Chapter 8 Rivals Meet

“Young master, we’ve arrived.” The voice of the horse woman came, and Yan Jiyue’s already nervous heart almost jumped out of his throat.

He suddenly felt a sense of panic for no reason, hurriedly arranging his clothes and hair, wondering if his appearance was haggard, if his clothes had wrinkles. He wanted to appear in front of Su Mu in the most perfect state, to completely sever their imperfect past life and start a new life from now on.

Finally, after getting ready, Yan Jiyue got off the carriage and anxiously yet nervously knocked on the door.

He had imagined countless ways Su Mu might open the door for him, perhaps coldly, perhaps hostilely, or perhaps with a little joy, but he had never imagined that the one opening the door for him would be a man.

And it was the man he hated to the bone in his previous life, whom he wanted to skin alive and tear apart – Xie Yi.

All of Yan Jiyue’s joy and excitement, his boiling blood, instantly froze into ice.

“Why are you here?” He stepped across the threshold, his voice gloomy, his hands tightly clenched into fists, his eyes like sharpened icicles piercing Xie Yi.

“Who are you?” Xie Yi took a step back.

He could feel the intense hostility from the man before him, the kind of hostility he had felt from Li Scholar’s husband, who wanted to put him to death.

“It doesn’t matter who I am, answer my question.” He grabbed Xie Yi’s neck, his eyes bulging with rage. As soon as he saw Xie Yi, thinking of all the things he did to sow discord in his previous life, Yan Jiyue became furious.

“You-” Xie Yi was startled by the killing intent emanating from him, almost unable to speak.

Catching a glimpse of someone coming out from inside the house, Xie Yi’s knees weakened, and he fell down.

“Yan Jiyue!” As soon as Su Mu came out, she saw Yan Jiyue grabbing Xie Yi’s neck.

Hearing Su Mu’s voice, Yan Jiyue seemed to awaken from a dream and loosened his grip.

“…Su Mu.”

Seeing the familiar person appear before him again, as young and tender as ten years ago, tears of excitement welled up in his eyes. Ignoring the disgust in Su Mu’s eyes, he hugged her tightly: “I’ve missed you so much.”

Su Mu was stunned for a moment.

How could Yan Jiyue, who hated her to the bone ten years ago, suddenly hug her and cry out his feelings after their divorce?

There was only one explanation.

He had been reborn.

Su Mu sneered inwardly. So what if he was reborn? She had no intention of rekindling their relationship. For her, it was a cursed bond that needed to be severed. If she hesitated even for a second, she would be letting herself down.

Su Mu lowered her eyes and coldly pushed him away: “Young Master Yan, please restrain yourself. We are already divorced.”

Yan Jiyue’s expression suddenly shook: “Divorced? Impossible, how could I possibly divorce you. Su Mu, you’re lying to me, aren’t you?”

He and Su Mu had been husband and wife for ten years, and now that he had finally been reborn, how could they be divorced? Yan Jiyue felt as if his head was about to explode with the memories flooding in.

“It’s written clearly on the divorce papers. Even if Young Master Yan wants to regret it, it’s too late.” Su Mu laughed lightly as she helped Xie Yi up from the ground.

Facing Xie Yi, Su Mu’s tone changed from the previous coldness to extreme gentleness: “Are you alright?”

Xie Yi shook his head, almost half of his body leaning on Su Mu.

Yan Jiyue suddenly looked up, his gaze colliding with Xie Yi’s eyes, and suddenly he seemed to understand everything: “It’s because of him, isn’t it?” He said hatefully, almost biting through his silver teeth: “It’s because of this slut that you abandoned me.”

Abandoned? Yan Jiyue was really good at playing the victim.

Su Mu didn’t want to argue with him anymore. She said to the horse woman watching the commotion outside: “Hurry up and drag your young master back.”

The horse woman nodded and tried to persuade: “Young master, let’s go back first.”

“Get lost! Who are you to dare touch me?” Yan Jiyue pushed the horse woman away and charged straight towards Su Mu’s embrace.

Su Mu quickly protected Xie Yi in her arms, cursing angrily: “Yan Jiyue, have you gone mad!”

Yan Jiyue’s eyes were bloodshot, his expression nearly frenzied. No matter how Su Mu pulled, his hands tightly gripped Xie Yi’s neck. There seemed to be tears in his eyes as he howled in breakdown: “Why! With so many women to choose from, why did you have to steal my wife-master!”

Yan Jiyue shouted in breakdown like a madman, his grip so strong that even Su Mu couldn’t pull him away. But the more he acted like this, the more Xie Yi fearfully hid in her embrace. Yan Jiyue’s nails scratched Xie Yi’s face, and blood rolled down.

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help!” Su Mu anxiously shouted at the horse woman.

The horse woman was also frightened by Yan Jiyue’s shrewish behavior. Good heavens, she used to mock Su Mu for marrying into the family as a son-in-law, living off his wife, but now it seems, how could this son-in-law be living off his wife? With such a volatile temper from the husband, she wouldn’t marry him even if given for free.

Just as they were finally about to pry Yan Jiyue away, Yan Zhujun hurriedly arrived. Seeing the two women pulling and tugging at Yan Jiyue, he shouted loudly: “What are you doing!”

The horse woman immediately withdrew her hands and explained to Yan Zhujun: “Master, the young master, the young master has gone mad. He wants to strangle that man.”

Yan Zhujun was also confused by the chaotic scene before him, especially seeing Yan Jiyue’s extremely vicious eyes, staring fixedly at Xie Yi in Su Mu’s arms, like a vengeful ghost crawling out from the underworld. Yan Zhujun himself was startled: “Jiyue, what are you doing?”

Su Mu finally managed to pry off Yan Jiyue’s hands, throwing him to the ground, but his nails were like a knife that cut her hand, instantly leaving a bright red mark.

“Su Mu.” Yan Jiyue’s expression tightened. Regardless of his mud-covered state, or how humble he looked kneeling on the ground, at this moment his eyes were only on Su Mu. Holding her hand, he anxiously explained: “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Su Mu coldly withdrew her hand and said to Yan Zhujun: “Master, please take the young master back. He is not welcome here.”

“Su Mu…” Yan Jiyue’s mud-stained hand clutched at her clothes, looking up at her pleadingly.

When had the always high and mighty, arrogant Young Master Yan ever appeared so humble?

“Yan Jiyue.” Su Mu coldly turned away: “We are already divorced. Don’t force me to hate you.” With that, she took Xie Yi back into the house, closing the door tightly, clearly showing her intention to drive away the guests.

Yan Jiyue was left kneeling on the spot, looking down at his rejected hand.

“Useless thing, if you knew this day would come, why did you agree to divorce her in the first place?” Yan Zhujun struck him hard twice with his cane.

Yan Jiyue numbly endured it, his eyes hollow.

“Alright, master, stop scolding him. This isn’t the Yan family home, and there are many neighbors around. If we keep making a scene, we’ll surely attract everyone’s attention,” said Ling Hua.

“Then hurry up and drag him back,” Yan Zhujun said, exasperated.

But Yan Jiyue refused to leave, and it took several people to drag and pull him back.

Seeing the courtyard finally empty, Su Mu also breathed a sigh of relief.

“Does it still hurt?” Su Mu applied medicine to his face.

Xie Yi shook his head understandingly, feeling the cool medicine slowly warming on his face. His hands were nervously clenched into fists inside his sleeves. If it weren’t for Su Mu’s pure gaze, he would have thought she was taking advantage of him.

How could someone touch a man’s face right away? But Su Mu’s serious eyes suddenly made him feel that he was the vulgar one for having such thoughts.

Her gaze was gentle yet focused, like a craftsman carefully repairing porcelain. Her eyes never strayed from the wound, and her hands’ movements were proper, without any impropriety.

Xie Yi tilted his head, feeling the temperature of her fingers constantly and gently applying on his face. Because they were close, he felt as if he could see the long-missed Crescent Lake through her eyes. Her slightly trembling eyelashes were like ripples stirred by the wind on Crescent Lake, silently blowing into his heart.

He suddenly no longer rejected Su Mu’s touch, and even vaguely enjoyed it a little.

“Although the scar is on your face, the wound is shallow, so it probably won’t leave a scar,” Su Mu comforted him, feeling a bit guilty.

After all, it was her fault that Xie Yi got involved. She had wanted to give him a good life, but unexpectedly, Yan Jiyue had also been reborn.

“Su Mu… sister.” Xie Yi looked up, his eyes shy.

“What did you call me?”

“Sister Mu.” Xie Yi said softly, his deep green eyes flickering slightly: “They all call you ‘daren’, ‘sister’, Su Mu is older than me, so can I call you sister?” Xie Yi stuttered.

Hearing this familiar form of address, Su Mu’s eyes were filled with infinite tenderness: “Alright.” In her previous life, Xie Yi had also taken the initiative to call her this way, calling her “Sister Mu” tenderly. He was a year younger than her, and his caring nature took care of her. Gradually, she also came to love him like a brother from another world.

Hearing her agreement, Xie Yi pursed his lips and laughed softly, his dense eyelashes covering green eyes that rippled like the waters of an emerald lake.

“That man?” Xie Yi asked.

“He was my husband, but we’re divorced now,” Su Mu said while applying the medicine.

“Divorced?” Xie Yi didn’t quite understand the meaning of this word.

“It means we used to be husband and wife, but now we’re not,” Su Mu explained, making a gesture of separation with her hands.

Xie Yi understood: “But why did you divorce?”

Su Mu’s hand movement paused slightly. Xie Yi, who had become accustomed to Su Mu’s touch, suddenly felt a bit uneasy.

His gaze constantly followed her fingers, watching her lowered fingertips still with a bit of unspread white ointment. He suddenly wanted to go over and pull her hand back.

“Some things are hard to explain to you right now,” Su Mu said, not noticing the unusual look in Xie Yi’s eyes.

But Xie Yi didn’t care. It was good that they were divorced.

Su Mu’s husband was too overbearing, too domineering. Su Mu was too good, too gentle. That man was not worthy of her at all.

Don’t people in the desert always say that men from Jiangnan are gentle and delicate, clinging to women like little birds? How come the men he encountered were all more shrewish than the other, with methods more vicious than the most fierce men in the desert?

If Su Mu were born in the desert, probably all the men in the desert would go crazy. Forget about shouting at Su Mu, they would probably fight over who gets to herd cows and sheep.

Yet Su Mu’s husband, blessed but unaware, was not only vicious but also stupid in his wickedness.

Did that shrew think that strangling him would make Su Mu change her mind? What a joke.

The more vicious the shrew’s methods, the more Su Mu would pity him.

Xie Yi touched the light wound on his face, the corner of his mouth curling into a barely noticeable arc.