Volume One, Chapter 3: Departure

After finalizing the discharge papers for her daughter, Su Wanqing held the child in her arms, feeling momentarily lost as to where they should go.

Married to Xie Yanchen for five years, she had dedicated herself entirely to their home, to the point where her circle of friends had dwindled to almost nothing; the only one she had was currently away on a business trip.

As for her own family... her mother had died giving birth to her, and Su Wanning’s mother was poised to take her place as the official mistress of the house. Su Wanqing had been sent to the countryside to be raised, leaving her with no real emotional ties to them. How could she possibly expect them to take her in now?

As for her in-laws... she lowered her gaze. Ever since they discovered that Xie Kexin suffered from autism, they had subjected her to constant cold mockery and shown no affection whatsoever toward the child. Going there would undoubtedly be inviting further misery.

Left with no choice, she had to return with her daughter to the house she shared with Xie Yanchen—though it was less his home and more her own. In all the time they had been married, he had rarely returned. To him, the house was little more than a hotel.

Yet, this was precisely why she felt a sense of relief. Since Su Wanning was injured today, it meant Xie Yanchen would not be coming home. It was the perfect opportunity to retrieve the few belongings she still had and then find a place to move out.

As she drove home, she contacted a real estate agency. Suddenly, her friend Zheng Lu called. No sooner had she picked up than she heard her friend cursing furiously on the other end. Su Wanqing quickly glanced at Xie Kexin, relieved to see that her daughter was immersed in her own world and familiar enough with Zheng Lu’s voice that it didn't cause a stir. Even so, she cleared her throat and put on her Bluetooth headset before speaking. "What’s wrong?"

Zheng Lu’s voice was shrill. "What’s wrong?! Have you not checked the trending topics? It was one thing for your husband to announce it on his private social media, but today he went public online! Don’t you realize you’ve become the laughingstock of the entire internet?"

As she spoke, Su Wanqing’s phone pinged with a barrage of messages, all from Zheng Lu. She couldn't easily check them while driving, but it didn't matter. She glanced at Xie Kexin and said, "It doesn't matter. I’ve already asked him for a divorce. Whatever he posts or does is no longer my concern. Right now... all I want is to take care of my daughter. Nothing else matters."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Lu fell silent for a long time, as if gauging the sincerity in her voice.

"Are you serious?"

After all, she had tried to persuade Su Wanqing to leave for years. Apart from his good looks, Xie Yanchen was an irresponsible husband and a cold father—it was enough to make her blood boil. Yet, Su Wanqing had never been able to bring herself to do it.

Su Wanqing gave a soft "mhm." "I’m serious. I’ve made up my mind."

On the other end, Zheng Lu let out a heavy sigh. "It’s about time!"

"But Qingqing, what will you do next? Should I put in a word with Director Xu and see if you can come back? He’s always asking about you; I’m sure it wouldn't be a problem."

Su Wanqing felt a flicker of hope, but she hesitated, remembering how she had enraged her mentor when she insisted on marrying Xie Yanchen—the old woman had vowed then and there that she would never acknowledge her as a student again.

Ultimately, she shook her head. "Forget it. Don't put him in a difficult position. The old woman... she said she would never acknowledge me again in this lifetime."

Zheng Lu wanted to say more, but it was clearly getting busy on her end. "It's fine, don't worry about the professor. Oh, wait, it's here—Qingqing, I have to go, we'll talk later."

After the hurried call ended, a weight settled in Su Wanqing's chest, making it hard to breathe. Back then... she really had been wrong.

When she reached home, Xie Kexin had fallen asleep in the backseat. Looking at the house that had trapped her for five years, Su Wanqing felt a surge of revulsion for the first time, sitting in the car, unwilling to step out.

Driven by a strange impulse, she remembered Zheng Lu’s words and opened their chat history. She tapped on the images Zheng Lu had sent. The first was a screenshot of the trending topics on Weibo. The headline, "Chairman Xie of the Xie Group and the Young Miss of the Su Family Spend the Night Stargazing on the Mountain," had surged to the very top spot. In fact, five of the top ten trending topics were about this very subject.

Below the posts, netizens were clamoring: "I’m obsessed with this!" "The romance of a wealthy CEO is so dreamy!" "Oh my god, he’s so handsome and she’s so beautiful! What a perfect golden couple!"

Su Wanqing swallowed hard and opened the next image. In the photo, Su Wanning was leaning against Xie Yanchen’s shoulder, beneath a sky of sparkling stars and the city lights sprawling below them. Their silhouettes, framed against the view, looked as if they were meant to be together for eternity.

Even through the screen, Su Wanqing could feel an atmosphere so beautiful it made her want to grind her teeth in agony. It would be a lie to say she wasn't envious. Yet, she feigned calm as she tapped her phone, deleting the photos from the chat, deluding herself into believing that if she couldn't see them, they didn't exist. If she couldn't see it, she could pretend not to know that he was capable of love—it was just that she wasn't the object of it.

She lowered her eyes, and a tear fell onto the screen. She anxiously wiped it away with her sleeve, but one tear followed another until the screen was blurred by her sorrow. Only then did she collapse over the steering wheel, breaking down completely.

Ten minutes later, she clutched her chest and fiercely wiped the tears from her face. She swore this was the last time she would ever cry for that man.

Just then, the real estate agent called. She had offered a generous price and was not picky about the layout or location, so the agent had quickly found a place for her. Without a second thought, she transferred the final payment.

After the agent sent the address, she confirmed the location, stepped out of the car, and carried her daughter inside to pack.

In the villa, as long as Xie Yanchen wasn't home, the servants didn't treat her as the true Mrs. Xie, nor did they bother to appear before her, preferring to slack off in their rooms. Su Wanqing had been fending for herself for five years, so she didn't mind. She quickly gathered her ID, bank cards, a stack of the practice problems she usually worked on, and the books she wanted to read. She didn't even bother with a suitcase, simply tossing everything into a bag before leaving.

As she started the car, she felt the stone that had been crushing her heart for five years finally fall away.

That evening, after Xie Yanchen, who had not returned home, dropped Su Wanning off, he glanced at his phone. To his surprise, Su Wanqing hadn't called him once all day.

He frowned, opening his contact list, and saw the call she had made around 11:30 last night. He remembered then that he had been with Su Wanning and, not wanting to be bothered, had hung up on her and blocked her number, which he hadn't yet reversed.

He chuckled to himself, thinking, *How could this woman not call me?*

In their five years of marriage, he knew her tactics all too well. To get his attention, she would use herself as an excuse, or the child. She had even managed to make a perfectly healthy child autistic!

A cold glint flashed in Xie Yanchen’s eyes at the thought. He turned off his phone screen, making no move to unblock her. Still, he was a bit curious about her reaction to the trending topics. After all, he had promised her years ago that while he would play around, he would never make it public. Besides, the media wouldn't dare report on him without his consent.

Imagining the woman curled up somewhere, crying her eyes out, the smile on his lips deepened.

It was time for him to go home.