Jin Qingyue instantly felt better after hearing what Shi Shaochuan said. She believed his words. Before she could decide to check on him further, he quickly spoke again, "While I was married to An Xiaoning, she had brought her cousin to live with us. She then intentionally got her cousin to ask me out, just so she could file for a divorce with me. Thus, I went ahead to bring her cousin out with me, because I was unaware of her scheming plan. As a result…"
At this very moment, he exclaimed all of a sudden, as if he had been wronged and severely ill-treated, "As a result, I was chased out of the car by the both of them after they removed all of my clothing. Her cousin had gone all out to put on the show. She had taken off all her clothes too just so it would seem like I had really committed adultery."
"Is she really such a person?" asked a stunned Jin Qingyue, who found the matter to be rather inconceivable.
"Isn't she? Otherwise, she wouldn't have married your brother so quickly, just after ending things between us."
Giving his words some serious thought, Jin Qingyue began to think that he indeed made sense. At that instant, her hatred towards her sister-in-law grew even deeper.
"I'm sorry, Shaochuan, I misunderstood you."
"I actually feel pretty perplexed myself. It's such a small world, of all people…" said Shi Shaochuan, holding onto her hand.
"It's okay. At the very most, just stay together with me and don't bother addressing her," comforted Jin Qingyue.
"But we've yet to gain your parents' approval. Your brother already knows, and I suppose your parents…"
"It's okay, I'll settle the issue with my parents. Since things have already come to this, we might as well just be together openly." Looking at the time, Jin Qingyue said, "I'll go home first and contact you again if there's any news."
"I'll send you home, Yueyue."
"No, it's fine. I'll just take a cab," Jin Qingyue refused and left after waving him goodbye.
Shi Shaochuan stood and watched as her figure receded, a smirk forming on the corner of his lips.
——
Jin Qingyue arrived home to the sight of her parents and brother seated upright on the couch, seemingly waiting for her to return.
After changing out of her shoes and into her home slippers, she sat next to her Mother and confessed voluntarily, "Mother and Father, it's true, I'm dating Shi Shaochuan."
Flabbergasted, Mrs. Jin asked, "What?"
Jin Qingyue raised her head and noticed the look of astonishment written all over her parents' faces. Shifting her gaze towards Jin Qingyan, "Brother, you didn't tell them about it?"
"No, I didn't."
"I thought you'd already told them," said Jin Qingyue. She felt like biting off her tongue at that very instant. However, it was impossible to take back what she had already said.
"Why are you dating Shi Shaochuan? Don't tell me, he's the boyfriend you've mentioned to your Mother and me?" questioned Mr. Jin, his forehead creased into a frown.
"Yes…" she admitted. "I didn't know it was him, initially. I just returned from overseas and I've never seen him, even when Brother got married. How else would I have known then? I only found out about it tonight. But he said that he was only married in name to Sister-in-law, and that he had never been intimate with her. Besides, he also mentioned that Sister-in-law and her Cousin had conspired to put on a show and frame him for committing adultery. Her motive was to get him to divorce her."
"A pack of lies," scorned Jin Qingyan.
"Brother, why else would Sister-in-law have agreed to marry you right after her divorce? How can you accuse Shaochuan of lying if you weren't even involved in that matter?" retorted Jin Qingyue, as she raised her chin to look at him.
"You're going to say that it was the first time that your sister-in-law met your brother, the night she had gotten a divorce, and she actually registered her marriage with your brother the day after, right? Don't think I'm unaware of what you're thinking. It's impossible for her to get a divorce because of your brother. They got a divorce because he couldn't resist the temptation to have an affair and got caught red-handed by your Sister-in-law. He had been lying to you!" exclaimed Mrs. Jin.
"Mother, we've been dating for a while now, and I'm very certain about what kind of person he is."
"Break up with him right away. Your Father and I will approve of your relationship with anyone but him, so long as they're decent. What are others going to say about us, if you marry him in the future? We would definitely become the joke and talk of the town," ordered Mrs. Jin sternly.
"I don't care what others think of me, it's my own business. Besides, you're really so sure that Brother will never get a divorce with Sister-in-law?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? Your Brother has only been married for days, and you're already trying to jinx him. You're really becoming more and more callous with your words, the older you get. Did living overseas for too long cause you to become like this? Let me warn you, you'd better break up with him as soon as possible, because your Father and I will never approve of you two," chided the infuriated Mrs. Jin.
"In that case, I'll let you know of my decision too. Over my dead body will I break up with him," she retaliated while rising from her seat.
After finishing her sentence, she headed straight back to her bedroom.
"What should we do now? It really puzzles me why this daughter of mine is becoming more worrying the older she gets," Mrs. Jin lamented.
"In my opinion, Shi Shaochuan seems like a tough nut to crack. Be cautious of him. I'll get going," said Jin Qingyan.
"Alright, drive safely," wished Mrs. Jin, standing up to walk him out.
On the journey home, Jin Qingyan began to ponder over how upset Long Tianze looked when they came out of the dance club.
Feeling rather worried about him, Jin Qingyan decided to give him a call. However, he did not expect Long Tianze to answer the call so quickly. Neither did he think that Long Tianze would be sober, sounding so calm and collected.
"You're worried about me?"
"I just wanted to say, it's time you settled down with someone, Tianze."
"Do I seem that desperate for a woman? I just thought your Sister would have better taste in men, that's all," said Long Tianze, swallowing the hard pill and hiding his sadness.
"I agree with you. Tianze, just give up on her. Don't think I don't know how you feel about her."
"She really doesn't matter that much to me. Alright, we should stop being so long-winded. It's time for me to go look for a pretty babe."
"Okay."
The smile on Long Tianze's face disappeared as soon as he hung up the phone.
He sped along the roads with bloodshot eyes. Unable to take it any longer, he decided to give Jin Qingyue a call.
"What is it?" she asked coldly, as usual. She did not seem to be surprised at the fact that he had called her.
"What do you like about that scumbag?" asked Long Tianze calmly.
Jin Qingyue was infuriated upon hearing the word "scumbag". "What a foul mouth you've got, Long Tianze. Please mind your words. Have you got anything to do with what I like about him?" she hissed.
"Alright, I won't talk about that. Would you like to hear what's on my mind?" he continued, cocking his head backwards slightly.
"Long Tianze, did you call me up late at night just to tell me these? I'm really busy and I don't have time to hear your thoughts."
Just as she finished speaking, a beeping sound could be heard from the other end of the phone and she ended the call.
As he drove home in the dark of night, Long Tianze slipped into a trance.
The impetuous recklessness within him which he had tried to hide began to intensify.
He wanted badly to vent his frustration, but he did not know who to turn to.
While scanning his surroundings, a figure loitering around the entrance of the bar stealthily caught his attention all of a sudden. He squinted and caught a glimpse of the face of the figure, after which he instantly opened the door and alighted from the car.