seven-year itch - Chapter 17

Suddenly, it all became clear to me.

No wonder she had called out my name so abruptly just now.

It turned out that from the very beginning of our conversation, she had been talking on the phone with the lawyer.

And not just the lawyer.

Because I had seen the screen of her phone.

It was a WeChat group call.

Inside were my parents, and the witnesses from our wedding.

Jiang Wan hung up the phone, looking at me with indifference.

She began answering my questions one by one.

“What kind of compromise are you talking about? Are you saying I held a knife to your throat and forced you to cheat?”

“I do have responsibility here. My mistake was agreeing to your pursuit in the first place.”

“Gu Ming, is your idea of what a wife should do to be like Zhou Qing-humbling herself to please you, wearing whatever lingerie you desire to satisfy your animalistic urges?”

I stared at the Jiang Wan in front of me, suddenly feeling disoriented.

Instinctively, I wanted to refute her, but couldn’t find any words.

A flush of irritation rose within me.

“Jiang Wan, what happened to you? Why have you become like this-so aggressive and relentless? Do you even resemble the person you once were?”

“I wanted to have a proper talk with you, but you’re the one playing games-recording, calling people. Is there any trust left between us at all?”

“Pfft.” Jiang Wan laughed.

“Trust?”

“You’ve already cheated, and you still have the nerve to talk to me about trust?”

“Gu Ming, have you forgotten? I’ve always been like this from the very start. We met at a debate competition, and the very first day you knew me, I was already this aggressive.”

“I’ve never changed. The one who changed, from beginning to end, was you.”

I was left speechless.

Those long-buried memories resurfaced.

Sophomore year, my first time in the university debate competition.

The topic was: ‘Is it worth giving a friend who has betrayed you a second chance?’

I was on the affirmative side.

Arguing that it was worth it.

Jiang Wan was on the negative side.

Arguing it wasn’t.

She spoke forcefully on the debate floor: “Once unfaithful, never again to be trusted.”

The negative side won that debate.

Jiang Wan left a deep impression on me.

So I started to pursue her.

When I confessed, the first thing I said was,

“Jiang Wan, be with me. I’ll give you a love of absolute loyalty.”

When we got married, I took the initiative to write a pledge at the wedding.

That I would never betray Jiang Wan, never do anything to hurt her. I would always be faithful to Jiang Wan. If I ever betrayed her, I would leave with nothing. If we ever had children, I would willingly forfeit custody.

All these years, Jiang Wan had hidden her brilliance, just to highlight my achievements in my career.

But I forgot how dazzling she used to be.

I thought she had become dull and uninteresting.

Now, the moment she revealed even a hint of her sharpness, I was instantly back on that debate floor, unable to argue, utterly defeated.

Jiang Wan saw my wandering gaze and let out a faint, mocking laugh.

I snapped back to reality.

Before I could open my mouth to speak, she abruptly interrupted me with the document she took out.

The black print on the page was harsh to my eyes.

Divorce Agreement.

“Sign it.”