"Did you and Shen Muzhi have another fight?" Ni Sitian could only think of this possibility, because Xiang Zhilan was rarely unhappy; she was always cheerful and always smiling.
But things changed starting at the end of March this year. I became a completely different person than before, and it wasn't until recently that I recovered somewhat.
Now she has that sad feeling about her, as if she is particularly tragic and pitiful.
"It's not that awkward," Xiang Zhilan took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and finally said, "Sitian, do you know how I got pregnant?"
When Ni Sitian heard her ask, she knew there was something strange about this. Xiang Zhilan's original statement was that Shen Muzhi went to Syria for her and returned injured, and she was so moved that she offered herself to him.
However, Ni Sitian had always been skeptical of this claim because the timing didn't match the timeline of Xiang Zhilan's pregnancy. Xiang Zhilan hadn't mentioned it before, so she hadn't pressed her for details, but she had a vague feeling that something was amiss.
"It was on the cruise ship that day, he forced himself on me." Xiang Zhilan didn't know why she still cried when she talked about this; perhaps girls have a deep trauma from such things.
Ni Sitian's eyes widened in shock; she hadn't expected her bad premonition to be this bad!
“When he came back from Syria, he found out I was pregnant and forced me to marry him at the Civil Affairs Bureau.” Xiang Zhilan wiped away her tears and said in one breath, “We had all sorts of troubles during that time. Later, my parents found out I was pregnant, and I had no choice but to marry him. Actually, I regretted it before the wedding and didn’t want to marry him, but I was already forced into it.”
Ni Sitian was truly shocked. She had thought that the two of them might have quarreled and had disagreements, but she never expected that it was Zhi Lan who was forced on one side!
"Why didn't you tell me these things sooner?" Ni Sitian grabbed Xiang Zhilan's hand.
Xiang Zhilan shook her head without explaining why, but Ni Sitian immediately understood. She was worried that her involvement would affect Xu Tingchuan and Shen Muzhi's friendship, or even her relationship with Xu Tingchuan.
“You know very well what happened on the wedding day,” Xiang Zhilan continued. “That night, I wanted a divorce, and he locked me up.”
"You imprisoned yourself?!" Ni Sitian was at the villa on the island in the middle of the lake, spending every day with Xu Tingchuan, all lovey-dovey, and forgot to call Zhi Lan. She only called once after three days, and Zhi Lan said she was fine, so she believed her. She never expected so many things to happen.
Xiang Zhilan nodded and said in a low, hoarse voice, "As you know, we separated later. I moved into my own house, and he moved across the street to take care of me every day."
Ni Sitian was well aware of this, and then came the kidnapping.
“On the day of the kidnapping, he really risked everything to save me. I was very moved at the time.” Xiang Zhilan lowered her head, sniffed, and her voice was still hoarse: “You know what happened next. After being moved, I thought that since things had come to this, I should just live with him. I didn’t think about love or anything like that. This is fine too.”
Hearing the story behind her words, Ni Sitian's eyes welled up with tears. A marriage that turned out to be a compromise made out of gratitude. She had always thought that Zhi Lan was the most wonderful woman in the world—cheerful, generous, talented, beautiful, kind, and warm-hearted—who deserved the best man to be her match.
Marrying a man who still harbors feelings for his beloved is already incredibly unfair, but then so many tragic things still happen.
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