CHAPTER 500: 481: QUARREL (FIRST UPDATE)

As soon as Jiang Yan’s mother and daughter left, the room quieted down, leaving only Ye Qian and Liu Zhiyuan. Ye Qian mockingly cast her gaze on him, and Liu Zhiyuan, no longer silent, glared back with resentment.

"Now that everyone in the compound knows, are you happy? Ye Qian, I know what you’re planning. It’s just the two of us here, no need to hold back. You’re planning to divorce and then chase after Shen Bin, right? I advise you to give up on that idea. No matter what you do, Shen Bin will never be interested in you. I didn’t realize before, but now I see, you can’t even compare to Ye Ling." Liu Zhiyuan laughed at the end, with indifference, no sadness—only relief. "Ye Qian, your façade won’t last forever. Sooner or later, someone will see through it. Ye Ling lives genuinely; she always does, showing her true self to others. You’re different. You wear a mask that could be torn off at any time. Today, acting like a shrew in the compound, you think others will understand you?"

Seeing Ye Qian’s increasingly pale face, Liu Zhiyuan’s smile grew even broader, as if the recent events had nothing to do with him. "Given your usual temperament, no matter how wronged you feel, you’d just cry and show your weakness to everyone. But today? Was that something a typically weak person would do? Do you think you made a mistake?"

Finishing his sentence, Liu Zhiyuan couldn’t help but burst into loud laughter.

But before his laughter could die down, there was a knock at the door. Liu Zhiyuan stopped laughing and didn’t call for Ye Qian to answer. He stood up to open it himself. Outside stood Bai Xue; behind her were the pregnant Ye Ling and Shen Bin. The presence of these three surprised Liu Zhiyuan.

"Liu Zhiyuan, how dare you treat Ye Qian like this, you scoundrel!" Without further words, Bai Xue rushed at Liu Zhiyuan, her slaps landing on him with dull thuds.

Liu Zhiyuan tilted his head to avoid her hand hitting his face. He neither dodged nor fought back, simply allowing Bai Xue to hit him, until Shen Bin stepped forward, pulling her away, finally rescuing Liu Zhiyuan.

"Let’s talk this over calmly," Shen Bin said coldly.

Ye Ling was more blunt, "You brought us here to throw a tantrum? If that’s the case, keep throwing your tantrum here. We’re leaving."

This one sentence finally quieted the swearing Bai Xue, though her glare at Liu Zhiyuan was as murderous as ever.

After Shen Bin released her, she strode towards Ye Qian, wordlessly embracing her daughter and crying.

"My poor Qianqian, how could we encounter such a thing? That scoundrel, shameless, why won’t he just die?"

Ye Qian stood dazed in her mother’s arms, looking at Ye Ling and Shen Bin, who were exchanging pleasantries with Liu Zhiyuan at the door, surprised they would come so late.

Actually, it was quite coincidental. Zhao Guodong and Liu Nan had a minor disagreement. Seeing Liu Nan refusing to eat, Zhao Guodong got worried and called Ye Ling insistently to come over. Before she could agree, Zhao Guodong hung up and took a taxi over.

With things as they were, Ye Ling had no choice but to come along. Shen Bin, not comfortable leaving his wife alone, came too. Halfway through persuading Liu Nan, they heard a commotion at the Liu Family, learning that Ye Qian had brought Jiang Yan, naked, into the fray. They didn’t intervene but, when things calmed down, planned to leave, meeting Bai Xue rushing over at the gate with the news.

Crying and wailing at the compound entrance, Bai Xue was unwilling to relent but, thinking of Shen Bin’s influence, finally decided to come inside.

Liu Zhiyuan invited Ye Ling and the others to the sofa area, then, after sitting down, he began, "I drank too much, and when I woke up, Jiang Yan was lying in bed. I don’t know what happened."

Liu Zhiyuan did not try to defend himself, merely stating the truth.

Bai Xue cursed, "Do you think we’re fools? Who would believe you just drank too much? You must have been sneaking around for god knows how long."

"If you’re here to argue, then argue here; we’re leaving," Ye Ling glared back, silencing Bai Xue. "So, what do you plan to do?"

Bai Xue quieted down, whispering to her daughter, "With the Li Family backing you, don’t be afraid."

Ye Qian gave a bitter smile but stayed silent. Bai Xue underestimated Ye Ling’s willingness to intervene on her behalf.

Liu Zhiyuan chuckled faintly, "Not to make you laugh, but with this happening, I’m frankly at a loss for what to do. However, while Ye Qian and I were calming down, we agreed we wouldn’t divorce. This was an accident. As long as she forgives me, I won’t make this mistake again."

Ye Ling and Shen Bin were not surprised, but Ye Qian was dumbfounded, staring in disbelief at the refined, smiling Liu Zhiyuan. Recalling his earlier mockery, she suddenly understood his intentions.

Liu Zhiyuan wasn’t having a good time and believed she loved Shen Bin, so he wouldn’t let her go easily, intending to bind her to him, making her life miserable.

How could he be so selfish? How could he do this?

"I disagree. I want a divorce." With this realization, Ye Qian shouted out loud.

"Ye Qian, we agreed earlier," Liu Zhiyuan immediately looked over seriously, as if talking to a willful child, "Don’t be reckless."

"Liu Zhiyuan, get real. Don’t think I don’t know your intentions. You’ve slept with Jiang Yan and want me to stay with you? Impossible." Ye Qian couldn’t voice her true thoughts, so she dragged Jiang Yan into it.

Bai Xue was somewhat confused. To her, as long as the Liu Family expressed that her daughter was important, this matter would pass. Jiang Yan was the one who suffered and got embarrassed. In the future, her daughter would live well in the Liu Family. Feeling guilty, they would treat her well.

Thus, hearing Liu Zhiyuan’s words initially pleased Bai Xue, but her daughter’s reaction terrified her.

"Anyway, it’s divorce." Ye Qian glared at Liu Zhiyuan, who silently watched her, and threw down the words.

Liu Zhiyuan looked at the people in the room with a bitter smile, "You see, Ye Qian is so agitated that she swings between good and bad, so now is not the time to divorce."

Ye Ling and Shen Bin weren’t fools. They wouldn’t blindly believe Liu Zhiyuan’s words, but deduced something else was at play between the two. However, since it’s a private marriage affair, they had no authority to interfere.