Zhou Yiran sat restlessly for a long time. Just as she decided to stand up and walk around, her smartphone, which she held in her hand, suddenly rang.
She hastily picked up the smartphone and saw that it was a call from Chu Xi. She quickly answered, "Hello, husband..."
"Wife, it’s my fault. I’ve wronged you..."
Zhou Yiran hadn’t finished her sentence when she heard Chu Xi’s choked voice on the other end.
Zhou Yiran was confused, "What’s happened? Husband, did you find something out? Where are you now? I’ll come to you right away!"
Chu Xi didn’t speak for a long while.
Through the phone, Zhou Yiran could only hear a faint, barely audible suppressed crying coming from the other side.
Zhou Yiran grew even more anxious.
Chu Xi usually had a good temper, seldom got angry, and had never shed tears in front of Zhou Yiran.
For him to be crying so suddenly.
Zhou Yiran felt frantic, "Chu Xi, hurry up and tell me where you are!"
Out of the blue, Chu Xi said from the other end, "Let’s get a divorce."
Zhou Yiran’s body jolted. Regaining her senses, without thinking, she said, "Chu Xi, no matter what you found out, as long as you haven’t cheated, haven’t done anything to wrong me, I absolutely won’t accept a divorce! And even if we divorce, you have to tell me what exactly happened, otherwise, don’t think about leaving me!"
Hearing Zhou Yiran’s words, Chu Xi sat on his parents’ sofa, crying inconsolably. Before coming here, he had never imagined things would turn out this way.
Hearing his silence, Zhou Yiran became more worried and added, "No matter what’s happened, there’s always a way to turn things around. Hasn’t the Abbot said it? Everything will have a way out as long as we go to her! Listen to me, husband, tell me where you are, I’ll come fetch you, and we can visit the Abbot together for help, okay? I’m begging you, please come with me?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Xi saw a glimmer of hope in the darkness. He glanced at his parents beside him, their faces streaked with tears and filled with regret, and said, "Okay, I’ll drive straight there to pick you up. Don’t come here, wife. I’ll be there soon, and we’ll go to Jiaoyang Temple together."
Zhou Yiran exhaled with relief, "Okay, I’ll wait for you at the entrance of the complex."
Having made arrangements, Zhou Yiran hung up and hurried out the door.
Chu Xi put down the smartphone, wiped the tears from his face, stood up, took a deep breath, and turned to his parents, "Dad, Mom, let’s go to Jiaoyang Temple together."
Chu Xi’s parents immediately became tense.
Without a second thought, Chu Xi’s father blurted out, "I’m not going. If you want to go, you go. I can’t afford to lose that face!"
"Lose face?" Chu Xi almost laughed in anger upon hearing this, "Dad, Mom, this is the karma you created, the karma I created! That’s a human life. All of what’s happening now is our retribution. Aren’t we supposed to apologize and seek forgiveness? You think it’s shameful now, but why did you do all of this in the first place!"
Chu Xi’s father’s face turned a mixture of red and white, unable to speak.
Chu Xi’s mother wiped the corner of her eyes and grabbed her husband’s hand, saying, "For our child, for atonement, we should go too, old man."
Chu Xi’s father opened his mouth, but in the end, he could not utter a word.
Moments later, Chu Xi, along with his parents, left to pick up Zhou Yiran.
When Zhou Yiran got in the car, she noticed that all three members of the Chu Family had strange expressions on their faces.
Especially Chu Xi’s parents, who had been turning their heads away since she got into the car, deliberately avoiding eye contact with her.
Zhou Yiran felt uneasy inside. She patted Chu Xi’s arm, leaned in closer, and asked softly, "What exactly has happened?"
Chu Xi opened his mouth, then said, "Let’s talk about it when we get to Jiaoyang Temple."
Zhou Yiran frowned, full of question marks, and seeing the unnatural expressions on Chu Xi’s parents’ faces, she felt it wasn’t right to pry further.