Contract Wife

Forced to break up

She had been ruined. She had no future. She and Zegang were destined to separate sooner or later. This phone call merely brought that day forward.

Fighting back tears and sobs, Gu Xixi choked out, "I understand. I will do as you wish.”

Satisfied with her answer, the voice on the other end hung up.

Gu Xixi stood under the scorching sun, her head tilted back desperately trying to prevent the tears from spilling over.

She felt an unprecedented coldness engulfing her.

The sun blazed overhead, but her heart was an icy abyss.

Reeling from the consecutive blows, Gu Xixi couldn't bear to pretend any longer.

She requested leave from work. Dragging her exhausted body and shattered heart, she boarded a long-distance bus back to her hometown.

She had hoped to find solace back home, but the moment she opened the door, she knew it was just a foolish dream.

"A slut will always give birth to a slut! Look at your good daughter! w*****g herself out at such a young age!”

Her mother knelt on the floor, her face bruised, a large welt visible on her forehead from repeated kowtowing. It was clear she had been kneeling there for a long time. Her grandmother stood over her, throwing a stack of photos onto her face.

Her grandmother was abusing her mother again, though she had no idea what had triggered it this time.

"Mom!" Gu Xixi threw her bag on the ground, rushing to her mother's side, kneeling in front of her grandmother. “Grandma, what has my mother done wrong? Why do you have to hit her like this?”

Gu’s grandmother looked at her with disdain. She grabbed a photo from the table and flung it forcefully at her face.

“How dare you ask what

“Grandma…” She opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but the words wouldn't come out. The photos… they were real!

“Mom, Xixi she…” Her mother tried to intervene.

Before she could finish, Gu’s grandmother slammed her hand on the table, roaring in fury. “How dare you defend her?! They have photos! Do you think someone would frame your daughter? The older one can’t even bear a child, and the younger one is a disgrace! What sins have we committed to deserve this karma?! Bringing home such immoral women!”

Gu’s grandmother grabbed a teacup and hurled it at her mother’s forehead.

Seeing her grandmother’s action, Gu Xixi instantly threw herself in front of her mother, shielding her.

“Crash!” The teacup smashed against Gu Xixi's back, shattering into pieces.

A searing pain shot through her, her entire back felt like it was on fire. The pain was so intense it felt unreal.

“Xixi…” Her mother’s eyes reddened as she saw her daughter taking the blow. “Are you alright? Does it hurt?”

Gu Xixi gently shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

This pain was nothing. Her mother had endured far worse throughout the years.

Gu’s grandmother scoffed. She couldn't stand their mother-daughter displays of affection.

At that moment, the endless stream of commercials on TV finally ended, switching to a news segment. Images flashed across the screen.

“This morning, Yin Sichen, heir to the Yin’s Corporation, was caught with a woman at a hotel. As you can see from these photos, the room is in disarray, clothes are scattered everywhere…"

Gu’s grandmother's blood pressure skyrocketed as she saw Gu Xixi's face on the screen. Grabbing her cane, she charged toward the mother and daughter, brandishing it menacingly.

"This is outrageous! You bring disgrace upon our family! Get out! Both of you, get out!”

Gu Xixi was stunned that the incident had made the news. But she had no time to dwell on it. She clung tightly to her mother, gritting her teeth, enduring the blows. They didn't dare to fight back or even step outside the door.

Once they left, they knew they could never return.

Just then, a man rushed through the door, yelling, “Mom…”

A glimmer of hope flickered in Gu Xixi's eyes. Her father was back!

She looked at him with pleading eyes, hoping he would intervene and reason with her grandmother.

Gu’s father glanced at them, reaching out as if to help them up, but his hand retreated, his eyes darting nervously.

Gu Xixi's heart sank. If even her father couldn't protect them, how could they possibly stay in this house any longer?

He had always been this cowardly. Every time her mother suffered abuse, he would either stand idly by or offer useless apologies afterward. Nothing ever changed.

Enough! She had had enough!

This family had brought her nothing but despair.

Unable to utter a word in defense of his wife and daughter, Gu’s father could only plead with his mother. “Mom, if you break her, who will cook tonight?”

“I'm not dead yet!” Gu’s grandmother barked back. “I can still cook! Tell them to get out! Get out of my sight!” With that, she stormed into the kitchen and started preparing dinner.

At that moment, Gu Xixi knew she had to leave and take her mother with her. They were never coming back!

She turned to pull her mother away from this cruel, heartless house. But to her surprise, her mother struggled to her feet and rushed into the kitchen, snatching the kitchen knife from her grandmother. “Mom, I’ve been cooking all these years. As long as I’m here, you shouldn’t have to lift a finger.”

Gu’s grandmother tried to kick her daughter-in-law but was stopped as her mother hugged her leg, pleading. “Mom, please forgive us this once! Xixi knows she was wrong! We won’t do anything like this ever again!"

"You’re old, you shouldn't be doing these strenuous chores,” her mother continued, “The workload here is too much for your age."

Gu’s grandmother glared at her, brandishing the knife at the chopping board. After several unsuccessful attempts to chop the cabbage, she finally relented, “Fine, fine. Hurry up and cook! Then go kneel before the ancestral shrine for two days and two nights!”

Gu Xixi observed the two women in the kitchen and her father silently smoking on the chair. She couldn't bear to stay a moment longer.

She picked up her luggage, still unpacked, and walked out, embarking on her return journey.

She had to keep working. She had to earn enough money to get her mother out of this place.

As she sat on the bus back to the city, tears streamed down her face again.

Suddenly, a message popped up on her phone, “Xixi, are you alright? Why haven’t you been answering my calls? I’m doing well abroad. Call me back when you see this message. Love, Zegang.”

Gu Xixi clutched the phone, her heart aching.

But breaking up with him was so hard to say.

Two years. Two whole years of being together. How could she simply let go? Feelings weren't like balloons that could be popped, instantly erasing their existence.

Gu Xixi buried her head in the sand, avoiding Zhao Zegang’s relentless calls.

After a day of rest to nurse her wounds, Gu Xixi returned to her mundane work. She needed the money.

Every morning, she would deliver milk, coffee and juice to her colleagues in the administrative department. She’d also place the day’s newspaper on each of their desks.

She never refused any task, even those beyond her scope of responsibilities. She’d stay late to finish them.

She was an ordinary, even meek, girl.

She didn’t graduate from a prestigious university, nor did she have the experience of studying abroad. She was grateful to even have this job at a multinational conglomerate spanning Asia and Europe.

Time flew by.

Busy days blurred the painful memories of that night. It almost felt like a bad dream.

Gu Xixi went about her routine, delivering coffee and juice, and placing the documents she had worked on the previous night on her colleagues’ desks.

Just as she finished, her colleagues began to arrive.

“Morning,” Gu Xixi greeted them politely. But her greetings were met with silence.

Slightly embarrassed, she withdrew her hand and headed back to her desk.

Just then, the head of the administrative department rushed in, announcing, "Emergency board meeting! Everyone’s needed, including you, Gu Xixi!”

Gu Xixi was startled but quickly followed behind.

Her colleagues immediately piled their files into her arms and dashed off, giggling amongst themselves.

They were used to treating her like this. They acted as if they’d suddenly lost the ability to use their hands whenever she was around, leaving her to handle everything.

Not wanting to be left behind, Gu Xixi struggled to carry the mountain of files, following closely behind.

Squeezing into the elevator, her arms overflowing with files threatening to bury her, she apologized profusely to those around her.

The elevator doors opened. Gu Xixi stumbled out, trailing her colleagues as they rushed toward the grand conference hall.

Suddenly, someone shouted, “The CEO is here!"