President Ji’s Cat - Chapter 21

Ji Chufeng was born with a silver spoon in her mouth; from the moment she entered the world, she was cherished and protected like a star held in the center of everyone’s palms.

Her father was tall and handsome, her mother gentle and beautiful, and the daughter they produced was exquisitely lovely. Back then, they were the “golden couple” of high society that everyone envied.

From a young age, Ji Chufeng knew her mother was a celebrity. Every time her mother took her out, fans would recognize her and approach to chat for a bit.

It wasn’t until she grew a bit older that she learned her mother had been a major star before marriage. She had met and fallen in love with her father, and after having Chufeng, she willingly set aside her booming acting career to stay at home as a supportive wife and mother.

Every day after school, her mother was always the first parent at the gates to pick her up. Her father’s work was always busy, but no matter how swamped he was, he would carve out one weekend a month for a short family trip.

Ji Chufeng thought life would continue this way forever—through high school, university, graduation, work, and eventually her own marriage.

But everything came to a screeching halt when she was ten years old.

Her parents divorced, and custody was awarded to her father. To this day, she still remembered her mother’s eyes, swollen from secret crying, and her look of shattered helplessness.

Not long after the divorce, her father brought home a woman and a young boy, telling her: “She will be your mother from now on.”

The young Ji Chufeng had been stubborn: “She is not my mother!”

She still remembered their expressions when she said that. Ji Shengjun’s face darkened instantly, while Xu Xiayun’s hypocritical smile flashed with a hint of loathing.

From then on, Xu Xiayun acted as the mistress of the house, clearing out everything related to Chufeng’s mother. Everything from small daily necessities to the large items like the bed and wardrobe in the master bedroom disappeared.

Ji Shengjun doted on his second wife to an excessive degree; no matter what she did, he raised no objections. Even when she slandered Chufeng, Ji Shengjun would only stand by her side and scold his daughter.

For over a decade, that “family of three” performed a play of happiness right in front of her, while her own mother never remarried, remaining alone to this day.

And now, Ji Shengjun actually had the nerve to say he wanted to see her mother.

For fifteen years, she had never heard a single word about her mother cross his lips, yet just seconds ago, he had spoken her name.

This request was like a lit fuse; Ji Chufeng’s emotions ignited instantly. She said sharply: “You don’t deserve to see her, and you certainly don’t deserve to speak her name!”

Her reaction was exactly what Ji Shengjun expected. But when he actually saw the fury on her face, his heart trembled uncontrollably. His hand gripped the quilt tighter and tighter. He lowered his eyes and muttered: “I… I want to apologize to her…”

He was truly wrong. The biggest mistake he had made in his life was believing Xu Xiayun’s lies.

His acquaintance with Xu Xiayun dated back much further, to before he ever met Yu Rou. When he first knew Xu Xiayun, he was still in university.

First love is always beautiful, and he had even wanted to spend his life with her. However, his father, Ji Junting, did not approve of the match, earnestly warning him that Xu Xiayun was not a “virtuous person.”

But youthful, reckless love doesn’t end just because of parental interference. He was certain that he and Xu Xiayun were meant for a lifetime, and they agreed to marry after graduation.

However, after graduation, Xu Xiayun vanished. He searched for a long time but found nothing and eventually gave up. Later, he met Yu Rou.

He fell in love with Yu Rou at first sight. It was only natural for them to fall in love and start a family, producing a beautiful daughter. Back then, he felt like the luckiest man in the world.

After the marriage, the long-lost Xu Xiayun suddenly reappeared. She wept, claiming she had been forced to leave because the elder Mr. Ji used money to pressure her. Ji Shengjun, as a married man, wanted to draw a clear line, but on the day of their confrontation, he drank too much and accidentally committed a grave error…

When Xu Xiayun appeared again, she brought a son, claiming he was his biological flesh and blood.

In a state of remorse and self-reproach, Ji Shengjun proactively confessed to Yu Rou; he didn’t want to lie to his wife.

Yu Rou could not accept her husband’s infidelity. Even if it was only once, she couldn’t forgive him, and she subsequently filed for divorce.

After much struggling and repeated pressure from Xu Xiayun, Ji Shengjun eventually agreed to the divorce.

One of the reasons he agreed—one he had never told anyone—was a knot that had been buried in his heart for years, and the source of the guilt he had piled onto his daughter all this time.

Yu Rou had a delicate constitution. After giving birth to their daughter, the couple had always wanted another child. They eventually conceived, but they only learned the news of the pregnancy when she suffered an accidental miscarriage.

The day of that accident was the very day Ji Shengjun and Xu Xiayun reunited. That night, he had wanted to settle the matter with Xu Xiayun alone so she would never look for him again.

Afraid his wife would worry, he lied and said he was working late at the office. The considerate Yu Rou stewed some soup and went to the office to deliver it to him.

On the way, she was rear-ended. She suffered minor injuries, but the child was lost. At the time, Yu Rou tried calling her husband repeatedly, but she couldn’t get through.

It wasn’t until the next morning, when Ji Shengjun sobered up, that he learned the news and rushed to the hospital. As for why the phone couldn’t be reached that night, it was self-evident.

Being told by the doctor that the child was gone wasn’t even the worst news. The doctor told him that Yu Rou would never be able to conceive again.

Ji Shengjun’s mind went blank.

Infertility… that meant his dream of having a son to inherit the family business was shattered.

So, when Xu Xiayun brought a son to his door years later, he was moved.

But fate is a cruel trickster; the son he had doted on for so many years wasn’t even his!

Over the past few days, he had his secretary investigate, and the results left him despondent. Perhaps his father had been right all those years ago: Xu Xiayun was not a good match. But his younger self had been dull-witted, allowing a family to be shattered so easily.

Since the divorce, Ji Shengjun had intentionally avoided news of Yu Rou. He was terrified of hearing she had remarried or had someone else by her side, and he told himself he had a new family and shouldn’t look back.

Consequently, he had no idea about her current situation or whether she was living well.

Still, any life would be better than fifteen years ago. He never dared to recall how Yu Rou had wept heart-wrenchingly after the court verdict, begging him to return her daughter to her.

He wanted to see Yu Rou one more time to tell her he was wrong. If he could dare to ask for a little more, he wanted to taste the soup he had missed all those years ago.

“How could you, Ji Shengjun, ever be wrong!” Ji Chufeng said loudly, sparks of fire hidden in her eyes. “Give up now. My mother will never see you!”

“If you want to know if she’s lived well all these years, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”

“She is living very well. There is someone by her side, someone a hundred times better than a heartless, fickle man like you!”

Ji Chufeng wanted to say more, but she saw Ji Shengjun’s haggard face suddenly flush, his eyes clearly moist with tears.

Heh. Pure crocodile tears.

Ji Chufeng gritted her teeth, turned around without staying a second longer, and walked straight out.

This time, Ji Shengjun did not try to make her stay.

Once Ji Chufeng was gone, the door slammed shut heavily. Ji Shengjun silently closed his eyes, and two trails of tears slid down his face.

“That’s good… that’s good…” the man repeated to himself.