Vows in Vain, Ten Years, One Betrayal - Chapter 6

On the way home, Zhou Xuyan’s phone kept ringing.

He simply turned it off. “Even if the king of heaven shows up today, I’m staying home with you.”

I said nothing, just gazed out at the city through the window.

The road home happened to pass by our old high school.

Scene after familiar scene, once so sweet.

Now, though, it was a blade wrapped in honey, stabbing into my heart.

Before I knew it, my vision blurred.

And in that blur, I seemed to see me and Zhou Xuyan from the past.

“Lin Bihan, don’t be mad, okay?”

“I’m begging you, let me explain, just let me say one thing…”

“Okay, just one.”

“Two, how about two? Please?” The teenage Zhou Xuyan tugged playfully at my sleeve, grinning and refusing to let go.

“Go away, Zhou Xuyan.”

“Don’t cry. You can hit me, Lin Bihan, hit me as hard as you want-just don’t cry, okay?”

Suddenly, the phone in my bag chimed.

It snapped me out of my thoughts, dragging me back to reality.

I took out my phone. The message was from an unknown number.

“He said you’re not healthy, never able to enjoy it to the fullest.”

“Three years of marriage, never tried anything new; he’s long been sick of it.”

“He doesn’t like using condoms, said if you got pregnant you should just have the baby, but you can’t get pregnant anyway.”

“Mrs. Zhou, you’re so useless-why are you still clinging to this position?”

Suddenly, I laughed.

Zhou Xuyan looked at me, curious. “Wife, what’s so funny?”

I locked the screen, keeping my voice steady. “A friend made plans for afternoon tea-I totally forgot. She’s scolding me now.”

Zhou Xuyan seemed to breathe a sudden sigh of relief. “So, are you still going?”

“Of course. Otherwise, Zhenzhen would never let me off for three days.”

“You should get to the office too.”

Zhou Xuyan looked disgruntled. “I’m getting jealous of Xu Zhen. You always favor her.”

“I really don’t want you to go. Can’t we just have some time together?”

I glanced back at him, but he was already signaling to turn the car around.

I smiled, turning away. “There’ll be time later.”

“That’s right, we have a whole lifetime ahead. This time, I won’t compete with Xu Zhen.”

He dropped me off at a private club, then drove off in a hurry.

Half an hour later, Tao Yuan sent me another message.

“Did he just leave you on your own?”

“Look, he says he goes soft whenever I cry.”

“Oh, by the way, I’m pregnant. He told me to keep the baby. He says he likes girls, but I want to give him a son.”

“I did the math-this one’s definitely a boy.”

“It’s a pity, though. Early pregnancy, the doctor says no sex. The new lingerie he bought me still hasn’t been worn.”

“He’s always had such a big appetite, and since you can’t satisfy him, he must be dying from frustration.”

I didn’t reply. I just screenshotted every message she sent.

My hands trembled as I did it.

Maybe Zhou Xuyan really had played his part too well all these years.

And maybe I’d just been too naively trusting.

So, when this absurd and depraved side of him was finally exposed-

I still couldn’t control my emotions.

Turns out, all those tender moments in bed that had moved me were fake.

He’d long grown tired of our gentle, ordinary intimacy.

When I thought restraint was love,

Reality slapped me hard.

The dwindling nights together weren’t out of love or care.

It was just that he wasn’t satisfied, so he didn’t even bother to pretend anymore.

Before heading home, I called my old teacher.

“Bihan? Child, why has it taken you so long to call your teacher?”

“Teacher, does your expedition team still need people? I want to join.”

“Is your health up to it?”

Actually, I’d wanted to join right after graduation.

My teacher had especially hoped I’d go with her.

But back then, my health was truly too poor. The expedition team traveled all over, inside and outside the country.

Conditions were tough-roughing it was the norm.

“I just had a checkup. The doctor says as long as I take care, I’ll be fine.”

“Does your husband agree?”

“Bihan, you have to understand-if you join, you’ll be gone most of the year, always on the move.”

“And many of our projects are state secrets. You’ll be almost completely out of touch with your family…”

“Teacher, I’ve already decided to get a divorce.”

“Did he do something to betray you?”

I nodded with a smile, swallowing my tears. “Yes, he cheated.”

“Ten years together-are you really sure about this?”

“Teacher, do you remember what you said to me when you were getting divorced?”

“When someone’s heart is elsewhere, just burn it all to ashes. Scatter the ashes to the wind.”

My eyes were red, tears streaming down. “Teacher, you taught me. Of course, I’ll be just like you.”

“Good, good! Bihan, I’ll be waiting. Waiting for you to come!”