Divorced from the Cold CEO Who Lived by the Rules (GL, ABO) - Chapter 7

Xu Zhen stared at Jiang Ruan in silence, while Xu Tingyuan’s expression gradually became indescribable.

Seizing the moment when the two women locked eyes, Xu Tingyuan quietly slipped away, narrowly escaping the tension. But after just a few steps, a sudden thought struck her, and she turned back with an angry huff, dragging Xu Zhen away with her.

“Sister-in-law, weren’t you busy lately accompanying that Miss Xing of yours? What wind has blown such an important person to our humble abode today?”

Xu Tingyuan’s tone was dripping with sarcasm, her accusation against Jiang Ruan laid bare.

No matter how much she and Xu Zhen bickered, when it came to matters of principle, she would always stand firmly by Xu Zhen’s side especially since, in matters of the heart, Xu Zhen hadn’t done anything wrong at all.

Jiang Ruan wasn’t surprised by Xu Tingyuan’s attitude. She retrieved a box from the car and followed without offering much self-defense.

Xu Zhen kept her eyes fixed on the ground, feeling as though an old wound had been pierced by a silver needle again, the pain impossible to ignore.

She cursed herself for being so weak. Even though Jiang Ruan had been so cold and distant, she still couldn’t stop clinging to her, still couldn’t let go of her affection.

No matter how much she mentally prepared herself beforehand, every time they met, she ended up utterly defeated hopelessly so.

Xu Zhen took a deep breath. Xu Tingyuan watched her expression carefully, regretting her own impulsiveness. The house was so big, why did she have to run in this direction?

Now, the one who shouldn’t have come had arrived, and Xu Zhen’s painful memories had resurfaced again.

“Sis,” Xu Tingyuan ventured cautiously, “are you okay?”

The worry in the girl’s eyes was unmistakable. Xu Zhen shook her head lightly. “Go back first.” What needed to be faced would have to be faced avoidance solved nothing. “As for you dating that unemployed drifter, we’ll settle that later.”

Xu Tingyuan’s face fell instantly. “Sis!”

“You’re not even sixteen yet this is the time you should be focusing on your studies. Besides, what kind of normal adult would choose to be with an underage kid?” Xu Zhen countered. “Would you flirt with a boy who’s only about ten years old?”

Xu Tingyuan didn’t hesitate. “Of course not!”

“Ten is way too young…”

Xu Zhen raised an eyebrow. Xu Tingyuan glanced at her, then at Jiang Ruan, who was silently trailing behind, and decided not to burden her further with her own issues. “I get it. I’ll go break up with him right now.”

“Go on.” Xu Zhen reached out and ruffled Xu Tingyuan’s hair. “If I find out you lied to me, I’ll twist your head off and use it as a soccer ball.”

Xu Tingyuan: “…”

She scurried away in a hurry. Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Ruan stepped forward to walk beside Xu Zhen. “I’ve already had people take down the news online. Ayan and I never authorized the media to publish our private matters.”

“So what?” Xu Zhen’s chest tightened with frustration. “You didn’t authorize it, but haven’t you both tacitly allowed their actions over these past few months?”

“I don’t believe you were completely unaware of it for this long.”

Xu Zhen’s words were sharp, each one a pointed barb. Jiang Ruan accepted the blame gracefully. “It was my oversight. I apologize.”

“Things at the company have been overwhelming lately, and I neglected your side. That’s on me.” Jiang Ruan knew better than to over-explain. Too much justification would only sound like excuses and further provoke Xu Zhen’s anger.

Jiang Ruan always knew how to handle Xu Zhen. Right now, the anger simmering in Xu Zhen’s chest wasn’t overwhelming enough to make her explode, but letting it fester felt like having a fishbone stuck in her throat.

“You know perfectly well whether you’ve been busy with company matters or busy accompanying Xing Yan,” Xu Zhen finally said coldly, giving her a glance before turning to leave without another word.

She no longer wanted to engage in these pointless arguments with Jiang Ruan. Bai Zhen was right better a sharp pain than a dull ache. Whether it was divorce or something else, it was better to make a decision quickly.

Xu Zhen was tired. She didn’t want to remain passively entangled in this love triangle any longer.

“I was busy with company matters,” Jiang Ruan caught up to her, her tone steady. “You can have Assistant Lu send you my daily schedules for the past few months. I’ve met with Ayan very few times.”

“She just returned to the country and is in the mood to have fun, so she often organizes gatherings for our close childhood friends. Beyond that, I haven’t met with her privately.”

“Are you shifting the blame?” Xu Zhen interrupted. “Then who was the ghost accompanying her to the auction today?”

Jiang Ruan suddenly laughed at this, leaving Xu Zhen baffled and fueling her inexplicable anger. “We just happened to run into each other.”

“I went to the auction today to bid on this jewelry set for you,” Jiang Ruan lifted the gift box in her hands toward Xu Zhen. “It suits you. You could wear it for your next red carpet event.”

Xu Zhen eyed her words with skepticism. She stared at Jiang Ruan for three long seconds before finally lowering her gaze to the opened jewelry box.

The vibrant red gemstones dazzled, set in silver floral mounts studded with natural diamonds that sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight, almost blinding in their radiance.

This fully diamond-encrusted ruby set was even more stunning than the pictures in the news, more dazzling and eye-catching.

“I’ve retired. No more red carpets,” Xu Zhen refused Jiang Ruan’s peace offering. After being suppressed for over half a year, her fighting spirit had been completely worn down, nothing like her former ambitious self.

The entertainment industry was just like that handsome, powerful Alphas and delicate, gentle Omegas divided ninety percent of the market, leaving the remaining ten percent for countless Betas to fight over, tearing at each other’s hair.

Back then, to earn money for Bai Zhen’s treatment, Xu Zhen had schemed her way into that ten percent, yet still couldn’t obtain the treatment and respect she deserved.

Society was just that harsh and unfair. The Alpha and Omega groups tightly controlled power and social resources, ensuring their privileged positions remained unshaken.

If not for needing the vast numbers of Betas to do the dirty, exhausting work they disdained, Betas probably wouldn’t even deserve that measly ten percent.

Xu Zhen wasn’t naive. She understood the immutability of class hierarchies all too well, even though she’d married a formidable Alpha.

Without recognition from the Alpha’s family and no freedom to utilize the Alpha family’s resources, she was just a decorative vase brought home wiped and polished carefully during leisure, then discarded and left to gather dust in a corner when busy.

Just like Xu Zhen and Jiang Ruan their vast difference in status had foreshadowed a doomed ending from the very beginning.

“Do you want a divorce from me?” Jiang Ruan suddenly asked.

Xu Zhen’s heart instantly felt as if gripped by a giant hand painful, suffocating, almost unable to breathe.

Did Jiang Ruan feel the same way too?

Xu Zhen’s face drained of all color as panic uncontrollably spread through her body. Her mind buzzed with a deafening noise, and the world before her eyes nearly lost all brightness.

Her lips pale, Jiang Ruan quietly took in her reaction. “I don’t want a divorce.”

“So, wife,” she said firmly, turning Xu Zhen to face her. Those usually cold, detached eyes, which seemed so indifferent, now locked unwaveringly onto hers. “Tell me, what do I need to do to make it up to you?”