Chapter 26

“She told you that?” Jiang Jie frowned.

“She only wants to know when your divorce agreement will arrive.”

“It won’t arrive!”

“Are you really going to keep her by your side?”

Jiang Jie gazed out the window at a distant horizon—he must keep her by his side; only now, after all these days, did he realize that having her near was happiness: sharing the same roof, breathing the same air, sleeping on the same bed, eating at the same table—this… was happiness.

But could he still hold onto this happiness?

Bai Ziling was crouching to tie a little boy’s shoelaces; when she patted his head and stood up, she suddenly saw Jiang Jie—love and hatred both written in her eyes.

“Ziling.” He no longer called her by her full name, as if between them the storm had passed and all bad things were behind them.

“Do you think you’re so capable?” She launched straight into accusation.

“I…” He hadn’t even figured out what she meant!

“Why are you coming to harass me?”

“I’m here to take you back.”

“Take me back?”

“Legally…”

“Don’t drag law into this!” Had she not feared scaring the children beside her, Bai Ziling would have already lunged at him and given him a beating. “If you’re so capable, sue me. Let’s see in court which side the judge stands on.”

Jiang Jie endured her gaze, as if he had already resolved to yield to her, endure her, give in to her—this was his penance!

“Go back right now.”

“Only if you come with me.”

“Jiang Jie, five minutes ahead on the road there’s a cliff. If you jump, even if you don’t die shattered, you’ll be left unrecognizable. Do you want to drive me to that point?” Bai Ziling asked with a “sweet smile.”

“I’m not forcing you. I only want to make amends.”

“This amends comes too late.”

“You can punish me—anything I can do.”

“But I don’t want your amends, and I don’t want to punish you—I only want my old simple life!” she cried hoarsely.

“Simple life…” he repeated.

“Yes! A simple life without you.”

“Ziling, we can’t have had no feelings—if we hadn’t, you wouldn’t have given yourself to me that night. I know you’re angry, you hate me, you blame me—but all of that can be overcome, can be made up for!”

“Where do you plan to start making it up?” she asked sadly. “From the day I moved into your home, I hoped to be your true wife. I didn’t want it to be just a three-month act. I wanted you to fall in love with me, to want me to stay by your side…”

“I’m trying now…”

“But how did you treat me during those two months?” she felt worthless. “I was only slightly more useful than your furniture. I’m alive—I have feelings—I suffer!”

“I didn’t know…”

“You didn’t want to understand me. You only wanted the time to pass so you could end it all!” Bai Ziling voiced his mindset back then.

“I admit my fault. I apologize to you.”

“It’s useless!”

“Ziling, you must look forward. Even a murderer, even a man sentenced to life, still has a chance at redemption or parole. Why can’t you give me one more chance?” Jiang Jie’s voice grew angry. “Let me be your lifelong husband!”

“Lifelong…” She wanted to cry.

“It’s not too late!”

“It’s not too late for you…”

“Ziling, is your head filled with cement or garbage? Can’t you think of something beautiful? Beyond hate—do you really feel nothing else toward me?” No longer willing to be the one beaten down, Jiang Jie struck back.

Bai Ziling sulked in silence.

“Nothing is beyond a second chance,” he snapped at her.

“You’re so full of yourself!”

“I won’t let myself lose you.”

“You’ve already lost!”

“Ziling, you won’t sleep with just anyone, and you won’t cheat on me. We can live together properly.” He reached out, wanting to show her his sincerity and truth.

But Bai Ziling slapped his hand away—she refused his gesture entirely, especially now, as the children nearby had watched their quarrel for some time.

“Go away! Don’t set a bad example for these children.”

“You really won’t come with me?”

“No!”

“What about your coffee shop?”

“Let it collapse!”

“Are you really going to stay on this mountain?”

“I’ve grown fond of it.” Bai Ziling wasn’t lying; she noticed Tong Yiwen watching them, but didn’t intervene—only silently observed. “Go. My cousin’s already watching.”

“I’ll come back,” he said, leaving.

“I’ll disappear again.”

“No matter where you hide, I’ll find you!”

After Jiang Jie walked away, Tong Yiwen approached Bai Ziling. She wasn’t prying—she simply wished to express what she had seen and felt.

“A cool, handsome man, full of authority—as if nothing and no one in this world could sway his resolve. Ziling, is this man the source of your trouble?” Tong Yiwen asked knowingly.

“Cousin…”

“When you stand together, you look perfectly matched—like Jin Tongyunu.”

“It’s an illusion.”

“Can you really harden your heart and reject him?”

“He hardened his heart and shattered me beyond repair—why can’t I harden mine too?” Bai Ziling spoke half-heartedly; her heart had begun to soften, after all—he had bowed to her again and again. But then she remembered how she’d felt the morning she left his home…

She simply couldn’t let it go!

On a rainy afternoon, Di Zhiwei arrived at the kindergarten on Xin Dian Mountain—Jiang Jie had told him where Bai Ziling was, perhaps believing Di Zhiwei could bring her back to Taipei.

Coincidentally, Bai Ziling was escorting a feverish little boy home, so Di Zhiwei faced a woman who looked somewhat like an old maid, yet whose eyes were sharp and whose demeanor was deeply mature.

“I’m waiting for Bai Ziling to return,” Di Zhiwei said politely.

“Who are you?” Tong Yiwen asked sharply; Bai Ziling had never mentioned this man, and this fellow—unlike the previous one—carried a rakish charm, unmistakably no respectable man.

“I’m a friend of Bai Ziling’s.”

“I’m Bai Ziling’s cousin.”

“Hello, cousin,” he said with a playful tone.

“I’m not old or virtuous enough for you to call me cousin. What do you want with Ziling?” Tong Yiwen questioned him sternly—she wouldn’t tolerate any more random people bothering her cousin.

“It’s something.” He found this woman difficult to handle.

"I have something to attend to." He found this woman somewhat troublesome.

“When I meet Bai Ziling, I’ll…” Di Zhiwei didn’t want to offend this woman who looked so stern and proper.

“If it’s not important, I don’t want you disturbing her.” Tong Yiwen was effectively dismissing him.

“It concerns her lifelong happiness—how important is that?” Di Zhiwei grew irritated.

“Lifelong happiness? With you?!”

“Why not, cousin—”

“Sir, I’m certain I’m not older than you, so don’t call me ‘cousin’—don’t try to claim kinship. I can’t bear it. Ziling’s emotions are confused now, but I’m certain it’s not because of you.” Tong Yiwen locked horns with him—she disliked this man intensely.

"Sir, I am certain I am not older than you, so you need not call me 'cousin' or try to claim kinship—I cannot bear such ties. Ziling’s mind is currently in disarray, but I believe her confusion has nothing to do with you." Tong Yiwén squared off against him; she disliked this man.

“She never mentioned you.”

“But I have some… history with her.” Di Zhiwei was growing weary—nowadays even young women acted like stern dorm matrons? At first glance she seemed rigid, but the longer he looked, the more he found her striking, even elegant.

“But I have some ‘history’ with her.” Di Zhiwei was starting to get annoyed—now there were young “old maids”? She looked like the kind of stern dorm supervisor from the past, but if you stared long enough, you realized she was quite pleasing to the eye, with a certain charm.