The color drained from the face of the woman called Xia Ling. A flicker of unease crossed her features before she rushed to apologize. "Ciyou, I'm so sorry. This was all just an accident." Then her eyes reddened, tears welling up and threatening to spill, as if Jiang Ciyou were the one who had cruelly bullied her. It was absurd. Jiang Ciyou’s expression barely changed. She was still smiling brightly. "Well, congratulations to you both." To an onlooker, it might have seemed like a sincere blessing between friends. Only Jiang Ciyou knew the depth of the irony. But three years had passed; she was no longer the person she used to be. "Ciyou, I... can I keep this child?" Xia Ling's voice was timid, a meek and humble plea. As expected, the tactic worked perfectly on Yan Feng. "Xia Ling, you don't have to explain anything to her. This is our child. Do we need her permission to have it?" Yan Feng finished, shooting Jiang Ciyou a venomous glare, as if she were the one tormenting Xia Ling. All she had said was congratulations. *Heh.* "Go ahead and have it. We're all family, why act like strangers? Back in ancient times, it was a good thing for a concubine to help carry on the family line. When the child is born, it will have to call me 'Mother' anyway, right?" "Jiang Ciyou, what the hell are you talking about?" Yan Feng's anger was palpable. Jiang Ciyou’s smile widened. "Oh, relax. It was just a joke. Why so serious?" "Grandpa wants me to bring you back to the old family home. Are you coming with me, or with her?" Yan Feng fell silent for a few seconds, then moved the suitcase into the trunk of Jiang Ciyou's car. "Take us to the Jingdu Grand Hotel first." Jiang Ciyou complied, dropping the two of them off at the hotel entrance. It took a full half-hour for Yan Feng to get Xia Ling settled before he returned to Jiang Ciyou's car. He still sat in the back, as if determined to maintain his distance. The car merged back into the city's stream of traffic. "You like her so much, yet you're leaving her in a hotel? Especially now that she's pregnant, her status secured by her child. You should at least be giving her a few villas." Yan Feng's voice was ice-cold, laced with suppressed fury. "Jiang Ciyou, are you doing this on purpose?" Jiang Ciyou erupted in laughter. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I forgot you don't have a single property to your name." From the moment Jiang Ciyou started kindergarten, the Yan family, certain she would one day be their daughter-in-law, had put every property they bought for Yan Feng in her name. Jiang Ciyou owned no fewer than a hundred properties, including over a dozen villas and countless storefronts. Yan Feng, on the other hand, owned nothing. But as the sole heir to the Yan family, at least the shares of the Yan Corporation were in his name. Yan Feng had been watching her since they got in the car. The smile had never left her face. They had grown up together; no one knew her better than he did. Despite her cheerful facade, she held a grudge like no other. He figured seeing Xia Ling's pregnant belly must have pushed her to her limit, which was why she was resorting to these sarcastic, veiled insults. Or maybe she was just using the Yan family assets to control him. A fresh wave of disgust colored the way Yan Feng looked at her. "Jiang Ciyou, don't you dare bully Xia Ling, and don't even think about me coming back to you. I won't fight you for what the Yan family gave you—consider it my compensation. But if you get any greedier, don't say I didn't warn you. I'll even take back the title of 'Mrs. Yan'." Jiang Ciyou's expression sobered, a hint of seriousness replacing her smile. "Yan Feng, let's get a divorce." No, she corrected herself. Or more accurately, a breakup. The warmth in the car instantly vanished. Yan Feng's face was a mask of frigid fury. "Jiang Ciyou, are you threatening me?" He never believed she genuinely wanted a divorce. He knew her situation all too well. She couldn't go back to the Jiang family. Besides, she was so madly in love with him she’d even slit her wrists for him. She hadn't mentioned divorce once during the three years they had no contact. For her to bring it up now, just as he returned, could only mean one thing: Xia Ling's pregnancy had been a massive shock to her system. She was trying to force him to break up with Xia Ling. "It's not a threat. I've just thought it through. When I married you, I really thought you'd come around. After you left, I held on to the title of Mrs. Yan just to spite Xia Ling." "But now, I suddenly feel like it's all pointless. Xia Ling is pregnant, and the child is innocent. I don't want to stand in the way of your happy little family of three." She had been young and proud back then, filled with resentment over the double betrayal by her boyfriend and best friend. Marrying Yan Feng wasn't just about the Jiang family's troubles; a huge part of it was a refusal to let the two of them find peace so easily. But three years had passed, and her perspective had long since shifted. Besides, she hadn't exactly been suffering these past three years. She didn't want to waste her entire life trapped in the empty shell of a sham marriage. Yan Feng’s icy gaze bored into her through the rearview mirror. So, it really was about Xia Ling's pregnancy. "Jiang Ciyou, can you say that without feeling like a hypocrite? If it were that easy to let go, why did you have to slit your wrists and use your own death to threaten me back then?" At the mention of that, Jiang Ciyou's eyes darkened for a moment. Her suicide attempt hadn't been entirely because of Yan Feng. After a brief, heavy silence, she casually ran a hand through her hair. Her fingers sank into the soft strands as she tilted her head slightly, an image of effortless allure. She slipped back into her lazy demeanor. "Fine, forget I said anything." Yan Feng scoffed, tearing his gaze away from her stunningly beautiful face. The fact that she had brought up divorce herself sparked an inexplicable anger in him. For a split second, his heart had seized, as if she had actually meant it. He had truly overestimated her. Knowing it was just another test, another attempt to pressure him, the disgust in his heart deepened. "Jiang Ciyou, you're pathetic." It was the second time she had heard him say that. The first was after summer camp, when he had bluntly told her he and Xia Ling were together. She had been stunned for five seconds before lunging at Xia Ling and slapping her repeatedly. Yan Feng had pulled her off, so furious he’d broken up with her on the spot. Furious, Jiang Ciyou had screamed, "Break up? In your dreams! If I go to hell, I'm dragging both of you with me!" That's when Yan Feng had called her pathetic. The soul-crushing pain of that moment had been like a knife twisting in her heart, carving out one bloody hole after another through countless nights. But with time, the numbness set in. The old wounds had formed a thick, protective scar, like armor. So now, hearing him say it again, she felt nothing at all. Soon, they arrived at the Yan family's old estate. As they got out of the car, they saw Yan Feng's mother, Lan Pei, standing at the doorway. Her face held none of the joy of a mother seeing her son for the first time in three years. Instead, it was dark with fury. The moment she saw Yan Feng, she launched her accusation. "I hear you brought that little vixen back with you?" Yan Feng’s stern face snapped toward Jiang Ciyou. Jiang Ciyou just shrugged, spreading her hands in a gesture of pure innocence. "I didn't say a word. As you can see, I haven't even had a chance to make a call."