In the late autumn evening, lightning tore across the night sky, illuminating the small and cozy house. The thunder roared and the subsequent vibrations pounded the earth beneath.
Shen Yan had just coaxed her daughter into taking medicine, carefully tucking her in bed. She was about to leave with her bag when the room door was suddenly banged open.
Jiang Mingcheng, reeking of alcohol, intruded violently. A bloodthirsty savageness filled his handsome face.
"How did you get here?" A startled Shen Yan subconsciously stepped back, blocking her daughter's bedroom door.
"If I hadn't come, would you have kept this secret forever?" Jiang Mingcheng belched out a disgusting stench on her face, angrily roared, "If it wasn't for Xiaoyu's kindness to tell me, Shen Yan, I would have no idea that you've been playing this game behind my back!"
"Here it comes!" Fearfully Shen Yan took a step back, tightening her arms around herself and whispering in a low voice, "My daughter is my flesh and blood, Mingcheng, how can you ..."
"So, you are deceiving me, huh?" The man suddenly advanced, his strong hand gripping her thin neck, roaring in rage: "Three years ago, I told you we could live well without the bastard. You agreed nicely at the time. But what happened?"
"Live well?" Shen Yan echoed in a mutter, slowly sketching a self-mocking smile at the corner of her mouth.
He was her husband, yet he treated her like an enemy!
Shortly after their marriage, he fell into a financial crisis and nearly ended up in jail. She reluctantly agreed to bear a child for a stranger to earn money and fill the gap.
Unexpectedly, she bore a daughter who was despised by their employer, thrown out along with the child.
At that time, she was only 23 years old. Holding her child, she had nowhere to go and had to return to him. She fell into such a desperate situation for him, always hoping he would consider the sacrifices she made for him, to provide a meal for her daughter.
But instead, he was about to flush the child down the toilet, maliciously stating, "I will never raise this bastard, I will never let the world know I got a child!"
She wept, clung to his leg, pleading continuously until her forehead was bleeding. Finally, he agreed to spare her daughter's life, promising to abandon her, to let her fend for herself.
Unbearably, she secretly took her child back and hid her, nursing her for three years, visiting her once a week.
But now, the child was discovered, revealed by her own good sister, Shen Yu.
Sacrificing for love, only for her husband to cheat with her own sister after the fact. Such a marriage was better off without!
Shen Yan took a deep breath, gazing emotionlessly at the face of the man she loved for eight years. She straightened her back and said, "Ming Cheng, I will never give up my daughter in this life and you probably can't give up Shen Yu. So, let's not drag this out, let's divorce!"
"Divorce?" Jiang Mingcheng sarcastically hooked his lips and with wide eyes, lunged at her, saying: "Great! Let's divorce. It's been three years since I even touched you. Once we're legally separated, I will let you go!"
He ruthlessly grabbed her arm and dragged her into the room, shouting from his mouth, "With your daughter right here, once I'm done with you, I will let you go."
Shen Yan could not accept being humiliated in front of her daughter. She struggled and flailed, biting his wrist. Enraged, he slapped her across the face.
"Behave, or I'll ruin your daughter too!"
His beast-like words stabbed into her like a sharp knife. She felt her blood rushing to her head. She didn't recognize what her hand grabbed, but it hit him squarely in the face, cracking his forehead open and splattering blood all over her.
"Damn woman, you dare hit me?" He slapped her, numbing half of her face with his hit and causing a buzzing sound in her ear.
He pinned her shoulders and slapped her over and over while hurling insults at her. Shen Yan's face went numb from the blows, and her ears were ringing.
Her hand trembled severely. Staring at the face now foreign and blood-soaked, she clenched her eyes shut and again smacked him hard.
Suddenly, a weight lifted off her. She trembled as she opened her eyes, taking a frightened breath. He was not dead.
She knew Jiang Mingcheng could wake up any time, so she dare not stay any longer. Gasping for breath, she kicked the man off her, taking her child and fleeing in panic.
She held her daughter and waited by the roadside, unable to hail a car. The rain soaked her clothes and her head felt heavy as if on the verge of fainting, her mind too jumbled to hear the honking of a car.
When the car hit her, she instinctively clutched the child tighter and rolled a few times on the ground. When her eyes fluttered open, a pair of black shoes stopped in front of her.
She looked up and saw a man holding a black umbrella. His well-defined face was perfect - a high nose, thin lips, and deep black eyes glaring at her, exuding an aloof aura.
She struggled to move her body and extended her hand towards him, hoping he would help her up. However, he furrowed his brows and took a step back, avoiding her.
A bolt of lightning flashed by, blinding her temporarily. Her child cried out in fright, but the man stood beyond her reach, and sarcastically asked: "How much money do you want? Name your price?"
