Chapter 138 You abandoned me, and now you're framing me as a heartless man?
“My place is simple and you definitely won’t be used to it. Besides, I think you should stay in a more upscale place, which would be more in line with your status.”
“Indeed.” Jing Muchi nodded. “I also think this place is too small.”
Upon hearing his agreement, Sang Ning thought she had persuaded him and was overjoyed. However, the next second, the man picked up a stack of things next to the table and placed them in front of her.
"What, what is this?"
"These were just delivered by Xu Hui. They're a few apartment buildings closest to your school. Take a look and see which one you'd like to live in. We'll buy an apartment there in a couple of days."
Sang Ning was taken aback, "Us?"
"What else can I do, honey?"
Jing Muchi deliberately emphasized the word "wife" to highlight the relationship between the two.
"I won't go live anywhere else with you."
Sang Ning pushed aside the floor plans and reminded him again, "Jing Muchi, we're getting a divorce now. Once we get the divorce certificate in a month, we'll have nothing to do with each other anymore..."
"You know that's a month from now."
Jing Muchi interrupted her, saying slowly and deliberately, "So, this month, we're still husband and wife, understand?"
"Jing Muchi..."
"Okay, since you don't want to move, then we'll stay here."
Jing Muchi stared intently at her with his dark eyes. "But Sang Ning, let me tell you, you can forget about leaving me until you get the divorce certificate."
Sang Ning didn't understand why he had to make things so difficult for himself.
Is it because she was the one who initiated the divorce, making him lose face, that he doesn't want her to have a good life?
"Jing Muchi, I believe we separated peacefully."
Sang Ning tried to calm herself down and communicate with him amicably.
"Don't worry, I will live in Jiangcheng from now on. Except for paying respects to my grandfather and parents, I will never go back to Beijing. And if anyone asks about us, I will tell them that you were the one who wanted the divorce, that you were tired of me and didn't want me anymore..."
"Sang Ning."
Jing Muchi's forehead veins bulged, and he was so angry he almost jumped out of his chair. "What do you mean? You abandoned me, and now you're going to frame me as a heartless man?"
Sang Ning shrank back, startled by his excited voice, and looked at him with an innocent expression.
A heartless man?
She didn't say that.
She just wanted to protect his pride and make him look better in the divorce.
Meeting her eyes, which were even more innocent than his, Jing Muchi was so angry he laughed.
"You look so soft and gentle, how come your actions and words are so infuriating?"
He pinched her cheek hard in anger.
"Ugh~ It hurts."
Sang Ning winced in pain and tried to slap his hand that had done the wrong thing, but he held on for a while before letting go.
She covered her poisoned face and glared at him.
He's unhappy about everything, this grumpy young master is really hard to please.
Sang Ning rubbed her face before putting her hand down. "Then tell me, what exactly do you want me to do to let me go?"
Jing Muchi was seething with anger, but when he saw her fair cheeks reddened from his rough handling, he couldn't vent his anger.
He took a deep breath to calm himself down, then looked at her and asked, "Why don't you tell me, what exactly is it about me that you're unhappy with, that makes you insist on divorcing me?"
Unexpectedly, he would suddenly ask such a question. Sang Ning paused for a moment, staring at him, not quite coming back to her senses.
"Is it because I'm not good-looking enough, or because my family background isn't good enough?"
Sang Ning shook his head silently.
The Jing family is a very influential family in Beijing; how could their family background be bad?
As for his physique and appearance... they are also impeccable.
"Was it because I treated you badly, mistreated you, or abused you?"
Sang Ning quickly shook her head again, "No."
Although he has a free-spirited personality and is quite domineering, he is actually not bad to her either.
"Did I do something to wrong you?"
"No, it's not because of those things."
Sang Ning sighed helplessly, "Jing Muchi, you know that you're away from home most of the time, so our relationship was already fragile, and on top of that..."
Hearing her words, Jing Muchi's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had finally realized something. He grabbed her hand abruptly, "So, it's because I rarely come home and haven't been able to satisfy you?"
"Wh-what?"
Before Sang Ning could understand what he meant, he pulled her over and sat her on his lap.
Jing Muchi kissed her cheek with a look of guilt and joy, his eyes softening. "I'm sorry, baby, it's really my fault. I neglected you because of work."
"Huh? I..."
Sang Ning had just opened her lips when he kissed them again. The man's gentle tone was coaxing, "I will never leave home again. I promise you, I will take good care of you every day from now on, okay?"
Suddenly, the man became like a golden retriever whose fur had been stroked, clinging to her and rubbing against her affectionately.
"?"
Sang Ning was bewildered by his actions for a while before she understood what he meant.
He actually thought... that she divorced him because she felt he didn't provide enough intimacy in their marriage?
“Jing Muchi, it’s not what you think.” Sang Ning dodged his kiss and explained urgently, “Don’t make wild guesses, my divorce is not for the reason you think.”
She struggled to her feet off his lap and took two steps back.
Upon hearing that it wasn't the reason he was thinking, Young Master Jing became unhappy again, his face immediately falling like a masked man.
"Why is that?"
Sang Ning lowered her eyes, her dim eyes devoid of light. After a long silence, she slowly said:
"Because I want to be myself."
Jing Muchi frowned in confusion. "What do you mean you want to be yourself? Does marrying me mean you won't be yourself anymore?"
Am I?
Sang Ning looked up at him, a bitter self-mockery in her eyes.
"I want to have my own job, I want to be a teacher, but if I were your wife, Jing Muchi's fourth young mistress, could I?"
"Why not?"
Sang Ning chuckled. "Is that alright? But two years ago I mentioned to you that I wanted to work at a school, and you said back then... that I should just stay at home."
Jing Muchi's eyes flickered, and after a moment's thought, he remembered—
That happened shortly after her grandfather passed away.
At the time, she was heartbroken and depressed because of her grandfather's passing, and even fell ill as a result. Therefore, despite Jing Muchi's busy work schedule, he returned to China even more frequently. On one occasion, Sang Ning told him that her former mentor had recommended her for a position at a prestigious high school in Beijing.
He did tell her not to go.
But that's because he felt she was in a bad mood during that time and not suitable to go out and work; she should rest at home.
In addition, she has a gentle nature, and he is often away from the country. He might not even know if she gets bullied while she is abroad.
"I did say that at the time, but that was just my thinking at the time. I never said that you can never do what you like."
Jing Muchi looked at Sang Ning and said in a low voice, "You haven't mentioned this to me again since, so I thought you were just saying it casually because you were in a bad mood at the time."
Who knew she would hold such a grudge against him for this?
Upon hearing this, Sang Ning could only smile bitterly to herself.
How could she dare to bring up such a thing again?
The very next day after she asked him, he left home and flew abroad. His mother then made her kneel in the ancestral hall for an entire day, telling her to always remember her identity.
She was also forbidden from having any thoughts of going out to work in the future, so as not to bring shame to the Jing family.
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