Volume 1, Chapter 25: Husband? Everyone Else Thinks I'm a Widow

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By the time Duan Yixiao returned, dusk had already begun to settle.

“Are you ready? If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late.” He was in a hurry, glancing at his watch as he calculated the time. It was rush hour, after all, and traffic would inevitably be heavy.

Jiang Yunmiao looked at him in feigned surprise. “Where are we going?”

“Mom and Dad asked us over for dinner. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?” Duan Yixiao was equally surprised. Jiang Yunmiao had always been meticulous about her plans—how could she have forgotten something so important?

The last time there had been a family gathering, he had gone alone and been scolded by Duan Zhenhong. If Jiang Yunmiao failed to show up again, he would probably have to endure another round of his father’s disapproving stares.

“What are you going to wear?” He walked over to the wardrobe and began choosing an outfit for her. “How about this dress? It’s in a dopamine color palette—bright and cheerful. Grandmother should like it.”

“This one in a Maillard color scheme is nice too. It’s been quite fashionable lately, so it should be a safe choice.”

“Or would you rather wear classic black, white, or gray?”

Jiang Yunmiao clapped her hands, giving him a sparse round of applause.

Duan Yixiao was baffled. “What’s wrong? What do you mean?”

“I never knew that President Duan, a complete straight man, even knew about dopamine and Maillard color schemes.” Jiang Yunmiao forced out a vague smile that never reached her eyes.

His gaze visibly wavered. “I—I’m not completely cut off from the internet. I’ve heard the young women at the company mention them in the elevator.”

Jiang Yunmiao narrowed her eyes. What a clumsy excuse.

“With data algorithms as precise as they are nowadays, how would they ever push color-coordination tips to a hopeless straight man like you? Besides, if those young women happened to run into their esteemed boss in the elevator, they’d probably be too frightened to breathe, let alone chat about color palettes.” She seized on the opening and exposed him without mercy.

Duan Yixiao’s face stiffened with embarrassment, and then he grew angry from shame. “Jiang Yunmiao, what exactly are you trying to say? Could you stop being so sarcastic?”

“Why are we going to the Duan family’s house for dinner?” Jiang Yunmiao asked, pretending not to know.

“Today is the Laba Festival. We agreed we’d go home for a family reunion.” Without giving her any further choice, Duan Yixiao selected a misty blue dress for her.

Tomato

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Jiang Yunmiao did not take it. She lifted her bright, graceful face, irritation written across her features. “So you do remember.”

Only then did Duan Yixiao recall that he had promised at noon to accompany her to visit Zhong Huiying. But then Chen Nianke had asked him to dinner and persuaded him to see a movie with her, and he had forgotten all about it.

“I’m sorry. There was too much going on today, and it slipped my mind. How about this? I’ll go see Mom tomorrow and apologize to her. Will that do?”

Jiang Yunmiao felt nothing. She was merely puzzled. How had she ever been so bewitched by that face?

Her gaze slowly shifted to his right wrist. Sure enough, it was bare.

“Where’s the agarwood bracelet I gave you?”

Duan Yixiao instinctively drew back his arm. He curled his fingers into a slight fist, his eyes darting away. “I must have left it at the office.”

“Is that so? Then what’s this?” Jiang Yunmiao took out photographs of him having lunch with Chen Nianke, along with pictures of Chen Nianke playing with the bracelet.

His expression turned cold, and he raised his voice in accusation, striking first. “You had someone follow me?”

Jiang Yunmiao was so angry that she laughed. “I have neither the time nor the inclination. Duan Yixiao, what are you really thinking? Do you want to rekindle things with Chen Nianke?”

“Stop imagining things and making trouble out of nothing! I had to take back the necklace I gave her last time. Is it really excessive for me to treat her to a meal as an apology? She said she’d been having bad luck these past few days and wanted to borrow my bracelet for a couple of days to bring herself some good fortune. Is that excessive too?” Duan Yixiao explained, utterly self-righteous.

“Of course it is! What decent woman clings to a married man like that?”

“Don’t exaggerate!” Duan Yixiao snapped.

“Don’t raise your voice. Being louder doesn’t make you right.” Jiang Yunmiao’s expression was bleak. Compared with the emotions roiling endlessly across Duan Yixiao’s face, the truth of the matter was plain to see.

Just then, Zhou Manhua called to hurry them along. “Have you left yet? How much longer until you arrive? Duan Mingxian and Duan Mingrui are already back. Don’t be late, or you’ll upset Grandma and your father.”

After hanging up, Duan Yixiao softened his attitude somewhat. “Why don’t you change and come to dinner first? I’ll be more careful about keeping appropriate boundaries with other people from now on.”

Jiang Yunmiao remained unmoved. “I’m not in the mood. I don’t want to put on an act for your whole family. Go by yourself. Just tell them I’m not feeling well.” Half of what she said came from the heart; the other half was preparation for what was to come.

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But to Duan Yixiao, it sounded like nothing more than an angry excuse.

“How can you do that? If you don’t go this time, Dad will be displeased with me again. Honey, do it for our future—for the baby. Please put up with it just this once. Besides, you’ve always handled gatherings like this with ease.”

Jiang Yunmiao let out a cold laugh. “You give me too much credit. If I were good at handling gatherings like this, your mother wouldn’t spend all her time finding fault with me.”

“My mother… You know what she’s like. Whoever married her son, she wouldn’t be satisfied with her.”

Jiang Yunmiao’s eyes lit up. For once, he had spoken the absolute truth.

“We really have to go, darling.” Duan Yixiao crouched before her and took her hand. Though impatience and annoyance had already surfaced on his resolute face, he still forced a smile and coaxed her as gently as he could.

“Don’t talk about the future anymore, Duan Yixiao. Do you really think I can still believe that you and I have a long future ahead of us?” Jiang Yunmiao pulled her hand free, unwilling to let him touch her.

“What… What do you mean?” Seeing her recoil from him, a thought flashed through Duan Yixiao’s mind, too fleeting for him to grasp.

“Do you remember promising that you would accompany me to my prenatal checkups? How many times have you actually gone? Do you know that I’ve gone alone every single time? People have even pitied me, thinking I’m a widow.”

Shock filled Duan Yixiao’s eyes.

“Some people have pointed at me and said I’m a mistress kept in the shadows, carrying an illegitimate child. Why should I have to endure those insults and slanders? Duan Yixiao, it’s all because of you! All because you neglected your responsibilities and did nothing! Do you even know how many weeks pregnant I am? Do you know when my due date is? You know nothing!”

Jiang Yunmiao’s accusations struck him with devastating precision. “You’re always complaining that Chairman Duan isn’t a fit father. What about you? At least Chairman Duan never mistreated Duan Mingxian or Duan Mingrui. But have you ever cared about the child in my belly? Have you looked into what clothes to buy, how to furnish the nursery, which brand of formula to use, or which diapers to get?”

“What gives you the right to be his father?”

“I…” Duan Yixiao was rendered speechless.