not his best choice.

“You really want to break up with me?”

“How many times do I have to say it? I want to break up, I really want to break up with you—”

Chen Lekang’s tone on the other end of the phone had become extremely impatient. Yu Xianghang could even vaguely hear another man chuckling—a mocking, amused laugh.

“Anything else? If not, I’m hanging up. You keep calling to ask, it’s annoying as hell.”

Hearing those words, Yu Xianghang felt a sudden, terrifying sense of familiarity.

Lately, every word Chen Lekang said and every action he took made Yu Xianghang discover, with fear and surprise, that it was all so familiar.

“No, no, don’t hang up!”

Yu Xianghang suddenly cried out. He squeezed the phone tightly, his face pale as he questioned him.

“Why do you want to break up? Am I not good to you? I’ve done so much for you!”

“I… I even got a divorce. I sacrificed so much, why do you still want to break up with me?”

Sheng Jia’s face flashed past his eyes the moment he asked that question.

When that person had said he wanted a divorce, his face was ashen, his eyes filled with immense pain and a faint, subtle sense of loss.

Yu Xianghang remembered. He actually remembered—

Five months after the divorce, he still remembered exactly how Sheng Jia looked at that moment.

“So what if you’re good to me? Am I supposed to be eternally grateful because of that?”

“We were dating, not repaying a debt. Do you really want to use that little bit of kindness to morally kidnap me? You’re delusional.”

Beep. The call was disconnected.

Listening to the busy tone, Yu Xianghang’s mind went blank. A massive wave of loss and panic swept over him.

Outside the window, it was already dusk. The sun was slipping toward the horizon, leaving behind an orange-red glow. He sat alone on the living room sofa, subconsciously glancing toward the kitchen. The apron hung quietly by the door.

That person, always gentle and silent, was not there.

Whenever Yu Xianghang finished sleeping with Chen Lekang, Chen Lekang would quickly fall asleep. Looking at the silhouette of the other man’s back, Yu Xianghang couldn’t help but think of Sheng Jia.

He thought of Sheng Jia’s moist, affectionate eyes. In the aftermath of intimacy, those smiling eyes would gaze at him for a long time, as if reluctant to even blink.

Through those daily gazes, Yu Xianghang had firmly believed that Sheng Jia loved him like a god who needed constant offerings.

Shouldn’t it be this way?

Because he had once saved Sheng Jia, Sheng Jia accepted everything about him without a single complaint.

Because he was good to Sheng Jia, Sheng Jia should be grateful for that kindness.

After all, what he gave Sheng Jia was not just love, but a life-saving grace. Sheng Jia himself had acted as if his love was too deep to ever repay.

Shouldn’t it be this way?

Yu Xianghang thought again about the day Sheng Jia brought up the divorce, and the five months he had spent living with Chen Lekang. He was always thinking about Sheng Jia, especially about that day.

The phone rang piercingly again. In the dim living room, he vaguely saw a two-character name on the screen. For a split second, he hoped the caller was Sheng Jia.

“Director Yu, there’s a problem with that document from last week. We need you to come take a look. Are you available now?”

It was his secretary.

He didn’t speak. He looked at the time for no reason; it was 7:00 PM.

Usually at this time, Sheng Jia would have finished cooking dinner. If he received such a call, he would typically abandon a table full of food and leave a Sheng Jia who said “Go ahead” but whose eyes pleaded for him to stay.

He knew Sheng Jia had no friends and was not good at communicating with people. He was the only person Sheng Jia could talk to every day, yet he left the house time and again, not returning until late at night.

Many times, Yu Xianghang wasn’t even that busy. He just felt…

Sheng Jia’s posture of wholehearted reliance on him made him feel a bit tired and suffocated, to the point where he preferred to stay at the office until it was late enough to go home.

Initially, Yu Xianghang liked that Sheng Jia was completely obedient. But as time passed, he increasingly felt that taking care of such a Sheng Jia was exhausting, and facing such a Sheng Jia was boring.

The scent of laundry detergent on Sheng Jia was cheap.

Sheng Jia’s shy and nervous state in bed was weak.

The way Sheng Jia wore an apron to greet him after work was plain to the point of being annoying.

So, when he met the young and flamboyant Chen Lekang, he began to pay attention to him.

Chen Lekang had a different cologne than Sheng Jia, wore more fashionable clothes, and had a more assertive style.

His heart drifted—

But that was normal, wasn’t it? Spending every single day with the same person for ten years, anyone would get bored eventually. He was just taking a little “break” in a marriage that was so stable it couldn’t even produce a ripple.

But Yu Xianghang hadn’t initially intended to cheat. Even now, he still felt it was Sheng Jia’s lack of care that forced him into making such a choice.

One night while working overtime, a colleague joked: “Director Yu works overtime every day. Isn’t your family worried you’ve found someone else at the office?”

Yu Xianghang’s heart stirred. He thought, indeed, Sheng Jia had never expressed any dissatisfaction. No matter how reluctant his eyes were, he would always softly remind Yu Xianghang that work came first.

When he returned home that night, he asked Sheng Jia about it, maintaining his usual light, indifferent attitude—the habit of being the dominant one.

“No, I trust you. I’ve never worried about things like that.”

Sheng Jia stood in the kitchen washing dishes, speaking with a smile.

White foam covered Sheng Jia’s hands. The smell of dish soap wasn’t pleasant, yet he had his hair tied back and was focused on scrubbing the dishes seriously.

Yu Xianghang felt a sudden surge of anger and intentionally provoked him:

“You trust me that much? There are plenty of young, handsome guys at my company. Aren’t you afraid that as you get older and lose your looks, you won’t be able to compete, and I’ll find someone else?”

Sheng Jia’s movements paused. He lowered his head, his thin profile hidden by stray hairs. Yu Xianghang couldn’t see his expression, only heard his voice remain gentle:

“I already can’t compete with them. Besides, if you really wanted to find someone else, I wouldn’t be able to stop you, would I?”

A sense of frustration was blocked in Yu Xianghang’s chest. He let out a cold laugh and left the kitchen. That night, when he received a flirtatious text from Chen Lekang as usual, he impulsively replied for the first time.

Afterwards, things spiraled out of control. Yu Xianghang constantly tested Sheng Jia, but Sheng Jia remained calm as if he knew nothing.

Finally, one day, he crossed the line.

When he kissed Chen Lekang, the image of Sheng Jia’s perpetually smiling face flashed through his mind. He thought: Didn’t you say you couldn’t stop me? Didn’t you say you were at ease? Then I’ll do this just to show you.

Sheng Jia, can you still stay that calm? Can you still act like nothing happened?

“Hello? Director Yu?”

The secretary’s voice came from the phone. Yu Xianghang sat in the dark, gripping the phone in silence.

People are truly pathetic.

Once the person they’ve hurt starts appearing completely indifferent, they start caring again, trying to make up for their mistakes.

“I’m not coming.”

“Director Yu—”

Yu Xianghang decisively hung up. His thoughts were a mess, but he suddenly really wanted to call Sheng Jia. He wanted to tell Sheng Jia he had broken up, that he had pushed away his evening work, and that he wanted to meet.

He opened the chat window with Sheng Jia. Their last interaction was when he discovered Chen Lekang was cheating; he had asked Sheng Jia about Sheng Qianlong and suggested meeting up, but Sheng Jia had refused him.

Yu Xianghang had blocked Sheng Jia in a fit of pique after that, but later realized Sheng Jia didn’t seem to notice, so he unblocked him again.

Looking at the message from over a month ago that said, “I can’t, we are already divorced,” Yu Xianghang sent a flurry of messages, his fingers finally trembling as he typed:

“Sheng Jia, I want to see you, I—”

Before the message could be sent, Sheng Jia replied: “Yu Xianghang, I am doing very well. Stop sending these messages.”

It was as if Yu Xianghang had been splashed with a bucket of ice water on a winter night; he was chilled to the bone.

…

During those weeks, Yu Xianghang took a long leave of absence. His daily routine consisted of cleaning the marital home he had shared with Sheng Jia and looking through their old photos one by one.

Every time he remembered something from the past, he would send it to Sheng Jia. He began to care for Sheng Jia frequently. Occasionally, when his chest felt so tight he couldn’t stand it, he would drink heavily, and in his intoxication, he would tell Sheng Jia how much he was suffering.

Sheng Jia, why does it hurt this much?

I agreed to the divorce. I thought I was tired of this marriage too. Why does it hurt so much when I think of you?

At that time, Yu Xianghang was still unwilling to admit he regretted it—until the day Sheng Jia’s chat window no longer showed “Read.”

He vaguely realized that Sheng Jia wasn’t “acting like nothing happened” or “pretending to be calm,” but truly didn’t care anymore.

The panic of losing Sheng Jia overcame his pride and self-esteem. Yu Xianghang began to send messages and call frantically. That night, he thought of a thousand possibilities.

Is Sheng Jia’s phone broken? Is Sheng Jia busy tonight? Is Sheng Jia already asleep?

The only possibility he instinctively suppressed was “He doesn’t care about me anymore.”

Yu Xianghang found Sheng Jia’s residential complex from memory. Because he couldn’t enter through the gate, he got into an argument with the security guard. It wasn’t until dawn broke that he climbed over a two-meter fence like a thief. He didn’t care that he scraped his knees; he just wanted to see Sheng Jia.

But if he had known that Sheng Jia had spent the night in another man’s arms, would he still have insisted on coming?

…

“Yu Xianghang, what’s wrong with you?”

The familiar voice came from above. Yu Xianghang stopped his laughter—which was either self-mockery or a breakdown—and looked up through his tears.

The morning light falling through the gaps in the pavilion reflected on Sheng Jia’s face, making him look exceptionally soft. Right now, his brows were slightly furrowed, his thick lashes partially veiling his eyes.

Looking at this face that he had spent every day with, that he had loved and kissed, Yu Xianghang thought he would still have come to see Sheng Jia.

His derailed life could only find a sense of peaceful order through Sheng Jia.