No reconciliation, no forgiveness! Mr. Pei leaves with nothing.

"Get a divorce."

“I’ve already signed the divorce papers.” Jiang Hua never expected things to turn out this way between them. There were too many things separating them, including people. “Before coming to you, I didn’t know if I was right or wrong. I didn’t know if I would regret doing this, and I didn’t know if we could still go on together.”

"I don't even know if we can really overturn everything from the past and stay together happily."

"You said you loved me, and I believed you."

“I struggled with it many times, but in the end I followed my heart and said… this is the last time. If it still ends like this, then we’ll break up completely.”

“You were indeed very good to me during the time I spent with you in France, but… whenever it comes to people or things that happen around Song Qingran, you just criticize without hesitation and push me away.”

"Pei Zhan, don't you think your so-called love is really nothing to brag about?"

Jiang Hua looked out the French windows at the flowers that had been replanted sometime earlier. The flowers that had been blown away by the wind and covered the mountains and fields before now seemed to have returned to their original state. The flowers were beautiful, but no matter how beautiful they were, they couldn't be kept and could be destroyed at will without being cherished.

This isn't just once or twice, but... countless times.

“I’m not Song Qingran. I can’t always accommodate you, and you wouldn’t like it anyway. My personality… isn’t as kind as you want.”

"It's true that every time I get angry, you come over. Over time, you get tired, and so do I..."

"Maybe... it was the right thing for us to break up!"

Pei Zhan's gaze fell on the divorce agreement already signed on the table beside him. "If you want to go back, we can go back tonight."

Pei Zhan didn't mention the divorce at all.

Both of them were suppressing their emotions.

Jiang Hua slowly turned around, looked at him, and said slowly and deliberately, "I don't need you anymore. I... won't need you anymore."

Jiang Hua wasn't actually that kind of person. After being hurt by him countless times, she was still able to forgive him again and again. This inexplicable emotion in her heart, the heartache, the sadness... she felt it shouldn't be hers.

Perhaps... it's because this heart doesn't belong to her...

If Jiang Huayuan's heart truly belonged to her, she could probably turn around and leave without any hesitation.

"You don't need me?" Pei Zhan walked steadily towards her, taking out the metal USB drive and placing it in front of her. "And what about you...? Is Ji Liangchuan the only one in your heart?" His deep voice suppressed his resentful anger. "When I wasn't around, you played the songs Ji Liangchuan wrote for you over and over again. Did you... ever think of me even once?"

Looking into his deep eyes, Jiang Hua said something that sounded like she was being defiant, "Yes! That's right, there's only Ji Liangchuan in my heart. I'm just pathetic for coming to you."

"I'm wasting my time here with you, pretending to act."

"In my eyes, you're nothing more than a dog kept by the Jiang family. I came to find you only because of the Jiang family. How could I... possibly fall in love with someone like you!"

"What you're talking about—the proposal, the wedding… to me, it's just your wishful thinking and unnecessary charade…"

Pei Zhan clenched his fist tightly, the end of which was made of metal and had a sharp point. The sharp point pierced into the man's palm. Jiang Hua watched as a sinister look gradually appeared in his eyes. She looked at his hand beside him, and the blood flowing from his palm dripped to the ground as if he felt no pain.

"...Why deceive yourself by saying you love me?" Jiang Hua removed the ring from her ring finger in front of him. It was the wedding ring she had designed herself, which Pei Zhan had ultimately made into a pair. Looking at it, a mocking smile curved her lips.

Pei Zhan: "I will take every word you say seriously."

"What I'm saying now is the truth!"

"Can't you hear me clearly? Shall I repeat it one last time? I... Jiang Hua! I simply..." Jiang Hua remembered when he protected Zhou Yan and stood aside blaming her. She had already given up on him. She reached out and poked Pei Zhan's heart with her finger, saying the most hurtful words to him: "I... don't... love... you!"

"In your heart, you've never considered me your wife. In fact… I'm not even as good as Song Qingran, not even as good as… Zhou Yan…"

“Pei Zhan, if Ji Liangchuan were here, he would always stand by my side, no matter whether I was right or wrong.”

"But you don't, and you've never done it even once."

"Ji Liangchuan would never put his clothes on another woman..."

Jiang Hua suddenly chuckled softly, but her eyes reddened slightly. "You never knew what I really wanted..."

Jiang Hua tossed the wedding ring in her hand, sending it flying in an arc, as if declaring a complete end to their relationship…

Pei Zhan moved slightly, but no sound came out of his throat. Only the dark vortex churning deep in his pupils crushed all the pain and madness into the abyss.

Suddenly, a clap of thunder sounded outside the window, and a torrential downpour began.

Why…

It turned out that this is how things were between them.

As night fell and darkness enveloped the outside world, Pei Zhan turned and left. The wind howled in, causing the heavy curtains to flutter wildly.

The vase on the table was also blown over, rolling to the ground and making a crisp shattering sound.

The maid rushed into the room anxiously, "Madam, are you alright?"

Seeing Jiang Hua's blank expression, her gaze passing through the floor-to-ceiling window as she looked at the figure below, seemingly searching for something.

A ring?

Before leaving, Pei Zhan said those words again, "I will not get a divorce."

After saying that, he left.

The servants quickly closed the windows to block out the thunder.

Kagel entered the room, his arms crossed in front of him. "During the time the young master disappeared, he wasn't with Miss Zhou Yan, but rather preparing for his proposal to the young mistress. However, during this time, you didn't seem to care about his whereabouts or what he was doing!"

"In your heart... it seems you care more about Ji Liangchuan than the young master..."

"If the young mistress had been able to make a phone call to the young master today, I think... things wouldn't have turned out this bad."

"While missing Ji Liangchuan, she also wants to spend the rest of her life with the young master. It seems that the young mistress's heart is not pure either."

"Ms. Zhou Yan's situation, in a way, was indirectly caused by the young mistress. It all stemmed from the things you said to Mr. Huo, which led him to consider harming Ms. Zhou Yan and saddle her with a huge debt. Now... she's not only been blacklisted in the jewelry design industry, but she's also lost her reputation and is forced to stay here in this way to pay off her debts..."

"Perhaps you did not intend to hurt Miss Zhou Yan, but your words have indeed hurt her."

"Young Master knew everything all along, but he didn't say anything to Young Madam."

"The young master stopped you because he felt that you shouldn't make the same mistake again."

"Even if it was just a joke, the young master didn't hear it that way."

"It's not that the young master doesn't trust you, but... a single word from the young mistress could kill someone."

"Mr. Huo, because of your mother, in Liasco... what the young mistress said represents Mr. Huo's meaning."

Jiang Hua: "This is... inside the Huo family's place!"

Kagel nodded: "Yes, young mistress. Wherever you look, it belongs to the Huo family."

“I suppose… you’ve already met Mr. Ho in Liasco, haven’t you?”

Was she wrong?

But what she said to Huo Tingshan wasn't what she meant at all.

Jiang Hua frowned and looked out the window. It had started raining sometime earlier.

"On the day of the press conference, there was a power outage at Yulong Bay. Did the young mistress really think it was just a short circuit, and not caused by someone?"

Was it not an accidental power outage?

Did Pei Zhan do it?

The entire Yulong Bay experienced a power outage at the time, and Pei Zhan happened to be there as well. The live stream was also interrupted. Was it all something he... anticipated?

Jiang Hua looked at him in surprise: "How do you know so much!"

Kagel: "As the young master's personal butler, I naturally need to know the whole story. Otherwise... I wouldn't be here in front of the young mistress to tell you all this."

"If you still feel unsatisfied with Miss Zhou Yan's situation, just speak to Mr. Huo, and I think... given Madam Qingcheng's connections, Mr. Huo would be happy to resolve things for you..."

A flicker of panic crossed Jiang Hua's heart. "I had no idea he would do this." No matter how much she hated Zhou Yan, she never imagined that... Zhou Yan would end up in this situation because of her. Jiang Hua thought that Zhou Yan's current predicament was due to Zhou Yan's own self-destructive behavior.

The Huo family... none of them are normal!

It's crazy!

Jiang Hua thought of Pei Zhan still searching for the ring outside, and the thunder that even the best soundproofing couldn't block out, with heavy rain pouring down outside and the entire villa shaking.

She practically ran out of the room, but before she could even get downstairs, she saw... a man emerging from the stairwell, soaking wet.

When his deep, dark eyes met Jiang Hua's, his gaze was icy and devoid of warmth. Even from a distance, one could feel the chill emanating from him. With a single, indifferent glance, he walked past Jiang Hua and went directly to the study next door, closing the door behind him…

In the past, no matter how vicious Jiang Hua said to him or how much she humiliated him with words, he never looked at her with such unfamiliar eyes.

Kagel stood behind Jiang Hua and handed her the first-aid kit he had found in the room. "The young master needs the young mistress to take care of him now. The young mistress doesn't need to say anything nice. As long as you appear in front of the young master, he will calm down on his own."

"You... you value me far too much in his heart."

Kagel: "It is the young mistress who thinks that you are not important to the young master."

"Young mistress doesn't really need to do too much. If things get too out of hand, just coax the young master... and that will be fine."

When Jiang Hua entered the study, apart from the dampness from his return, she didn't see Pei Zhan, but heard the sound of a shower coming from the bathroom.

She placed the first-aid kit on the coffee table in front of the sofa, along with his phone. Seeing that the screen was still lit and unlocked, Jiang Hua looked thoughtful, seemingly lost in thought. Hearing Pei Zhan taking a shower behind her, she hesitated for a moment before reaching out and taking Pei Zhan's phone.

In her past life, Jiang Hua would often secretly try to look through his phone, as if it contained some unspeakable secret. Every time she touched it, he would either frown at her and look at her with cold eyes, or... it would lead to an argument, and in the end, the two of them would part on bad terms.

Jiang Hua is also a stubborn person. The more she is told not to see it, the more she wants to see it. On the day of their most intense argument, Jiang Hua smashed his phone and that's how it became. He would just purse his lips, not say a word, look at her with disgust, take her phone and leave home, and then... he didn't come back for a long time.

After that incident, Jiang Hua never touched his phone again, not even after she was reborn. This was the first time Jiang Hua had ever touched his most cherished and private possession since then.

Comparing everything from his past life with Pei Zhan now, it's as if they are two completely different people...

Staring at his phone, Jiang Hua hesitated to unlock it, her palm clenching slightly. But when she heard noises from the bathroom, she finally put it down.

There are some things she's afraid to look at, because if she does, things will still turn out the same as before. Jiang Hua doesn't know what she's afraid of.

She has never coaxed anyone, nor does she know how to say nice things. Every time she knows she is wrong and is unforgiving, she still has an attitude of never bowing her head, at least... in this life.

"Come here!" Jiang Hua spoke to Pei Zhan in her familiar tone, as if giving orders.

She waited...

He did not respond.

Never mind... I'll talk about it later.

Jiang Hua got up to leave, but as soon as she stood up and turned around, she bumped into Pei Zhan, who was like a wall, and appeared beside her without her noticing.

Jiang Hua was about to curse out of habit, but when she frowned and looked up into his piercing eyes, she swallowed her words.

She reached out to rub the spot where she had been bumped, but a hand did the same for her. "You're here... Why did you leave?"

Pei Zhan wore a black striped bathrobe with the collar open. He had been in the rain for three hours, and even though they were close enough to each other, they could feel the lingering chill of his body. He was very tall, and Jiang Hua wasn't short either; Pei Zhan's body was large enough to envelop her completely, making Jiang Hua appear quite petite in his presence.

Jiang Hua could never bring herself to say "I'm sorry" to him. She didn't know if she had really said the wrong thing. She hadn't asked Huo Tingshan to do that. Even if she hated Zhou Yan, she wouldn't have done such a thing.

"Does it hurt?" A deep voice fell into her ear, without much emotion, but with concern.

"Did you find the ring?" Jiang Hua's voice was soft and lowered, a sign that she felt she had done something wrong. At this moment, she was less sharp-tongued. For the first time, in front of Pei Zhan, Jiang Hua's aura was noticeably weaker. Her gaze was fixed on his injured palm, which was unbandaged and still bleeding.