Vows in Vain, Ten Years, One Betrayal - Chapter 20

(Zhou Xuyan)

Lin Bihan still ended up marrying Chen Jingyao.

At the wedding, there were so many old classmates, friends, and teachers present.

Even more than at his own wedding to her back then.

The ceremony wasn’t as grand and ostentatious as his had been.

But it was infinitely warm and blissful.

Zhou Xuyan saw the entire wedding process through his friends’ social media posts.

Everyone around him advised him to let it go, to stop paying attention.

The couple was deeply in love, sweet as honey.

Why torture himself over it?

But Zhou Xuyan couldn’t control himself.

He was like a thief who couldn’t bear the light, hiding in the shadows and spying on them.

He didn’t know if he was searching for cracks in their happiness.

Or if he just wanted to sprinkle salt on his own wounds and wallow in the pain.

He couldn’t sleep the entire night.

He kept flipping through every photo, every video of them together.

Lin Bihan was still stunningly beautiful.

The years of traveling far and wide, enduring hardships and working tirelessly,

Hadn’t worn down her beauty.

Instead, she seemed more vibrant and healthier than when she was Mrs. Zhou.

It was said that over the years, Chen Jingyao and her had often been apart.

Months, even half a year without contact was the norm.

Zhou Xuyan had secretly thought about it before-Chen Jingyao was a man, after all.

And as a man himself, Zhou Xuyan knew men’s inherent flaws all too well.

He couldn’t believe Chen Jingyao could truly remain faithful, without a single complaint.

He even had people secretly watch Chen Jingyao,

Hoping to catch him making a mistake and expose it to Lin Bihan.

But years passed, and Chen Jingyao remained as steadfast as ever,

Without a single misstep.

Chen Jingyao had proposed to Lin Bihan several times, but she always refused.

When Zhou Xuyan found out, he was secretly overjoyed.

But the good times didn’t last.

Although Lin Bihan hadn’t agreed to marry him,

Every time she returned to Jing City, she stayed at Chen Jingyao’s house.

At first, Zhou Xuyan eagerly anticipated her return.

Because he could catch a glimpse of her from afar, easing his longing.

But later, he dreaded her return the most.

Because he would dream of Lin Bihan and Chen Jingyao together in bed.

Zhou Xuyan thought, he might never forget it, even in death.

When Lin Bihan first moved into Chen Jingyao’s house,

The two of them didn’t leave for three days.

Three days later, they went to the supermarket together.

Chen Jingyao was beaming with joy.

And Lin Bihan, she was radiant, like a budding flower kissed by morning dew.

Sitting in his car, Zhou Xuyan watched them, torturing himself.

In that moment, he felt as if he could die.

In the second year of Lin Bihan’s marriage to Chen Jingyao, she became pregnant.

It was also that year, after a drunken night,

That Tao Yuan exacted her revenge on him.

These past few years had been a living hell for him,

His fury poured out entirely on Tao Yuan.

At first, Tao Yuan was terrified and endured him silently.

But he didn’t end up dead, just by sheer coincidence.

As Lin Bihan’s child grew day by day in her womb,

He was handed a “death sentence” by the doctor.

He would never leave his wheelchair for the rest of his life.

And he had completely lost the ability to father children.

Zhou Xuyan thought, that bastard Chen Jingyao,

Had truly spoken a prophecy.

He had betrayed the wife he loved most.

Kicked away the only child he would ever have in this lifetime.

And now, he had lost the love of his life forever.

And would never have children again.

It was retribution, after all.

And for the rest of this hopeless, endless life,

He would live in the retribution he had sown with his own hands.

Never to find peace.

(The End)