You should give me a job.
The moment the word “divorce” was spoken, the panel immediately activated the failure alarm.
Qiu Baiyu remained calm and composed, with an unchanged expression, completely still, refusing to act.
Make amends?
Is this man even worthy?
The man across from her was scrutinizing her.
When the word “divorce” first came out of Qiu Baiyu’s mouth, no matter how composed Jiang Shen was, he couldn’t help but be taken aback.
Coming back to his senses, he held his suit jacket and stood where he was, asking with an unchanged expression, “Do you know what you are saying?”
Qiu Baiyu was also very calm: “I know.”
Jiang Shen said again: “Have you forgotten who wanted to get married in the first place?”
Qiu Baiyu said: “It was me.”
Jiang Shen quietly looked at her without speaking, his expression seemingly saying: Since you know, how dare you mention divorce?
Qiu Baiyu understood, and calmly said: “So what? Does it conflict with my current desire for a divorce? Moreover, can you really say you had no fault in this marriage, President Jiang?”
Jiang Shen: “?”
At that time, it was indeed the original owner who was so besotted with love that she insisted on marrying Jiang Shen.
But Jiang Shen was an adult; whether he agreed or not was entirely up to him.
And the reason he agreed to marry the original owner was actually for another reason:
The original owner’s grandmother had saved him when he was young.
The grandmother loved the original owner dearly and believed Jiang Shen to be very reliable, so she asked him to take good care of her granddaughter, ensuring she lived well and happily.
Jiang Shen agreed to marry the original owner because of this, and even molded her into the idealized “white moonlight” in his heart. Now, he turns the blame on the original owner— “We married because you initiated it, it has nothing to do with me, I was just fulfilling your wish.”
In that case, Qiu Baiyu had a lot to say.
Or rather, a strong desire to attack——
“Even if at that time I wanted to marry you, even if my grandmother did you a favor, as an adult, couldn’t you refuse my proposal?”
“Refusing to marry and then giving me some money to ensure I am well-provided for in the latter half of my life, isn’t that also repaying the favor?”
“Clearly, solving it with money is the simplest thing for you, yet you chose to agree to marry, and now you’re blaming me for being proactive. President Jiang, do you think you bear no responsibility at all?”
One was eager to be a stand-in, the other tacitly approved and pushed things to where they are today.
Qiu Baiyu couldn’t understand the love between these two, but if she had to scold, she’d scold both of them together—Jiang Shen shouldn’t think he could wash his hands of this—he was never a good person to begin with.
The original owner and Jiang Shen got married after the departure of the true love, Yi Wanyue, abroad, and it’s been more than a year since.
During this period, the male lead, driven by his worthless true feelings, tried to mold the original owner into a second Yi Wanyue. Occasionally, he would interact with her, and when in a good mood, he would treat her well, kiss her, hug her, and sometimes hold her as if holding that distant moon.
The original owner actually knew she was being used as a stand-in and felt a lot of jealousy towards Yi Wanyue, but it didn’t stop her from falling into the male lead’s tender trap.
Even knowing that Jiang Shen would only be so gentle and affectionate when facing Yi Wanyue, she still enjoyed it, because at those moments, his tenderness was all hers.
Although Qiu Baiyu couldn’t understand these two people, from a third-party perspective, there were some things she saw very clearly:
Yi Wanyue was innocent.
It was Jiang Shen’s lack of refusal that gave the original owner boundless hope.
After she finished speaking, she clearly saw the male lead across from her slowly furrow his brows, his gaze filled with scrutiny, as if he were looking at a stranger.
He knew better than anyone how much this woman loved him; she wouldn’t propose divorce.
Yet the person in front of him, with her silver tongue and calm eyes, truly surprised and bewildered him.
However…
His expression returned to indifference: “Stop using tricks like this to attract me.”
Qiu Baiyu: “?”
Jiang Shen: “I’m not interested in playing games with you.”
Qiu Baiyu: “…”
She liked him so much, always trying every possible way to attract his attention; this “divorce” was probably just another attempt.
After Jiang Shen finished speaking, he calmly brushed past Qiu Baiyu and walked straight to his room.
Qiu Baiyu looked at Jiang Shen’s back, and a hint of confusion slowly appeared on her calm expression as she uttered, “How can you think this is just a joke?”
Now she had become the Qiu Baiyu here; she did not acknowledge this identity, nor did she recognize this husband. Therefore, divorce was the best choice, yet he thought she was just causing a scene??
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Does this man have a problem with his brain?
Do normal people in this world think it’s okay for the male lead to break the law?
Jiang Shen paused, turning back.
The two locked eyes, each one colder than the other.
There was no longer any love between them.
Finally, Qiu Baiyu saw a trace of displeasure appear on Jiang Shen’s stern face.
“You have no right to ask me to do anything.”
She was the one who proposed the marriage, and now she was the one proposing the divorce. If he agreed again, what would that make Jiang Shen?
When it was time for the divorce, he would naturally speak up; she didn’t need to teach him.
Qiu Baiyu watched him finish speaking and then turn to leave, feeling completely bewildered.
What was wrong with them getting a divorce? Why had this man become so arrogant?
Is this how the domineering CEOs in novels behave??
Qiu Baiyu furrowed her brows tightly and stood there, asking the system: Am I unable to get a divorce right now?
The system replied: 【Yes.】
She asked why.
The system said: 【Because the plot requires it.】
She: ?
What a load of nonsense about “plot requirements.”
She continued to ask: How can I get a divorce?
The system replied: 【You can when the plot reaches that point.】
She asked again: So when will the plot reach that point?
The system said: 【That depends on the development of the emotional storyline between the male and female leads. Once they fall in love, the male lead will naturally want to divorce you.】
Qiu Baiyu’s brows immediately furrowed even tighter.
The feeling of having such decision-making power in the hands of a man was very unpleasant.
However, since the plot could change, it meant she could also rely on her own abilities to make the male lead consider divorce sooner. But judging by the male lead’s arrogant demeanor, she would still have to work hard on this.
She estimated she would have to continue living here for a few more days.
Besides getting a divorce, there was another very important thing she needed to do: find a job.
The original owner was basically a canary kept by Jiang Shen at home, with no job and no need to work, living a life without worries about food or clothing.
Although Qiu Baiyu also had thoughts of lying flat, it was not in the way of becoming the wife of a strange man, like some pet that couldn’t speak, living off someone else’s support.
She needed to have a job to give her confidence before the divorce.
Tomorrow then.
Tomorrow she would go out to see what jobs were available.
At that moment, she thought of Jiang Zimin, who had been bullied at school, and turned to look at Jiang Shen’s room. After a moment of silence, she lifted her foot and walked over.
“Knock, knock.”
After waiting for two seconds, the door opened.
As soon as Jiang Shen saw her, a hint of impatience flashed across his expression: “What do you want now?”
“About your daughter,” Qiu Baiyu stood outside the door, getting straight to the point, “Don’t you know your child is being bullied at school?”
After she finished speaking, the man across from her remained silent for a long time, his expression unchanged.
After two seconds, she heard him say, “I understand,”
“I will have the secretary handle it.”
His tone was quite official and businesslike.
It seemed like… he really didn’t care about this child.
Qiu Baiyu: “…”
Suddenly, she felt a lump in her throat.
She wanted to say something, wanted to curse at him, but looking at his cold expression, she couldn’t help but frown, momentarily at a loss for words.
He still minded that this was not the child of him and Yi Wanyue.
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Because it wasn’t a child born with the one he loved, he didn’t care or pay attention, as if it were an unexpected stain in his life… but that was clearly his biological daughter!
Qiu Baiyu really wanted to curse at him.
She wanted to curse at him and at her estranged father whom she had never met.
These two men were both selfish to the extreme!
She opened her mouth, her mind racing, and the insults that were on the tip of her tongue turned into the words: “In that case, you should give me a job as your daughter’s temporary guardian.”
That’s right, he should pay her.
She wasn’t really here to be a stepmother; she didn’t acknowledge that role. She could be a nanny, but she had to be paid.
In short, she had decided to take advantage of this scummy man Jiang Shen!
As Jiang Shen paused in the act of closing the door: “?”
Qiu Baiyu said: “Mr. Jiang, I can care for Xiaomin, protect her, and help you fulfill your responsibilities, while you just need to pay me a salary.”
Jiang Shen narrowed his eyes and looked her over, feeling more and more that she was a stranger.
Qiu Baiyu didn’t care and still wore a calm expression: “Regardless, that is still your child. You are her father; you can’t personally care for her, but you can at least let someone else do it for you, right? Or is it that you’re unwilling to give her even a little bit of love?”
Jiang Shen: “…”
Jiang Shen looked her over from head to toe again.
This was the most assertive person he had ever seen in a job interview.
He was truly seeing things differently; Qiu Baiyu actually said she wanted a job.
This was indeed the most assertive “job” Qiu Baiyu had faced.
She was forced to come here and had to deal with a man she despised; being able to speak calmly was already her greatest quality.
After a moment, Jiang Shen spoke again.
“You are her stepmother; it’s only natural for you to care for her.”
“And you are her biological father; why don’t we see you caring for her?”
“… I’m very busy; I need to work.”
“I’m also trying to get a job now. Does that mean only you can work, and I can’t?”
“…”
“You don’t even acknowledge me as your wife in your heart. Don’t you find it uncomfortable to let me be your daughter’s mother?”
This statement… was not without reason.
Qiu Baiyu noticed a hint of hesitation on his face and calmly said, “If you’re not at ease, you can ask her if she’s willing to let me take care of her.”
This afternoon, after school, it was Qiu Baiyu who picked Jiang Zimin up to go home.
Qiu Baiyu also shot a glance at Liu Jianhui, who was not far behind her, pointed to her own eyes, and then pointed at him, which scared him into hurriedly running off to find his mother.
Jiang Zimin was delighted to see this.
Liu Jianhui would no longer dare to bully her; she finally had an adult to protect her!
Another thing that made her happy was seeing her dad when she got home from school.
In the evening, her dad even took the initiative to call her to the study.
However, they each sat on opposite sides of the desk, feeling quite distant.
Jiang Shen looked down at the documents in his hands and asked, “Did Aunt Qiu pick you up from school?”
Not “Mom,” but “Aunt.”
Hearing him take the initiative to ask about this instantly stirred Jiang Zimin’s emotions, and her eyes brightened as she nodded: “Auntie came to pick me up, and she said she would come to get me in the future!”
Jiang Shen glanced at her and then lowered his head again: “You really like her.”
Jiang Zimin nodded again: “Auntie helped me—”
“Alright, I got it,” Jiang Shen interrupted her eagerness to share. “You can go now; I still have things to do.”
Jiang Zimin’s shoulders immediately slumped, and the smile on her lips faded.
“Alright…”
She got down from the chair by herself and walked towards the door, glancing back three times.
“Dad, today I—”
Jiang Shen waved his hand without even looking up.
“…”
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Her dad continued to look down at the documents she couldn’t understand, not glancing at her a second time even after she had left the room.
At 8:26 in the evening, Qiu Baiyu received her work contract and first paycheck.
It was quick, smooth, and without any hiccups.
She didn’t know if it was because this male lead thought he understood her, so he didn’t do a background check.
The salary offered was quite high, a figure she had never achieved through hard work in the real world.
The domineering CEO in the novel was indeed very generous.
If he couldn’t give the child love, at least he could provide money.
She accepted it without guilt.
This was a job she had secured through her own efforts, and she was taking advantage of this scummy male lead; what was there for her to object to?
Turning around, she took her salary and went out to eat delicious food with Jiang Zimin.
Jiang Shen didn’t care about this little bit of money.
He considered himself someone who appreciated gratitude. Since Qiu Baiyu wanted a job, he would give her one; it could be seen as repaying her grandmother.
He saw Qiu Baiyu pick up the contract and walk out.
Her back was resolute, as if she had no lingering feelings for him at all.
When Qiu Baiyu reached the door, he noticed her suddenly stop, then slowly turn to look at him, and shake the contract abruptly.
“Remember to give me my five social insurances and one housing fund.”
Jiang Shen: “… Get out.”