Chapter 9: 9. Preparing for Divorce (Seeking collections, seeking recommendation votes!)

At noon, Zhang Sicheng bought some gifts and arrived at the entrance of a villa complex; the security guard at the gate recognized him and let him in after a brief registration.

He soon arrived in front of a townhouse, took a deep breath to steady his mood, and plastered a smile on his face.

He rang the doorbell, and before long, someone opened the door; the person who came was a woman in her fifties, dressed quite fashionably, but the smile that had been on her face vanished the instant she saw it was Zhang Sicheng.

The woman looked at Zhang Sicheng and said indifferently, "Sicheng is here, come in."

"Hello, Auntie, I hope you've been well lately." The smile on Zhang Sicheng's face did not disappear as he offered his habitual greeting.

Who would have thought the woman would say with an unkind expression, "Thanks to that eldest miss of your family, I haven't been angered to death yet."

Zhang Sicheng hurriedly said, "Auntie, please don't be angry. Xiao Yan is still young and doesn't know any better; please bear with her a little more."

"Enough, don't stand here; if people see you, they'll think our family doesn't welcome you." The woman's tone grew increasingly unpleasant.

Although she said that, she had no intention of stepping aside at all. Zhang Sicheng took a deep breath, acting as if he hadn't heard her, and continued with a face full of smiles, "Auntie, I won't go in. I came over this time because I wanted to take Susu to our place to play for a few days. You know, Taotao has always liked his little sister and has been missing her."

Hearing him say this, a flash of disgust appeared in the woman's eyes, "She's not home; she was picked up by those fox friends of her mother's."

There was not a hint of worry in the woman's tone, as if this were not her own granddaughter.

"So that's how it is. Then where is Xiao Yan? I have something I want to talk to her about," Zhang Sicheng said.

The woman's eyes instantly became guarded, "Sicheng, you know, our family has invested in some stocks recently, and we lost quite a bit last month."

Zhang Sicheng felt he could barely hold back, but thinking that his sister still had to live in this house in the future, he had to endure it no matter what—who told him he didn't have the ability to stand up for his sister?

He could only try his best not to add trouble for his sister, and knowing that her parents-in-law did not welcome him, he rarely came over.

Knowing that his sister's family was stingy, he never brought up the subject of money.

Moreover, every time he came over, he was full of smiles and spoke with extreme caution, fearing that his sister's parents-in-law would have opinions about her because of him.

"Auntie, I'm not here to borrow money; I just wanted to have a casual chat." Zhang Sicheng really couldn't keep up the act anymore, and his tone became slightly stiff.

"Oh, she's not home either; I don't know where she's been running around lately." Hearing that he wasn't there to borrow money, the woman's tone became indifferent again.

After Zhang Sicheng left, the woman closed the front gate and spat toward that direction.

After entering the house, Sun Gaixin asked, "Mom, who was that?"

"Who else could it be? Just that dead girl's pauper of a brother. Don't worry, I've already sent him packing; you should have less to do with him in the future," the woman cautioned.

"I know, I've never had anything to do with him anyway. By the way, Mom, I won't be back tonight." Sun Gaixin didn't care about it.

"Go do your business. I really don't know how you were blind enough to find a woman like that before; she can't help with anything at all," the woman nagged.

At this moment, a limping old man walked down from upstairs; Sun Gaixin greeted him with a "Dad" and then left.

After leaving the villa complex, Zhang Sicheng called Siyan again, but there was still no answer. After thinking for a moment, he called Siyan's best friend—the "fox friend" the woman had mentioned was likely her.

This time, the call was answered quickly.

"Big Brother," Qian Li said on the other end of the line.

Qian Li and Siyan had been best friends since childhood and also had a good relationship with Zhang Sicheng, so she had always called him Big Brother directly.

"Xiao Li, are Siyan and Susu with you?" Zhang Sicheng didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.

"Um..." Qian Li hesitated for a moment before saying, "They are with me. It's fine, Big Brother, don't you worry."

Zhang Sicheng's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he hurriedly pressed, "Xiao Li, where are you? I'll come find you."

"Big Brother, there's no need. You're busy too. Siyan and Susu are doing just fine here, so don't worry," Qian Li said.

But Zhang Sicheng was not so easily fooled at this moment, and his tone grew somewhat stern, "Xiao Li, did something happen? Don't hide it from me."

Zhang Sicheng hung up the phone shortly after; his eyes were fierce, especially when he looked toward the villa complex.

But soon, he withdrew his gaze with a sense of desolation. If it weren't for the fact that he already had his own family, with a son and wife who relied on him, he would really want to rush in and give that family a sound beating—he even had the heart to kill them!

This might be the sorrow of having a family; no matter what one does, one must put the family first. Many times, he actually looked down on himself quite a bit.

Sighing, Zhang Sicheng took a taxi to the Third Hospital and saw his sister.

Inside the hospital room, a fashionable young beauty was peeling an apple with a fruit knife. The woman had exquisite makeup on her face, and one could tell at a glance that she was a woman who lived exquisitely; at the same time, the trench coat on her tall frame gave her a powerful aura.

However, Zhang Sicheng only glanced at her once before fixing his gaze on his sister.

At this moment, Siyan's forehead was wrapped in a layer of gauze, her complexion was somewhat pale, and her spirit was not very good. Seeing this scene, although he had been mentally prepared, Zhang Sicheng still couldn't help but clench his fists.

"Did he hit you?" Zhang Sicheng's eyes were a bit red, and his voice trembled. He and his sister had been very close since childhood, and when their mother passed away, she had kept telling him to take good care of his sister, but he hadn't done it.

Seeing her brother's demeanor, Siyan feigned ease and said, "Brother, it's fine, it doesn't hurt."

At this, Zhang Sicheng couldn't hold back anymore, and tears slid down from his eyes, "It's Brother's fault, it's Brother's fault, it's Brother's fault."

As he spoke, he kept slapping himself in the face.

"Brother, Brother, don't be like this, really don't be like this, it's not your fault." Siyan grabbed her brother's hand with all her might and couldn't help but cry as well.

"Alright, alright, Big Brother, don't cry anymore. Yan'er still has injuries; her emotions shouldn't fluctuate so wildly," Qian Li said from the side.

"Okay, okay, okay, I won't cry, I won't cry." Upon hearing this, Zhang Sicheng hurriedly wiped the corners of his eyes.

"Big Brother, you can rest assured. Yan'er has thought it through; since he wants a divorce, then let's get a divorce," Qian Li said.

Zhang Sicheng looked at his sister and said, "Have you really thought it through?"

He actually knew why his sister had never wanted a divorce; it wasn't for the sake of so-called love—the love between them had already vanished over these past few years.

And it was even less for the sake of their family's so-called property.

Siyan only wanted to give Susu a complete home. The two siblings had grown up in a single-parent family, so they had an extraordinary longing to provide a complete home for their child.

Siyan looked at her brother and nodded earnestly, "I've thought it through. Actually, I should have thought it through long ago. Growing up in that kind of family environment, it would be better for Susu to be in a single-parent family."

"It's good that you've thought it through, it's good that you've thought it through," Zhang Sicheng couldn't help but mutter. He also knew that his sister had not had an easy time these past few years.

Now it was fine; from now on, she would never have to suffer the indignities of that family again.

"By the way, Brother, just now Lili said you had something to tell me. What is it?" Siyan changed the subject.

Hearing her ask this, Zhang Sicheng hesitated, feeling that this was not a very appropriate time.

Seeing his conflicted expression, Siyan laughed, "Are you still afraid that I can't handle something? Just say it; your sister is very strong."

Zhang Sicheng thought that no matter what, Siyan would have to know eventually, so he stopped hiding it and said after a moment of hesitation, "Our father is back."

Zhang Siyan:???

Qian Li:???

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately drew two confused faces. Qian Li was very familiar with the situation in their family; although she did not know the specific details, she knew that the siblings had lived with their mother since they were young. Qian Li had even often gone to their house to play when she was a child.

How could a father suddenly pop up now?

"He isn't..." Zhang Siyan was also stunned; she did not know how to explain it.

"Take a look at the news." Zhang Sicheng also knew that this matter could not be explained clearly, so he simply brought out the news for Zhang Siyan to see.

Qian Li also saw the news and was immediately dumbfounded, saying, "Don't tell me that the cruise ship your father was on back then was this one?"

She had actually already seen this news, but because she had been keeping Zhang Siyan company, she hadn't looked at it carefully.

Zhang Sicheng and Zhang Siyan nodded at the same time, though at this moment, both of their moods were incomparably complex.