Mu Jingzhe felt that she had made herself clear and adequately supported her stance with valid reasons.

  However, Shao Qihai frowned when he heard that. “No, Jingzhe. Even if there were other reasons for our marriage at first and we didn’t fall in love freely, marriage is not a joke. How can we get married casually and then get a divorce now that you claim you’ve thought it through? I’ve never thought of getting a divorce. Why on earth would you want a divorce?”

  Was it because of Ji Buwang? It would be understandable if it was because of Ji Buwang. Shao Qihai prepared himself mentally and was about to confirm this with difficulty when he heard Mu Jingzhe speak.

  “Isn’t it obvious? You have Mu Xue in your heart and you don’t like me. Of course we have to get a divorce.”

  Although Mu Jingzhe hadn’t told Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng yet, judging from their expressions just now, they probably wouldn’t object.

  She had already been a widow, so getting a divorce wouldn’t be a big deal. She could just be a divorced woman.

  However, being a divorced woman was nothing. The biggest problem was that she couldn’t bear to part with the children.

  Mu Jingzhe was conflicted about the matter of the children, while Shao Qihai felt very helpless. “Of course not. Mu Xue and I ended our relationship a long time ago. In the past… we weren’t free to date either. Don’t think too much.”

  Shao Qihai was telling the truth. Although everyone had started to pursue their freedom to love, this was still a far cry from the freedom to love in the modern era.

  This so-called freedom to love was actually just a man and a woman glancing at each other before the matchmaker helped propose marriage successfully.

  Back then, he had only interacted with Mu Xue a few times. Being from the same village, they knew each other’s background well. When they’d felt attracted to each other and confirmed that both parties were interested, he had directly invited the matchmaker.

  In other villages, couples might roll around in the corn fields and stuff like that, but that was a rare occurrence in Great Eastern Village. He and Mu Xue had never done anything like that.

  \r \r \r

  Later on, because of Xiao Wu, Mu Xue had regretted it. Plus, Mu Jingzhe and Li Zhaodi had made a move just then, so he’d married Mu Jingzhe. Although he hadn’t forgotten Mu Xue at first, he had known in his heart that things were over between them.

  After his fake death, he hadn’t thought of Mu Xue much. Later on, the one he’d thought about the most, mentioned the most, and paid the most attention to was Mu Jingzhe.

  Thanks to Jiang Feng’s constant nagging, he had dreamt of living happily ever after with Mu Jingzhe in the future. After all, Mu Jingzhe had always known about his relationship with Mu Xue. He hadn’t expected Mu Jingzhe to suddenly mind about this.

  Shao Qihai explained seriously, but it was true that he’d had Mu Xue in his heart before. Besides, Mu Jingzhe was really not prepared to continue being married to a man who was practically a stranger to her.

  “It’s not entirely because of Mu Xue. It’s because I’m not ready to live with you yet.”

  As Shao Qihai looked at Mu Jingzhe’s conflicted face, he couldn’t help but think of Ji Buwang. Ji Buwang was outstanding and treated her well, so it was normal for Mu Jingzhe to be moved.

  It was normal, yet he felt terrible. It was this discomfort that made him put himself in her shoes.

  Mu Jingzhe knew that he’d had Mu Xue in his heart back then and must have felt as terrible as him. That was why she had proposed a divorce now, right?

  If that was the case, then Mu Jingzhe wasn’t wrong. Shao Qihai looked at Mu Jingzhe, his heart filled with guilt and bitterness. “I’m really sorry for what happened previously, Jingzhe, but I’ve really forgotten about Mu Xue now. I just want to lead a good life with you. I know that it’s my fault for faking my death over the past year. Can you give me another chance? Don’t mention the divorce for the time being.”

  Since it had been more than a year, it wouldn’t be unreasonable even if Mu Jingzhe had a change of heart and wished to remarry. Therefore, Shao Qihai only wanted to fight for another chance. He didn’t want Mu Jingzhe to give him the death sentence and ask for a divorce right away.

  Mu Jingzhe glanced at him, not quite believing that he no longer had Mu Xue in his heart. “If you’re worried that a divorce would be bad for you, you can rest assured. In the future, more and more people will get a divorce. Marrying for the second time…” Upon thinking that if they divorced this time, it wouldn’t be Shao Qihai’s second marriage, Mu Jingzhe quickly changed her words. “Marrying for the third time is no big deal, really. ”

  As she spoke, Mu Jingzhe’s tone became a little awkward. A second marriage might not be a big deal, but a third marriage was indeed a little overboard. Even in modern times, it was taboo for people to hear about someone marrying for the third time.

  Guessing that Shao Qihai was probably concerned about this aspect, Mu Jingzhe could only change the subject. “Actually, regardless of whether one gets a divorce or marries for the second or third time, people will always be talking about it. But you don’t have to be too bothered by those things. Live your own life. You know best whether you’re happy or not.”

  Mu Jingzhe clenched her fist to give Shao Qihai courage. “You don’t have to be afraid. You can bravely get a divorce. You’ve experienced so many hardships, so you should know that happiness is rare and precious. Life is very short. Rather than pay attention to this gossip, why don’t you bravely pursue love and make up for your past regrets?”

  Mu Jingzhe’s words were hinting at something.

  Shao Qihai felt dizzy upon hearing Mu Jingzhe’s words. “What regrets? I really don’t want a divorce.”

  “Mu Xue.” Seeing that Shao Qihai was still pretending, Mu Jingzhe could only make it clear. “There’s no one else here, so let’s be frank. Let’s not beat around the bush. Although we’re married, we’re not husband and wife. Isn’t it because you still remember Mu Xue?

  “The two of us don’t like each other, so why force ourselves to be together? We can just get a divorce. Then, you can pursue happiness, pick up where you left off with her, and have more children in the future.”

  Mu Jingzhe was secretly instigating Shao Qihai to be brave. Since he had regained his freedom after escaping death, he should bravely pursue love and continue his relationship with Mu Xue. Wouldn’t that be perfect? They would live happily ever after like in the novel, and she would take care of Little Bei and the rest.

  In that case, when he got married to Mu Xue and had another child, they wouldn’t have to worry about favoring one child over another. It wouldn’t be fair for the children to compete for favor. Mu Xue also wouldn’t have to go through the difficult situation of being a stepmother. Splendid, wasn’t it?

  Speaking of that, it was really strange. Tang Moling and Mu Xue were no longer together, and the plot had collapsed terribly. In the end, Shao Qihai had even returned. Did this mean that Mu Xue and Shao Qihai were truly fated to be together?

  It was entirely possible. Mu Xue was currently feeling sad. However, her first love had suddenly come back from the dead to love her again. This would warm her heart. Hear, hear. Wasn’t it wonderful?

  Shao Qihai was Mu Xue’s first love. One’s first love was always different.

  The more Mu Jingzhe thought about it, the more she felt that this was the best opportunity. “Shao Qihai, what do you think of what I said? It’s alright, you can go with peace of mind…”

  She was about to point out the most important part, which was that he could leave the children to her, when Shao Qihai couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted her.

  “Mu Jingzhe, that’s enough. Stop talking.”

  Shao Qihai was really a little angry. He could understand why she had suddenly asked for a divorce. After all, he had been wrong in the past. However, before the divorce had even been finalized, she had already asked him to remarry. Her eager eyes were shining as though she wished that he and Mu Xue could get together immediately. This made him feel very upset.

  Even if she had fallen for Ji Buwang and wanted to marry him, there was no need to arrange for him to leave, right?

  Judging from the way she was behaving, she really didn’t want him to be alive.

  Shao Qihai’s interruption forced the excited Mu Jingzhe to calm down. She took a careful look at him and asked, “Are you angry?”