Gu Yueji's hand trembled as she held her phone, stunned. "Husband, what are you saying?"

Ren Jin's tone remained ambiguous as he asked, "Didn't you say you wanted a divorce before? I just want to know if you still want one now?"

He remembered that last time she heard some rumors at the construction site, she casually mentioned divorce. Today, her mother suddenly asked her to divorce him. He was shocked and amused, but she had known all along but never mentioned it to him. He wanted to know what her attitude was towards divorce now.

He had been speaking in this lukewarm tone ever since he left home. Gu Yueji thought he was angry because he hadn't told him about Sun Xiaoming, and wondered why he suddenly brought up her mentioning divorce.

"I said that because I thought you were messing around with other women, and I was angry."

"I'm pretty angry today too," Ren Jin said somewhat defiantly.

He was angry, but he never thought about divorce. He believed in dealing with problems as they arose, unlike her who would try to eliminate him at the slightest provocation.

Gu Yueji understood that anyone would be upset after traveling a long way to meet his future in-laws only to be unwelcome and inexplicably asked to divorce them. She hadn't handled it well either. She hadn't expected her parents to bring up divorce at their first meeting, nor had she imagined they would bring Sun Xiaoming to meet Ren Jin. She would have been angry too if she had been in their shoes.

She apologized softly, "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

"What do you mean there won't be a next time?" Ren Jin asked deliberately.

Gu Yueji sensed the frustration in his tone this time and assured him, "There won't be a next time I see Sun Xiaoming, and there won't be a next time my parents say those things to you."

He wasn't satisfied. "Anything else?"

Gu Yueji was taken aback. She thought back on what he had said before saying uncertainly, "You won't mention divorce again?"

Why is this statement made so uncertainly?

"I don't know if this is what you want to hear."

"Are you only saying this because I want to hear it?" His voice suddenly became excited.

Gu Yueji smiled.

He's been acting strangely all day. I suddenly want to go to the hotel to find him, hug him, and soothe him. Maybe that will calm him down.

"No, I promise I won't mention divorce again, okay?" Gu Yueji coaxed softly.

Ren Jin snorted, but his indifferent attitude vanished, and he initiated a conversation with her, asking, "Have you brainwashed your parents?"

Gu Yueji couldn't help but laugh when she heard this. "Don't worry, in my parents' minds, you're just a domestic abuser who's been to jail."

Ren Jin chuckled silently, "You've really badly smeared me, and you even said I hit you."

Gu Yueji retorted, "It's not like you haven't hit before."

Ren Jin was stunned. How could he have hit her? He asked incredulously, "When did I hit you? Where did I hit you?"

Gu Yueji felt a little embarrassed. "I got a spanking."

"When do I hit..." he asked anxiously, then suddenly realized, "His butt? On the bed?"

Gu Yueji remained silent, while Ren Jin laughed, "You mean this kind of spanking with your bare bottom exposed? I admit that, but weren't you enjoying it and screaming? Several times you were the one who asked me to spank you..."

Ah, Gu Yueji wanted to surrender; she shouldn't have provoked him.

"I was wrong, please stop talking." She stopped him from continuing.

Ren Jin's mood improved completely. He pulled the blanket closer to his chest and hugged it as if he were sleeping with someone in his arms. "Let's finish dealing with things here quickly and go home together."

"Okay, I'll call Jia Hui in a bit to ask what he thinks. Let's try to go home in the next couple of days, okay?"

"Tomorrow is the weekend, call Gu Jiahui and tell him to go home. I'll go back tomorrow too."

"Okay, I'll talk to him." Hearing his lazy voice, Gu Yueji thought he was sleepy. "Were you having trouble sleeping because you were thinking about the divorce?"

Ren Jin did not deny it. Since the scandal at the construction site, Gu Yueji had not mentioned the word "divorce" again, but he did not know what she was thinking. He was a little provoked by today's events and wanted to know.

"Are you upset when I say I want a divorce?" Ren Jin asked.

Gu Yueji's first feeling was shock, and at the same time, her heart felt like it had been pricked by a needle. "It hurts."

"Then we're not allowed to say it anymore, okay?"

"good."

——

That evening, just as Gu Yueji was about to call Gu Jiahui, he called first.

"sister."

"Jia Hui".

"Can I go out and earn money with you and brother-in-law? Working on a construction site is fine too."