The Husband From the Original Pairing is Now Divorced - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Hatred — So Beautiful

“Sheng Jia… how did the two of you get together?”

Yu Xianghang lowered his head again, looking as if he were being crushed by a heavy weight, or perhaps he was deliberately avoiding Sheng Jia’s gaze.

Sheng Jia looked away toward the endless sky in the distance, his face reflecting a calmness that suggested he had anticipated everything.

Occasionally—only occasionally—he thought he knew that Yu Xianghang would not give up on him easily. Even after a divorce, Yu Xianghang would be the first one to turn back.

This was because Sheng Jia was certain he had once given this man one hundred percent of his love. He was certain he had given everything he possibly could. He didn’t believe Yu Xianghang couldn’t feel it, nor did he believe anyone in this world could simply let go of such love without a second thought.

Who wouldn’t want to be loved unreservedly? It was simply that Yu Xianghang had grown bored.

It was like being used to drinking plain water at the perfect temperature, then suddenly wanting to try a carbonated drink that could stimulate the taste buds.

“That is my business. It has nothing to do with you.”

Sheng Jia didn’t want to know how Yu Xianghang and “Mr. Chen” had broken up. Likewise, he didn’t want to tell Yu Xianghang anything regarding himself and Zhou Zifei.

Perhaps Yu Xianghang did want to turn back as expected, but from the moment of his failed suicide attempt to the imprisonment of Sheng Qianlong—the man who had tortured him for decades—Sheng Jia had decided to live for himself for once.

During those ten years with Yu Xianghang, Sheng Jia had given his all, loving him as if to repay a life-saving debt.

And after the divorce, the ring was returned, the house was given up, and the car was left behind. Sheng Jia chose to leave with nothing. Subconsciously, he probably wanted to settle all accounts and leave clean.

No matter how many past events there were, in the end, he only sought one thing: “No relation.”

“No relation?”

Yu Xianghang repeated the words as he stood up. As if he had found a focal point, he stared straight at Sheng Jia’s remarkably pretty face.

“Sheng Jia, do you have the nerve to say that? We were together for ten years. I…”

At the mention of ten years, Yu Xianghang instinctively choked up, a strange bitterness and acidity filling his throat.

“When you were bullied in high school, didn’t I save you? When Sheng Qianlong committed domestic violence against you, didn’t I block the blows? Even when you wanted to leave home for university and Sheng Qianlong tried to stab you with a knife, I was the one who took the hit for you.”

“And all the money I gave Sheng Qianlong over the years… I even cut ties with my family just to marry you. You want to wipe all of that away with one ‘no relation’…”

“Sheng Jia, how can you say we have nothing to do with each other?”

Yu Xianghang’s eyes were bloodshot. He was panting from intense emotion, almost roaring these words at Sheng Jia.

Sheng Jia’s face turned pale at first, then he tightened his hand inside his coat pocket. The sharp edges of an object inside gave him a bit of courage.

He slowly pulled the item out of his pocket. He had brought it along specifically before leaving the house.

“Take this.”

The sunlight flashed off the object as Sheng Jia extended his hand. Yu Xianghang saw it clearly.

It was a bank card.

“I know Sheng Qianlong borrowed about 500,000 from you over the years, but I’m worried he underreported the amount. So, I prepared 600,000. If it’s not enough, I hope you can give me a little more time, and I’ll make up the difference next month.”

Sheng Jia’s slender, pale fingers lightly pinched a corner of the card. The overly long sleeve of his sweater poked out from the coat, covering the back of his hand where faint blue veins showed.

Yu Xianghang’s gaze landed on this left hand—specifically, the ring finger. Because of a certain discovery, his very breath was blocked by that initial bitter ache.

It turned out that the indentation left by a ring worn for six years could disappear in just five months.

“Do you think I came here to ask you for money?”

Yu Xianghang looked up with a bitter smile, hesitating to take the card.

Was it because on the day Sheng Jia first proposed divorce, he had told him to pay him back? Did Sheng Jia truly believe all this time that he just wanted compensation for his financial losses?

“Sheng Jia, the things I did for you were voluntary. I don’t need you to compensate me.”

Sheng Jia couldn’t read Yu Xianghang’s expression at this moment.

In their youth, Sheng Jia could still read Yu Xianghang’s joys and sorrows.

But after they married, Yu Xianghang became fickle—sometimes cold, sometimes passionate. Sheng Jia had long since lost the ability to perceive this man’s emotional shifts, nor could he fathom his thoughts.

Sheng Jia nodded silently, looked around, and then placed the card on the stone bench beside Yu Xianghang.

“I’ll leave the card here. The password is the last six digits of your ID. Do whatever you want with it. I won’t see you out.”

Wrapping his coat tightly around him, Sheng Jia turned to leave.

His posture was light. From start to finish, he looked like someone who could no longer bear to talk about anything more with Yu Xianghang.

He didn’t even push back against the words Yu Xianghang had roared in anger; it was as if they really should end things here.

But the moment Sheng Jia’s foot stepped out of the pavilion, Yu Xianghang called out to him again.

“Sheng Jia!”

“Are we… truly finished?”

Yu Xianghang watched as the figure in another man’s coat paused, then slowly turned around.

The warm sun cast a golden halo over his long black hair. Sheng Jia’s pointed chin was tucked into the sweater collar. His jade-like face was still as beautiful as ever, transcending gender. Even his curved, smiling eyes still held a charming affection after all these years, making him look soft and ethereal to anyone who looked at him.

In a daze, Yu Xianghang felt as if he were seeing the Sheng Jia he met for the very first time. Though frail and lonely back then, his eyes had always held a certain stubborn tenderness.

Sheng Jia didn’t speak. He was also looking at Yu Xianghang—looking at the man who had stood in front of him to protect him countless times, the man who had promised countless times to stay by his side forever, to love and cherish him.

“Yes.”

Finally, Sheng Jia just gave a slight nod and continued walking out of the pavilion.

“Wait, wait! Sheng Jia—”

Yu Xianghang took a deep breath, hurriedly grabbed the card from the stone bench, and chose to follow.

He grabbed Sheng Jia’s wrist, but his cold fingers didn’t dare touch the skin; they rested loosely on the coat sleeve.

“The money in here… you borrowed it, didn’t you? Did you borrow it from that man in your house?”

“Sheng Jia, do you realize that by taking his money, you’re essentially selling yourself? Give the money back to him. I don’t need it, and don’t… don’t do things like this.”

He practically squeezed those last few words out. His tone sounded as if the words were too shameful to speak, yet it made Sheng Jia turn his head abruptly, his gaze turning sharp.

“What kind of ‘things’?”

Sheng Jia pulled his wrist away and stood face-to-face with Yu Xianghang.

“Yu Xianghang, I didn’t get together with him for money. There is no need for you to worry about these things for me.”

Yu Xianghang’s lips trembled and his cheeks puffed out as if he had more to say, but he forced it down.

Sheng Jia took a deep breath and changed his tone. “Yu Xianghang, do you understand the meaning of ‘finished’ and ‘no relation’?”

His voice was soft, yet every word pierced the heart and every sentence inflicted a wound.

“From now on, whether I am doing well or poorly, you don’t need to care. And I won’t tell you.”

Yu Xianghang didn’t know what he said or did after that.

He only remembered that following those words, his memory was left with nothing but Sheng Jia’s back as he walked away without looking back—that familiar yet strange back, leaving a burning pain like a fire on his retinas.

…

From now on, whether I am doing well or poorly, you don’t need to care. And I won’t tell you.

Sheng Jia’s footsteps stopped in front of the door. He raised his left hand to look at the spot that had long been empty.

He had actually been able to say such things to Yu Xianghang.

Recalling his past reliance and love for this man felt hazy, like something that happened in a previous life. Though there was a bit of happiness and a bit of sadness, it was so faint—faint like the stain of a raindrop on the hem of a garment.

However, the heavy rain that Sheng Jia had struggled through was finally over. His sky was gradually clearing.

This was enough.

Two people drifting apart, living their own lives well. That was enough.

Just as Sheng Jia was lost in thought with his fingers on the doorknob, there was a click, and the door opened from the inside.

“Teacher Sheng?”

Zhou Zifei looked at the person at the door in surprise. Seeing Sheng Jia standing there with his head down, unmoving, he frowned slightly before quickly smoothing his expression.

He stepped outside, placed his hands on Sheng Jia’s shoulders, leaned in close, and lowered his voice.

“What happened? Talk to me.”

Sheng Jia didn’t speak. He moved forward a step in silence. A lock of hair slipped from the side of his face, the ends swaying slightly in the air, making Zhou Zifei’s heart skip a beat for some reason.

“Teacher Sheng…”

Zhou Zifei was about to speak but froze. He tilted his head to look at the crown of black hair leaning against his shoulder and neck.

At this moment, Sheng Jia was slightly hunched over, his forehead resting just below Zhou Zifei’s collarbone. That warm breath passed through the silk fabric to the skin, triggering a shiver.

“I know why he came.”

“He regrets it. He wants me to go back to him.”

Sheng Jia’s voice was raspy. He closed his eyes, the scent of Zhou Zifei surrounding him, his forehead touching a patch of firm, warm muscle.

Zhou Zifei listened quietly. He let Sheng Jia lean against him but didn’t immediately reach out to hug him.

However, his concerned gaze remained focused on the top of Sheng Jia’s head.

“He was right. What I owe him can never be fully repaid.”

“If he hadn’t pulled me out of the abyss back then, would I still be standing here now? Perhaps one day I would have killed Sheng Qianlong or chosen suicide.”

“But I still feel wronged in my heart. I don’t know why, I just feel… so wronged.”

Is it enough for both of us to be well?

Why should the person who betrayed first get to be ‘well,’ while the one who was betrayed had to go through several brushes with death before learning to let go?

Sheng Jia raised his hands and gripped the fabric of Zhou Zifei’s chest. His sweater sleeves slid down, revealing the backs of his hands where veins were bulging from the force.

The “calm and collected” act was all fake.

When he first saw Yu Xianghang’s pathetic attempt to reconcile, the first thing that surged within Sheng Jia was hatred.

Although he tried his best to suppress this hatred, after meeting Yu Xianghang today, Sheng Jia realized he still hated him.

He hated that Yu Xianghang wasn’t pathetic enough. He hated that Yu Xianghang questioned Zhou Zifei’s presence. He hated that Yu Xianghang so easily used the past to assert dominance. He hated that Yu Xianghang could still get a dignified farewell from this situation.

“Teacher Sheng, are you unwilling to let it go? Do you feel that since he was the one who cheated, why does he get to act so self-righteous now?”

Zhou Zifei seemed to be able to read Sheng Jia’s emotions from the trembling hands on his chest. He couldn’t help but reach out and embrace Sheng Jia’s shoulders, stroking the soft hair as he spoke the words Sheng Jia was hiding.

“You want him to have a miserable life. You want him to never dare show his face again, rather than feeling he still has the right to ask for a reconciliation, right?”

Sheng Jia’s body trembled. As if his inner thoughts had been exposed, he raised his head.

In those eyes that usually made people feel so close, there was a hatred he hadn’t had time to hide. The curved lines of his eyes now showed a startling sharpness.

Seeing this, a faint smile appeared on Zhou Zifei’s lips. He pressed his thumb against the corner of Sheng Jia’s reddened eye and rubbed it gently.

“So beautiful.”