Chapter 11. A liar!
The weather was exceptionally good on the day we got our marriage certificate.
The sky was a clear, cloudless blue, and the sunlight was dazzling.
The whole process was swift and efficient, without any hiccups. Qiao Shu wore sunglasses that covered half her face, while Yu Zeheng had a cold and aloof expression. After the staff stamped their documents, they each took their divorce certificates and walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau at the same time, going in opposite directions and getting into their respective cars, leaving each other with only a cold and aloof silhouette.
Qiao Shu handed the auction house over to Song Yue. She had been with her for so long that she was already capable of handling things independently. She had no connection with the Qiao family. Afterwards, she suspended business dealings with the Qiao family and separated the auction house. No one was more suitable than her.
Her belongings in South Bay were packed and organized by a professional moving team. It took more than a dozen people a whole day to pack them up. She was surprised to find that she had bought a lot of things in the past two years. She loaded the large and small bags onto the truck and moved to her other vacant property. She would stay in Australia for the time being, and Song Yue would send some of her belongings over later.
The housekeepers and maids at home were hired by Qiao Shu, and Yu Zeheng might not continue to use them. Aunt Chu wanted to go to Australia with her, and the other housekeepers would receive an extra three months' salary. Uncle Qin was getting old and his daughter was in China, so he received severance pay and planned to take a break for a while.
She took into account all those innocently affected by this incident and provided them with ample compensation.
As for the division of property with Yu Zeheng, the divorce agreement was clear and detailed. The remaining details and specific execution were handled by the lawyers of both parties. Qiao Shu did not want the house in Nanwan, but she did want a portion of the equivalent value of funds and stocks. She did not ask for more money; she kept every penny that belonged to her, and she did not take a penny that did not belong to her.
A week after Qiao Shu flew to Australia, both Qiao Yu's families learned about their divorce.
The first person to come was Qiao Kaiyu. He couldn't contact Qiao Shu, so he came to Nanwan and met Yu Zeheng. The whole house was lifeless and silent, completely different from the scene he had seen some time ago. The doors and windows were tightly closed, and there was no sound. No one answered when he knocked on the door. He called Yu Zeheng, and half a minute later, the curtains on the second-floor window were suddenly pulled open.
Behind the curtains was a pale, gloomy face, with drooping eyelashes that revealed no emotion.
Qiao Kaiyu paused for a second, then, confirming it was indeed Yu Zeheng, gestured with his hand, and asked, "Zeheng?"
The curtains were drawn back shut, and a minute or two later, the door opened, and Yu Zeheng walked out. His tall figure blocked Yu Zeheng's view as he peered inside. He came out in slippers, his voice indifferent: "What is it?"
Qiao Kaiyu held his phone: "I sent you a message but you didn't reply, and I called Xiaoshu but no one answered. I heard some gossip. The elders in your family are very concerned about you. Why did Xiaoshu go to Australia? Is there anything going on between you two?"
Yu Zeheng remained silent.
"What's going on? You need to give me an explanation." Qiao Kaiyu was quite dissatisfied with being slighted.
"Confess?" A mischievous sneer rang out.
Yu Zeheng took a step forward. He was tall and imposing, with somber features and dark eyes that exuded a strong sense of pressure. Qiao Shu was right about one thing: after the divorce, the Qiao family had nothing to do with him, and he didn't need to give them any special treatment. He said, "I think it's you who should give me an explanation."
Qiao Kaiyu pressed further, "Are you really divorced?"
Yu Zeheng replied impatiently, "Don't bother me with this kind of thing anymore. Your Qiao family has nothing to do with me anymore."
Having heard this far, Qiao Kaiyu understood that the divorce was real. He thought of Qiao Shu, who, although usually spoiled and willful, always obeyed the old man's words. This time, she actually took it upon herself to get a divorce.
Their divorce was a heavy blow to both Qiao and Yu's families. Qiao Kaiyu was confused and anxious: "What was it all about? Why did they just get divorced like that?"
He was met with the dull slam of the door closing.
He frowned, having never received such cold treatment before.
After much hesitation, Qiao Kaiyu informed Qiao Zhenkai of the news, which undoubtedly caused a huge uproar. However, Qiao Shu had already anticipated the outcome. She had already flown to the other side of the ocean. She must have changed her contact information. No one knew her whereabouts. She dropped a bombshell and then disappeared without a trace, leaving others to clean up the mess behind her.
Next to arrive was Jiang Wenxin. Yu Zeheng opened the door and let his mother in. Jiang Wenxin keenly sensed that the house was quiet and cold, like a showroom. Yu Zeheng only said that he and Qiao Shu had indeed divorced. When asked who initiated the divorce and what the reason was, he remained tight-lipped and did not utter a single word.
Jiang Wenxin hesitated, then felt that there was no point in saying anything more. Looking at the empty house in front of him, she suggested that he move back home instead.
Helpless, the elders of Qiao and Yu's families met to discuss the matter. They agreed to keep the secret and maintain a unified narrative, continuing the existing cooperation. However, everyone knew that the community of interests would be difficult to maintain in the future.
Yu Zeheng moved to the second bedroom.
Because Qiao Shu had been monopolizing the bathroom for a long time, his toiletries were mostly kept in the guest bathroom of the second bedroom. He no longer had to endure the soft mattress and the silky, cool sheets, nor would anyone domineeringly leave the lights on all night. Her unbearable princess syndrome would no longer affect him after she left.
Yu Zeheng planned to fly to Canada, the next match location, on the same day after the divorce, but canceled the trip just before departure and stayed for about a week.
He dismissed the servants and cooks, leaving the house empty except for himself. The flowers were no longer replaced daily; the flowers from the day of the divorce had long since withered and turned yellow, their roots soaking in water emitting an unpleasant odor. He called a cleaner, who cleaned the entire house, and along with the withered flowers, the cloyingly sweet smell that had always lingered in the air also disappeared.
It's strange. It turns out that houses are like living organisms. After Qiao Shu left, it was as if the roots had been pulled out, and everything in front of us was withering and decaying.
Yu Zeheng heard the noise outside while he was falling asleep.
He got up and looked out the window, where he saw a figure crouching down, planting something with a hoe. In the darkness, he couldn't see the face clearly, only a graceful figure.
Yu Zeheng remembered the gardener named Uncle Lin, who, like Auntie, had been given severance pay.
The outdoor lights suddenly came on, startling Uncle Lin, who had been silently tending to the flowers and plants. He turned around and saw a figure walking towards him.
He is the owner of the house.
Uncle Lin was holding a garden hoe, his hands covered in mud. When he saw the other man's face, it turned bright red. He wasn't good with words and stammered that he had come because the flower seeds and seedlings he had bought some time ago hadn't been planted yet. If they were left lying there unattended, they would rot, which would be a great waste.
Yu Zeheng grunted in response, not scolding him for trespassing. His face remained expressionless as he walked into the garden. The earthy smell of soil mingled with the rich scent of flowers and plants. At Uncle Lin's feet were piles of flower seedlings: "Don't worry about me, you can continue."
After hesitating for a few seconds, Uncle Lin squatted down, dug into the soil, and buried the roots of the seedlings.
Yu Zeheng saw a row of planted onions with words written on cards stuck in the soil. He walked over and picked one up to look at it—"Qiao Shu's flowers, please grow up well."
Her handwriting is elegant and graceful.
Uncle Lin caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye and suddenly said, "Those are the young lady's flowers; she planted them herself."
Yu Zeheng put the card back in: "What kind of flower is this?"
Uncle Lin replied, "This is Afre. It will bloom with beautiful flowers next year. It will bloom in another month. It's a pity that the young lady won't be able to see it."
Yu Zeheng pursed his lips.
“I’ve been working here for two years. When I first came, I was very careful. The young lady looked very pretty but also seemed difficult to get along with. I was afraid that I would do something wrong and be fired. But actually, these two years have been the happiest two years of my life. The young lady is a very nice person, kind-hearted and generous. It is because of the young lady that I have been able to grow so many varieties of flowers. She doesn’t care about the price, she only asks if they look good.”
Uncle Lin was cautious, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Yu Zeheng did not show any displeasure, so he continued boldly: "Last year, my child had surgery. When Miss Yu found out, she granted me half a month's leave, introduced me to a doctor, and arranged a ward and surgery. There are many such things. We all know that as long as we need something, we can go to Miss Yu and she will definitely help. We receive gifts on holidays and even on our birthdays. Sometimes it really feels like we are a family."
“I’m actually quite reluctant to leave. People can leave, but these plants have taken root and can’t be left behind. If you’re comfortable with that, I can come back from time to time to take care of the flowers and plants. It’s free, just as a way of thanking you for taking care of them over the past two years.”
Yu Zeheng listened to his words in silence, knowing that there was not a single word of flattery or falsehood in them.
Qiao Shu is that kind of person. She always has an incredible enthusiasm for the people around her. She is considerate, understanding, and approachable. When she speaks, she looks into the eyes of the other person and always has a pleasant smile on her face. It is as if getting her attention is a joyful thing.
She is kind to everyone, like the sun or the moon, her light shining equally on them.
Of all these people, Yu Zeheng was the only one not among them.
Of course, Qiao Shu also has a dark side. Her temper, her pickiness and arrogance, her sweet words and daggers, her lies that come out of nowhere, her scheming and her manipulation, are all used on him.
He tacitly condoned and indulged her wickedness and her flaunting. He knew perfectly well what she would gain by allowing her to achieve various goals through him.
It's deception, it's fooling, it's betrayal.
The anger that day was not unfounded, and it has not completely subsided even now.
The long silence made Uncle Lin think he had upset the other party. He nervously gripped the hoe and whispered an explanation for himself: "I'm sorry, Mr. Yu, I won't bother you again after I finish planting this batch of seedlings tonight."
"You can stay here, and work the same hours as before."
Uncle Lin thanked him repeatedly: "Thank you, President Yu. Don't worry, I will do my best as before and will not be negligent in the slightest."
"It's getting late, go home early." With that, Yu Zeheng walked out of the garden and went back upstairs.
—
The person most heartbroken by Yu Zeheng's divorce from Qiao Shu was Yu Mingwu.
She lived with her two older brothers from childhood and once made a crazy wish for an older sister. Qiao Shu's appearance made up for her regret.
Qiao Shu treated her very well. She had never seen anyone so beautiful, no less so than the glamorous stars on TV. Qiao Shu would take her shopping and pick out beautiful clothes, bags and jewelry for her. She felt very comfortable with her. Although they were six years apart, they were like peers and could talk about anything. Even if Qiao Shu had the most unconventional ideas, she would never deny them.
Yu Mingwu was equally angry. No one knew the reason for their sudden divorce, but she firmly believed that her brother had done something wrong. Because of him, she lost her sister-in-law and could no longer call and chat with her like before.
Yu Zeheng has been living at home for the past two days. Upon hearing this, he frowned and said in an extremely cold voice, "This is a matter between us. You can still contact each other. I have not asked you to cut off all contact with her because of this."
“But my sister-in-law changed her contact information without telling me. She won’t talk to me anymore.” Yu Mingwu’s voice was full of grievance. She had become a victim of their divorce.
Yu Zeheng poured himself a glass of ice water: "That only proves that your relationship isn't as strong as you think."
He didn't tell her that Qiao Shu was just good at pretending, and that she could make friends with anyone if she needed to.
As he looked up to drink water, the icy liquid slid down his esophagus. He recalled the laughter from that night. Perhaps, even in pretense, there was a touch of sincerity.
Yu Mingwu's sadness was genuine; tears welled up in her eyes. She walked up to him, her tone somewhat aggressive: "Why did you get a divorce? Isn't your sister-in-law good enough? You'll never find anyone better than her. You've ruined everything. I hate you so much."
Everyone assumes it's his fault; he initiated the divorce, and he never explained it.
Yu Zeheng put down his water glass, the bottom of which clinked against the marble surface. He frowned, having had enough of her complaints: "Are you done?"
"It's not over yet..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yu Zeheng had already gone upstairs.
Yu Xunli was furious about the sudden divorce. His angry shouts came from his study, no less intense than when he forced Yu Zeheng to retire. The difference was that this time he remained silent and made no argument. He accepted all the anger and bore the consequences.
After that day, everyone else kept quiet about it, but Yu Mingwu clung to the unrealistic fantasy that they might remarry. She deliberately dug out their wedding video and played it on a loop in the living room.
Yu Zeheng was in his room when he ended the remote online meeting. He pushed open the door and walked out of the room. As he went downstairs, he heard a very familiar voice. His steps froze instantly. Two seconds later, he walked to the living room and finally found the source of the sound.
On the 100-inch television screen, Qiao Shu was in a hotel room. She was wearing a pure white wedding dress, and the makeup artist was putting on a veil behind her. Her makeup was impeccable, and a string of pearls adorned her long, fair neck. The warm luster accentuated her every smile and gesture, making her radiant and beautiful.
A smiling female voice asked, "Miss Qiao, what are your thoughts on getting married today? What blessings would you like to say to yourself?"
In the scene, Qiao Shu tilted her head to listen to the question, then slightly furrowed her brows. Before answering, she smiled, her bright eyes filled with laughter, and her voice was as clear as a wind chime: "Bless him. He is the luckiest man in the world to have married me."
The people around him burst into laughter.
fraud!
He is a habitual liar.
Like a butterfly flapping its wings and causing a hurricane, a single sentence was enough to reignite his pent-up anger. His jaw was clenched, and his face was extremely ugly. The brighter and more beautiful the person on the screen was, the more intense his anger and resentment became.
Qiao Shu in the video was comparable to any professional actor; every word and every expression was the result of meticulous performance. She deceived him, and she deceived everyone.
The scene shifts to the banquet hall. The doors slowly open, and Qiao Shu clasps her hands together. She looks at him, and the camera zooms in, revealing the moisture and brightness in her eyes. She walks towards him and smiles slightly. Everyone present calls them a perfect match.
It's just a pretense.
Yu Zeheng's temples throbbed again as he searched for the controller to turn it off, but couldn't find it for a minute or two. Yu Mingwu came out, holding what he was looking for.
Yu Mingwu said, "You two were clearly in love back then, brother, don't you love your sister-in-law anymore?"
Yu Zeheng walked over without a word, his face grim and terrifying. She felt a chill in her heart and stood frozen in place until the controller was taken away, the screen was turned off, and the priest's voice proclaiming the vows stopped abruptly. He threw away the controller.
He turned around, his dark eyes fixed on her beneath his high brow bones: "From now on, I don't want to hear anything from you about that woman—her name, her words, everything. Do you understand?"
"Why are you so domineering?" Yu Mingwu almost burst into tears. Yu Zeheng was not exactly a gentle and considerate brother, but he had never spoken harshly to her.
Yu Zeheng did not go to see her.
The living room finally quieted down. Yu Zeheng detached himself from his emotions, and apart from his expression still not exactly gentle, he felt that he was calm enough.
He said, "I hate her."
Yes, I hate her.
Perhaps it goes deeper than mere dislike; this emotion has seeped into his veins and flows endlessly through him.
He hates her.
Without a doubt.
Unable to stay at home any longer, Yu Zeheng flew to Canada the following day to rejoin the racing team. After a month apart, he was welcomed by the team members and a small party was held that evening. He drank some alcohol, hugged and chatted with the members, as if nothing had happened.
It was only when he held the wine glass that he noticed the cold metallic sheen of the ring on his ring finger, and he realized he had forgotten to take it off. He leaned against the railing and removed the ring he had worn for two years.
Then, belatedly, they realized that today was their second wedding anniversary.
The ring left a faded white mark on his finger, a testament to their two years of marriage. He placed the ring in a wine glass and watched it sink into the liquid, finally landing on the ice. He stood up and left without looking back.
In the days that followed, Yu Zeheng devoted himself entirely to the upcoming races. He was extremely busy every day, needing to make decisions, meet with investors, persuade them to invest, control costs and budgets, and give media interviews. The frequent races left him no time to think about anything else. He also wanted to keep himself busy, spending more time in the gym than when he was a professional race car driver.
Three months later, Yu Zeheng arrived in Italy with the convoy.
During official competitions, there is a five-day rest period. He maintains contact with his family once a month, mostly inquiring about his physical condition. He has closer contact with Yu Mingwu.
Three months was enough time for her to forgive him. She had returned to England to continue her studies. As her brother, he rarely showed her any concern or care; instead, he simply gave her a sum of money as pocket money.
Yu Mingwu: [I love you.]
Yu Zeheng held his phone. He had just finished exercising and was sitting wearily on the sofa in the lounge. On a whim, he opened Instagram. He followed Yu Mingwu; the girl had a great personality and would update her daily life on Instagram. He looked through the posts and saw that she updated almost every day.
Most of them are people taking selfies in the elevator, wearing headphones, holding a cup of coffee, tilting their heads, with artistic expressions that are either cute or indifferent.
There were also some academic complaints, such as a professor being too strict and picky.
He smiled, realizing it was all the innocent thoughts of a teenager, and then he saw her frequently interacting with an account.
A photo of a woman casually holding her hair up with a shark clip from behind, with the caption: "Our baby is already a beautiful young woman."
Yu Mingwu: [My dearest, I miss you so much!]
There were several replies like this, and he frowned, vaguely sensing the other party's identity.
As if by some strange twist of fate, Yu Zeheng clicked on the other person's homepage.
The homepage was full of everyday photos, none of them showing a full face. Most of the time, it was just a half-profile, showing long, smooth, curly hair and a hand resting on the island platform... He recognized it as Qiao Shu.
Yu Zeheng pursed his lips, even slowing his breathing. He scrolled down and saw that it was a new account. He saw her daily posts over the past three months. The update frequency was not high, only a dozen or so in total, but the number of likes was good, and she had even accumulated several thousand followers.
From snippets of her daily life, he learned that she had a small white dog named Xiao Xi, which she had raised to be snow-white with soft fur. Her daily life was also very simple; she would spend her time reading in cafes, hiking with friends, browsing markets, and even surfing at the beach. Her photos were filled with sunshine, blue skies, white clouds, seawater, grass, and flowers.
She showed half her face, without makeup, and smiled with her eyelashes curled.
All the messages told him that she was happy and comfortable every day after the divorce, and that she was embracing a new life.
Yu Zeheng's calm was shattered once again. He admitted that he was uncomfortable and had a sense of disgust that the world was getting better and better while he was getting worse.
He turned off his phone, got up and went to the gym, where he trained for another hour.
Ke Ming was surprised that he left and then came back. He joked that he was in a state of mind that seemed to be returning to the racetrack, and that he was more disciplined than current professional drivers.
Yu Zeheng remained noncommittal. After the exercise ended, he immersed himself in ice water, his muscles contracting rapidly at zero degrees Celsius. He tilted his head back, his mind completely blank.
When the night was deep and quiet, and the people and things around him had temporarily disappeared, he was unusually sleepless when he lay alone in bed. An hour later, he opened his eyes, picked up his phone, opened the app again, went through his browsing history, and clicked on the other person's homepage again.
Qiao Shu posted a new update.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, a young man with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a blue and white striped shirt, is holding a dog named Xiao Xi. The man looks up and smiles at the person taking the picture.
The title is: "Someone is stealing puppies, smiling.jpg"
Yu Zeheng closed the page expressionlessly.
All he could think about was why she could start a new life so easily? It was as if she had never had any impact on his life at all.
His blood was surging faster, causing his body temperature to rise.
Time cannot erase any traces; on the contrary, the hatred at this moment is stronger than ever before.
-----------------------
Author's Note: The terrifying extent of a fan turning into a hater is beyond words—it's enough to break your defenses, break your defenses, and break your defenses again.
I hate that the bright moon hangs high above but does not shine on me.
I love this kind of food so much.
——
100 red envelopes to celebrate V! [cat emoji]
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