C3 Chapter 3

“No. The old man’s decision has its reasons.” Mrs. Luh’s heart jolted. Faced with his pointed question, panic flashed across her face. In the Luh family, everything was decided by the old man—Luh Yubai being named heir had been his call, too.

The thought made her glare at Luh Ningying, who never knew when to keep her mouth shut. She was even angrier at herself for losing her composure and taking a jab at Qiu Anan right in front of him.

Qiu Anan’s gaze stayed calm. Before the room could settle into silence, she suddenly said, expressionless, “Grandpa, I came today to ask for a divorce.”

Boom!

It hit like a bolt of lightning out of a clear sky.

“The Qiu girl… are you sure?” Grandpa Luh’s face darkened. His weathered expression gave nothing away as his eyes swept the room. “In this family, you don’t need to be afraid of anyone.”

The bluntness of it made the other two freeze. They knew he favored Qiu Anan, but they hadn’t expected him to give her that kind of leeway.

Qiu Anan shook her head, as if she’d already made up her mind. “Yubai and I… we’re not right for each other.”

“Fine, then. That boy just doesn’t know what he’s losing.” A trace of regret flickered in Grandpa Luh’s cloudy eyes. Before the Qiu family fell on hard times, they’d done the Luhs a great kindness. He’d thought the two kids might truly end up together.

But over the past year, they’d only grown farther apart. After a moment, Grandpa Luh said, “Still, the Luh family is your home. You’ll always be welcome here.”

It wasn’t that she wasn’t moved. Qiu Anan felt it deeply—she’d come to think of this stern old man as family. She nodded firmly and said, “You’ll always be my grandpa.”

“Did I agree to that?”

A sharp voice cut in from behind, breaking their conversation. Qiu Anan could practically feel the coldness rolling off the glare aimed her way.

Yubai stood by the door, his face dark with frustration. The gloom on his features flared up like a match, and that anger shot straight at Anan.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Anan’s brow tightened. She couldn’t understand why, now that she was ready to give up, the man in front of her was suddenly blocking her. Confusion flickered in her eyes. “Grandpa already agreed.”

“But I don’t.”

“Yubai! Have you lost your mind?” Mrs. Luh finally couldn’t hold it in. Ever since Anan brought up divorce, Mrs. Luh’s smile had been leaking out nonstop. She’d finally managed to convince the old man to approve it—

and now Yubai, at the very last second, was backing out like he’d lost it.

“Bro, Anan agreed to the divorce!” Ningying couldn’t help blurting out a reminder. After all that effort, that bad-luck charm was finally leaving—Ms. Jingya would be thrilled.

Look at that. Everyone’s been waiting for us to split up.

Anan sneered at herself, the corner of her mouth curling in bitter irony. But the next second, Yubai’s reaction stunned everyone.

“Whether we get divorced is up to me—not you doing whatever you feel like!” His expression stayed flat, but something in it cracked. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to strangle the woman in front of him.

Why?

Why did she get to decide everything?

Anan’s heart jolted. For a split second, she thought Yubai had fallen for her—maybe he couldn’t bear to let go of this marriage. Something shifted in her gaze. “I didn’t—”

“Or what—have you already lined up your next guy and can’t wait to ditch me?”

“Yubai, what the hell are you talking about?” Anan frowned. If Grandpa weren’t here, she would’ve snapped right back.

“Then be a good Mrs. Luh. If you want a divorce, it’ll be because I’m done with you—not the other way around!”

With that, Luh Yubai turned and walked off on his own. His eyes were icy, not a hint of warmth in them, and everyone fell into stunned silence.

What the hell was wrong with Luh Yubai?