Everyone in the Qin family stood frozen in place.
Usually, these people were exceptionally intelligent and quick-witted. But after hearing Qin Yuhe’s shocking declaration, every one of them seemed to suffer a short circuit in the brain, unable to react.
Qin Yuhe had actually given up his position as head of the Qin family!
Hundreds of millions in wealth, a position of supreme honor, power that towered above all others—he wanted none of it!
He was willing to betray his ancestors, his family, and the entire clan just to be with Song Xinya!
Qin Hanxiao was so furious that his fingers trembled. “With the finest resources in the entire world, our family raised you into nothing but a lovesick fool!”
Qin Yuhe said, “Is ‘lovesick fool’ supposed to be an insult? Compared to those cowards who don’t dare to love, who are afraid of losing and worried about being hurt, people who dare to give their whole hearts, who possess passion and the ability to love, are the truly precious ones.”
“Only those who are sincere and burning with passion can express their feelings with the deepest seriousness. Only they can offer a romance that lasts until death.”
“When a person throws themselves wholeheartedly toward the world, the result is either supreme happiness or rebirth through the flames.”
Qin Yuhe looked at Qin Hanxiao and said, each word deliberate, “A man like you, whose marriage has already failed, shouldn’t try to teach me the compulsory course of marriage. Someone who failed the exam can’t teach a student to get a perfect score.”
Qin Hanxiao’s fury surged. “You’ve made up your mind to betray the entire family today?”
Qin Yuhe did not hesitate in the slightest. “Yes.”
Qin Hanxiao asked, “How long did it take you to make this decision?”
“One second.”
That night, Qin Yuhe had asked Song Xinya about the results of her medical examination. She had said, “There’s nothing wrong. Nothing at all.”
She had paused for that one second, and he had known she was lying.
It was during that very second that he had made his defiant, outrageous decision.
In a single second, he had decided to betray his entire family for her.
Old Master Qin clasped both of Qin Yuhe’s hands. His weathered eyes glistened with tears, and the rims were red.
“Little He, Grandpa hopes you’ll think this through carefully. Don’t let your emotions control you.”
Qin Yuhe clasped the old man’s hands in return. “Grandpa, I only want to ask you one question. If you had encountered the same situation I have, would you have divorced Grandma?”
Old Master Qin remained silent for a long time. Even then, he could not bring himself to say yes.
Qin Yuhe smiled faintly and reminded him, “Grandpa, take good care of Grandma.”
Old Master Qin knew that his grandson had made up his mind. He turned around to face the ancestral tablets in the shrine. His aged voice trembled.
“Qin Yuhe has forgotten his roots and betrayed his ancestors. He will be punished according to family law.”
Qin Yuhe took off his black overcoat and placed the red gift bag containing Song Xinya’s New Year present on top of it.
Then he knelt upright in the center of the ancestral hall.
Qin Hanxiao picked up the discipline whip enshrined above the shrine.
Crack!
The whip landed heavily across Qin Yuhe’s back.
His skin split open, and flesh was torn.
Qin Hanxiao said, “According to clan rules, betraying the family requires forty-eight lashes!”
The discipline whip was made of huanghuali wood. It was sturdy, resistant to cracking and warping, and hard as stone.
One lash after another struck Qin Yuhe’s back.
He wore only a white shirt.
His hands, hanging beside his knees, clenched tightly into fists. The veins on the backs of them bulged and twisted.
He remained kneeling perfectly straight.
He gritted his teeth and made not a sound. He did not utter a single word of pain.
He endured all forty-eight lashes.
The white shirt covering his back had been completely shredded. Bright red blood seeped out in torrents, soaking through the fabric.
He was like a strong, unyielding mountain, his back remaining straight from beginning to end.
Qin Hanxiao put away the discipline whip.
Qin Yuhe rose from the floor and walked over to the red gift bag. With great care, he picked it up and placed it on a clean kneeling cushion.
He put on his black overcoat, covering the blood streaming down his back. He still looked as elegant and handsome as ever.
He turned around and solemnly took the red gift bag in his hand.
Qin Yuhe looked at everyone in the ancestral hall and asked, “From this moment on, am I no longer a member of the Qin family?”
Qin Hanxiao replied, “Of course. The forty-eight lashes have already been administered. From this moment on, you have no connection to the Qin family.”
Qin Yuhe asked, “So from now on, I can make whatever decisions I want?”
“That’s your business. Handle it yourself.”
Qin Yuhe’s calm gaze swept across everyone present. His words rang out with unmistakable force.
“I will announce to the public that I gave up my position as head of the Qin family because I am infertile. I hope all of you Qin family members will respect your boundaries and refrain from making malicious comments about my wife.”
The clan members were once again left stunned.
He had actually said that he was infertile!
Did he understand that people would mock him for doing this?
But then they thought about it. He had betrayed even his ancestors for that woman. What was there left that he wouldn’t do?
Qin Yuhe stood tall and imposing, the red gift bag in his hand, and walked out of the Qin family ancestral hall.
The entire room fell silent as everyone watched him leave.
His back was straight as a pine, without the slightest hint of a stoop. His shoulders were broad, his steps composed, his bearing proud.
It was as though the forty-eight lashes he had endured meant nothing at all.
The instant Qin Yuhe stepped through the Qin family gates, his rigid back collapsed. He braced one arm against the wall.
A thread of blood trickled from the corner of his lips.
His lips had always been naturally red and delicate. With the added stain of blood, they looked even more vivid and alluring.
He could not stop.
He had to keep moving.
The moment he stopped, the overwhelming pain might crush him, leaving him unable to walk another step.
If the road was difficult and there was no one to support him, then he would use the wall for support.
He knew where she was.
That old apartment complex. The two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment where she had made him tomato beef noodles for the first time.
At the age of thirty, Qin Yuhe had finally entered the grand rebellious phase of his life. Alone, he had left the Qin family in front of the entire clan.
He walked in her direction, determined to find her.
…
Inside the two-bedroom apartment, Song Xinya sat at the table with two little ones on either side of her.
Usually, the four little monkeys were as mischievous as the monkeys of Mount Emei. But now, they sat obediently and quietly, making dumplings with Song Xinya.
Song Xinya finished wrapping the last dumpling and placed it on the sorghum tray. She said to the four children, “We’ll boil the dumplings tonight. We don’t have enough vegetables at home, so I’ll go buy some more. Then I’ll make you all a New Year’s Eve dinner.”
Song Tingye immediately raised his hand high. “I’ll clean the house!”
Song Tingyou also raised her hand high. “I’ll scrub the pots and wash the dishes!”
Jin Ruizhi followed suit and raised his hand. “I’ll put up the Spring Festival couplets!”
Qin Yuyan raised her hand high. “I’ll sit here and wait for dinner!”
Everyone turned to look at her.
“Hmm?”
The Little Princess’s eyes curved into crescents as she flashed them a sweet smile. “I was only joking. I’m such a hardworking person—how could I possibly do nothing? I’ll steam the rice cakes for everyone.”
Song Tingye said, “If you don’t know how, don’t force yourself. Don’t blow up the kitchen and take us all with you.”
Qin Yuyan said, “Pah, pah, pah! You can’t say unlucky things during the New Year. If you say anything else about dying or living, I’ll slap your mouth crooked!”
Song Tingye pulled his mouth to one side and said in a garbled voice, “I’m the Crooked-Mouth War God.”
Qin Yuyan stuck out her tongue. “Bleh, you’re so ugly. Hurry up and go sweep the floor.”
Song Tingye picked up the broom and swung it through the air like the golden cudgel. “The Great Sage Equal to Heaven is off to sweep the floor!”
The four little ones each went off to do their chores, while Song Xinya left the house to buy the food they would eat on New Year’s Eve.
The streets were decorated with lanterns and festive colors. Couples walked by in pairs, their faces glowing with happy smiles.
Song Xinya was all alone, her head lowered.
She said she was going grocery shopping, but really, it was just an excuse to get out, clear her mind, and breathe.
She didn’t want to pass her negative emotions on to anyone else, so she chose to deal with them on her own.
She had always been optimistic and strong, and was very good at adjusting her mood. Whenever something unpleasant happened, she was usually able to turn the page quickly.
But whenever she thought about having to divorce Qin Yuhe, about never being able to live with him again, her heart ached terribly.
The pain was so intense that as she walked through the crowded streets, every time the thought crossed her mind, she could no longer control her tears. They surged from her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.
Her ability to regulate her emotions had failed her.
She would never be all right again.
On New Year’s Eve, beneath the red lanterns lining the streets, Song Xinya sobbed so hard she could barely catch her breath.
“Yaya.”
A deep, magnetic voice reached her from ahead.
Song Xinya abruptly raised her head. Amid the falling snow, she saw Qin Yuhe dressed in a black overcoat.
“Yaya, my darling. I’m here.”
