Chapter 38  

Standing at the entrance of the Department of Civil Affairs, Jia Shao's soul returned with the glare of the sun. She looked at the red marriage certificate in her hand and could not believe the reality of what had just happened.

Ten minutes ago, she signed her name on the application form under the urging of the group of people.

Five minutes ago, she was pressed down to sit on the bench to take a photo with Zhen Lang.

Now looking at her name on the marriage certificate, she has the feeling of wanting to cry. In her 25 years of living, today she only truly and deeply understands that putting down her signature means she is legally responsible for her actions.

In the photo, Zhen Lang looked very handsome in his western suit and sitting next to him, she was wearing her wrinkled T-shirt. It is afraid that they must be the most mismatched couple in the history of the Department of Civil Affairs. Her appearance was too ugly.

*Pa!* Jia Shao lifted her hand and gave herself a slap.

What is she thinking? She is still thinking of whether she looks beautiful in the photo? Does she still care about how matching she and Zhen Lang appear in the photo? She should actually be thinking of how to solve the problem of this little red booklet in her hands!

"Is there a fly on your face?" The calm voice of the man echoed in her ear and his hand lightly rested on her shoulder pressing down the body whose soul had wandered off. "The car is on the left."

"Oh......." Unconsciously she responded. Still holding the marriage certificate in her hands, she fantasized herself changing into Superman, flying into space to simply burn the booklet and act as if nothing had happened.

A burst of clear laughter floated around. "You've forgotten something."

Forgotten something?

She looked down at herself......T-shirt, a pair of flip-flops, wallet, and keys in her pocket....... There is nothing missing, but now she has additional items......a red booklet and a small beautiful box.

"Nothing is missing." She muttered and once again stared at the marriage certificate in her hands with a fierce and murderous look.

There was a burst of laughter and Zhen Lang's teasing voice drifted over. "Son, your mother doesn't want you anymore."

"Wu......Wa......Oh!......"

Ah! The baby!!!

Hurriedly, Jia Shao turned her face sideways and saw Zhen Lang carrying the baby with one hand. The baby's big head was resting on his shoulder and the baby was gripping his shirt button, studying it.

"Let me." She wanted to take back the baby and as her fingers touched the soft body, the baby twisted his waist and held on tightly to the button. The baby's face was distorted and showed a look of despair.

Zhen Lang put his arm around her waist and naturally lowered his head with a smile. "Let me carry him."

"Let him do it. Since he is willing to change and be responsible for both mother and child. You should let him interact with the child more."

"That's right. It's good to see the close relationship between father and son."

"Yes, a man who is willing to take responsibility is a good man. We've done something good."

Jia Shao turned around and her mouth twitched. "You are still here?"

There was a crowd behind them, standing neatly in three to four rows on the steps like they were taking a group photo. It was a magnificent sight.

"Seeing both of you get married made us feel happier than when we were getting married."

Jia Shao swayed and her eyes shifted to the faces of the couple who was filing for a divorce. The two people were hugging each other. "Wife, let's not get a divorce, okay?"

"Then will you give me your bank card, all your property, and all your shares?"

"If I have, I'll give it all to you. Anyway, I don't have any at this time."

The two people showed off their love and everything seemed so harmonious, so happy. Only Jia Shao felt like cursing in foul language.

"Wife, let's go home." Zhen Lang's words made Jia Shao shiver. In the warm morning of May, she could actually feel as if she was in an ice cave.

Wife.......she had become the wife of this bastard. Heaven really has no eyes.......

"This!" She tugged Zhen Lang's clothes and held up the small booklet that was piercing to the eyes. "How can I terminate this?"

"Terminate?!!"

Without waiting for Zhen Lang's reply, the group of people behind them exploded with loud cries of alarm and shock which fortunately did not burst Jia Shao's eardrums.

"Right." Jia Shao said helplessly. "Vet, let's go and get a divorce."

"Divorce?!!!"

Voices from the crowd grew even louder. Jia Shao looked up at the gold signboard of the Department of Civil Affairs and was afraid the loud voices would cause it to fall down.

"You are not sincere." Zhen Lang's expression showed his grief. "You took my property, took my bank card, took my shares and now you toss me away. I'm abandoned after the chaos*.

(The Chinese words used here 'Shi Luan Zhong Qi' - 'Abandoned after the chaos' is actually to describe the unethical behavior of a man who abandons a woman after playing with her. ZL turned the table on JS and use the same words to describe her.)

"That's correct. Abandoned after the chaos!" The crowd shouted in unison.

"I......" Jia Shao's head was buzzing and felt really helpless. "When did I take your bank card?"

Immediately, Zhen Lang took out his wallet and without blinking his eyes, pulled out a stack of glittering gold and shiny silver cards and stuffed them into Jia Shao's hands. "For you."

(This story was written years ago, so gold and silver cards were considered premier cards before the appearance of other premier cards like platinum cards, etc.)

"Miss, although he had let you down in the beginning, he had regretted it. If you feel unhappy, you can throw a temper but divorce is not something to joke about."

"That's right! That's right! Both of you just got married for less than ten minutes. Why talk about divorce?"

"Now you're a couple, you should go home happily."

Just now, didn't they convince her to marry him to get his assets and then file for divorce to teach this immoral man a lesson? How did they change direction in a blink of an eye?

Looking at the group of 'enthusiastic' people, Jia Shao clearly understood that she could not have a proper discussion with Zhen Lang and so she angrily stared at him without saying a word.

"W-i-f-e......." Once again, someone dragged his word and placed his arm around her shoulders. "Shall we find a place to celebrate?"

Celebrate? Is this settling scores in addition to finding a solution?

The crowd of people smiled and waved at them as Jia Shao got into the car reluctantly and left after receiving an avalanche of blessings and good wishes.

The car stopped in front of a high-end restaurant. Zhen Lang looked at his watch, switched off the engine and said to her. "Come, let's have something to eat."

"Only ghosts will celebrate with you." Jia Shao blurted out.

His smile became wider and he picked up the baby from her arms. "It is noon...... time for lunch."

"I want to go home for lunch." She did not want to stay with him for a moment longer. Her brains were all knotted into a mess.

"Okay." Zhen Lang was very compliant. "Let's go home and tell this good news to our parents."

Jia Shao was stunned. Silently, she pushed the door opened and got down from the car.

If their parents were to know, she is afraid she will never be able to separate from Zhen Lang for the rest of her life. No......she must persuade him and settle this farce before their parents become aware of this.

"Let's eat." She laughed foolishly. "My treat."

"No." His fingers hooked up her chin and lightly withdrew. To her, his handsome smile seemed to be full of evil. "The first meal between husband and wife, no matter what, should be paid by me."

She no longer continued to argue with him on this issue but concentrated all her energy on the food in front of her. In her mind, she constantly reflected on why things became like this.......why did it become like this?

"The way you eat is scarier than the baby."

She absentmindedly looked up and found Zhen Lang holding a soup bowl in one hand and his other hand was holding a spoon. The baby was sitting in a baby chair next to him, very happily drinking the fish soup that Zhen Lang was feeding him.

In front of her, the food was scattered all over the table and a few grains of rice were sticking on her body.

"You.......why did you plot against me?!" She stopped moving the chopsticks in her hand and said in an angry voice. "Don't think I don't know. You did that deliberately."

Zhen Lang blew on the soup in the spoon and carefully fed it to the baby. Without even lifting his head, he replied. "No, I didn't."

"I don't believe you!"

He stopped his actions and his eyes were full of smiles. "Really, I didn't."

"Then why did you lie to me about you and Bai Wei applying for a certificate?" She said accusingly.

"Bai Wei bought a house from me and as her classmate, shouldn't I help her?" He felt wronged. "A property ownership certificate is also a certificate."

Property...... Ownership...... Certificate........

Her face darkened. "Then......then why do you need your registration booklet? Why is the property ownership certificate registration done at the marriage registration counter?"

"After we had moved, I have always been in another province. Since I'm back, of course, I should update the details. The same goes for yours. Jia Ma said she is busy and told me to help change yours as well. Anyway, Zhen Family is still capable of handling this kind of minor matter and it is not necessary for Jia Ma to get this done personally." The expression on his face was so perfect that not a flaw could be found. "As for Bai Wei's presence in the marriage registry, it is because the house she bought is her private property before her marriage, so she has to get a certificate to prove she is single. If she doesn't go to the marriage registry to extract the information, how is she going to apply for the certificate?"

Certificate......on......unmarried......status........

An invisible thunderbolt struck her on the head and Jia Shao seethed with anger.

"If there is nothing between the both of you, why did she buy a house here?" They were university classmates and they were separated by thousands of miles. She purposely came to his hometown to buy a house and to say that there is nothing between them.......who will believe them?

Suddenly, he choked and broke out in a series of coughs, then he rubbed the corners of his eyes. "Bai Wei and I are high school classmates, same grade but not the same class. She is born and bred here. Don't tell me you don't even know this?"

High school classmates? Born and bred here?

She scratched her head that was filled with confusion and pulled a dark face. "During high school, all the females were hoodwinked by you. I have always been alone, how would I know?"

The girls in her class had always run away from her when they saw her, not to mention the girls from the other classes. She was not even clear how many girls were in her class, so how would she pay attention to other classes?

"Then why did she appear at your house?" Jia Shao was reluctant to let go and vowed to get to the bottom of this.

Putting down the bowl, he wiped the baby's mouth and then gently picked up the baby to pat his back. "I gave her a 20% discount and she came to thank my parents. My parents invited her to stay for dinner."

"She was cooking in your house!" This......definitely is not something a guest will do, right?

The baby let out a loud burp and then Zhen Lang put him back into the baby chair to let him play. "She had learned to cook two foreign dishes and said she wanted to let my parents try something new. You know my parents are like two curious babies. Of course, they went along with her."

Such a reasonable explanation but such an unreasonable ending. How can she endure this?

"What you mean is that everything is coincidental?" Jia Shao was completely speechless. Is this the meaning of Heaven playing tricks on people? Is this the meaning of Heaven making a mess of people's lives? Why is her life so miserable?!!!

"No......" Zhen Lang shook his finger in front of her and seriously stared at her. " This is called 'self-inflicted sins, unable to escape'*.

(Self-inflicted sins, unable to live means that a person who had created a disaster or problem cannot escape and must bear the consequences.)

Self-inflicted sins, unable to escape.......

Who told her to harbor the intention of making fun of him? Who told her to think about destroying other people's marriage? As a result, now she had bungled the whole matter.

Zhen Lang picked up the bowl of rice and began to eat elegantly. Jia Shao's eyes were shifting around and laughingly said. "Vet, can we discuss this?"

Zhen Lang savored the food in front of him as if the dishes were very delicious and his expression was very pleasant.

Jia Shao was sitting restlessly, twisting around as if she was sitting on a sore. From time to time, she would look at him with expectation.

After a long wait, Zhen Lang finally put down the bowl in his hand and she started to speak again. "Let's discuss......."

He lifted his fingers and wiped his mouth with a paper towel. "We can discuss anything but I don't have plans to divorce in my life."

Just those words.......destroyed all her hopes.

"After taking all my possessions, now you plan to toss me aside?"

She quickly fished out the stack of cards and the notarized document. "I'll give this to you. I'll give everything to you."

Zhen Lang glanced briefly at them but did not any move to take them. "Once goods have gone out, they cannot be returned."

What he meant was......he had entered her door and he did not intend to be kicked out?

"But......" She was still trying her best to struggle. "We are really not suitable for each other."

"Not suitable?" Zhen Lang lifted his eyebrows. "Do I look ugly?"

Jia Shao shook her head. If he is ugly, then more than 90% of the country's population should be sent to the zoo.

"Then am I poor?"

Again she shook her head. Isn't he the Diamond of Bachelors*? A person such as him, how can he be considered as poor?

(Diamond Bachelor refers to an unmarried man who is above 30, has a lot of money and a successful career. The actual meaning of JS is that ZL is a diamond among bachelors, so he as a diamond has high value, so cannot be considered as poor.)

"Then don't I know how to do housework?"

"Yes! You're very good at it."

The food that he cooks makes her reluctant to move after every meal and the house is kept spotlessly clean. He is definitely good at housework.

"Then do I have bad habits?"

What is self-discipline, what is strength, what is strictness? All referred to this kind of person. Jia Shao shook her head so much that she felt a little dizzy.

"Just now, I had taken care of the baby. My skills are considered good, right?"

Jia Shao looked at the happy babysitting in the chair who was laughing foolishly and nodded weakly.

"So, can I be considered a good choice as a husband?"

She propped up her head and realized she could not find any faults with him.

"Yes."

"That settles it." Zhen Lang called the waiter for the bill. He got up and patted Jia Shao who was still in deep thoughts. "Wife, you must live well in the future!"

Jia Shao: "Ah........"