Su Yan looked at the document in Zhu Wei's hand. The bold characters "Divorce Agreement" pierced his eyes.
The content was very simple, and the signature at the bottom was signed by Yao Lingxuan in her own handwriting.
He had thought that after getting out of prison, he could live a simple life with a wife, children, and a cozy home.
What he never expected was that the very first thing waiting for him upon his release was Yao Lingxuan wanting a divorce.
"A divorce?" Su Yan let out a cold laugh. "She doesn't get to call the shots on this!"
Zhu Wei had anticipated his reaction and spoke with contempt.
"Su Yan, I don't think you understand reality. President Yao is now the president of Lingxuan Group."
"She interacts with distinguished scions of wealthy families every day. What qualifications do you, an ex-con, have to stand by President Yao's side?"
"I suggest you be sensible and accept President Yao's proposal. You can still get a few million and an apartment."
"If you anger President Yao, you..."
Slap!
Before Zhu Wei could finish, Su Yan raised his hand and struck him across the face.
It was no light blow; it sent Zhu Wei stumbling back a few steps.
A clear handprint was left on his face, and his teeth loosened, drawing bright red blood.
"You... how dare you hit me?" Zhu Wei had not expected him to resort to violence.
"Lingxuan could never treat me this way! It must be a scoundrel like you whispering in her ear and instigating this!"
Su Yan walked forward coldly, ready to give this scoundrel a few more kicks.
"Stop right there!"
The driver's side door of the fiery red sports car swung open, and Yao Lingxuan stepped out.
She was very pretty, wearing a white shirt underneath, paired with a black blazer and a hip-hugging skirt.
In her early twenties, she was well-maintained, with a graceful figure and fair skin.
The woman who had once been a bit proud and spoiled now exuded the aura of someone in power. She walked briskly in her high heels straight to Zhu Wei's side.
She bent down to help Zhu Wei up and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
"President... President Yao, I'm, I'm fine." Zhu Wei's face was already swollen, his voice sounding muffled.
Yao Lingxuan raised her head and glared at Su Yan. There was not a trace of joy in her eyes over his release from prison; instead, she looked at him as if he were a complete stranger.
"Su Yan! Sending you to prison was meant to make you reform, not to make you arrogant and domineering."
"Look at yourself now! You resort to violence at the slightest disagreement—how are you like a normal person?"
"Apologize to Zhu Wei right now, or we are not done with today's business!"
Hearing her words, Su Yan muttered, "Apologize? You want me to apologize to him?"
He looked at the Yao Lingxuan before him—so familiar yet so strange—and for a moment, he felt dazed.
He refused to believe that Yao Lingxuan could treat him with such indifference. Weren't they the closest of couples?
Yet at this moment, she stood by her assistant, protecting him the way a mother hen protects her chicks.
She showed no mercy in accusing him and even demanded that he apologize to another man!
This scene made him understand that things between him and Yao Lingxuan had changed long ago, and their past affection was nothing more than an illusion.
"You hit him. Don't you owe him an apology?"
Yao Lingxuan's brows knitted in stern disapproval. "Or is it that you miss prison life and want to go back and spend more time in a cell?"
Su Yan asked bitterly, "Why did I go to prison? Wasn't it for you?"
"I've finally gotten out, and you want to divorce me?"
Yao Lingxuan's expression softened slightly for a fraction of a second, before she retorted dismissively, "You agreed to it yourself back then. I didn't hold a knife to your throat, did I?"
Su Yan laughed bitterly at himself. Was his sacrifice truly worthless in her eyes?
Were her past bitter pleas and solemn vows all lies?
As long as she hadn't threatened him with her life, everything he did was voluntary?
Su Yan's heart turned hard and cold. "You want a divorce? I hope you don't live to regret this!"
"Regret?" Yao Lingxuan curled her lips. "The word 'regret' has never existed in my dictionary!"
"Fine! You said it!"
Su Yan picked the divorce agreement up from the ground, scanned it carefully, and looked up at Yao Lingxuan. "I don't want a single thing of yours! All I want is custody of Duoduo!"
A flash of discomfort crossed the depths of Yao Lingxuan's eyes, and she stammered, "Just take what's being offered to you, so you don't use past favors to blackmail and harass me later!"
Hearing such ruthless words from her, Su Yan sneered, "Your favors aren't worth a damn in my eyes!"
"Su Yan, go ahead and keep up your tough act. You're an ex-con with nothing to your name, a total loser, and yet you still dare to talk big in front of me?" Yao Lingxuan said with disdain.
She felt that Su Yan must have lost his mind, daring to utter such arrogant words.
Still, men were naturally obsessed with saving face; sooner or later, reality would slap him hard and he would realize what a loser he truly was.
Su Yan said coldly, "I said I don't want anything else! I only want custody of Duoduo! Where is she? Is she in the car?"
Su Yan looked at the sports car not far away and walked toward it.
Yao Lingxuan pressed her lips together and stopped him. "You don't need to go over there. I'll call her out."
"Duoduo, get down here!" Yao Lingxuan called out.
Su Yan stopped in his tracks, his heart leaping into his throat. Was he about to see his daughter?
As soon as Yao Lingxuan's voice faded, a white figure leaped out of the car.
Its body was as white as a cloud, with large eyes. It looked exceptionally cute, with a lively and mischievous personality.
This was how Yao Lingxuan had described their daughter to him, planting countless expectations in his heart.
He had never imagined that this was the 'daughter' he would see!
A white Bichon Frise!
Su Yan froze in place, staring blankly as the white dog ran over to Yao Lingxuan's feet and spun in circles.
Yao Lingxuan smiled faintly, raised her head, and looked at Su Yan. "Su Yan, this is Duoduo."
"Yao Lingxuan!" Su Yan was driven to laughter by her words. "You expect me to believe this is my daughter?"
"Your daughter?" Yao Lingxuan scoffed softly. "You can't even afford to feed a dog right now, and you think you're fit to have a daughter?"
"You lied to me!" Su Yan concluded, staring coldly at Yao Lingxuan. "You were never pregnant at all! You deliberately tricked me into taking the fall for your father!"
With her lie exposed, a trace of unease flickered in Yao Lingxuan's eyes.
"You guessed right. I lied to you."
"Don't be angry. I did it because I knew your time in prison wouldn't be easy, and I wanted to give you something to hold onto, you—"
Su Yan's heart ached to the extreme. Even when he had been injured to the brink of death in the past, it hadn't hurt this much.
He lunged forward, grabbed Yao Lingxuan by the throat, and applied slight pressure. "You were the one who deliberately tricked me into willingly taking the fall for your father, and you have the nerve to say you did it for my own good?"
Only now did he understand that all of Yao Lingxuan's methods had simply been about finding a scapegoat for her father. She had never held an ounce of genuine affection for him.
Yao Lingxuan's breathing grew shallow, her face turned pale, and her lips went purple. "Su Yan, you—you can't kill me! I—"
"Woof, woof, woof..."
Sensing that her master was in danger, the Bichon Frise began barking wildly at Su Yan.