Re: It Was Your Choice to Accompany Your "Adopted Younger Brother".Why Regret After the Divorce?

Tiannan City Yujiang Villas “Xiaobai, are you off work yet? Ye Ye and I are waiting for you at home!” Under the expectant gaze of his daughter Zhao Yeye, Zhao Qingfeng called his wife, smiling as he spoke. It was his 30th birthday, and a large birthday cake was already on the table. “Honey…” His wife, Bai Xiaoxing, hesitated for a moment before replying, “I’ll be home a bit later. The company just finished a big project, and we’re having a celebration party.” The smile on Zhao Qingfeng’s face stiffened slightly, but he persisted, “Xiaobai, having the celebration party a day later is no big deal. Today… it’s my birthday!” Hearing this, the other end fell silent. A sense of foreboding crept into Zhao Qingfeng’s heart. After a while, Bai Xiaoxing’s voice, tinged with guilt, came through the phone: “Honey, the celebration party was scheduled… I can’t ruin everyone’s mood. I’ll be back a bit later, and then we can celebrate your birthday together, okay?” The smile gradually faded from Zhao Qingfeng’s face. “A celebration party… it’s for him, isn’t it?” he said, his tone low. Bai Xiaoxing immediately explained, “Don’t get the wrong idea. Even though Zixuan led this project, the party is for all the company staff.” Zhao Qingfeng sneered, “You’re only fooling yourself.” His tone annoyed Bai Xiaoxing: “Can you please stop with these pointless assumptions? How many times do I have to tell you, there’s nothing between me and Zixuan! Besides, it’s just a birthday. It’s not like I’m not coming home!” “Hah, just a birthday?” Not wanting to say anything too harsh in front of his daughter, Zhao Qingfeng simply hung up. Zhao Yeye was six years old. Seeing her dad put down the phone, her eyes filled with obvious disappointment. “Mom isn’t coming back?” Zhao Qingfeng forced a smile. “Ye Ye, Mom will be home a bit later. Why don’t you watch some TV, okay?” Zhao Yeye nodded reluctantly. After settling his daughter on the sofa, Zhao Qingfeng took out a pack of cigarettes and walked to the balcony, lighting one. He was dressed in casual clothes, with a tall, straight posture and handsome features—his looks were impeccable. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to win over Bai Xiaoxing, the campus heartthrob, back in university. Of course, Bai Xiaoxing’s beauty was also stunningly gorgeous, a true rarity. At 28, she had shed the naivety of a young girl, exuding a mature charm. Her figure was equally breathtaking, like a freshly harvested sheaf of rice—full and enticing. A woman with such top-tier looks and figure constantly radiated captivating charm. Coupled with her status as a CEO, she was quite famous in Tiannan. As the image of his beautiful wife surfaced in his mind, a self-mocking smile appeared at the corner of Zhao Qingfeng’s mouth. Before graduating university, Bai Xiaoxing had an unexpected pregnancy. Defying her family’s objections, she resolutely married Zhao Qingfeng, who was poor at the time. This made Zhao Qingfeng feel her love and made him believe heaven had blessed him to meet such a wonderful girl. So after marriage, he treated his wife twice as well. When Bai Xiaoxing started her company, he stayed home to take care of their daughter, freeing her from worries. One handled the outside, the other the inside—their life seemed extremely happy. However… All of this had changed this year. To be precise, three months ago. That’s when an intern joined his wife’s company. When Bai Xiaoxing first mentioned him, Zhao Qingfeng hadn’t paid much attention. But as she brought up that intern more and more frequently, Zhao Qingfeng gradually began to feel uneasy. Later, Bai Xiaoxing even recognized him as her “sworn younger brother” and made him her executive assistant! Upon learning this, Zhao Qingfeng vehemently objected. He said he didn’t like Bai Xiaoxing having some random sworn brother, and he didn’t like hearing her mention that name. Bai Xiaoxing always said he was making a mountain out of a molehill. Even though they had several arguments over this sworn brother, she continued to do as she pleased. Until today. Because this sworn brother completed a major project, Bai Xiaoxing was throwing him a celebration party, even at the cost of missing a family birthday celebration! This made Zhao Qingfeng feel that his feelings, his marriage, had quietly developed a problem. Thinking this, Zhao Qingfeng sighed softly. He murmured to himself, “Bai Xiaoxing, what on earth… are you thinking?” After finishing his cigarette outside, Zhao Qingfeng walked back into the living room. During this time, Bai Xiaoxing hadn’t called back, clearly having made her decision. Zhao Qingfeng’s heart ached with a sour, painful feeling, but there was nothing he could do. He checked his watch—it was already 6 PM. “Ye Ye, come have some cake.” “Okay!” Zhao Yeye happily jumped off the sofa. For her, emotions came and went quickly. A delicious cake would make her happy. “Happy birthday, Daddy!” Zhao YeyeTake overthe cake Zhao Qingfeng handed her, saying loudly. At that moment, Zhao Qingfeng’s eyes almost welled up. He held his daughter’s hand. “Daddy hopes Ye Ye is happy every single day!” After the cake, Zhao Qingfeng started tidying up. By 9 PM, he had drawn a bath for Zhao Yeye, let her bathe herself, tucked her into bed, and waited for her to fall asleep before he could finally relax. Zhao Qingfeng sat on the sofa, scrolling through short videos on his phone. Scrolling, scrolling… he suddenly froze. Seeing the image on his phone, his heart felt as if gripped by a giant hand. An indescribable pain made him almost suffocate. His fingers trembling, he zoomed in on the image, finally 100% certain the person in the picture was his wife of many years! In the image, an incredibly beautiful woman was holding up a wine glass, while a man’s arm was linked through hers! This was… a crossed-arm toast (a tradition symbolizing union)! And the woman was his wife, Bai Xiaoxing! The poster’s caption read: Wishing President Bai and Brother Zixuan a long and happy life together! This Zixuan was precisely Bai Xiaoxing’s sworn brother, Zhang Zixuan! In that instant, Zhao Qingfeng felt a chill run through his body. He couldn’t help but press a hand to his chest, feeling a faint, stabbing pain in his heart. Hah… what a wonderful sworn brother, what a wonderful celebration party. Zhao Qingfeng’s smile held a trace of bitterness. His face was extremely grim as he shakily saved a screenshot of the photo. Immediately after, he stood up from the sofa. At that moment, Zhao Qingfeng’s eyes, filled with pain, also held a sharp decisiveness and resolve. He was never the type to resign himself to fate or hide from problems. Since he had discovered this, such behavior absolutely could not be tolerated. He was going to the celebration party venue! Zhao Qingfeng took out his phone and called his sister-in-law, Bai Liyue. She was single and lived alone in the same building, one floor below. Five minutes later, a woman bearing an 80% resemblance to Bai Xiaoxing walked into the apartment. Seeing Zhao Qingfeng, she said displeased, “I was just about to take a shower and go to bed. What do you need me for?” She had always looked down on Zhao Qingfeng, feeling he had nothing to offer besides his looks. Zhao Qingfeng said calmly, “Sister Liyue, I have something urgent to attend to and need to go out. Could you please look after Ye Ye for a bit?” Bai Liyue frowned. She felt her brother-in-law seemed different from usual today, but she genuinely loved Zhao Yeye. “Fine, I’ll go stay with Ye Ye until she falls asleep,” she said.