Volume One, Chapter Six: How Could She Possibly Bear to Divorce!

After returning from Teacher Xu’s place, Lin Zhiwan received a phone call from Fu Yanzhou’s mother.

“Mom, what’s the matter?”

“You still ask me!”

The phone receiver was filled with Zhao Lanxin’s harsh scolding. Lin Zhiwan held the phone slightly further away to spare her ears.

“I heard from the servants that you haven’t been home these past few days. Jin Xing is left without anyone to care for her and has to follow Yanzhou to the office! Lin Zhiwan, it’s one thing if you can’t bear children, but you can’t even take care of the child you have. Do you deserve to be a woman?”

Lin Zhiwan had lost count of how many times she had endured this humiliation over the past five years.

Before, she didn’t argue, no matter how badly her mother-in-law insulted her, just to avoid causing trouble for Fu Yanzhou.

But now, she and Fu Yanzhou were about to divorce, and having lost a child, how could she continue to bear Zhao Lanxin’s accusations?

Taking a deep breath to calm her emotions, Lin Zhiwan spoke evenly.

“Jin Xing isn’t just my child; Fu Yanzhou, as her father, has a responsibility to care for her! Besides, there are so many servants at home—surely they can look after a little girl! Jin Xing is already five years old; I’ve mentioned before that we could enroll her in kindergarten. Although a private tutor is meticulous, the school environment is beneficial for her personality development and social skills. Fu Yanzhou agreed to this before. You can discuss Jin Xing’s matters with him and make the decisions together.”

“What nonsense is this?”

Zhao Lanxin’s voice rose eightfold.

She had always despised Lin Zhiwan. If not for the fact that these years she saw her take care of Fu Yanzhou and their daughter with some diligence, she would have long urged Yanzhou to leave her.

And now she had the audacity to say such things!

“Lin Zhiwan, I always knew you didn’t truly care for our Jin Xing. Now you’re even egging my son on to send Jin Xing to school! You don’t have a heart because she’s not born from your own womb!”

As Zhao Lanxin’s words grew harsher, Lin Zhiwan broke her usual restraint and interrupted.

“Mom, Fu Yanzhou and I are getting a divorce. From now on, you don’t need to discuss Jin Xing’s matters with me, nor worry about me treating her poorly.”

With that, she pressed the hang-up button.

Zhao Lanxin stared at the disconnected phone in disbelief.

Lin Zhiwan wanted a divorce?

Had she lost her mind?

Nearby, Fu Jin Xin tugged on her grandmother’s sleeve.

“Grandma…”

She had heard everything on the phone. Lin Zhiwan wanted to send her to kindergarten and said she wouldn’t take care of her anymore…

Would that mean no one would play Lego with her, bake treats with her… or tell her stories anymore?

Seeing Jin Xing’s pout and hurt expression, Zhao Lanxin scooped up her granddaughter, tenderly kissing her cheeks.

“We won’t listen to her! How could she bear to divorce your father? She’s just angry and speaking nonsense!”

“Really?”

Although Jin Xing was a bit spoiled, she was still a child and couldn’t help but feel disappointed hearing Lin Zhiwan say she didn’t want her.

Zhao Lanxin stroked her precious granddaughter’s head.

“Of course! Lin Zhiwan is just throwing a tantrum! We’ll ignore her, and in a few days when she sees no one is paying attention, she’ll come back to accompany our Jin Xing. Now, Grandma will take you to the amusement park, okay?”

“Okay, okay!”

Hearing about the amusement park, Fu Jin Xing clapped happily, immediately forgetting about Lin Zhiwan.

In the evening, Fu Yanzhou was still working when the office door was pushed open.

Zhao Lanxin walked in ahead, usually immaculate and graceful, but now her makeup was smudged and exhaustion etched deeply into her face, making her look over ten years older.

Behind her, a bodyguard followed, holding the sleeping Fu Jin Xing.

“Oh, I’m so tired!”

Zhao Lanxin collapsed onto the sofa, unconcerned with her posture.

Fu Yanzhou took the child from the bodyguard, gently laying his daughter on a bed in the lounge, then instructed his secretary to prepare some red tea for his mother.

Zhao Lanxin took the tea and, somewhat revived, grumbled to her son.

“Your daughter is much harder to handle than you were! This whole day nearly wore me out.”

Without looking up, Fu Yanzhou continued sorting through his documents.

“When I was little, the servants took care of me. You naturally didn’t feel raising a child was hard.”

Zhao Lanxin muttered softly.

“Well, I was busy!”

Hearing this, Fu Yanzhou lifted his head from the pile of papers, his expression cold.

Zhao Lanxin felt guilty under her son’s gaze and quickly changed the subject.

“What’s going on with Lin Zhiwan? The servants said she’s having a fight with you, left home, and isn’t even taking care of the child!”

Fu Yanzhou disliked servants gossiping and even more his mother meddling in his family affairs.

“Don’t listen to the servants’ nonsense.”

Zhao Lanxin took this as him defending Lin Zhiwan, forbidding her from speaking ill of her.

She clicked her tongue. “You think you can hide it from me? I called your wife today. You talk nicely to her here, but do you know what she said? She wants a divorce and won’t take care of Jin Xing anymore!”

Fu Yanzhou’s brow twitched. “What did she say?”

Zhao Lanxin spread her hands.

“You don’t believe me? Then ask your daughter. The servants are all here too. Don’t blame your mother for meddling. You’ve spoiled Lin Zhiwan for so many years! I told you to move back to the old house so I could help teach your wife, but you refused…”

Seeing his mother was about to launch into another long lecture, Fu Yanzhou quickly called his secretary.

“Arrange a health and beauty spa treatment for my mother!”

Soon, the secretary’s staff came in and escorted Zhao Lanxin out.

The office finally quiet, Fu Yanzhou furrowed his brow and resumed work.

As for his mother’s claim that Lin Zhiwan wanted a divorce, he didn’t take it seriously.

It was just a woman’s angry words—no need to believe them.

There was no way she truly wanted a divorce.

After hanging up, Lin Zhiwan headed to the library.

Parking was difficult there, so she took a taxi.

Her thesis topic was “The Auxiliary Verification of Traditional Copying Techniques through AI Image Restoration,” an innovative subject in the field of cultural relic restoration in recent years; Teacher Xu’s latest research was related to it as well.

She had been away from the industry for several years. Though she kept up with some developments, catching up with the teacher’s pace still required much study.

Stepping out of the library, night had fully fallen.

Lin Zhiwan adjusted her black coat and, clutching a thick stack of books, stood by the roadside trying to hail a cab.

During rush hour, the ride-hailing app showed several hundred people ahead in line.

She glanced at the threatening rain clouds overhead. If she waited much longer, the books might get soaked.

Fortunately, a shopping mall was nearby, and she headed in that direction.

Weekdays were always quieter than weekends at the mall. Lin Zhiwan wandered aimlessly until she saw the restaurant that had been very popular online before; today, it was nearly empty.

She recalled promising Fu Jin Xing last time to bring her here for a meal.

Now, she wondered what Jin Xing was doing…

Did she like the food the servants cooked? Would she be afraid sleeping alone at night? With Fu Yanzhou so busy, he probably didn’t have time to read picture books with her…

Instinctively, she took out her phone and opened the photo album, which was full of pictures of Jin Xing and Fu Yanzhou.

For these five years, she had truly loved Jin Xing as her own child. Yet her sincerity had not earned her a single “Mom” nor the most basic respect.

Never mind. Since she was divorcing Fu Yanzhou, whatever happened to father and daughter from now on was no longer her concern.

She stepped into the restaurant, ordered several popular dishes from online reviews, and quietly enjoyed her dinner alone.

She never expected to encounter father and daughter here.