Chapter 64: Thanks for the invitation. I am dead from anger. If you have anything to say, send it with incense and paper.

Tears and smiles fell together upon her face. “A million... isn’t much. I thought... you’d give me more. For example... the title of Mrs. Zhou.”

Zhou Licuan pondered, turning the watch on his wrist. “I... don’t love you. At least for now, you need to leave.”

Jiang Zao couldn’t control her tears, which soaked a large patch on her collar. “Are these words... what you want to say? Or did someone tell you to say them?”

Zhou Licuan thought for a moment and replied, “Someone asked me for these terms. If I’m not mistaken, that person was you, Miss Jiang.”

Jiang Zao bent forward, hands covering her face, her shoulders trembling—uncertain whether she was laughing or crying.

After a long while, she sniffled, pulled a few tissues from the coffee table, and wiped away her tears.

She tidied herself, stood up, and walked out. “Zhou Licuan. I’m no longer angry, but I will never forgive you.”

The moment the door closed, Zhou Licuan felt a stabbing pain in his heart. He bent over, clutching his aching chest, unable to recover for a long time.

He truly couldn’t remember.

Yet he could truly feel it.

The immense attraction that girl held for him, like an addiction pulling at his reason, making him want to see her, possess her at every moment.

Everywhere in the house were traces of another person; gazing at things he couldn’t recall, his heart nonetheless stirred with an unfamiliar, greedy longing.

That pale yellow nightgown, soft and clean—he had never seen it before, yet its touch felt so familiar, as if he’d kissed and embraced it countless times every day.

All these strange things clung relentlessly to his nerves.

Could such intense feelings really be accumulated in just half a year?

But he truly... couldn’t remember...

Now, what mattered most was the company, was Zhou Kuan.

Such an obvious vulnerability lay open, waiting for someone to exploit it. At the very least, he had to protect her, so that after gradually adapting to the shock of these emotions, he could accept her.

...Perhaps... he had used the wrong method...

Why... did it hurt so much...

---

Jiang Zao returned to her room.

Zhou Jiayan, uneasy, hurried to Jiang Zao’s door, only to find Shen Xiaonan there as well.

“Aunt... are you looking for Jiang Zao?”

Shen Xiaonan shook her head. “No, you two talk. Her mood isn’t good—try to comfort her.”

Zhou Jiayan agreed, and Shen Xiaonan went downstairs.

She knocked on Jiang Zao’s door. Jiang Zao was sitting alone on the bed, hugging her knees, curled up.

A few figures flashed downstairs; Zhou Jiayan ran to the window and looked out—it was Zhou Huai talking with Zhou Licuan.

Neither looked well, as though there was some dispute.

Zhou Jiayan poured a glass of water. “My uncle is scolding my brother for your sake—so you can vent your anger. Cheer up, don’t cry yourself sick.”

Jiang Zao took the glass and drank a few sips. “Your brother... doesn’t want me anymore.”

Zhou Jiayan’s expression froze, incredulous. “What do you mean?”

Jiang Zao looked up at her. “Literally. He doesn’t want me anymore.”

With those words, tears rolled down again.

“Zhou Jiayan, I feel like I’m dreaming... Just recently, everything was fine. We even agreed that when he recovered, I’d give him a gift. I bought him a tie clip—he said he’d wear it every day. Zhou Jiayan... Why did it turn out like this...”

She cried bitterly. Zhou Jiayan sat beside her, hesitated, then gently hugged her fragile body. “My brother is such a jerk! Don’t cry, Aunt specially came to see you, afraid you’re not well. After the kidnapping you’ve been weak, and these days you’ve been tirelessly busy with things online day and night. You can’t go on like this...”

Jiang Zao shook her head. “I don’t know what else I can do... Zhou Jiayan, why does it hurt so much... How could Zhou Licuan treat me like this...”

Zhou Jiayan hugged her, crying along. She didn’t know either. Her brother had reverted to that cold, serious self—she was scared too...

“Are you still going to do what’s next? My dad’s reputation online has already collapsed. My mom said after this she wants to divorce Dad—could we use that? And my brother... otherwise...”

Jiang Zao lowered her head, voice heavy. “I will.”

The pain was real, but one couldn’t spend a lifetime paying for today’s sadness. Even if Zhou Licuan didn’t want her, she would finish what needed to be done.

---

Not long after Zhou Jiayan left the room, Jiang Zao called Shen Mushi.

Zhou Licuan had said Shen Mushi nearly broke with him for her; perhaps she’d learn something from him.

After a long conversation, Jiang Zao hung up, disheartened.

“Brother Chuan’s memory loss is temporary. He knows it himself—sometimes familiar fragments flash by; he feels it. I don’t know why he’s being so ruthless, Jiang Zao, you should think carefully.”

“Brother Chuan has prepared some things, which may affect you. If he truly doesn’t want you involved in the Zhou family affairs, it’s best to stay quiet. Maybe after some time, when his memory returns, he’ll seek you out.”

“He wants to arrange a marriage... I’m sorry, Jiang Zao. I didn’t think much at first, thought he was looking for a partner group to cooperate with. The information he has, I helped him find. I’m sorry—I truly didn’t expect this.”

Shen Mushi had no reason to lie to her; unless Zhou Licuan himself wanted it, not even Zhou Huai could have forced Meng Qiaoyuan to marry into the family.

---

Three days later, the second wife of Zhou Group officially announced her divorce from Zhou Kuan.

Zhou Kuan had just caught his breath after the police investigation and hadn’t had a chance to relax before receiving the divorce papers—a blow out of nowhere.

He vented his fury in his home, smashing things until rubbish covered the floor.

Finally, panting, he called his daughter. “Yan Yan, your mother wants to divorce me—is this your doing?”

Zhou Jiayan was with Jiang Zao watching cartoons when she received the call.

Jiang Zao had recently taken a liking to old cartoons—Tom and Jerry, The Mole’s Story, Clever Ikkyu one after another. Even Shen Xiaonan and Zhou Huai, passing by, were drawn in, reminiscing about childhood and youth.

Covering the receiver, Zhou Jiayan nodded to Jiang Zao, then stood by the window to continue the call.

“It wasn’t me, it was you. Mom has endured you for over twenty years. Now, while she’s away, you broadcast your devotion to your first love nationwide. That slap was loud indeed. She’s so proud—how could she keep up that ridiculous marriage?”

Zhou Kuan angrily retorted, “Why not? More than twenty years have passed! Was I unfair to her? Everything she eats, wears, uses—it’s all bought with my money! She says divorce, and that’s it? I won’t agree!”

Zhou Jiayan sighed. “Dad, think carefully. Mom’s divorce is settled. If you don’t agree, sue her. I’ll represent Mom fully in court, and see it through to the end.”