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

The other person pushed her, and Song Qingran fell to the ground.

"Let me tell you, stop pretending. I didn't use any force at all."

"Stop...stop talking." One of them seemed to have discovered something and quickly stopped her. Everyone followed her gaze and froze in place. In just that one glance, they all scattered and ran away in fear.

Song Qingran also sensed something. Her eyes were moist and filled with grievance. When she looked to the side, she only saw that familiar pair of figures. She was slightly stunned. Jiang Hua was in his arms. The smile that Jiang Hua gave her made her feel deeply ashamed and embarrassed. Right now, she just wanted to hide herself and not let him see her like this.

"What do you want to eat tonight?"

As if on purpose, Jiang Hua hooked her arms around Pei Zhan's neck. "We're not going out to eat today. You cook for me." Her words floated lightly into Song Qingran's ears. The moment Song Qingran met Jiang Hua's mocking gaze, her heart felt as if it had been pricked by needles, a sharp pain shooting through her.

She never cared about others, but... he just walked past her without paying any attention.

Is he really abandoning her?

He used to be so good to her, but she always disliked him, feeling that he restricted her freedom and even tried to break her up with Yuanzhou. She pushed him away time and time again.

But now... everything is going in the direction she once wanted.

After divorcing his wife, he was now personally pushed into marriage by her, even though she was already engaged to Yuanzhou.

But... why is her heart aching so much?

As they walked away, Song Qingran came to her senses and felt a stinging pain in her palm. She raised her hand and saw that her palm had been cut by a pebble on the ground, and blood was flowing out. However, she was numb and could not feel the pain. She watched the blood slide from her palm and drip onto the cheap skirt she was wearing.

She went to a nearby pharmacy, treated her wound briefly, and then returned to her newly rented apartment.

They moved out of the apartment Lu Yuanzhou had bought and into an older neighborhood.

As soon as Song Qingran entered the house, she saw Lu Yuanzhou busy in the kitchen. When Song's mother saw her return, she immediately went up to her and said, "Qingran is back? Quickly wash your hands and eat. Try Yuanzhou's cooking. He made it especially for you."

She didn't even glance at the man in the kitchen. "Mom, he has nothing to do with our family anymore. Don't let him do these things."

Song's mother looked hesitant, glancing at Lu Yuanzhou and then at Song Qingran. She wanted to say something but didn't know how. After a long while, she simply led her to the room and advised, "Even if you cancel the engagement, Yuanzhou has still helped our family a lot."

Even if things don't work out in the future, you can still treat him like an older brother and get along peacefully, just like before.

Song Qingran's face didn't show much emotion; she simply said, "I understand."

She couldn't deny everything Lu Yuanzhou had done, but she couldn't possibly be with him again with the same heart as before.

After putting down her bag, Song Qingran went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Lu Yuanzhou was making her favorite braised pork, which had just come out of the pot. "...Try it and see if it's good. I made it especially for you." He was wearing an apron, holding a pair of chopsticks, and picked up a piece of braised pork, bringing it to her lips.

Song Qingran subconsciously took a step back, her eyes not looking at him. Lu Yuanzhou, however, noticed the injury on her hand and quickly put down his chopsticks. He held her hand worriedly, his brows furrowed as he asked with concern, "How did you get that?"

"Don't touch me." Song Qingran quickly withdrew her hand as if she thought he was dirty.

"I'm just worried about you."

Song Qingran's intense tone quickly calmed down: "I'm fine, I just wiped it off accidentally," she said coldly. "When you're done, sit down and eat with me." After saying that, she turned around and went back to the dining table to get her bowl and chopsticks and sat down.

Lu Yuanzhou watched her flee in disgust. Did she hate being touched like this?

His eyes betrayed his disappointment. After serving the dishes, he took off his apron and said, "Mom, I have things to do at the law firm, so I won't stay." His form of address remained unchanged.

"You're leaving so soon? Well... you've made so much food, Qingran and I can't finish it all. Let's sit down and eat together."

"Qingran, why didn't you try to persuade them to stay?"

Song Qingran picked up her chopsticks and ate her food in small bites. "Someone is waiting for him to go back. There's no need for us to force him to stay."

"You...you don't need to do this kind of thing anymore."

"I've already put the bank card in your office drawer. And... don't come over again. We have nothing to do with each other anymore."

Song's mother: "Qingran, what are you saying!"

“Yuanzhou was just confused for a moment, but now he knows he was wrong.”

"Yuanzhou, ignore Qingran, sit down and finish your meal before you leave."

Song Qingran kept her head down, ignoring the intense gaze above her, and continued eating.

A wave of annoyance washed over Lu Yuanzhou. "If you need more money for living expenses in the future, you can tell me. I've already paid a year's rent. If you and Mom need anything here, you can call me anytime."

“Mr. Lu! I think I’ve made myself clear. We have no relationship anymore. Please… please don’t appear in my life again. I can’t accept that someone can pretend nothing’s wrong and continue to be with you after being betrayed.”

Lu Yuanzhou's back stiffened instantly as he turned around, his fists clenching tightly at his sides.

"I've already sent you the test report, and I think you've seen it. My body is perfectly fine. Since you didn't believe me from the beginning, don't do these pointless things anymore."

"I'll find a way to work and pay you back."

Seeing the two of them like this, Song's mother quickly smoothed things over, "Alright, Qingran, let's eat first. Xiaozhou, if you're busy, you can go back first."

"It seems the food didn't suit your taste this time. Next time I'll buy some seafood and cook it for you and Mom to try."

"I'll come back tomorrow."

After Lu Yuanzhou left, Song Qingran could no longer hold back her tears, crying silently...

“Even if Yuanzhou is wrong, if you don’t want to be with him, just say it. If he wants to come over, Mom can’t stop him. After all, Yuanzhou has done a lot for our family, and Mom can’t just kick him out. Now you need to adjust your mindset and focus on your studies, okay? You’re still young, and you’ll have better options in the future. Only when you’re good and become excellent will your future partner be even more excellent.”

"Good boy, don't cry."

Song Qingran sniffed and nodded, "I understand, Mom."

"By the way, what about Mr. Pei? Speaking of which, didn't you say he was divorced? Mom thinks he's a good person, just a bit older. But being older isn't a bad thing; older men know how to care for people. Besides, without him, Mom wouldn't have gotten better."

"If you and him are compatible..."

Thinking of him, Song Qingran felt her heart clench even more violently. "He married Senior Jiang."

"What? So fast! Is it because he found out you were engaged to Yuanzhou, and he did this on purpose to make you jealous?"

"If I had known, I wouldn't have agreed to let you get engaged to Yuanzhou."

...

Jinsha Shallow Bay.

Jiang Hua picked up the dish that Pei Zhan had just served, tasted it, and said, "Hmm, your cooking skills have improved; it's not bad."

Pei Zhan took off his apron and placed it aside. Upon seeing this, the maid immediately picked it up and took it into the kitchen. "After you finish eating, take a shower and get a good night's sleep. I'll talk to the school and try to put as little pressure on you as possible. It's okay if you don't graduate."

Pei Zhan put some food on her plate, and Jiang Hua laughed and said, "I don't want two illiterate people in my family. If word gets out, one of us didn't graduate from university and the other only has a junior high school education. You might not feel ashamed, but I do."

In her circle, academic performance is indeed irrelevant; a degree can be embellished with money. Most of the people around her attended private high schools and went abroad to study, returning with a master's degree from a prestigious overseas university. They then directly entered their family businesses to inherit the family business, and after another three to five years, they would find a suitable business partner for a marriage alliance. In the circle that Jiang Hua knows and is familiar with, almost everyone does this.

"Mrs. Pei's perception of me seems to be stuck in the past. I have earned two degrees from European business schools."

"When did this happen? How come I didn't know?" Jiang Hua immediately lost her composure. This country bumpkin had actually secretly rolled it up behind her back!

Compared to Jiang Hua's nonchalance, Pei Zhan helped her remove the fish bones while slowly telling her, "When I took over the Jiang family business, I frequently went on business trips abroad, including to Germany. For a long period of time, I stayed there."

"The teaching management model there is different from that in China, so you don't have to stay in Germany for a long time."

Jiang Hua: "Then what about your exams?"

"My test paper is about managing the Jiang family." However, Pei Zhan's final answer sheet was undoubtedly the most perfect. In a short period of time, he brought the Jiang family back to life, and in just three years, he made his father the richest man in the capital city.

The rules of this world are always broken by those with the ability, and they can also be given a chance to make new rules.

Ordinary people without a talent for learning can only follow the rules.

"Try the fish."

That's pointless.

Pei Zhan pointed out to her, "Jewelry restoration originated from the Jiang family. No matter how you start with any topic, you have the final say."

"After all, no one understands jewelry restoration as well as you do, so... Mrs. Pei, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Write whatever you want."

"Your starting point is already the end point for most people. Don't forget that jewelry restoration has always started with the Jiang family. You are the end point; you don't need to chase after anyone else."

Jiang Hua rested her chin on the back of her hand, squinting at him, "You're quite the smooth talker."

“I am their end.” Jiang Hua laughed from the bottom of her heart as she said this. If he had been like her in his past life, they might not have ended up like this... But why did they still get divorced in the end?

Jiang Hua: "Pei Zhan..."

Pei Zhan: "Hmm?"

"Let me tell you about that dream I had before. I didn't explain it clearly last time..."

“After Shen Yebai and Mu Shiyue got married in the dream, the Jiang family and the Shen family never had any contact again. My relationship with Bao’er was no longer like it is now, where we could be best friends. But our relationship got worse and worse every day, to the point that… in the many years of our marriage, we only saw each other a few times a month. After you took complete control of the company, you seemed to have no feelings for me anymore. Every day you came home very late, and we would always leave in a bad mood because of arguments.”

"At one point, I suffered from depression and needed medication to recover."

"Later, every time we argued, you only avoided me more. It wasn't until I found out that you were secretly keeping Song Qingran that you filed for divorce and chose to leave me with nothing..."

Do you think the you in your dream loved... or didn't love me?

Pei Zhan seemed to be genuinely pondering, "Unless the Shen family is suppressed, otherwise... Shen Yebai won't resort to a marriage alliance. The most powerful force behind the Mu family is the Wang family. What is the Wang family in your dream doing?"

"Is the Jiang family in my hands or in the Wang family's hands?"

“You are still the president of Jiang’s Group, but I remember the Wang family seems to have used the Jiang family to do something, and you cleaned up a lot of their messes.”

"Don't get sidetracked. What we're talking about now is why, in the dream, you chose to divorce me after I found out about Song Qingran. In the dream, you would never have turned a blind eye to Song Qingran being bullied today."

"Assuming I have no feelings for Mrs. Pei, I will end this marriage as soon as possible."

His entanglement with Song Qingran stemmed from the Zhou family. He had previously kept Song Qingran by his side as a substitute for A-Xu to make amends. He approached the Jiang family with a purpose, which was only for revenge, but he did not expect that he would develop feelings for Jiang Hua first. He hesitated again and again before taking action against the Jiang family.

Jiang Hua's previous flirting with him was purely a purposeful approach, so Pei Zhan didn't take her feelings or her intense pursuit and confession to him seriously.

But later it was discovered that he was the one who fell in love first and felt compassion first.

Even before seeing that crystal ball…

More than a decade has passed since what happened in Wuchuan. Even if he wanted to find her again, it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. He had his obsessions, but... when he confirmed that the girl from Wuchuan was there, Pei Zhan's obsessions returned...

If it weren't for Ji Liangchuan, the Zhou family wouldn't have been involved between him and Jiang Hua, becoming an entity he dared not mention, much less tell her... his purpose in approaching the Jiang family.

"If we drag this out for a long time before getting a divorce, and in the end we are forced to make the decision to leave you with nothing, it means... there are some things that even I cannot control. Their existence threatens your safety, so I have no choice but to use this method to make you leave."

"As to what exactly happened, I can only find out if I can enter Mrs. Pei's dream."

"That would make you care so much."

Perhaps because of some of Pei Zhan's words, which comforted her, Jiang Hua felt a little better... At least, it was because of other hidden reasons that he divorced her, rather than simply because he fell in love with Song Qingran.

“Pei Zhan…” she called his name, her voice softening.

Why are you so good to Song Qingran?

This isn't a problem; it's an obsession she's held in both her past and present lives, and it's something she can't bring herself to ask him because... Jiang Hua doesn't want to appear so subservient in front of him.

Because such a question shouldn't be asked by Jiang Hua.

She, Jiang Hua… shouldn't be like this.

Jiang Hua should be aloof and arrogant...

She would never be weak, much less show this cowardly and worthless side.