Su Xi’s eyes flashed with surprise. “Really leaving? You’re giving up being the Jin family head?” He had heard about the family’s fierce battles for inheritance, and now she was abandoning everything for him?
Jin Yu met Su Xi’s anxious gaze and nodded. “Before the new year.”
Su Xi’s eyes dimmed, tears welling up. “I’m not suffering here at all…” Had coming here harmed her? Perhaps he shouldn’t have come. If he had continued living in the pleasure house, she might not need to leave the Jin family. Had he burdened her again?
Jin Yu felt Su Xi’s body trembling, misinterpreting it as reluctance to leave. “Don’t overthink. You’ll like it there.”
Su Xi’s trembling subsided, tears in his eyes, voice choked. “Why leave? Is it… because of me…”
“Nonsense,” Jin Yu hugged him tightly, kissing his slightly swollen lips. “I’ve always wanted to take you away. Now that you’re pregnant, we can’t let the baby suffer. My place is good for pregnancy. If you miss here, I’ll bring you back to visit.”
Su Xi lowered his head, wet eyelashes trembling. “I want to go back,” he said softly.
Jin Yu’s eyes flashed with emotion. “Go back where? The pleasure house?”
Su Xi remained silent, nervously clutching Jin Yu’s clothes. Jin Yu held his hand, her voice flat. “I’m leaving here. Su Xi, do you want to never see me or the baby again?”
Su Xi trembled in her embrace, wondering if she was really leaving. If she left, he and the baby might never see her again, waiting endlessly in the pleasure house. He remembered the times he believed she wouldn’t return, yet he still refused other clients, hoping she would suddenly appear.
Looking up at Jin Yu, Su Xi asked, “Really… not leaving because of me?”
Jin Yu wiped away tears from his eyes. “The main reason isn’t you. I’ve planned to leave here for a long time. Whether you want to or not, I’m taking you away.”
Su Xi’s eyes welled up with tears again, a mix of tears and smiles on his face. As long as he hadn’t harmed her, he wanted to follow her wherever she went. She would definitely be good to him and the baby.
Suxi leaned into Jinyu’s embrace, their bodies sharing warmth. “What about the Beauty House and the house?” He had never thought he would move out, having already bought a house in anticipation of her arrival.
Jinyu stroked his back. “Don’t worry; I’ll take care of everything.”
“What about Young Master Xu? If you leave, what will happen to him? Aren’t you going to marry him?” The Jinyu household was decorated, and news of the marriage had spread. What would happen to Young Master Xu if she left?
Jinyu tightened her arms around Suxi. “I’ll take him too. We’ll leave together.”
Not getting a response, she lowered her head to look at him. “Suxi?”
“Mm,” he smiled faintly. “You should be good to him too. He really likes you. Although it’s painful, I wanted to take him and the baby with me. If I ruined Young Master Xu’s happiness, I would feel uneasy.”
Jinyu looked away, trying to conceal her emotions. “Don’t you like me? You promised to marry me.”
Suxi’s delicate hand clutched her clothing. “I… I like you too…”
Jinyu’s heart stirred, and her unease faded. She held Suxi’s hand warmly and lowered her head to look at him. “Suxi, I like you too.” This time, she spoke earnestly.
Suxi suddenly looked up, tears welling in her eyes. She threw herself into Jinyu’s embrace. Before, Jinyu had often been intimate with him, caring and considerate, wanting to marry him, but she had never said she liked him. Now, she did.
And he believed her. She was the person he trusted most.
Jinyu caressed Suxi’s pale cheek and kissed his reddened, slightly swollen lips. Soft breaths mingled as Jinyu spoke tenderly, “I might… love you…” Perhaps she had loved him all along. Over the past two years, he had melted her heart. During her darkest moments, when she felt most alone, he had been her silent supporter, waiting for her.
Such a person had worn away the icy resentment in her heart, making her feel warmth. She thought she would never seek happiness again, but because of him, she wanted to try once more.
Several days had passed since Suxi entered the Jinyu household. Yunmei had been waiting in the room for Jinyu. Suxi was pregnant and would bear the first heir, even without official status. Xu Yi was also about to enter. The household was decorated, hinting that if the mistress married Xu Yi, she would relinquish her position as family head. Yunmei worried about what would happen to the mistress and their relationship once Jinmо took on that role. Would she remain in the Jinyu household with them or leave? Would she abandon him?
Yunmei was anxious. If the mistress continued to live in the Jinyu household, regardless of her decision on a divorce, the relationship with Jinmо, the future family head, would suffer. The external rumors would become unbearable. If the mistress left without him, he would have nowhere to go. He didn’t want to endure further humiliation in the household.
The only way out was if the mistress didn’t take him when leaving. But would she?
“When she returns, I will write a divorce letter for you…”
But would she take him away?
If she hadn’t written a divorce letter, he might still have a way to live. But now, how could he continue living as a man cast aside for being unfaithful?
If he had known this would be his end, would he have sought that final glimmer of hope in his despair, angering the mistress and losing true happiness?
“Just as I was trying to love you, you want to push me away…” Yunmei whispered, his eyes filled with sorrow and desolation, more desperate than when he first learned of Jinmо’s betrayal.
Dadao, standing nearby, worriedly refrained from comforting him. Earlier, he had confronted the lowly younger brother of the widow in the household, believing he had defended the young master. Instead, he was reprimanded and told to remain silent. Those two brothers were mere low-ranking male prostitutes at the Beauty House, while the young master was the legitimate spouse of the wealthy Jinyu household. How dare they challenge him?
When Jinyu arrived and saw Yunmei looking frail and tear-streaked, she was stunned.
Yunmei’s eyes brightened upon seeing Jin Yu, and she blurted out, “Wife, you’ve come to see me.” Her voice held a joy that surprised even her, igniting a flicker of hope in her heart, though she couldn’t identify what kind of hope it was.
Jin Yu did not respond to Yun Mei and turned to Dao’er, saying, “You, go out first.” Dao’er glanced between them and, seeing Yun Mei’s silence, obeyed. He felt unhappy, uncertain whether Jin Yu was sad about the second young lady or the family head.
Now, only Yun Mei and Jin Yu remained in the room. Jin Yu observed the somewhat constrained Yun Mei while she sat nervously, having anticipated Jin Yu’s arrival but not this conversation.
After a long silence, Jin Yu finally spoke, “I will soon leave the Jin household and will no longer be the family head. Are you willing to stay here, or do you want to leave with me?”
Yun Mei looked at Jin Yu in surprise, her heart in turmoil. She murmured, “Has she already told you?” The wife had quickly made her choice between Xu Yi and the Jin family, and she had chosen Xu Yi. Once, the wife had given up Xu Yi for him, but now she seemed ready to abandon everything for Xu Yi again, leaving him to wonder if he had missed the happiness most men desired.
Jin Yu heard Yun Mei’s murmur and raised her eyebrows slightly.
She knew about Jin Mo becoming the family head and the agreement between ‘Jin Yu’ and Jin Mo. Jin Yu sighed, “Since you want to stay here, I will…”
