C2 He Went on a Vacation with Another Woman

"What did Grandpa Fu say? His 80th birthday is just a few days away." Back when Shaochen and Xinyue got married, it was arranged by Grandpa Fu and Grandpa Jiang. The two old men were war buddies, having faced life and death together on the battlefield, and they decided on a union for the next generation. Unfortunately, their children were all boys, so the match was made between their grandchildren.

After Xinyue's parents died in a car accident, the Jiang family fell on hard times. Grandpa Jiang, gravely ill, entrusted her to his old friend, Grandpa Fu, before he passed away. Grandpa Fu treated her like his own granddaughter and, once she reached legal age, pressured his grandson, Shaochen, to marry her.

"After Grandpa's birthday, I'll talk to him," Shaochen said without hesitation. "You still need to come with me for the celebration, just for appearances."

Xinyue listened to his cold words and sank to the floor. The food on the table was still steaming, mocking her foolishness. The person she cared for so deeply saw her as insignificant.

Her heart ached terribly, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She had been in love with Shaochen for five years, ever since she first felt the stirrings of young love.

When Jiang Xinyue first married him, it wasn't for Fu Shaochen's wealth; she simply liked him. Back in college, she secretly paid attention to him, noting what he wore each day and trying to match his colors like a couple would. She knew his favorite dining hall and his preferred drinks. She knew everything about Fu Shaochen, even though he knew nothing about her.

Later, when their families arranged their marriage, she thought she was the luckiest person in the world to marry the one she loved. But reality hit her hard. Fu Shaochen didn't love her. He wanted a divorce to marry someone else and didn't want the baby she was carrying.

Jiang Xinyue wiped away her tears. She hadn't told him about the baby yet. But what was the point? He would probably see the child as a burden, something that would interfere with his plans to marry someone else. Rather than being forced to terminate the pregnancy, she decided to have the baby in secret and raise it on her own.

After some thought, Jiang Xinyue made up her mind. She would wait until after Elder Fu's birthday celebration to divorce Fu Shaochen and raise the baby independently. She vowed to become the best version of herself and give her child twice the love.

As for that deadbeat dad, she would never let the baby acknowledge him. He had to pay for what he did.

Suddenly, her phone chimed with a text notification. Opening it, she found a series of picture messages. In the photos, a flirty woman in a bikini was cozily nestled in Fu Shaochen's arms. He was holding her with a faint smile—a smile she had rarely seen on his face. In all their time married, she had never seen him smile like that.

The backdrop was a tropical island, likely pictures from their cruise trip.

A text message followed: "Ms. Jiang, your husband is really happy with me. He says every day with you is dull and lifeless. Why don't you just let Shaochen go? He doesn't love you."

"You do realize he's someone else's husband, right? As long as I don't divorce Fu Shaochen, you'll always be the side piece lurking in the shadows. What's there to be proud of?" Jiang Xinyue's hands trembled as she typed, seething with anger.

When she and Fu Shaochen got married, they didn't even have a wedding, let alone a honeymoon. She had asked him several times to go on a trip together, but he always brushed her off, claiming he was too busy and accusing her of being unreasonable and distracting him from work.

And now, he was vacationing on an island with another woman. The irony was unbearable.