Strategy to Capture Men

he could say.
What was wrong with him going back? How could she stop him?

“Will you…
come back?” she asked eventually in a quivering tone.

“No,” Qiao Wenxing replied.
“I'll settle things here, then return and never come back.”

Bai Yue's lower lip trembled.
“What…
what about me? What will I do?”

Qiao Wenxing was once again silent.
A long time later, he answered, “You are my wife.
You should come home with me.
But…”

“If you want to be Mrs.
Qiao,” he laid out his terms, “You must break off your relationship with your parents.
You have to go completely no-contact with them.”

These terms were beyond Bai Yue.
She was the eldest daughter, and she had to be filial to her parents.
She was the elder sister, and she had a duty to help out her younger brother.
Her parents had raised her, her brother was her only sibling; how could she give them up?

“I can't…” she shed tears.
“They're my father, mother and brother…”

Once again, the ward fell silent.

A long time later, Qiao Wenxing said softly and gently, “Let's get a divorce.”

Bai Yue closed her eyes.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I'm so sorry…”

She had heard news of the Qiao Family from her little brother.
She knew that Qiao Wenxing had lost his position as heir.

Bai Yue was no longer a naïve girl who believed that Cinderella would live happily ever after with her prince, that innocent who thought that people could survive on love and water.
She understood full well what Qiao Wenxing had lost because of her.

Qiao Wenxing closed down his business in M City and divorced Bai Yue.
Just as he had promised, he bought Bai Yue an apartment in M City, and he gave her a generous alimony.
If she could hold onto the money, she would never want for food or material comforts all her life.

If she could hold onto it.

After dealing with all these things and returning to D City, Qiao Wenxing felt like he had finally truly awoken from his dream.
He had once been a spoiled young master, and this dream had brought him to maturity.

The double date Qiao Chengyu had proposed never came to fruition, but he ate once alone with Han Yanyan.
They had grown up together and were even once engaged.
Although there was no love between them, they were fairly good friends, and she hadn't embarrassed him at all even when he had broken off the engagement.
Qiao Wenxing is full of guilt toward her.

As soon as they met, he was shocked by how gorgeous she was.

Qiao Wenxing even felt a little confused.
Was this really the Han Yanyan he knew? Why was she somehow more beautiful, more confident, more radiant? How had she become even sexier, and more charming than she had been? She hadn't been like this at all when they had been together.

Over that catch-up meal, Qiao Wenxing felt how different Han Yanyan was from Bai Yue.
Whether it was in her vision, her manners or her bearing, they were miles apart.

He was at a loss.
Was it because he had known her for too long that he had not seen her elegance in the past? But when a woman was so dazzling, how could he possibly have overlooked her?

“What are your plans for the future?” Han Yanyan asked him.

Qiao Wenxing forced a bitter smile.
“Dad gave me two companies to manage.”

When he had returned to the circle, he found that attitudes toward him were very different now than they were before.
He had once been the heir to the Qiao Family, but now he was merely the Qiao Family's eldest young master, nothing more.
He was no longer the center of attention among his friends like he had been before.

It was Qiao Chengyu who was always surrounded by people now.

After Han Yanyan had gone home, he lay in bed that night, unable to sleep.
Everytime he rolled over and forced himself to close his eyes, the memories of the past year were fresh in his mind, and the changes after he had returned never left.

Qiao Wenxing felt his heart hurt.