Chapter 3

I had still underestimated Yin Qingqing’s shamelessness. I thought she would show up on time, but I waited for half a day and she never came.

I called dozens of times, and no one answered.

Love is like that. Some people would rather keep torturing each other than let go cleanly.

With heavy steps, I went back home. The moment I opened the door, the scene before me stunned me.

Yin Qingqing was sitting on the sofa like she owned the place, while my mom was holding the baby and feeding him, smiling so hard her mouth couldn’t close.

What disgusted me the most was that Ryan walked out of the kitchen leisurely, holding the beer I had just bought.

He looked exactly like the man of the house, while I looked like the outsider.

I couldn’t hold back the anger in my chest. I rushed over and shoved Ryan hard, and the beer in his hand spilled all over the floor.

“Shameless. You really think this is your home? Get the hell out.”

“Waaah.” The baby was frightened badly. My mom quickly carried him back into the room. Not knowing what was going on, she still tried to calm me down.

“Since Qingqing is willing to come back, that means she doesn’t want a divorce. For the baby, just bear with it.”

My throat turned bitter, and I really couldn’t bear to tell her the truth. I was afraid the old woman wouldn’t be able to take it.

Yin Qingqing lifted her chin and looked at me arrogantly.

“Ethan, what the hell are you yelling about? We’re not even divorced yet, so what’s wrong with me bringing a friend home to stay?”

“Ryan stayed in the hospital to take care of me, and not only are you ungrateful, you’re yelling at him. Where’s your conscience?”

“Besides, the child support hasn’t been settled yet. I won’t agree to the divorce.”

I laughed from pure anger.

Raising a child really is expensive. Neither she nor Ryan had a job, so how were they supposed to support the baby?

But why should I be the one paying to raise someone else’s child?

Yin Qingqing thought she had hidden it perfectly, but little did she know I had already learned the truth.

The day she gave birth, Ryan stayed with her in the delivery room while I waited anxiously outside.

I accidentally found their conversation from a few months ago on her phone.

“Did he notice the sperm got switched?” Ryan sent with a sly grin.

“Don’t worry, I have someone in that department. It’s completely foolproof.”

“Thanks for helping me make my dream come true. I hope the baby inherits your good genes.”

“If he comes out with skin as dark as his family’s, I’d rather just choke him to death.”

After reading their long, shameless conversation, it felt like I’d been hit over the head.

Yin Qingqing had complained countless times that my skin was too dark, not nearly as fair as Ryan’s.

In order to keep her well-fed and comfortable, I ran around under the blazing sun every day, unlike Ryan, who knew how to take care of himself with sunscreen and face masks.

She loved the whole package, so much that she was willing to betray me just to have a baby that looked like Ryan.

Once love is gone, any excuse will do.

If it weren’t for my mom, I would have already torn the mask off and confronted them.

“I’m not paying child support, but if we divorce, I can give you this house so you can live there in your old age.”

I had already spent enough money on her over the years. I wasn’t about to keep being an ATM.

The house was under my name, but since the child was innocent, I softened my heart in the end.

I didn’t expect my cold attitude to make Yin Qingqing panic instead. She choked up and cried:

“Do you really have the heart to treat the child like this? You want him to lose his father’s love the moment he’s born?”

“Even a tiger won’t eat its cubs. For the sake of the child, let’s talk this through again.”

Heh. Because of the child, I wanted the divorce even more.

She still thought I was the same simp as before, that as long as she shed a few tears, I would be willing to pluck stars from the sky just to make her happy.

But now, I didn’t even look at her.

Seeing that I wasn’t responding, she immediately changed her face.

“Ethan, don’t push your luck! I’m already lowering myself to beg you like this, what more do you want?”

“If you dare divorce me, I’ll expose your true face to everyone!”

“I’ll let them see that you act like a good husband on the surface, but in private you’re disgusting, even refusing to support your own son!”

I looked up. She looked exactly like a shrew yelling in the street. To someone who didn’t know better, she’d seem like the one who had suffered some huge injustice.

Ryan stood up and pretended to be nice. “There’s no need to force each other to the edge.”

Hearing that, my pride felt like it had been stomped into the dirt. It was really uncomfortable.

The two of them were in cahoots, and I had no idea where they got their confidence from.

I wasn’t angry. In fact, thinking about never having to humiliate myself to please her again made me feel oddly relieved.

After I turned and drove them out, the house immediately became much quieter.

My mom scolded me harshly without asking what had happened, then packed her bags and took a bus back to our hometown.

Some grievances are better borne alone. I didn’t want my family to share them.

Work kept me busy enough to forget the pain. It was more like I was running away from it.

My phone suddenly rang. I got a message from my best friend.

“Ethan, go check your wife’s livestream.”

His anxious tone made me a little confused.

When I opened Yin Qingqing’s livestream, I finally understood what she had been planning all this time.

On camera, her eyes were swollen red from crying, and she was holding the baby as he wailed in her arms.

“Scumbag Ethan abandoned his wife and child. He doesn’t deserve to be called human.”