Chapter 17#
Phoenix Man (3)#
The two of them were still newlyweds. If they went back to the bedroom, they would have to sleep together. Qiao Yi really didn’t want to lie in the same bed as Wang Cheng, so he didn’t go back. He stayed in the study all night, and when he was extremely tired, he just fell asleep on the desk.
When he woke up the next morning, Qiao Yi glanced at the clock—it was already nine o’clock. Luckily, it was the weekend, so sleeping in a little wouldn’t matter much.
While washing up, he looked at his reflection in the mirror and once again deeply realized that he was no longer Lu Yi, who woke up at six every day without fail, but had truly become the ordinary little designer Qiao Yi.
After washing up, he walked out of the bathroom and saw two more people in the room. The man looked about five parts similar to Qiao Yi, like a middle-aged version of him.
They were none other than Qiao Yi’s parents, who had answered their son’s phone call the day before.
Wang Cheng and Wang Cheng’s father were both there. In front of Qiao Yi’s parents, they behaved very well, especially Wang’s father, who showed none of the arrogance he usually displayed toward Qiao Yi.
Seeing this setup, Qiao Yi knew things were about to go wrong. Sure enough, after the two families sat together and chatted for a while, Qiao Yi’s parents’ attitude visibly softened.
When Wang Cheng went to the kitchen to wash some fruit, Qiao’s mother called out to Qiao Yi: “Go to your room. Mom has some things she wants to discuss with you alone.”
Qiao Yi led her into the study and locked the door behind him: “Mom, just say whatever you need to say directly.”
“You, this child.” His mother couldn’t do anything about her son and sighed helplessly before continuing, “About yesterday, Wang Cheng told me everything. You were also in the wrong. You broke Wang Cheng’s father’s arm. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Qiao Yi remained silent. If he was going to complain, he would naturally only say things that were in his favor.
He argued: “That was just a reflex.”
“A reflex that breaks someone’s arm? You’re not attacked by terrorists every day, and you’ve never done any taekwondo or anything. How could you have that kind of reflex?” Qiao’s mother didn’t believe a word her son said.
The original Qiao Yi wouldn’t have been able to do that, but as Lu Yi, he could. However, he couldn’t possibly explain that reason to his mother.
“He started it. He made the first move. I was just defending myself.”
“Fine, fine, fine.” Qiao’s mother said. “But he’s an elder. You retaliated a little too much. You’ve let off steam now, so stop making a fuss about divorce.”
“But you and Dad supported me last night.” Divorce was really just a matter between two people. However, Lu Yi was also well aware that Qiao Yi’s situation was different from his own.
He was completely independent, and his parents absolutely respected his choices, never interfering much in his life. But Qiao Yi was very close to his parents. In their eyes, he was still a naive child. Even his current job was obtained through his father’s connections.
He took a deep breath to calm down: “Mom, I’m not joking or throwing a tantrum. I seriously want to divorce Wang Cheng.”
He sat down on the chair opposite his mother and met her gaze without blinking.
The expression on her son’s face sent her a clear signal: he was serious.
She wasn’t happy either: “Don’t blame your mother. You’re my son, of course I’m on your side. But about yesterday, you both made mistakes. The biggest fault lies with Wang Cheng’s troublemaking father.”
She paused to catch her breath and then continued: “But just now Wang Cheng said that his father is only here for a couple of days and will go back today. He even bought the plane ticket. It’s so far from here to where he lives. Wang Cheng’s father is a village man, and he’s old now, so he definitely won’t go through all that trouble again.”
She knew her son was upset, but in this world, who could go through life without suffering a little? “I told you back then not to choose Wang Cheng, but you insisted. You had to marry him. Now that you’re married, getting along is all about gradual adjustment. You’re spending your life with Wang Cheng, not with his father. As long as he treats you well, why make all this trouble?”
Seeing Qiao Yi silent, she finally said: “It’s your temper that’s been spoiled by me and your father. If you found someone else, who would tolerate your bad temper and let you have your way like Wang Cheng does? Look at me and your father—we argue too. But between husband and wife, you have to change for each other.”
Wang Cheng’s parents didn’t know the truth, but on her side, she knew that her son was the top in the relationship. Actually, her son was the one who had the advantage. When they got married, out of consideration for the other party’s self-esteem, she didn’t mind telling outsiders that Qiao Yi was the wife.
To put it bluntly, she knew her own son best. She knew his temper well. Wang Cheng’s family background was indeed poor, but his personality and personal conditions were still quite good.
Qiao’s mother fired off all that advice and earnestly urged her son not to be too willful.
Facing a mother who only had his best interests at heart, Qiao Yi fell silent. As Lu Yi, he had enough persuasive power, but Qiao Yi was different. Even if he clamored for a divorce, he wouldn’t get his parents’ support.
Admittedly, whether to divorce or not was only a matter between two people. But if he made his parents angry and created a rift between them and Qiao Yi, that would go against his original intention.
He patiently listened to his mother finish speaking, then put on a very serious and earnest expression: “Mom, divorcing Wang Cheng is a decision I reached after careful consideration.”
His mother opened her mouth to say something, but Qiao Yi interrupted her first: “When you were speaking just now, I didn’t interrupt you. Now, please let me finish what I have to say before you express your opinion, okay?”
He said it as a question, but his tone was more forceful than a request, almost like a command.
Qiao’s mother fell silent. At that moment, she felt as if her usually immature son had somehow merged with her fierce department head—so serious it was intimidating.
“First, Wang Cheng is his parents’ only son. Just as I can’t just abandon you two elders, he can’t completely cut ties with his parents either.”
“That’s right. If he really cut ties, that kind of man wouldn’t be worth having.”
Qiao Yi made a gesture to signal his mother to be quiet: “Please let me finish what I have to say first, okay? Second, the most important thing between husband and wife is trust. Since it’s a small family, you should give your partner enough respect and trust. An unequal marriage, unless both people are pathological, can’t last long.”
He then summarized: “Yesterday when Wang Cheng came back, his mother was wailing on the ground. He didn’t even look at me, didn’t even ask a single question, and first told me to apologize to his mother who raised him. But when I said I wanted a divorce, he immediately changed his tune and asked her to apologize to me.”
Normally, private matters between a married couple shouldn’t be shared with others, but given the special circumstances, he had to explain: “Yesterday, Wang Cheng came to apologize to me. He lost his temper at first, then thudded to his knees in front of me. I think he has a very strong need for drama, and he hasn’t loved me enough to the point where he can put aside his own dignity.”
To be honest, it wasn’t impossible that Wang Cheng had no feelings for Qiao Yi at all. But his inferiority complex was too strong. In front of Qiao Yi, he just endured endlessly, humbled himself, and tried to please him in every way. In the end, after climbing up the social ladder using Qiao Yi, he would later abandon Qiao Yi when Qiao’s parents fell from grace.
Looking back at Qiao Yi’s memories, Qiao Yi—raised in the palm of his parents’ hands—definitely had his own flaws. But at least Qiao Yi never betrayed Wang Cheng, and even endured a lot from Wang’s father, who constantly found fault with him, all for Wang Cheng’s sake.
Qiao’s mother opened her mouth, not quite sure what to say. She sighed: “But you just got married. It’s really not easy to find someone who likes you, is willing to tolerate you, and treats you so well.”
There’s a saying: if you tell a lie enough times, it becomes the truth. Her resolve wavered a little, but she still felt divorce was a big deal and her son was too young and impulsive.
Qiao Yi played his final trump card: “Actually, Mom, you’re right. Between husband and wife, you have to think of each other, gradually adjust, and compromise. But there’s one thing I can’t compromise on. Wang Cheng’s father hopes I can give Wang Cheng a child. From what I can tell, Wang Cheng also very much wants a child, but he doesn’t want to have one himself.”
The implications behind those words were many. Wang Cheng didn’t want to have a child himself, and Qiao Yi wouldn’t have one either. That could only mean having a child with another man or woman outside.
This was clearly a huge hidden danger. Even if it didn’t cause problems now, it would inevitably cause problems later.
Qiao’s mother could tolerate many flaws in her son’s partner, but she could not tolerate this one.
When Qiao Yi came out of the room with her, Qiao’s mother had changed her attitude again and started supporting her son’s divorce.
But with the in-laws still present, she didn’t say it outright. Instead, she made a few sarcastic remarks and left without staying long, clearly showing she disapproved of the Wang family.
In just one day, Qiao Yi and his mother had changed their attitude toward him. Qiao’s mother had always looked down on him a bit from the start, and it was only Qiao Yi who protected him. Now that Qiao Yi wanted a divorce too, her attitude was bound to be even worse.
All of this was because of his own father’s foul language and impulsive slap. Wang Cheng couldn’t help but resent his father. He didn’t waste any time either. That very day, he drove his father back to the countryside in the small, backwater county town.
Along the way, Wang’s father cursed nonstop, mostly ranting about the Qiao family—how they looked down on people, how having a bit of money made them so great, how Qiao Yi didn’t even earn as much as his son.
Wang Cheng didn’t say a word, listening to the complaints the whole way. Only when he saw his father off on the train did he breathe a sigh of relief. Ever since the marriage, everything had been a mess. He couldn’t help but feel exhausted. He was afraid that if things continued like this, he’d be worn out before he even had a chance to succeed.
The car stopped for a while at the station. Suddenly, he spotted a very familiar figure. He quickly started the car, drove ahead of the person, honked a few times, and rolled down the window: “Yu Zhao?”