Ten years after the divorce (1)
When the phone rang at home one day, Jiang Ying glanced at the beginning of the familiar number, mistook it for Qi Yu, and then called out “Xiao Yu.” As a result, the other party remained silent for two seconds before responding, “It’s me.”
Jiang Ying was taken aback for a moment before reflexively raising her airs and saying in her “broadcast” voice: “Oh, it’s you. How did you find the time to call?”
The person on the other end of the phone was not Qi Yu. Qi Yuancheng, Jiang Ying’s ex-husband, was the culprit.
“I heard from Qi Yu that Xiao Feng has found a boyfriend?” Qi Yuancheng cut to the chase.
Jiang Ying was surprised, then laughed, “He and his boyfriend have been together for half a year. Your news is clearly behind the times.”
Qi Yuancheng: “Uh…”
Jiang Ying: “What, are you so concerned that you called about this?”
“Of course. He’s my son. What’s this boyfriend thing all about? Rebellious stage?” Qi Yuancheng asked in an obviously questioning tone, “Should we discuss our children’s education?”
Jiang Ying was irritated when she heard his attitude. They’d been divorced for a long time. Why hadn’t Qi Yuancheng paid attention sooner if he truly cared for his younger son? He began to investigate it now that her son was happily in love with his boyfriend? Where did he obtain the qualification?!
She sneered: “Hehe, there’s nothing to talk about over the phone. Come back and see for yourself if you’re interested.”
“I’m quite busy these days,” Qi Yuancheng stated after a little pause.
Jiang Ying softly snorted, “It makes no difference. I don’t think Qi Feng intends to end his relationship with that boy anytime soon. You are free to take your time.”
Qi Yuancheng: “…”
Jiang Ying hung up the phone, thinking, Our marriage is finished, and you don’t need Qi Feng to continue your Qi family, so what’s the big deal?
She raised her arms in a defensive motion – in any case, I’ve made up my mind about this “daughter-in-law.” You’ll have to get past me first if you want to look for trouble!
But, to Jiang Ying’s surprise, Qi Yuancheng found time out of his hectic schedule to visit China!
Qi Feng’s parents divorced when he was a child. The fact that Qi Yuancheng duped him and stole Qi Yu caused a schism between the father and son. Qi Yuancheng’s career in the United States had not yet acquired a firm foundation at the time. He was preoccupied with his work and rarely returned to China. Qi Feng’s strong affection for his father had eroded with time, and he normally interacted with his father through his older brother.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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To that purpose, Qi Yuancheng called Jiang Ying to inquire about the specifics, but he was rebuffed.
After several days of tossing and turning, he finally decided to return to his home country in person and sit down with Qi Feng to have a good talk in order to address the long-standing issue between father and son.
He never expected to return to China and be greeted with empty air – only a week before, Qi Feng traveled to the Inner Mongolia prairie to go sightseeing with his boyfriend, who had finished his internship ahead of schedule!
Qi Yuancheng couldn’t help but be annoyed while on the phone with his ex-wife, who was airily discussing Qi Feng’s recent developments: “Why didn’t you inform me that Qi Feng has gone out to play? Is he still with him, that boyfriend of his?”
“As a father, you don’t ask your son if he wants to see you, yet you blame me?” Jiang Ying mocked.
Her words crushed Qi Yuancheng and rendered him speechless.
He was, indeed, not qualified. He hadn’t spoken to his son for more than a half-sentence in years. In his heart of hearts, he was afraid, but he couldn’t let go of his arrogance. He didn’t say hello in advance because he was worried his return would make Qi Feng even more disgusted.
However, he rarely returned for a visit, and Qi Yuancheng didn’t want to depart with his tail between his legs. He hesitated for a long time before calling Jiang Ying again, hoping to catch up with his ex-wife before departing.
“All right, it’s up to you where you want to meet.”
“Are you…free?” Qi Yuancheng was taken aback. He expected Jiang Ying to be busy and decline, as she had in the past. He had even considered how to respond after being rejected, so that he would appear calm and collected and not make the mood too awkward.
Jiang Ying responded lightly, “Just text me the time and place of the meeting.”
Qi Yuancheng was still in disbelief after hanging up the phone.
They hadn’t seen one other in a long time. They last met seven years ago, when Qi Yu asked Jiang Ying to assist him with some formalities for his education in the United States.
“Today evening… no, tonight is too rushed, for tomorrow night,” Qi Yuancheng hurriedly instructed his assistant to find a suitable venue for the meetup. He had an early flight the day after next and planned to pack his things the night before, but packing after meeting Jiang Ying wouldn’t be too late.
“Look for a restaurant near Bulgari, I’m staying at Bulgari… Hold on! It’s better to select one near Riverway Avenue, yes, the location of the city television station… By the way, remember to send me the information of the three shortlisted restaurants to look at. I’ll decide which one to use.”
He was like an adolescent who had just fallen in love with his first love and was nervous about seeing his ex-wife after not seeing her in a long time.
He quickly received the candidate restaurants from his assistant, but Qi Yuancheng nitpicked them – the atmosphere at the western style candlelight dinner restaurant was too ambiguous, making him fearful that Jiang Ying would think incorrectly; the shop signs of the top rated Japanese restaurant were all about fresh uncooked food. He’d heard Qi Yu say that Jiang Ying’s stomach wasn’t in good condition, so it wasn’t suitable for eating; as for the gold medal Hong Kong style cuisine, the ambiance seemed a little lacking…
Jiang Ying received the text message two hours later. She assumed that Qi Yuancheng had suggested a meeting but had quickly pushed the idea to the back of his mind.
She was quite familiar with the meeting location. It was close to her workplace. Typically, high-end celebratory feasts of the broadcast station would be held there. She wondered if Qi Yuancheng chose this location for her convenience, which warmed her heart, but on second thought, she questioned how Qi Yuancheng, who was already worth tens of billions, could have the time to do such a thing himself. It was most likely set by the assistant or secretary.
Jiang Ying went to the restaurant in her work clothes the next day.
Not because she didn’t care about trifles, but because she was accustomed to seeing people with the attitude of a capable and experienced successful working woman.
Fortunately, Qi Yuancheng was also dressed casually, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.
They sat down and spoke a few words like old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time, inquiring about each other’s health and work.
But the two of them didn’t need a relationship where they had to put on a show anymore. Qi Yuancheng swiftly assumed the bearing of a father who cared about his son Qi Feng’s situation in order to demonstrate that the reason he’d scheduled an appointment was “simple in intent.”
As soon as he brought up the subject, Jiang Ying unexpectedly dropped her chopsticks and frowned, “Can we stop talking about our son at the dinner table?”
For a brief moment, Qi Yuancheng was taken aback. What else could they speak about if they didn’t talk about their son?
“We rarely meet, don’t you want to talk about our problems?” Jiang Ying remarked, picking up the wine glass again.
“We have problems…between us?” Qi Yuancheng was perplexed.
They had been divorced for a long time. Jiang Ying chose the career path, and he assisted her in achieving her goal as she desired… Could it be possible that he owed Jiang Ying something?
Jiang Ying sighed on seeing that he didn’t understand, softened her tone slightly, and continued, “I’ve always heard Xiao Yu relate it to me on the phone, but I’ve never heard you say it yourself. How have you been all these years? Tell me about it.”
Qi Yuancheng was stunned. His heart, which had been silent for a long time, began to beat quicker at this moment.
“These years…” he began softly, taking a sip of red wine.
He had spent these years in the wind and rain, working hard for his business, and was now well past the age of self-doubt. He appeared to have everything – money, career, fame and fortune – but only one thing could undo all of his hard work as a successful man.
— A broken family.
Many people believe that being complacent in one’s profession and disappointed in one’s love life is the norm for elites. With money and position, how can one be concerned about a lack of love?
But this was Qi Yuancheng’s biggest sore point for the last ten years.
At his most youthful age, the woman in front of him had charged into his life like a raging inferno, ignited his life, and then turned away resolutely when he felt life could be better. She brutally dug a hole in his heart, leaving him with a feeling of limitless emptiness whenever he thought about this failed love for the following ten years.
He tried to keep himself occupied with work until it took up all of his time.
Qi Yuancheng chose and discussed insignificant events in his life, most of which happened to himself and Qi Yu.
Qi Yu, for example, was not acclimatized when he first transferred to another school in the United States ten years ago and frequently suffered colds and fevers. At the time, the nanny in the United States was not that satisfying, and there was a significant contrast between how she dealt with children’s illness and how Jiang Ying had previously dealt with it. As a result, Qi Yu’s condition took more than half a month to improve, driving him insane.
“At the time, I learned how difficult it was to care for children and a home…”
“Oh? You realize how difficult it is to care for children?” Jiang Ying smiled while throwing him an angry glance. Her eyes were brimming with wit.
“But luckily, Qi Yu matured fast in that kind of setting and didn’t let me, this father, worry too much,” Qi Yuancheng said, lowering his head to avoid the other party’s charming line of sight.
“Xiao Yu is young and mature, just like you.” Jiang Ying chuckled.
“Who is Xiao Feng like?” Qi Yuancheng asked, cocking his brow.
“Pfft! Xiao Feng is like Xue Niu,” Jiang Ying laughed, remembering Qi Feng’s usual style.
“The dog that his brother bought for him?” Qi Yuancheng asked, his brow furrowed.
“He’s a very sweet and good boy,” Jiang Ying added, nodding.
Jiang Ying hurriedly inquired, “How long did it take you to become accustomed to the food and drink there?” as though frightened to bring the subject back to Qi Feng’s boyfriend.
With a bitter laugh, Qi Yuancheng related an incident. When they first moved to the United States, there was a month gap between nannies. Because there was no one to cook for Qi Yu, he urged the boy to order takeout or go out to eat. He was swamped with work at the time, so when he finally got time, he took his son to a high-end restaurant to eat lobster, forgetting the fact that he was allergic to lobster. That night, he vomited and had diarrhea, so Qi Yu had to look after him instead of the other way around.
“Oh, I know! For our first date, we went to the food street near Media University and ate crayfish. After you finished eating, you puked all over me…” Jiang Ying scoffed, her eyes and brows curved with laughter.
Qi Yuancheng couldn’t take his gaze away from the other party. He let out a soft sigh and remarked, “It’s been so many years. You haven’t changed, but I have. Am I getting old?”
*giggles* These two old couple are so adorably clumsy wtf- And Qi Yuancheng is actually so sweet WTF- (/ w ) Hahahahaha Eheheheheheheh s-someone haha, help me stop smiling at these two’s antics ehehehehe-
Aaah I’m so happy there’s a story about them 🥺
im already had tears in my eyes. they’re so sweet
MFEO much???