64 separated

I won't get a divorce!

The world is sometimes very big. When Song Qinggui was a child, he felt that Changli Island was too big and Cangcheng was too big. It seemed that he would have to use all his strength and run endlessly to escape and seek freedom in a bigger world.

But the world is small. It was only an hour or so since she reminisced with Saxon about the past. Her past as a nude model had already spread like wildfire on the internet.

As they left the auction house, Song Qinggui was almost unsteady on her feet. Xue Lu tried to help her, but Song Qinggui brushed his hand away.

"Rules and regulations..."

"Don't worry." Song Qinggui's voice was indifferent: "I'm not a child anymore, I won't throw a tantrum. Let's go back to Lancheng first, I have a lot of things to do."

Xue Lu felt that wall again, the wall in Song Qinggui's heart.

He had spent ten years causing it to crumble, but overnight it was restored to its original state, even stronger and taller than before.

The trip to Flying City in Hong Kong took three and a half hours.

As soon as Song Qinggui landed, he felt the biting cold; winter in the north was much colder than in Hong Kong.

Just then, Xue Lu's phone rang repeatedly, and he couldn't hang up.

Song Qinggui opened social media and found that her story had indeed spread to quite a scale. In the internet age, three hours is enough to kill a person.

When people enter a poor alley, they often experience an unusual calm.

Song Qinggui sat in the passenger seat, even with a smile on his face: "Do you think they would believe me if I told them I did it for art back then? Ha..."

It was a joke, but Xue Lu was in no mood for jokes. He only felt a sharp pain in his chest: "I'll handle this. It's none of anyone else's business what kind of person my wife is."

As the car pulled into the underground parking lot of Shengshi Junlan, Song Qinggui didn't unbuckle her seatbelt. She looked at Lawyer Xue and said, "Lawyer Xue, we..."

"I won't get a divorce!" Xue Lu stared intently at Song Qinggui. "I know I made a mistake. No matter what my intentions were, in your eyes my actions showed a lack of trust and respect for you. I know I hurt you. You can scold me, hit me, whip me with a belt—you can do whatever you want to me as long as you're happy, but a divorce is not an option!"

Song Qinggui lowered his eyes for a moment, then looked back at him: "Lawyer Xue, let's separate for a while."

Actually, on the plane, Song Qinggui pretended to sleep and thought about a lot of things.

Indeed, she was furious when she first learned that Xue Lu was investigating her, because it was different from the investigation conducted by the Xue family.

Strangely, she could understand that the Xue family was conducting a background check on her for their own benefit, but she found it hard to accept that Xue Lu was digging up her past out of love.

Because she loved Xue Lu, and they were husband and wife. Even the slightest distrust between husband and wife can quickly escalate into betrayal.

This is what distinguishes love from other emotions, and it is also one of the reasons why love is more fragile than other emotions.

Besides, her past is hardly something to be proud of...

Song Qinggui asked herself honestly, "In all these years of knowing Xue Lu, he has done so much for me. Is it all worth it to make up for the hurt this incident has caused me?"

She didn't know, so she wanted to be alone for a while to think about how she should face Xue Lu.

“It’s better for all of us to calm down,” Song Qinggui said.

Xue Lu smiled bitterly: "What is this? A suspended death sentence?"

"Can't you be a little more rational?" Song Qinggui said helplessly.

Xue Lu took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down: "Break up? How do we break up?"

Song Qinggui: "I want to stay at a friend's house for a while."

Lawyer Xue: "Which friend?"

Song Qinggui wanted to answer "Xiaoqian," but the words suddenly stopped.

Xiaoqian just got engaged and is already living with her fiancé. Their apartment isn't very big, so it's really not appropriate for her to stay there.

As for the others...

Over the years, she has been busy making a living and has lived in seclusion. She has many acquaintances, but almost none of them can be called "friends".

Seeing her lost in thought, Xue Lu sighed and said, "I'll stay at a hotel; you stay at home."

Song Qinggui came to his senses: "Actually, it's not necessary... I can stay at a hotel."

"Let's go." Xue Lu said firmly, "I'm going upstairs to pack my luggage. Call me when you've given me permission to come back."

...

Song Qinggui began living alone after her marriage.

She didn't receive many phone calls, only Xiao Tian and Song Qinghe sending her WeChat messages every day. Obviously, Xue Lu must have told his relatives and friends not to bother her.

But the wave of the internet is not so easily quelled.

A week after Song Qinggui returned to Lancheng, an article went viral, garnering hundreds of millions of views and tens of millions of likes and shares on multiple internet platforms, including WeChat official accounts and blogs.

The title is typical of Hong Kong media, extremely insulting—"The Love History of a Rich Family on a Public Bus Revealed," and the author is identified as "Rich Family 77," with an IP address from Hong Kong, China.

Song Qinggui read through the article. From Saxon, Cheng Wuliang, Yan Fengqian to Xue Lü, it was three parts truth and seven parts falsehood, described vividly. The comment section was also very lively. It was truly a lewd woman who deserved to be punished by everyone.

Song Qinggui could only laugh. Just from the author's name, she knew it was Chen Fangqi. The name "Qiqi" is a homophone for "doing bad things while leaving a trail behind," as stupid as ever.

After reading the article, the doorbell rang. Song Qinggui opened the door, and it was Su Yalin.

"Ta-da!" Su Yalin held up a box containing a six-inch strawberry cake: "When you're in a bad mood, eat something sweet."

Song Qinggui smiled and invited Su Yalin into the room.

The two girls each took a large soup spoon and scooped out cake, eating it heartily and carelessly, without any elegance whatsoever.

"Did Lawyer Xue tell you everything?" Song Qinggui asked.

Su Yalin shook her head: "Lawyer Xue told me that what's on social media is all nonsense, but he didn't tell me the details. He's worried about you, so he sent me to check on you."

At this point, Su Yalin paused: "Oh, Luo and others also called me, asking me to come and talk to you. I have a long way to go."

"I'm fine," Song Qinggui said casually. "The current situation is within expectations."

"So what do you plan to do?" Su Yalin put down her spoon. "They asked me to come not just out of concern, but also because I'm a lawyer. If you want to take legal action, I can help you."

Song Qinggui frankly said, "Saxon is right about something. When I was young, I knew nothing except arrogance. I had no legal awareness and thought that as long as I got out of danger, that was enough. I always used brute force and never thought about holding them accountable through the law. I recently researched a lot of information. I don't have substantial evidence that Feng Zhe sold me out back then, so I can't sue him. As for Saxon, he illegally imprisoned me and intentionally injured Feng Zhe, but no matter what it is, the statute of limitations has expired, and he is a foreigner, so the procedure is more complicated."

Su Yalin nodded in agreement; Song Qinggui was right.

“You can sue the author of that article,” Su Yalin suggested. “Sue for defamation. I’ll help you with the case.”

Song Qinggui pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "I will sue, but before I do, there is something I need to do."

"What's up?"

“I am Xue’s CPRO and the head of Jingtian’s medical department. My reputation is related to the livelihoods of thousands of employees in the group. I cannot hide behind Lawyer Xue in such an unclear way.”

...

On Monday, December 1st, Song Qinggui held a press conference in the reception room of the Xue Group to respond to recent rumors.

Attorney Xue and Xue Tan sat on either side of her, and Su Yalin, as their legal representative, was also with them.

As soon as Song Qinggui sat down, the flashbulbs started going off nonstop.

Song Qinggui briefly recounted her past experiences, only changing the names of Aunt Sun and Xiaotian, as she did not want their lives to receive unnecessary attention because of her.

Next came the reporter's questions, which were quite pointed.

Reporter: "Ms. Song, your story is good, but it's only your side of the story. What evidence can you provide?"

Song Qinggui: "Those articles online are all one-sided stories, and you believe them anyway. Whoever makes the claim must provide the evidence, and it's not me who should be providing the evidence."

Reporter: "Do your husband and his family know about these things from your past? What is their attitude?"

Song Qinggui: "They all know about my love affairs with Cheng Wuliang and Yan Fengqian. I have a clear conscience in both relationships. As for my childhood and adolescence, they were also very painful for me. I don't want to talk about them, and they didn't ask me about them either."

The next male reporter, with a lewd expression, said: "I've seen photos of those paintings featuring Ms. Song. They're quite sexy and alluring. Has Ms. Song considered returning to her old profession?"

"Not considering it." Song Qinggui smiled sharply: "Although I've always been beautiful."

The male reporter's tone was sarcastic and angry: "It seems Miss Song is determined to reform herself."

"Heh..." Song Qinggui laughed for real this time: "I didn't go into prostitution, so how can I talk about reforming myself? Besides, even someone with your level of expertise can become a reporter. I only did what I had to do to survive. What's there to be ashamed of?"

"you……"

Before the male reporter could swear, another female reporter spoke up.

This female reporter was an old acquaintance of Song Qinggui, Shu Qing, the editor-in-chief of "Lancheng Youth". She had previously conducted in-depth reporting on the cross-provincial transfer of cardiac teratoma at Jingtian Hospital and had collaborated with Song Qinggui.

She came to the press conference specifically as a reporter.

Shu Qing: "Miss Song, if you could say one thing to your past self from sixteen years ago, what would you say?"

This is a question that is both heartwarming and profound, and it's also an opportunity that Shu Qing has provided for her to fully express her own will. Song Qinggui's answer to this question represents her attitude towards those events of the past—perhaps shame, regret, or remorse, etc.

Song Qinggui fell silent after this question, shedding his sharp edge.

Everyone present was waiting for her answer.

After a while, Song Qinggui looked up, first giving Shu Qing a grateful smile, then looking firmly at the camera.

“I think I would say to fifteen-year-old Song Qinggui, it’s not your fault that the world is so dark. You’ve done everything you could at your age. Thank you for not giving up, for not giving up. Thank you for surviving. Thank you for your perseverance, courage, and resourcefulness!”

The camera lights started flashing rapidly again.

Song Qinggui understood that the world's judgment on her was not over.

Her response to the Shu Qing issue reflects her attitude towards the trial.

Fifteen-year-old Song Qinggui was incredibly audacious and knew nothing of submission; she remains so today.

The world kisses me with pain, and I will retaliate. This is the true meaning of fairness.

[Author's Note]

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, there will be more than one chapter updated tomorrow, and I will strive to complete the main story.

It was originally supposed to end before December, but we've made everyone wait a little longer.

Thank you all for your hard work, love you all~