Just Wanting to Divorce My Love Rival - Chapter 19

“Why do I get the feeling you really hate my parents?” Mu Cheng asked tentatively.

Before Zhong Yingzhi could respond, Mu Cheng jumped straight into her own deduction: “Could it be that they strongly opposed our marriage, so you ended up despising them?”

She finished the sentence and shook her head immediately. “No, that’s not right. I know my parents best. As long as there’s money involved, they wouldn’t care if the partner was a man or a woman. Knowing I married someone as wealthy as you, they’d probably be setting off firecrackers in celebration.”

Mu Cheng babbled on, analyzing the situation all by herself, leaving Zhong Yingzhi no room to interject.

“I get it, I get it. The reason you hate them must be because of this: they’re fleecing you for money. I can even guess the excuses. It’s always ‘Our little Xiong needs to buy a house, give us some cash’ or ‘Our little Xiong needs a car, chip in a bit.’ It always comes back to that. They were always using those lines to try and trick Grandma out of her savings…” Mentioning her grandmother caused Mu Cheng’s chatter to halt.

Mu Cheng’s expression dampened, but she quickly brightened up again. This is only the future. Why be sad about things that can still be prevented? I just have to work hard to change it.

“I do hate them, but it has nothing to do with money. I hate anyone who has ever hurt you, and that includes them,” Zhong Yingzhi paused, then continued: “And myself.”

The statement was ambiguous, leaving Mu Cheng a bit dazed. “What do you mean by that?”

Zhong Yingzhi fell silent, unwilling to discuss it further.

Mu Cheng pressed her: “Including yourself? Does that mean you’ve hurt me too?”

Zhong Yingzhi turned away and sat back down at the table. She picked up a piece of chicken and placed it in the bowl across from her. “This is your favorite, steamed chicken. Come eat. It won’t be good once it’s cold.”

Mu Cheng looked at the chicken in her bowl, then at the person pointedly dodging the topic. “Wait… did you cheat on me?”

Zhong Yingzhi’s hand holding the chopsticks froze. She looked up and gave Mu Cheng a helpless glance.

Mu Cheng clapped her hands, growing excited. “You definitely cheated! The story must go like this: the reason I jumped and got depression was all because you hurt me. You were keeping a whole flock of ‘birds’ outside, and I accidentally found out. Those mistresses and side-chicks came to flaunt themselves in front of me…”

“I endured it in silence because I loved you too much to let go or expose you. I even tried desperately to win you back. In the end, I fell into a deep depression, broken and devastated by the emotional trauma, and in a moment of despair…”

Zhong Yingzhi glanced at her. “Lin Zhuo said your memory stopped at college. It makes sense. Back then, those melodramatic novels and TV dramas were quite popular. You seemed to love watching them; you’ve certainly cast yourself deep into the role.”

Mu Cheng pouted. “Well, that’s because you refuse to say anything. It’s only normal for me to guess like this.”

“Then have you considered,” Zhong Yingzhi put down her chopsticks and gazed at her, asking seriously: “If I really cheated and you asked for a divorce, wouldn’t I be happy to agree immediately?”

Mu Cheng was undeterred. “Not necessarily. Maybe I have dirt on you. You’re afraid I’ll leak it, so keeping me close is a form of insurance. You refuse to mention the past because you’re afraid I’ll remember. Once I remember, I’ll keep using that leverage to threaten you. Tell me, am I right?”

Zhong Yingzhi: “Am I that villainous in your eyes? You always think the worst of me.”

Mu Cheng cleared her throat twice. “I’m just saying. I was joking. You’re not that bad. When I had no money, you treated me to delivery. When Liu Sihui hit me, you stood up for me. Overall, you’ve helped me out quite a bit.”

For some reason, Zhong Yingzhi’s face instantly darkened. Her pale blue eyes pierced through like sharp blades. Her hands on the table clenched, the veins standing out on her slender fingers.

Mu Cheng froze at this sudden change in expression, stammering nervously: “What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong? I just made a joke about you cheating. Is there a need to look like you’re about to hit someone?”

Zhong Yingzhi lowered her head. “No.”

Even though she denied it, Mu Cheng could clearly sense that Zhong Yingzhi’s emotions had just fluctuated violently.

It was hard to describe that surge—it felt like pure rage, yet also like…

Mu Cheng fell into deep thought. She definitely wouldn’t get that angry over a joke about cheating. So what was she mad about? What did I say just now that triggered such a big reaction?

I didn’t say much. I just mentioned her buying me delivery when I was broke, and her helping me when Liu Sihui hit me.

Liu Sihui!

Yes, that was the name. The moment that name was mentioned, Zhong Yingzhi’s fury seemed to skyrocket.

What’s the deal? Mu Cheng felt a bit muddled. She truly couldn’t fathom what had happened in these nine years.

“Come over,” Zhong Yingzhi’s voice was hard as she commanded: “Sit down and eat.”

Mu Cheng put away her wild guesses and walked over obediently to sit down. However, her goal wasn’t food; she had set her sights on the phone on the table once again.

Mu Cheng pretended to eat, while one hand snuck toward the phone under the table.

She touched it! Mu Cheng felt a surge of joy and was about to pull the phone over.

Zhong Yingzhi ate a piece of green vegetable, chewing and swallowing methodically. She said hollowly, “Put the phone back.”

Mu Cheng slunk back dejectedly and let go of the phone.

After a while, she restlessly started her phone-theft plan again.

Zhong Yingzhi decisively picked up the phone and placed it far out of Mu Cheng’s reach. “While I am still speaking to you nicely, you had better behave yourself.”

Mu Cheng looked at the out-of-reach phone and pouted, feeling a bit unhappy.

My status in this family seems pretty low. She’s suppressing me at every turn. This isn’t right. Not right at all.

At that thought, Mu Cheng grew defiant. She slammed her hand down on the table, making the circular surface shake with a loud thud.

Zhong Yingzhi was startled and looked at her. “What are you doing?”

Mu Cheng straightened her back, acting proud and unyielding. “I feel like you don’t respect me. Didn’t you say we’re married? If we’re married, our relationship should be equal. No, not equal—to be precise, I should be the head of the household. You aren’t showing respect to the head of the house.”

Zhong Yingzhi kept her patience and asked, “Then how would you like me to respect you?”

Mu Cheng looked at the phone. “Simple. Give me the phone.”

Zhong Yingzhi picked up the phone and waved it, but refused to give it to her. Mu Cheng followed the phone with her eyes, ready to snatch it at any moment.

“Auntie Yang,” Zhong Yingzhi called toward the door.

Auntie Yang pushed the door open and stood by the table. “What are your orders, Miss?”

Zhong Yingzhi handed the phone to her. “Take this phone away. And later, bring a toy phone for our Madam Zhong to play with.”

Auntie Yang took the phone with both hands and nodded. “Understood. I’ll take care of it immediately.”

Mu Cheng: “…”

Zhong Yingzhi: “I respect your opinion very much. What color would you like for your toy phone? Of course, besides the color, you can pick the brand yourself. If you’re not satisfied, we can custom-make one.”

Mu Cheng: “…”

Zhong Yingzhi smiled at Mu Cheng. “Since you’re the head of the household, I’ll do my best to fulfill all your requests.”

Mu Cheng said sarcastically, “You’re so considerate. Both considerate and respectful.”

Zhong Yingzhi raised an eyebrow. “As long as you know.”

As they spoke, Mu Cheng felt her nose itch. She touched it and found blood on her hand. She touched it again; the blood was increasing.

“A nosebleed…” Mu Cheng stared blankly at the blood. Why a sudden nosebleed? Could it be…

Mu Cheng’s eyes widened as she said frantically, “Zhong Yingzhi, do I have a terminal illness? The untreatable kind? Is that why I jumped in despair—because I didn’t want to be a burden?”

Zhong Yingzhi looked at the nearly empty clay pot. “The tonic soup should only be drunk in one-bowl portions. How much did you sneakily drink just now?”

“Oh… is that it?” Mu Cheng tilted her head back awkwardly, stuffing her bleeding nostril with a tissue. “I didn’t drink that much.”

Zhong Yingzhi gave her a cold look. “You finished the whole pot until your nose started bleeding, and you still say you didn’t drink much?”

Mu Cheng glared back. “Why are you snapping? So what if I drank it? Your wife had a few sips of soup, so what? Why are you so stingy? How did I ever fall for you?”

Zhong Yingzhi let out a soft laugh. Leaning back against her chair, she said with interest, “So now you’re willing to admit you’re my wife.”