—The abandoned wife.
This remark was utterly dripping with sarcasm.
Yan Xun felt that he should be angry, but he really didn’t have any emotional connection to the labels of “married” and “abandoned wife.”
So at this moment, his strongest feeling was that Zhou Ze must have taken something to make him so sharp-tongued and sarcastic today.
The “abandoned wife” lying on the hospital bed stared at him for a few seconds and calmly said, “Hospitals don’t allow smoking.”
“…”
The man’s cool move to light a cigarette instantly froze.
“Fine—”
He was about to put the cigarette back into the pack, but midway through the motion, he hesitated and then casually tossed it into the trash.
Only after seeing him discard the cigarette did Yan Xun continue, “Go on.”
Zhou Ze quickly shook off the awkwardness just now and snorted, “I told you long ago that that pretty boy isn’t reliable, but you were so infatuated at the time, as if your soul had been completely stolen by him. And now look at the outcome.”
At this point, Zhou Ze finally sat down on the chair, even propping up his leg in a leisurely manner, and said with schadenfreude, “Hey, here you are in the hospital, barely alive, and he’s out there living it up. You can’t even get through to him on the phone!”
“…”
Yan Xun, with no memory, naturally had nothing to say.
After a long silence, he stared at Zhou Ze with a blank expression and asked, “Done laughing?”
“…”
Being stared at like this by Yan Xun, Zhou Ze instinctively put his leg down.
Many years ago, when Zhou Ze was still a chubby kid, he was often bullied by a gang of teenage thugs. At the time, Yan Xun, wearing a backpack and a red scarf, happened to pass by and beat the seven or eight big guys so badly that they were crying for their mothers.
Since then, Zhou Ze had developed an inexplicable admiration for Yan Xun, similar to the way young boys look up to a big brother during their teenage years. He even stubbornly forged a deep friendship with the usually solitary Yan Xun over the years.
So, even though he was upset, Zhou Ze never intended to kick his old friend when he was down.
After a moment of silence, he spoke up, “Anyway, you did get into Capital University back then, but I… I went abroad. Then, while you were attending university here, I was studying overseas.”
“I remember you being quite famous at university. You participated in some competitions, won some awards, and later did some other work, making quite a bit of money.”
“Afterward, you sent Aunt Lin and Lin Ran abroad, saying it was so she could accompany your brother in receiving treatment, fitting a prosthetic limb, and undergoing rehabilitation abroad.”
This was probably the best news Yan Xun had heard since waking up. His heart suddenly raced, and he felt a rush of warmth through his body.
“Really?”
Zhou Ze looked at him steadily for a few seconds, his tone softening a bit, “Yes, really.”
As someone who grew up with Yan Xun, he knew all too well about Yan Xun’s family situation and how this had always been his wish.
“When I returned to the country, I was originally planning to hang out with you, but then you went off to spend time with your girlfriend. Damn, you really let me down for the sake of love.”
Zhou Ze got angry just talking about it.
“What?”
Yan Xun was stunned, “…Girlfriend?”
“Yeah, that senior you had a crush on in high school.”
Zhou Ze snorted, “I told you back then you liked her, but you wouldn’t let me say it. But that’s not even the worst part. I really didn’t expect that after secretly liking her for so many years, you dumped her just a few months after getting together.”
“…”
Yan Xun felt like he was hearing someone else’s story—it was beyond bizarre.
“Why?”
“Because you got distracted, you jerk.”
Zhou Ze’s expression and tone were filled with contempt.
Yan Xun: “…”
“Distracted?”
Zhou Ze rolled his eyes, “Who do you think you’re married to now?”
Yan Xun: “…True.”
He still didn’t know the name of his spouse. The news of being married had shocked him so much that he had forgotten to ask earlier.
“So, that person and I are…?”
Zhou Ze made a disgusted sound.
“You fell in love with him at first sight, then you relentlessly pursued him, used every trick in the book, and basically forced him into marrying you.”
Yan Xun: “…???”
Just last year, he had received an award for being an exemplary student, and only yesterday he had helped an elderly lady cross the street. How could he possibly have done such a scummy thing?!
Yan Xun flatly refused to believe it: “That’s impossible!”
“How is it impossible?”
Zhou Ze sneered, “You told me yourself at the time. You even said your man didn’t like you being too close to others and wanted you to cut ties with me.”
At this point, Zhou Ze was practically gnashing his teeth, “And then you… actually deleted me from your life for that damn man!”
“…”
Only at this moment did Yan Xun finally understand why Zhou Ze had been acting so strange today.
It was simply unbelievable, absurd, and ridiculous.
The young man lying in the hospital bed remained stiff for a long time before speaking again, “I’m sorry, Zhou Ze.”
His first words weren’t to question the truth of these claims, but to apologize to his friend.
“It was wrong of me to cut ties with you.”
“…”
Zhou Ze was stunned.
He had been angry for years, had stewed over it for years, and had been sad for years, but he had never expected Yan Xun to apologize so easily.
For a moment, he didn’t know how to react.
The previously lively hospital room suddenly fell silent…
Just then, Zhou Ze’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID—it was another unknown number, and this time, it was a private number.
Zhou Ze initially intended to hang up, but after thinking about it, he decided to answer.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“—Chu Tingyun.”
A man’s voice came through the receiver, clear and pleasant, with a mature magnetism that made even Zhou Ze’s ears itch a little.
But he quickly realized who Chu Tingyun was.
Zhou Ze’s face changed: “You…”
But before he could say anything, the other person continued, “Please inform Yan Xun that since he’s awake, he should come to the Civil Affairs Bureau at 2 p.m. tomorrow so we can finalize the divorce as soon as possible.”
“Divorce?!”
Zhou Ze shot up from his chair, his face immediately darkening.
“Chu Tingyun, are you even human?! Yan Xun was in a car accident and just woke up not long ago, and now he…” has amnesia.
But the other party cut him off and said a few more words before hanging up.
Yan Xun, who had overheard the entire conversation, looked at Zhou Ze’s phone and thought,
—So that person’s name is Chu Tingyun.
But Zhou Ze didn’t notice Yan Xun’s reaction. He seemed stunned by the man’s last few words and only came back to his senses after several seconds.
But the next moment, he was gnashing his teeth and was about to call back immediately.
Ding—
The sound of a text message interrupted his attempt to dial.
Chu Tingyun had sent the exact location—a café next to the Civil Affairs Bureau. The message implied that before they officially handled the paperwork, he and Yan Xun had some things to discuss.
This high-handed attitude made Zhou Ze furious, but when he tried calling back, he found that Chu Tingyun had already blocked him!
“Dammit—!”
These two really are a pair!
Last time, Yan Xun had blocked him using the same routine.
One phone call, one text message, then blocked.
As the past replayed itself, Zhou Ze felt like his hair was about to stand on end.
Yan Xun looked at his friend standing by the bed, whose face was darkened, and whose chest heaved exaggeratedly—clearly, he was really angry.
Reflecting on Zhou Ze’s reply to the call just now, Yan Xun quickly deduced the identity of the caller.
“He called?”
Although he asked, Yan Xun was actually already certain.
“He wants… to divorce me?”
As he said this, the amnesiac Yan Xun wasn’t particularly sad. But Zhou Ze didn’t see it that way; he genuinely believed Yan Xun had fallen for that man to the point of madness.
If they divorced now, how would Yan Xun go on living?
However, the situation was unexpected, and Zhou Ze had taken the call in front of Yan Xun, so there was no way to hide it from him now.
After much internal conflict, Zhou Ze finally decided to tell the truth.
“He said that the divorce was something you had both decided on a long time ago, but it was only delayed because you had a car accident.”
Zhou Ze took a deep breath and sat back down.
“Tomorrow at 2 p.m., go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to finalize the divorce procedures.”
“…Divorce, huh.”
Yan Xun fell into deep thought.
“He won’t even tell me directly that he wants a divorce, and he has to have you relay the message.”
Actually, Yan Xun was just making a statement while he was thinking, but in Zhou Ze’s ears, it sounded like a heartbreaking monologue.
“Yan Xun, don’t worry.”
Zhou Ze didn’t realize that he had already thrown his previous resentment out the window and was now racking his brain on how to comfort his friend.
“Actually, I don’t think divorce is such a bad thing for you…”
Yan Xun didn’t reply. He was deep in thought—
The current situation was that he woke up to find himself married to a man. At the time, he had gone crazy for love, dumped the girlfriend he had secretly liked for years, and even deleted the childhood friend he had grown up with.
In the end, he was dumped by the other party and was about to become a divorced man…
How ridiculous.
Yan Xun closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and asked:
“What’s the reason? Why does he insist on divorcing me?”
“…”
Zhou Ze looked troubled, hesitated for a long time, and seemed unable to say it.
Yan Xun pressed, “Why?”
Zhou Ze stammered:
“Lao Xun, actually, it’s because… you two, um… aren’t very compatible…”
Yan Xun didn’t understand: “Not very compatible?”
Zhou Ze scratched his head: “Ah, it’s just that…”
Even though there were only the two of them in the room, he leaned in closer, as if he were a thief, and whispered to Yan Xun:
“That… you know.”
Yan Xun expressionlessly pushed him away: “I don’t know; say it clearly.”
“It’s just that…”
Zhou Ze was anxious, but he lowered his voice again:
“Just that after being married for a long time, there are always some incompatibilities in life, right? It’s normal. Don’t be sad, and don’t be too hung up on it.”
Yan Xun frowned slightly: “Just because of some daily conflicts and frictions?”
Zhou Ze was speechless: “…Not that kind of friction!”
Yan Xun: “What exactly are you trying to say?”
“…Tsk, since you insist on me being so clear.”
Zhou Ze was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly patted Yan Xun’s shoulder and looked sympathetically at a certain part of him—
“It’s because you’re still so young, but that part of you doesn’t work anymore.”
Yan Xun: “…?”
I’m liking this so far but super confused why the husband would call ZZ if they haven’t been friend for 4 yrs.
Lets not mind the small details XD. But a reasonable explanation would be: since the nurse called the husband who just called ZZ, so the nurse could have told the husband that ZZ was with our MC.