Chapter 26: The Best Birthday Gift [6]

"Feng Jing, why are you crying?" Mrs. Jing was just about to head to the bedroom shared by Wen Xiaorou and Jing Nuo to check on the situation when she saw Feng Jing rushing out from the top of the stairs with red, teary eyes.

"It's nothing," Feng Jing choked out, holding back her tears. She turned and sprinted down the stairs, snatched her bag from the sofa in the grand hall, and hurried out of the Jing residence.

"What is going on here?" Puzzled by Feng Jing's sudden departure, Mrs. Jing turned to Aunt Liang, who was standing nearby, and asked.

"I don't know. Miss Rou just left with her suitcase as well," Aunt Liang immediately reported what she had just witnessed. In her eyes, the young mistress of the Jing family was far more important than Feng Jing.

"Where could she possibly go? Quick, tell Driver Liu to go look for her and bring her back immediately. What is all this fuss about? Honestly!" Upon hearing that Wen Xiaorou had left, Mrs. Jing shook her head and sighed. She wondered why Wen Xiaorou would even get angry over Feng Jing. Her presence in the house was nothing new; it wasn't as if she didn't know about it. Why make a scene by running away? Where would she go? On this entire earth, who could treat her better than the Jing family?

"Don't bother looking for her. If she wants to leave, you can't keep her," Mr. Jing remarked, stepping out to see what the commotion was about.

"Jing Tian, are you hiding something from me? Speak the truth, or I'll go tell Mother," Mrs. Jing threatened upon seeing her husband. Why was the house so chaotic and restless today?

"Why don't you go ask your precious son?" Mr. Jing tossed those words over his shoulder and walked away.

"Is he not your son, too?" Mrs. Jing stared at his retreating back, her anger flaring. Was she even part of this family anymore? Why did she know nothing of what was happening?

Inside a taxi, Wen Xiaorou leaned back against the seat and squeezed her eyes shut. It was finally over; she was finally divorced. She couldn't imagine what expression might be on Jing Nuo's face right now. Was he consoling Feng Jing? Was he promising to make her the mistress of the Jing house? As she pondered these trivial matters, her mind drifted back to a week ago.

"Dad, I want to divorce Jing Nuo," Wen Xiaorou had said to Mr. Jing the day after meeting Lin Fei'er.

"Rou, what are you saying? Did Jing Nuo upset you again?" Mr. Jing had always been protective of her.

"No, Dad. I just find this marriage so exhausting. I don't want to continue like this anymore. I don't want to be enemies with Jing Nuo; I want to start a new life of my own." After a sleepless night, Wen Xiaorou had finally convinced herself. She had found ten thousand reasons to leave Jing Nuo, but couldn't find a single one to stay—other than her love for him, which wasn't a valid reason at all, given that he didn't love her back.

"Rou, Jing Nuo is young and impulsive right now. In a couple of years, he will settle down. One day, he will realize how wonderful you are. Please, give him a little more time, will you?" Mr. Jing looked at her kindly. She had been with the Jing family for ten years, and he had long considered her his own daughter.

"He's not that young anymore; he's twenty-seven," she replied. She had waited for Jing Nuo for ten years, yet he still didn't like her, didn't value her, and grew to resent her more each day. She didn't want to be hated by him any longer, nor did she want him to think she was only after the family's wealth and status. Now, there was an even greater reason to leave: other women could bear children for the Jing family, but she could not. It was time to retreat while she still had her dignity.

"Rou, have you truly thought this through? You can leave Jing Nuo, but I will not allow you to leave the Jing family," Mr. Jing said, worried that she might struggle to live on her own.