Chapter 2: Jiang Ciyou, You’re Truly Despicable

The woman called Xia Ling turned pale instantly. Her face betrayed a trace of unease as she hurried to apologize, “Ci You, I’m sorry, it was just an accident.” Then her eyes reddened, tears shimmering as if she were the one who had been wronged, as though Ci You had been terribly cruel to her. It was almost laughable.

Jiang Ci You’s expression barely changed, her smile unwavering. “Well, congratulations to both of you, then.” To an outsider, it might seem the sincere felicitation of friends. Only Jiang Ci You knew how bitterly ironic it was.

But three years had passed, and her temperament was no longer as it once had been.

“Ci You, I… may I keep this child?” Xia Ling’s voice was tentative, a humble plea.

And sure enough, such a tactic worked wonders on Yan Feng.

“Xia Ling, you don’t need to explain yourself to her. This child is ours—do we really need her permission to decide?” Yan Feng shot Jiang Ci You a hard glare, as though she had somehow bullied Xia Ling.

She had only offered her congratulations, nothing more.

How amusing.

“Of course, we’re all family, aren’t we? In ancient times, it was a blessing for a concubine to bear children for the household. When the baby’s born, he’ll have to call me ‘Mother’ too, won’t he?” Jiang Ci You’s tone was light, almost playful.

“Jiang Ci You, what nonsense are you spouting?” Yan Feng’s anger was barely restrained.

Jiang Ci You’s laughter grew even more radiant. “Oh, just joking—why so serious?”

“Grandfather asked me to bring you back to the old house. Are you coming with me, or with her?”

Yan Feng hesitated for a few seconds, then placed his suitcase into Jiang Ci You’s trunk. “Take us to the Capital Hotel first.”

Jiang Ci You cooperated, dropping the two of them off at the hotel entrance. All told, it was half an hour before Yan Feng had Xia Ling settled and returned to Jiang Ci You’s car. He sat in the back seat again, clearly intent on keeping his distance.

The car merged back into the city traffic.

“If you care for her so much, why put her up in a hotel? She’s carrying your child—shouldn't she be living in a few villas at least, elevated by her pregnancy?” Jiang Ci You teased.

Yan Feng’s voice was cold, laced with barely concealed anger, “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you, Jiang Ci You?”

Jiang Ci You laughed so brightly she seemed to bloom. “Sorry, sorry, I forgot you don’t own any property.”

After all, the Yan family had always considered Jiang Ci You their daughter-in-law. Since her kindergarten days, any property the Yan family bought for Yan Feng had been put in Jiang Ci You’s name. She now owned well over a hundred properties, more than a dozen villas, and countless storefronts. Yan Feng, on the other hand, had nothing—except for the Yan Corporation shares, which were all in his name as the sole heir.

From the very beginning, Yan Feng had been watching Jiang Ci You. Her smile never once faltered. They’d grown up together; no one knew her better. Her cheerful demeanor was a mask—she was, in truth, the most vengeful of souls. Seeing Xia Ling’s pregnant belly must have pushed her to her limits, hence the sardonic, joking tone.

Or perhaps she was using the family assets to manipulate him.

Yan Feng’s gaze grew colder, tinged with disgust. “Jiang Ci You, don’t bully Xia Ling. And don’t think I’ll ever return to you. What the Yan family gave you, I won’t contest—that’s my compensation to you. But if you want more, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Even the title of Mrs. Yan, I’ll reclaim.”

Jiang Ci You’s expression grew serious. “Yan Feng, let’s get a divorce.”

No—more precisely, they should break up.

Yan Feng’s face turned glacial. “Jiang Ci You, are you threatening me?”

He never believed she truly wanted a divorce—he knew her circumstances too well. She could not return to the Jiang family. Besides, she loved him to the point of life and death, even attempting suicide for his sake. In three years without contact, she had never brought up divorce. Now that he’d returned, she suddenly wanted out. There could be only one explanation: Xia Ling’s pregnancy had pushed her over the edge. She wanted to force him to break up with Xia Ling.

“I’m not threatening you. I’ve simply thought it through. When I married you, I did hope you’d change your mind. After you left, holding on to the title of Mrs. Yan was just my way of competing with Xia Ling. But now, I find it meaningless. Xia Ling is pregnant—the child is innocent. I don’t want to stand in the way of your family being together.”

She had once been young and impetuous, driven by resentment after being betrayed by both her boyfriend and her best friend. Marrying Yan Feng was not only because of the Jiang family’s downfall, but also because she refused to let those two live in peace. But three years had changed her outlook. She hadn’t wronged herself in those years, but she didn’t want to waste her life in the hollow shell of a marriage.

Yan Feng’s eyes were icy as he watched her through the rearview mirror.

So, it was really just because Xia Ling was pregnant.

“Jiang Ci You, do you say such things with a clear conscience? If it was so easy for you to let go, why did you slit your wrists back then, threatening your life?”

At the mention of this, a shadow passed through Jiang Ci You’s gaze. Her suicide attempt was not entirely because of Yan Feng.

After a moment’s silence, she casually ran her fingers through her soft hair, lifting her chin with an air of languid charm. She resumed her lazy demeanor. “If you don’t agree, so be it.”

Yan Feng snorted and turned away from her stunning face. Her initiative to suggest divorce inexplicably angered him; for a moment, it felt as though his heart had been seized. He almost believed she truly wanted a divorce. He’d overestimated her. Realizing she was merely testing and pressuring him, the disgust in his heart deepened.

“Jiang Ci You, you’re truly shameless.”

This was the second time Jiang Ci You had heard those words from Yan Feng. The first time had been after that summer camp, when Yan Feng confessed to her that he was with Xia Ling. She was stunned for five seconds before lunging at Xia Ling and slapping her repeatedly. Yan Feng had dragged her away and, in his anger, broke up with her. In her fury, Jiang Ci You had shouted, “Break up? Never! Even if I go to hell, I’ll drag the two of you with me!”

Back then, Yan Feng called her shameless. The pain of that insult had pierced her heart, leaving wounds that festered night after night. But with time, even pain becomes numbness; old wounds scab over, forming an armor.

So now, hearing it again, she felt nothing at all.

They soon arrived at the Yan family’s old residence. As they got out, they saw Madam Lan Pei, Yan Feng’s mother, standing by the door. There was no trace of joy at seeing her son after three years—only a deep, forbidding gloom.

She looked at Yan Feng and asked sharply, “I hear you brought that little vixen back too?”

Yan Feng cast a cold glance at Jiang Ci You. She spread her hands innocently. “I didn’t say a word, you saw it yourself—I haven’t even had time to call.”