Chapter 4

He had always known Jiang Lai was beautiful and had a good figure, and their occasional intimacy made it hard for him to restrain himself.

But whenever he thought about being intimate with someone else, a sense of guilt for betraying the woman he loved would arise, and he had endured it for years.

However...

Jiang Lai was his legal wife, and she was truly alluring at night.

Jiang Lai knew he was looking at her, but she was very clear that a man who only wanted to have children with his "white moonlight" would have no thoughts about her.

She just walked around in front of Shen Xun naturally, picking up a hairdryer.

Shen Xun stood where he was, his gaze following her movement.

He saw her back turned to him, brushing all her waterfall-like long hair to one side, revealing her slender, fair neck, and the air was filled with a damp fragrance.

Shen Xun's Adam's apple rolled.

Jiang Lai's waist was suddenly gripped by a warm hand.

"I remember you've always wanted a child." Shen Xun turned off the hairdryer in her hand, took it away, and hugged her from behind.

Jiang Lai really wanted to have a child with the person she loved, but at this moment, she only felt disgusted.

"I don't want one anymore," she said softly.

Shen Xun frowned, raising his hand to gently pinch Jiang Lai's chin and neck; the soft skin was irresistible.

His body began to change.

Jiang Lai was startled, her eyes widening slightly.

"Have you been too tired from working and taking care of the house these past two days? Let's have a child, and you can stay home and be a housewife with peace of mind, okay?"

Jiang Lai not only stopped cooking for him but also refused to handle the Shen family's affairs and had started having thoughts he couldn't read.

This wouldn't do.

He needed a virtuous helper to manage the housework, and the Shen family needed a daughter-in-law who was easy to order around.

Since Jiang Lai wanted a child, giving her one was no big deal; it would be just the thing to tie her to the house completely.

What was the point of that four-thousand-dollar job? Letting people know about it was just a loss of face for him.

As he was about to kiss Jiang Lai's lips, she turned her head to dodge.

Shen Xun instantly narrowed his eyes: "What do you mean?"

"I don't want one anymore." Jiang Lai looked at the man in the mirror, resolute.

The feeling of his wife slipping out of his control became more and more obvious. No matter how gentle Shen Xun usually was, he now completely cooled his face, the hand pinching Jiang Lai's chin suddenly tightening.

"You were the one who said you wanted a child for four years, and now that I'm willing to give you one, you don't want it?" Shen Xun suddenly had a terrible thought, his eyes becoming cold and sharp, "Do you have someone else outside?"

Hearing this, Jiang Lai's heart was pierced painfully, her cold gaze fixed on Shen Xun, as if to say: Who is the one with someone else outside?

Jiang Lai broke free from him and returned to the room, closing the door.

When had Shen Xun ever been shut out by Jiang Lai?

From the time they met until after they were married, Jiang Lai had always listened to whatever he said and done whatever he wanted.

This cliff-like contrast was something Shen Xun couldn't endure at all.

He strode after her, forcefully pulling Jiang Lai's hand into the bedroom and pushing her onto the bed.

"Shen Xun! What are you doing!"

"I want a child, and I say I want one. Jiang Lai, you never refuse me, be obedient."

Shen Xun pounced on her amidst Jiang Lai's shock and suspicion, his overwhelming kisses falling on her fair neck and collarbone.

His strong, powerful hands gripped her waist, and one hand reached inside.

At this moment, the man became as terrifying as a wild wolf.

Jiang Lai reached out in a panic to push him away: "I said I don't want one anymore, Shen Xun, Shen Xun, I don't want one!"

"Whether you want a child or not isn't up to you." The man stopped kissing, clamped her hands, and pushed them high above her head.

Jiang Lai couldn't move, tears already in the corners of her eyes.

The man who had been gentle to her for four years was now forcing her.

Kisses fell on her lips and neck again, dense and aggressive.

The moment her legs were forcefully parted, Jiang Lai couldn't bear it anymore and used her knee to push him, and the man let go in pain.

She propped herself up and slapped him.

Pa—

"Jiang Lai! You hit me?"

Shen Xun raised his hand in a rage, and a solid slap landed as expected.

Jiang Lai's face instantly turned red and swollen, and tears rolled down at this moment.

Shen Xun's hand was trembling.

It was the first time he had seen Jiang Lai cry.

Crying silently.

The room fell into silence.

"Wife..." Shen Xun curled his fingers, not daring to look at Jiang Lai's eyes, which were as startled as a fawn's.

Jiang Lai wrapped herself in a blanket and rushed out of the bedroom, grabbing her phone from the sofa and walking out the door.

The moment she stepped out, a voice rang in her mind: Divorce.

Jiang Lai stood by the roadside with her red and swollen face, wanting to return to the orphanage at first, but fearing that the elderly Dean Mom would see her and feel heartache. Her mentor's wife was recuperating in the suburbs, so she couldn't go there either, and finally, she randomly entered a hotel.

At the same time, a low-key Maybach stopped at the hotel entrance, and a man in a suit and leather shoes stepped out of the car, his face slightly dark.

A girl's head poked out of the car window: "Brother, you're really not going home to live? Mom and Dad are just nagging."

The man didn't say a word, entering the hotel alone.

The girl shook her head and sighed: "Sigh, even the famous head of the Ke Clan can't avoid being urged to marry, hahahahaha..."

The Maybach drove away.

The man walked through the lobby and heard the front desk asking cautiously twice.

"Ma'am, do you really not need help?"

"If you need anything, please call the front desk at any time."

"Thank you." A weak voice replied.

This was a hotel under the Ke Clan, and he didn't want to hear about any accidents while he was here. Ke Zhongyu raised his eyes and looked over.

A woman wrapped in a blanket, barefoot, with messy hair sticking to half her face. As the woman walked closer, the red slap mark on her face was faintly visible.

He and the woman entered the same elevator one after another.

The woman was as dazed as a walking corpse, the room card in her hand not swiped for a long time, and she hadn't pressed the floor button. Faintly, through her profile, one could see the pearl-like tears falling from her face.

After a moment of pause, he spoke: "Which floor?"

The woman finally came to her senses, her pale, weak fingers pressing the floor button with the room card, then she raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, tucking her waterfall-like hair behind her ears, revealing her entire face.

The corners of her eyes and the tip of her nose were red, cold and broken.

Stubbornly not wanting anyone to see her sorry state, she politely said to him: "Thank you."

Her voice was hoarse.

Ke Zhongyu stared at the red mark on her face for a moment, without asking too much.

Ding—

Jiang Lai's floor arrived, and she nodded to the man again and walked out.

Ke Zhongyu watched her thin back until the elevator doors closed, then took out his phone and sent a message.

Jiang Lai had just sat down on the sofa when the doorbell rang.

Opening the door, it was the hotel manager.

"Hello, ma'am. Perhaps you need some ointment for the swelling, as well as a pair of more comfortable and soft slippers."

The manager smiled, and if one looked closely, one could see a hint of excitement in his eyes, and he couldn't help but say a few more words.

"Ma'am, don't worry, we have no ill intentions; we are just concerned about our customers. Ensuring that every customer who stays at our hotel feels comfortable is our service tenet. I wish you a good night's sleep."

Tonight, the husband she had been married to for four years had slapped her, yet she felt warmth from a stranger outside.

Jiang Lai took the ointment and slippers, expressing her sincere gratitude.

The manager, who had been smiling, was stunned after seeing the ring on her ring finger.

No, this... this...

The manager left in shock.

Jiang Lai closed the door, wiped her feet, put on the slippers, washed her hands, and applied the ointment to her face. Beside her, her phone buzzed, and messages from "Husband" popped up one after another.

This contact name had been changed by Shen Xun himself.

【Where did you go?】

【Come back, Jiang Lai, stop acting out.】

【You were the one who wanted a child; I agree now. Resign from the Ke Clan tomorrow and stay home to prepare for pregnancy.】

Shen Xun's attitude was tough. Jiang Lai didn't know if Shen Xun had changed or if this was his true face.

She turned off her phone, not replying to Shen Xun's messages for the first time, and didn't reply all night.

In the morning, Shen Xun called, but she didn't answer.

Another message popped up in the chat box.

【Wife, I have a stomachache without the breakfast you make.】

Jiang Lai's hand gripping the phone tightened; he remembered her as his wife at this time.

A bitter smile hung on her lips.

She still didn't reply.

Shen Xun sat on the sofa waiting and waiting, but the phone didn't move.

Even this excuse didn't work? He looked surprised.

At this moment, the phone rang.

Picking it up, it was a call from Lin Shutong.

A hint of disappointment flashed briefly in his eyes, but after answering, he put on a gentle smile: "Shutong, what's wrong?"

There was a pause on the phone.

"A-Xun, I'm already at the entrance of the complex. Where are you?"

Shen Xun suddenly remembered that he had promised to pick up Shutong from work every day.

He had been waiting for Jiang Lai's message on the sofa for so long.

Jiang Lai had been ignoring him for so long?

It didn't matter, just a little temper.

Jiang Lai loved him very much and couldn't leave him.

Driving to the roadside, Lin Shutong sat in the passenger seat and saw his red and swollen face.

Jiang Lai had been ruthless last night, and the slap mark was very obvious.

"A-Xun, what happened?" Lin Shutong unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned over to cup his face, her eyes red with heartache, "Who hit you!"

Shen Xun couldn't bear to see her cry, so he quickly said: "It doesn't hurt, don't be sad. Have you had breakfast? I'll take you to eat."

Lin Shutong saw he intended to hide it and asked in a cautious tone: "A-Xun, did you and Jiang Lai have a fight? Is it because of me? I'm sorry, A-Xun."

"It's not because of you, I don't know what kind of madness she's having." Shen Xun leaned over to fasten her seatbelt and drove to get breakfast.

Lin Shutong observed him, seeing he was still distracted even while with her, and had a flash of inspiration.

"A-Xun, the congee is so hot, can you blow on it for me?"

"Okay."

Shen Xun took the seafood congee in front of her, stirred it gently with a spoon, then suddenly stopped, thinking of something, and picked up his phone to send a message.

"A-Xun, who are you messaging?" Lin Shutong's eyes were guarded.

Shen Xun turned his phone over: "An elder."

It was Jiang Lai's mentor's wife, Wang Ruohua.

Learning that the favorite student her husband had cared for and cherished most couldn't be reached, Wang Ruohua came into the city herself, called Jiang Lai, asked for the address, and immediately rushed to the hotel.

Seeing her mentor's wife with graying hair, Jiang Lai was stunned for a moment, instinctively raising her hand to cover her face.

"What are you covering? I saw it." Wang Ruohua walked in with a serious face, "Did Shen Xun hit you?"

"Mm." Jiang Lai nodded, tears falling the moment she lowered her eyes.

"Why are you crying? If he dared to hit you yesterday, he'll dare to bury you alive in the future." Wang Ruohua had always been dissatisfied with Shen Xun making Jiang Lai serve their whole family, and she didn't ask about the process, only asking, "What do you plan to do?"

"I want a divorce." Jiang Lai raised her head.

A hint of heartache flashed in Wang Ruohua's eyes, then she said calmly.

"I'll find you a lawyer."