Chapter 374: His Words Don't Count

After Chen Songbai shouted at her, Miao Cuixia was like a dud firecracker—she suddenly fell silent, slowly loosened her grip on his arm, and glanced at her husband.

The atmosphere stiffened briefly.

Chenfu held his neck stiff, refusing to back down, his finger almost poking Chen Songbai's nose: "Chen Songbai, I lay down my words today—if you don't agree to divorce, I'll treat you as if you weren't my son."

Chen Songbai looked at him in pain: "Do you really have to push me like this?"

"You figure it out yourself!" Chenfu turned away with his hands behind his back, unwilling to look at him.

The door opened, and Xia Xuan came out in slippers, her complexion awful. Her dark eyes were dull, staring at Chen Songbai for a long time before she steadied herself and said, "Chen Songbai, let's divorce."

Before, she couldn't bring herself to do it, clinging to a faint hope, which gave Chen Songbai's parents the chance to hurt her and her family.

Xia Xuan paused a few seconds, forcing herself to stay strong without showing any weakness, her throat tight as she forced out the words she had long prepared: "Chen Songbai, please take your parents and get out of my world—don't bother me again."

"How outrageous, Xia Xuan, to have no respect for your elders..." Chenfu, unable to contain his anger, rushed over to reprimand her, but Chen Songbai stepped between them, his back to Chenfu and his face toward Xia Xuan.

During this time, Chen Songbai ate poorly and slept badly, losing a lot of weight, his cheeks sunken. His eyes were bloodshot; he opened his mouth and said the same words, but without the firmness he had when facing Chenfu: "I'd rather die than divorce."

Xia Xuan's heart gave a hard jolt; the courage she had mustered with difficulty, like a punctured balloon, deflated, making it hard for her to maintain a cold, firm attitude.

She quickly turned, walked a few steps, and distanced herself from Chen Songbai.

Chen Songbai said to her back, "Xiao Xuan, give me a little more time, and I'll settle everything."

"Chen Songbai, are you trying to make me die of anger?" Chenfu grabbed Chen Songbai, wishing he could slap him a few times to knock sense into him: "I told you to divorce that woman—can't you hear?!"

Chen Songbai ignored him, his gaze still fixed on Xia Xuan: "Sorry, marrying me has caused you so much suffering."

He pressed his lips, unable to say anything else; too many apologies seem insincere, and a sincere apology shouldn't be just words—it must be backed by action.

Chen Songbai left with his parents; before going, he gave Su Jinru an apologetic glance, knowing his parents were unreasonable and might have upset her, he felt ashamed but powerless to change it.

After they left, the house fell silent, only the faint hum of the air conditioner audible.

The door was cracked open a little; Youyou peered through the gap, saw no one she disliked, then came out: "Mom."

Xia Yue snapped to, turned, saw Youyou in a small floral dress, hurried over to hug her, stroking her hair: "It's okay, they've left. Are you scared, Youyou?"

When Chen Songbai's parents first came in, Youyou was terrified, so she pushed Youyou into the room and put headphones on her to prevent the child from hearing the argument and getting scared again.

Youyou shook her head; she had been watching cartoons, just taken off the headphones, and heard nothing.

Xia Xi rubbed her forehead: "I'll go check on Xuanxuan."

She knocked; Xia Xuan didn't respond, so Xia Xi stood outside without entering, just waiting. A few seconds later, she knocked twice more: "Xuanxuan, can I come in, sis?"

Xia Xuan: "I want to be alone for a while."

Xia Xi left the doorway and sat on the sofa.

Su Jinru still felt a heaviness in her chest, her complexion unimproved; thinking of Chen Songbai's parents made her angry: "What kind of people are these?"

Chen Songbai drove his parents back to their residence; his shirt was soaked halfway through, sticking to him uncomfortably.

Without a word, Chen Songbai went straight to the bedroom, changed into a T-shirt, and when he came out, Chenfu sat on the sofa with brows tightly knit, legs spread, while Miao Cuixia turned around, picked up two bottles of mineral water, and handed one to Chenfu.

Chenfu didn't take it.

Miao Cuixia put that bottle on the coffee table, opened the other, and drank most of it in one go.

Chen Songbai felt a huge weight on his chest and back, almost unable to breathe. He approached the two elders, expressionless, and said: "Don't meddle in this matter—I'll buy you early-morning high-speed rail tickets so you can return to your hometown."

"How could I have raised such an unfilial son—you want to kick us out before your butt's even warm, without thinking who raised you!" Miao Cuixia exploded in rage, smashing the half‑bottle of mineral water onto Chen Songbai; the water spilled onto the floor and rolled away. "It's just as well Xia Xuan has gone back to her parents' home—now it's just you here; your father and I have decided to stay, and we'll leave whenever you see sense."

Chen Songbai only felt communication with them was difficult, frowned, and asked: "Understand what?"

"Divorce Xia Xuan soon and marry Jia Jia." Miao Cuixia said, "Jia Jia is fair‑skinned, not short, and we've watched her grow up since childhood—we know her background."

Chen Songbai thought it absurd: "She's my cousin!"

"What cousin? She's not even blood‑related."

"Give up on that idea." Chen Songbai gritted his teeth, enunciating each word: "I could never marry her in this lifetime."

Miao Cuixia's chest ached with anger; she pounded it with her fists, glanced at the silently smoking Chenfu, and said: "Didn't you hear what your son said? He refuses to divorce, and he won't marry Jia Jia either."

Chenfu flicked ash onto the floor, looked up at Chen Songbai, and said: "What he says doesn't count."

Miao Cuixia agreed with him, turning to Chen Songbai: "Right, what you say doesn't count. I tell you, your uncle and aunt still don't know about this; once they find out, I'll see how you explain yourself. You bullied their precious daughter, then ignored them—can you live with that? Do you want our family to break with your uncle and aunt?"

Chen Songbai felt his head about to explode; he stopped the pointless arguing, went back to the bedroom, grabbed a large suitcase, and hastily stuffed his summer clothes from the wardrobe inside.

It looked like he didn't plan to come back anytime soon.

Hearing the rustling from the bedroom, Miao Cuixia frowned and entered, seeing the suitcase laid open on the floor and the clothes inside in disarray, she paused and asked: "Where are you going?"

Chen Songbai didn't even lift his eyelids, closed the suitcase, and said: "I'm going to stay at the company dormitory; you can stay here as long as you like."

The two elders weren't willing to leave, and he couldn't possibly drag them onto the high‑speed train.

He also didn't want to hear them nagging in his ear every day, urging him to divorce, so he could only stay far away.

"Calling you an unfilial son is too kind—you heartless wretch, with a wife you forget your mother! What curse did that jinx Xia Xuan put on you that you don't even care for your parents?!"

Amid Miao Cuixia's shouting, Chen Songbai picked up the suitcase and left the house without looking back.

After walking a few steps, he could still hear Miao Cuixia's roar coming from inside the house.

Chen Songbai was utterly exhausted; the elevator arrived quickly, he stepped in, leaned his back against the wall, lifted his head, the overhead light stinging his eyes and making his head feel fuzzy.

He opened the trunk, placed the suitcase inside, sat in the car, and slumped over the steering wheel.

His parents wouldn't reveal how they found out about this; even by elimination you could figure it out—what exactly does Miao Yijia want?

After pondering a while, Chen Songbai took out his phone, found Miao Yijia's number, and dialed.

It rang a few times; Miao Yijia answered, her voice somewhat excited: "Hello."

After Chen Songbai calmed down, his tone carried a chill as he asked directly: "Where are you?"

Miao Yijia hesitated, then said uncertainly: "In a rental unit."

She had already quit her job, lately been staying in a rented place, occasionally going out with friends to shop and eat, while the rest of her time was spent anxiously waiting. Finally, Chen Songbai's call came through, but the outcome seemed not quite what she had expected.

She didn't know how Chen Songbai's parents had spoken to him, so her heart hung in suspense, feeling somewhat unsettled.