Perplexed, she stared at them with a vacant gaze. Grandmother Qi's eyes were red. She waved at Qi Chengyue. "Chengyue, come, have a seat. No matter what happens, you'll always have us! It's going to be okay!"

"You all know about this?" Qi Chengyue was shocked, and all of a sudden, she dreaded facing her own family.

Jian Yi was the husband of her choice, but then all the calamities happened a mere few months after the wedding. She felt guilt-ridden and was afraid to even look at her kin.

"I told them," admitted Qi Chenglin. "I have evidence on Jian Yi and Guan Xiaolin. There's no reason to keep dragging this further."

He then turned his head to Qi Chengyue, looking incredibly stern. "You do plan to divorce, don't you? Even if you still have hope in him and decide not to divorce, we're not going to accept it. That man has to leave the Qi family."

Qi Chengyue took a deep breath, grasped her fists tightly, then spat out four words, albeit with some difficulty. "I want a divorce."

She felt as though she was about to collapse after finishing her sentence.

Guan Liya placed her arm around Qi Chengyue's shoulder. "Don't you worry, Chengyue. We'll get back at them for all the wrongs that you suffered! I never thought Guan Xiaolin would be so shameless! She's no longer my niece if she could disregard our ties and do this kind of thing to you!"

She completed her sentence and looked at Qi Chengzhi, seeking his approval through her silence.

As long as it involved company matters, Qi Chengzhi was considered to be the one who had full control.

His gaze swept across everyone in the room, and he noticed that their attention was entirely focused on him.

Keeping a cold expression, his rich voice began resounding. "Get the divorce done and make sure Jian Yi leaves with nothing. Then we'll focus our attention to the Guan family."

Qi Chengzhi looked at Guan Liya. "Auntie, will you be alright if we go all-out against the Guan family?"

"Not a problem!" Guan Liya then continued yakking without a second thought, "The Guan family has nothing to do with me anyway. They'll only remember me if they need something. That's when they'll treat me politely and courteously. If Guan Xiaolin had the nerve to do something like that behind my back, she clearly doesn't care that I'm her aunt, and since that's the case, I've no reason to care about the Guan family!"

A nod from Qi Chengzhi. "That's settled, then."

"Chengzhi, thank you for all this. I know that isn't easy to go against another company, even for the Qi family," said Guan Liya. Qi Chengzhi agreed to do it so happily, and the sight of the entire family working together to help Qi Chengyue made her feel touched.

"We're a family," came Qi Chengzhi's curt response.

"Big Brother, Song Yu," Qi Chengyue began speaking suddenly, "I'm sorry for how I treated you last time."

Her words were very earnest, and the redness in her eyes was a sign that she was sincere in her words.

Song Yu did not expect Qi Chengyue to say that in front of everyone. In fact, she actually treated Qi Chengyue's change of attitude as an apology, letting bygones be bygones.

However, with Qi Chengyue apologizing before the entire family, the feeling was much different—after her words, it was like everything that happened in the past truly did stay in the past.

Song Yu did not make any ostentatious remark, for Qi Chengzhi had already proclaimed his stand. She merely took out a recorder and placed it on the table, saying, "This is what Guan Xiao Lin said to Qi Chengyue this afternoon. I recorded it with my phone and transferred it in here. This isn't the best thing to use, but in case something doesn't go according to plan, this may be useful."

Qi Zhongxun picked up the recorder and played back the recording of Guan Xiaolin's boastful words, allowing everyone to listen to what was said.

Guan Liya was so angry that she almost looked like she could run up to Guan Xiaolin and exact vengeance.

She knew, though, that the main focus was the divorce. Jian Yi would not agree to the divorce so easily, not when he got nothing out of the marriage. The main objective in everyone's mind was to make sure that he would not gain a single thing from the Qi family!

"Thank you, Song Yu, for being with Qi Chengyue during this time," Qi Zhongxun remarked earnestly.

He used to be neutral toward her marriage with Qi Chengzhi, and even after the couple had registered their marriage, he did not particularly see Song Yu as truly becoming a part of the Qi family.

That had all changed, however, and he now truly regarded Song Yu as his niece-in-law.

"I just accompanied her, that's all. Nothing much," Song Yu replied.

"Chengyue, come home with us tonight. You'll stay with us from now on. You can choose to sell or keep the home with Jian Yi, but I don't think you'd want to go back there even after the divorce." Guan Liya put her arm over Qi Chengyue's shoulder and said.

Qi Chengyue nodded. "Sell it off. I don't want anything to do with him ever again."

That night, she returned home with her family.

…

…

Jian Yi came to the company the next day, but as he headed to the engineering department, weird looks were shot at him by employees from other departments

Most of them seemed to be acting rather coldly.

His status as Qi Chengyue's husband allowed him to receive respectful treatment from the subordinates and even from some of the company's higher-ups. The cold treatment was thus a first for him.

"Manager Luo," Jian Yi greeted as he saw the approaching Luo Yushu.

Luo Yushu seemed to be in some shock, however. After being briefly stunned, he mustered a smile. "Hehe, Jian Yi, you came a bit late I see!"

"Mm." Jian Yi frowned. 'Luo Yushu always addresses me as 'Manager Jian', and don't I usually arrive at the company around this time?'

"I've got something to attend to so I'll be heading off. We'll talk later." Luo Yushu said a few words just for the sake of it and left hastily.

Jian Yi looked on curiously as Luo Yushu's figure scurried off in a hurry. He entered the engineering department with a frown and saw that most of the employees were already present. They were busy chatting about something, but the whole room fell silent immediately after they noticed him entering.

They looked at him with all sorts of odd expressions and none greeted him voluntarily.

Jian Yi's gaze swept across the room before he entered the office.

The second he closed the door, the chattering continued outside.

"Judging from his look, I think he doesn't know about it yet."

"I think he probably argued with the Qi family and fell out of favor with them. Why else would they just fire him so suddenly?"

"I heard Miss Qi hasn't come to the company for a few days now. Do you think they're facing problems in their marriage?"

A female colleague then let out a gasp. "Could they have already gotten a divorce?"

She shut her mouth immediately after giving her opinion.

The others were also quiet, but that did not last long when someone opined, "In fact…we can't know for sure. Otherwise, why would the Qi family resort to something so drastic?

"Fact is, it was only because he got close to the Qi family that he managed to get promoted so quickly. It benefits us if he isn't around anymore."

Jian Yi could not hear the discussions going on outside. He switched on his computer, and not long later, an email notification popped up.

He opened it and saw that it was from Human Resources. Getting up from his seat, he walked past his desk to the door, opened it forcefully, then walked out of his office.

None of the other employees dared to make a peep until he left. "Why do you think he went out for?"

"I think he doesn't even know what was going on. He's probably going to try and reason with someone."

…

…

Jian Yi clenched his jaw tightly. His expression was so tense that his face might just crack at any time.

He dashed to the top floor, and after getting out from the elevator, took large strides toward Qi Chengzhi's room, all while suppressing his anger.

Cheng Dongge was not surprised that Jian Yi came. The former neither greeted him nor stopped him, simply allowing him to barge into Qi Chengzhi's office.

A loud 'slap' was still heard on the door despite it being able to absorb sound. Jian Yi went in and slammed the door behind him. "Qi Chengzhi, what's the meaning of this?"

"What exactly are you talking about?" Calm and unruffled, Qi Chengzhi leaned back in his chair and sported a very cold expression.

"Why did you fire me without even informing me?! What's the reason?" Jian Yi asked angrily. The email stated that his dismissal was effective immediately.

"Chengyue will talk to you about the specifics regarding the divorce," Qi Chengzhi explained coldly. He then picked up the phone on his desk. "Dongge, tell security to clear up the things in Jian Yi's office."

Jian Yi's eyes were wide open. "Divorce?"

Qi Chengzhi looked at him expressionlessly before narrowing his eyes and speaking in his cold voice. "Did you think that you could keep hiding your affair with Guan Xiaolin from us? Chengyue and the Qi family will not accept you, you humiliating thing."

Jian Yi froze immediately, unable to say a single word as of that moment.

"Just to let you know, everything that you have now is given by Chengyue. But, since you've already made preparations to become the Guan family's son-in-law, you probably won't care much for a meager manager's position at Qilin." Qi Chengzhi's tone was devoid of emotion, but full of derision. He pointed at the door and ordered, "Get out."

Jian Yi's hand formed a tight fist. His dark eyes stared intently at Qi Chengzhi, and his voice became much graver. "If I'm fired and Qi Chengyue divorces me, there's nothing you can hold against me anymore. I've nothing more to lose. I'll just tell Song Yu's parents that you're the one who caused their bankruptcy! If I can't have it good, I'll make sure you suffer, too!"

He expected his words to provoke Qi Chengzhi and make the latter's expression crack, but Qi Chengzhi's mien did not change at all. A calm statement came instead. "Song Yu's pregnant."

Jian Yi was completely stunned. He clenched his jaw so strongly that he nearly crushed his own teeth.

A simple sentence was all it took for him to ascertain what Qi Chengzhi was hinting at. Nothing else needed to be said.

Since Song Yu was pregnant, her parents would not let her divorce him in that condition, regardless of angry they might be. As parents, they had to take into account their daughter's feelings, and for them, they would rather suffer the injustice rather than letting their daughter suffer the same.

The one thing Jian Yi really wanted to do was to punch Qi Chengzhi directly in the face.

In the end, though, he turned away in ire and stormed out of Qi Chengzhi's office.

He did not go back to his department, but rather, to the finance department.

The secretary at the door stood up and greeted him, "Jian…"

"Is Qi Chengyue in?" Jian Yi cut her off before he even stopped walking.

"Yes," came the response, and Jian Yi barged into Qi Chengyue's office immediately. Qi Chengyue was just placing a man's handkerchief on the table. Jian Yi glanced at it briefly before looking at Qi Chengyue.

"You're divorcing me?" Jian Yi asked mockingly.

Qi Chengyue supported herself on the back of her chair and looked at him. The thought of him sleeping with Guan Xiaolin and fathering Guan Xiaolin's child brought about a feeling of disgust as well as disappointment. Her heart was in so much agony that it could stop at any time. Her abdomen was retracted as well.

Her face was somewhat pale, but she took a deep breath and said, "Find a time, get all the necessary documents, and we'll go to the Civil Administration Bureau."

"If I don't agree?" Jian Yi's lips twitched vindictively and he smirked. "If I keep delaying you just like how you kept delaying me last time? Do you remember what you told me then? If you can't give me happiness, then I won't give you happiness either. Since you insist on divorcing me to get your own happiness, I'll make sure not to let you have it."

"In that case, we'll go to court." Qi Chengyue gripped the back of the chair so forcefully that her fingers were looking pale. "Since Guan Xiaolin's already pregnant, she wouldn't let you delay this too long."

A soft chuckle from Jian Yi. "It's not that we can't go ahead with the divorce. I want half of the shares you own in Qilin. If you give that to me, I'll agree immediately. I'll even wait for you at the bureau tomorrow."

Qi Chengyue tightened her grip on the chair even more, to the point where her arm was trembling.

Even until the very end, his conditions were all to do with money and more money!

"Jian Yi, all throughout our relationship, you pursued me and you married me. All this time, was your love for me only the size of a pinhead?" Qi Chengyue released her grip from the chair and asked.

Jian Yi snickered. "If you're willing to give me what I want, I'm happy to give you what you want. Even if it's all faked."

Qi Chengyue's pupils widened, and all of a sudden, she walked past her table and raised her hand to give him a tight slap. Unfortunately, he grabbed her wrist just as she was about to hit him.

He knew not how to cherish her or even acknowledge their relationship as husband-and-wife. His grip on her was so hard that it hurt her.

Qi Chengyue frowned but did not want to show any sign of weakness. Jian Yi then flung her hand away.

"Jian Yi, I won't agree to it! With this divorce, you'll leave the Qi family just as you came. Don't even think about getting a single cent from our family!" Qi Chengyue's disgust was unimaginable, and she looked at Jian Yi as if he was just some filthy little insect. "You're way too shameless! These things originally belong to the Qi family, and yet you have the decency in wanting to take all that away."

"If you don't give it to me, then you'd better not expect me to sign my name so happily. My request is simple, which is half of your shares. If you give them to me, I'll divorce you immediately. If not, then keep waiting! In truth, I'm an easy problem to settle as long as you give me the money, so why don't you just do it?" Jian Yi laughed derisively and did not seem to care that he was displaying his greed so openly in front of her.

"I won't do it! Why must I give my family's things to a disgusting person like you! You want to skim whatever you can from me with this divorce, am I right? Keep on dreaming! I was stupid in the past to let you take advantage of me, but from now onward, don't even think about getting anything from me! My family has worried enough for me, and I won't ever let them give a single cent to people like you! If you can't even be a man and divorce me properly, then I'll see you in court!" Qi Chengyue looked directly into his eyes and exclaimed resentfully. There was an unwavering determination in her voice, and she gave him no leeway to twist her words.

Jian Yi shot her a glance and mocked her, "Let's wait and see, then."

Once he finished, he left without even looking at her.

He slammed the door, with the resulting sound stopping Qi Chengyue's hearts in her tracks.

She could never forget Jian Yi's completely emotionless eyes—they turned a murderous red just because he did not get what he wanted. He was no doubt a greedy animal!

Qi Chengyue crouched down helplessly, with her back leaning against her work desk. Tears began flowing out without the slightest warning.

How could she ever have been attracted to that man?

The sobbing started, prompting her to lower her head and bury her face in her palms.

…

…

No words could accurately describe the flaming inferno inside of Jian Yi's heart. He worked hard for everything, yet ended up with nothing.

Dejected, he walked to the elevator and smashed the up button. The door opened and Cheng Dongge was coming out, but the latter stopped for a moment after laying eyes on Jian Yi. He glanced momentarily at Jian Yi and retracted his gaze, then walked out of the elevator and past Jian Yi.

Before entering the elevator, Jian Yi turned and looked briefly at the direction Cheng Dongge was heading.

…

…

Qi Chengyue felt a hand touching the back of her hand. She kept her head buried in her hands and said, without looking up, "Leave me alone."

"Young Master Cheng told me to come down and tell you that Jian Yi's been fired as of immediately. Security is clearing out his office." Cheng Dongge's voice seemed very close to her.

Qi Chengyue froze for a moment before wiping away her tears in haste. There seemed to be no use, however, as her face was still wet.

"Why must you always see me at my ugliest? Can't you just silently leave if you see me like this?" Qi Chengyue was peeved, for the man did not seem to know how to comprehend a woman's state of mind.

He gave her another handkerchief as she vented. It was the same brand as before, but differed in having a brown-and-white checkered pattern.

His thumb was laying on top of the handkerchief, and even his thumb seemed much longer than the short and stout thumb of countless other people. His nails were neatly cut, and the base of his pinkish nails even had a white moon-like shape.

Without a doubt, his hands were very beautiful.

Qi Chengyue took the handkerchief and was somewhat annoyed that he did not go away when he saw her at her worst. Whatever that happened the day before was embarrassing, but he had seen her during times where she was much uglier than that.

She used the handkerchief to wipe away all her tears, then placed it to her nose and blew her mucus into it. A loud sound was produced, making her feel disgusted at herself. She turned away from Cheng Dongge, but his expression was so vacuous that she wondered if he even felt disgusted by her.

Qi Chengyue blew her nose a few times and cleared it thoroughly, but her voice still sounded a bit muffled. "Why didn't you knock before you came in?"

"I did. You just didn't hear it," Cheng Dongge cocked a brow and replied honestly.

Qi Chengyue was silent.

She stood up, looked at the sorry handkerchief, and remembered the one he gave her the day before. She already had it cleaned and was prepared to return to him. She grabbed it from her table and handed it to him, saying, "Thank you for yesterday. And this one…"

Qi Chengyue then raised the snot-filled handkerchief and remarked bashfully, "I'll wash it for you."

Cheng Dongge took the clean one and nodded before leaving her be.

…

…

Wei Minghao's birthday celebration was also the day that Qi Chengze's death was remembered. He was the most inferior amongst all the grandchildren, at least compared to Qi Chengzhi and Qi Chenglin. Qi Chengji was too young back then for a proper comparison to be made. There was nothing positive about Qi Chengze, other than his upholding of the Qi family name.

Be that as it may, he was still a part of the Qi family—their grandson, son, and sibling. He was already dead, and no one held any grudge against him for what he did during his lifetime. On the morning of his anniversary, the entire family went to visit his grave.

Wei Minghao's birthday coincided with Qi Chengze's death anniversary, but because it was the birthday of the Wei family's patriarch and by virtue of both families' status as part of the Eight Great Families, it was impossible for the Wei family not to invite the Qi family over. In the same vein, the Qi family could not decline that invitation.