CHAPTER 410: CHAPTER 380: SIGN IT

Ever since Ji Xiaoxiao joined the film crew, Gu Yicheng has been coming every day.

Because his last name is Gu, no one in the crew stopped him.

He comes and goes freely, with a designated parking spot.

It’s diagonally opposite to Qin Xia’s nanny car parking spot.

So every time he comes, Qin Xia can see him.

In fact, she sees him more often than Ji Xiaoxiao does.

So she’s very annoyed.

Qiao Yuxian watched out the window, and before long, Ji Xiaoxiao came over, holding a file folder.

Ji Xiaoxiao walked to the car, Gu Yicheng got out, also holding a gift.

Gu Yicheng offered the gift to Ji Xiaoxiao.

Ji Xiaoxiao didn’t accept it, said something unknown, and Gu Yicheng withdrew his hand. Then Ji Xiaoxiao handed the file folder to Gu Yicheng.

Gu Yicheng didn’t accept it either.

But Ji Xiaoxiao insisted on giving it to him.

Qiao Yuxian couldn’t hear what they were saying from inside the car, so she stealthily rolled down the window a bit.

Qin Xia looked at her.

Qiao Yuxian gave her a look of "I want to gossip."

Qin Xia put down her chopsticks, slowly sipped her soup, and also looked outside, eavesdropping.

"What’s this?" Gu Yicheng asked.

Ji Xiaoxiao said, "Open it and you’ll know."

"I don’t want to look," Gu Yicheng’s voice was a bit cold.

Ji Xiaoxiao opened the file folder herself, took out the contents, and directly shoved it into his arms.

Gu Yicheng reflexively caught it, then took a look.

It was a divorce agreement.

Seeing these words, Gu Yicheng’s whole body trembled slightly. He stared at the words for a while, then looked up at Ji Xiaoxiao.

Ji Xiaoxiao looked at him calmly and said, "I’ve already signed."

"Xiao Xiao, do we really have to go this far?" Gu Yicheng said, "I know I was wrong. I’ve changed. I’ve changed all the things you weren’t satisfied with."

"You’ve changed now, but what about the future?" Ji Xiaoxiao said, "You say you’ve changed now. You won’t mess with women outside, won’t force me to have children, won’t stop me from working? What about later? Can you guarantee these things won’t happen again?"

"I can guarantee it," Gu Yicheng said.

"I don’t believe you," Ji Xiaoxiao said, "and I don’t dare to believe you. I don’t have much time to spend like this with Young Master Gu. You can afford to waste time, but I can’t. My job depends on my youth, and the best years are just these few. I can’t afford to waste them with you."

"You have the Gu Family behind you..."

Ji Xiaoxiao interrupted him, "Even if I had two Gu Families behind me, my best years are still just these few. The Gu Family can give me endless resources, but the roles I can play are limited. Now I can play young and beautiful girls. But as I age, if I want to play such roles again, I will not only be criticized but will also disrespect the role."

"Then why did you choose the Gu Family in the first place?" Gu Yicheng asked.

Ji Xiaoxiao clenched her hands and said, "I admit, I was greedy. I wanted to take shortcuts in this industry, to have favorable treatment in this industry. Even if I’m playing a small role, I wanted everyone in the crew to treat me kindly. I wanted to use the status and position that the Gu Family gave me to do what I wanted."

"I can give you all this now," Gu Yicheng said.

"You won’t let me work whenever you feel like it, how can you give it to me? We agreed before our engagement that I would work first for a few years, that we would have children later. You were the one who promised me," Ji Xiaoxiao said, "but now you can’t keep that promise."

"Moreover..." Ji Xiaoxiao said, "I chose the Gu Family also because I really liked you. Liked you a lot. Although the Gu Family is the most prominent in the Capital City, the things I want can also be given by other families. It didn’t have to be the Gu Family. I married you because I truly liked you."

"Xiao Xiao, I am sincere with you," Gu Yicheng said, "I truly want to marry you, to spend a lifetime with you."

"I believe you," Ji Xiaoxiao looked at him and said, "It’s true that you want to spend a lifetime with me, but it’s also true that things outside never really end."

"I haven’t," Gu Yicheng retorted.

"You know what’s in your heart," Ji Xiaoxiao looked into his eyes and said, "Did you really cut off contact with that woman?"

Gu Yicheng suddenly fell silent.

Ji Xiaoxiao laughed lightly and said, "Let me tell you what will happen if we don’t divorce."

Gu Yicheng looked at her with a bitter smile on her face.

"You go out there and be with that woman, and when you come back, I don’t want you touching me. If I don’t let you touch me, you will force me," Ji Xiaoxiao said calmly, "then you will also start to suspect that I like someone else. My social circle is very small, and the only people I can interact with are those in the crew. You will suspect that I am involved with some of the male actors in the crew. Then you’ll stop me from working, confine me at home, and force me again and again."

"Xiao Xiao..."

"Sign the papers," Ji Xiaoxiao interrupted him again.

"Xiao Xiao," Gu Yicheng said, "be sure about this. If I sign, your studio will be gone."

Ji Xiaoxiao smiled slightly and said, "I never wanted that anyway. If one does not experience certain things, they can never clearly see their own heart. I dreamed of living a life as a rich lady, thought I could tolerate anything for such a life, but my character is such that I cannot tolerate anything at all. I am not suited to be the Young Madam Gu."

"I understand now," Ji Xiaoxiao said, "all I ever really wanted was to act, to be an actress. Whether I receive good treatment in the film crew or if people ignore me, whether they respect me or not, it’s not important to me. Whether I’m seen as human or not, I still act for a day."

"What about scripts?" Gu Yicheng asked, "Will anyone come to you with roles?"

"No," Ji Xiaoxiao said, "Maybe I won’t receive any offers for five or ten years, but this is my life. My original life was just like this. I am merely returning to the starting point."

"You didn’t have to return to the starting point," Gu Yicheng said.

"But I can’t live that life. Excessive greed comes at a cost. For instance, to have what I want, I have to desperately please you. However, I can no longer afford such a cost—neither physically nor mentally," Ji Xiaoxiao said, "Please let me go. This is my destiny; I cannot live that life, nor can I love you that way."

"Xiao Xiao..."

"I also have work to do," Ji Xiaoxiao interrupted him once more, "Remember to sign the papers. We can discuss the follow-up matters later."

She turned and walked away as she spoke.

After taking two steps, Gu Yicheng called out to her, "Xiao Xiao."

Ji Xiaoxiao stopped in her tracks because she heard Gu Yicheng tearing up the divorce agreement.

She turned to look at him, "You..."

Gu Yicheng looked at her and smiled slightly, "I won’t sign it."

Ji Xiaoxiao looked at him.

Gu Yicheng said, "Xiao Xiao, I’m sorry, you forced me."

This familiar look in his eyes made Ji Xiaoxiao instinctively step back two steps, wary and nervous, "What are you trying to do?"

"I just want to reconcile with you," Gu Yicheng said, "but you insist on divorcing me, and I really have no other choice."

"What exactly are you planning to do?" Ji Xiaoxiao asked in a low voice.

"From now on, you won’t receive a single job offer, including this current drama," Gu Yicheng looked at her and said, "until you give up the idea of divorce."

"Gu Yicheng! How dare you!" Ji Xiaoxiao’s eyes turned red with fury.

"Just try and see if I dare or not," Gu Yicheng said.

Ji Xiaoxiao stayed silent, trembling all over.

He dared, and he had the capability.

Gu Yicheng strode forward, grabbed her arm, and started leading her towards the car, "Come, let’s go home."

"Gu Yicheng, let go of me," Ji Xiaoxiao said in a low voice, "Let go of me! If you don’t, I’ll call for help."

"Call for help," Gu Yicheng continued to pull her towards the car, "I want to see who dares to stop me."

"Let go of me!"

Gu Yicheng opened the car door and tried to shove Ji Xiaoxiao inside.

Ji Xiaoxiao clutched the car door tightly, refusing to go inside.

As they reached an impasse, just as Gu Yicheng was about to force her into the car, a very light and cold voice suddenly sounded from not far away.

"Gu Yicheng, what are you doing?"

...