Chapter 2: The Punishment Falls Upon the Child

“What does this have to do with you?” Sang Ke shook off his hand, her eyes cold as she met his gaze.

“I’m your husband!”

“The kind you’re about to divorce.”

Pei Xuyun was left speechless, forced to swallow his words; he repeated “fine” three times, his voice deep and low. “You’ve been missing for a month—out there messing around? Even the lawyer can’t reach you. If your son hadn’t fainted, I doubt you’d have bothered to come back!”

So that’s it, Sang Ke thought. He’s only here at the hospital to catch her because he wants a divorce and couldn’t find her elsewhere. No wonder he never comes home to see his son, but now shows up here.

She almost believed he’d finally grown a conscience.

Sang Ke’s laugh was sharp and mocking. “If your lawyer couldn’t reach me, why not call the police? Oh, I forgot—you’re a big celebrity. That wouldn’t look good.”

So she really doesn’t want a divorce, he thought. She went missing on purpose, knowing he wouldn’t want to make a scene.

Pei Xuyun’s gaze grew even more disdainful. “Sang Ke, don’t do anything unnecessary. I will never let my child be a bastard. This marriage—I'm ending it. As for you and your little bastard—”

“Pei Xuyun!” Sang Ke’s warning was icy, her expression dropping to freezing depths. “If you have something to say, we can talk outside.”

Pei Xuyun gave a contemptuous smile and was the first to step out of the room.

As Sang Ke followed, the attending physician approached. “The child’s blood test results are in. He’s been diagnosed with leukemia.”

At the word “leukemia,” Sang Ke staggered and collapsed onto a corridor bench, consumed by overwhelming guilt.

Years ago, desperate to erase the child in her womb, she had taken abortion pills. The child survived against all odds, but his health was always fragile—he was taken straight to an incubator at birth.

When her son was three, he was diagnosed with autism. Sang Ke always believed that was heaven’s greatest punishment for her.

She never imagined fate would be even crueller, laying such a burden upon her child.

The doctor, accustomed to relatives losing composure, tried to comfort her. “As long as you find a suitable marrow donor, the chances of a cure are quite high.”

Marrow matching.

A lifeline.

Sang Ke immediately stood, grabbing Pei Xuyun’s hand to go for a blood test, but he shook her off coldly.

“You can go look for whoever fathered your bastard.”

Each word stabbed Sang Ke in the heart.

Her eyes reddened as she slapped him hard. “Pei Xuyun! If I hadn’t saved Song Linlang and been locked outside by her, kidnapped—she was the one who was pregnant! If it were her standing here today, would you still be this cold-blooded, calling her child a bastard?”

Pei Xuyun rubbed his burning cheek. “Sang Ke, if you hadn’t gone out drinking every night, attracting all the wrong people and dragging her into it, she would never have needed you to save her! Besides, she was just scared that night and didn’t realize you were still outside. She didn’t lock the door on purpose. You’re still holding a grudge over something so trivial, bringing it up even now—what’s the point?”

Something so trivial?

Such heartless words—Sang Ke never expected to hear them from his mouth again after a year.

Truly pointless!

If not for her son, she would have wanted to strangle this man and drag him down with her.

Clenching her fists, nails digging into her palms, Sang Ke forced herself back to reason with the pain. “Let’s not talk about the past. If you have even a shred of conscience, remember—I worked at that bar just to help you pay off your contract termination fee. So today, you’ll come with me for this blood test.”

“I will, once you sign the divorce agreement.”

“You’re taking advantage of me when I’m down?”

“It depends—what matters more to you, your son or this marriage?”

Sang Ke didn’t hesitate. “Fine. I agree.”

She gave him the answer he wanted, yet Pei Xuyun felt no satisfaction. Instead, an inexplicable anger struck him, as if something heavy had hit his heart.

He looked at her coldly. “So, in your heart, it’s only ever that little bastard.”

Her face turned icy. “Pei Xuyun, insult my son again and I swear I’ll drag you and Song Linlang down—your scandal will be all over town.”

She was usually silent, never bothering with him, but when it came to arguing, her tongue was sharp as a blade.

Furious, Pei Xuyun went downstairs alone for the blood test.

A week later, the results came in. Neither of their marrows were a match.

The hospital could only look for a suitable donor in the marrow registry and told Sang Ke to wait patiently.

After agreeing to the divorce, Sang Ke finally got the house key back from Pei Xuyun. For the next month, she spent every day at the hospital with her son, only going home to change clothes.

Hearing the news, Pei’s mother rushed over in her wheelchair. Seeing how much weight Sang Ke had lost, her heart ached. “Ke, don’t worry. As long as I’m alive, no one is divorcing you!”

Sang Ke poured her mother-in-law a cup of tea. “Let it go, Mom. You pitied me once and forced Pei Xuyun to marry me—look what it did to your relationship with your son. It’s been five years. You’ve seen the result of forcing him. There’s no point in dragging this out.”

Five years of waiting and disappointment had already worn down any love she’d once felt.

The reason she clung to this marriage wasn’t just because she’d invested so much and didn’t want to hand Pei Xuyun over to someone else, but more so for her son—to give him an intact family.

But now, agreeing to the divorce, Sang Ke realized she’d been shackled by marriage for too long and had forgotten she needed to love herself before she could love anyone else.

Pei’s mother could hear every word came from Sang Ke’s heart, and she felt even more pained. “In the end, our family has let you down. But how will I ever answer to your late father?”

“Mom, you’ve taken care of me all these years. You owe me nothing.” Sang Ke dabbed away her mother-in-law’s tears, feeling a pang of sorrow.

She had always known: Pei’s mother forced her son to marry Sang Ke, knowing full well the child wasn’t his, only to repay the life debt she owed Sang Ke’s adoptive father.

Eighteen years ago, Sang’s father died in a fire saving the Pei family. Not long after, Sang’s mother disappeared. Just as Sang Ke was about to be sent back to the orphanage, Pei’s mother arrived in time and brought her home.

That year, Sang Ke was eight, Pei Xuyun nine.

Now, as their ill-fated relationship was truly ending, the hardest part for Sang Ke was letting go of her mother-in-law.

After seeing her off, Sang Ke went to the pharmacy window for medicine, only to run into Song Linlang chatting with another woman.

Song Linlang wore a loose, forest-style dress that hid her figure, but the eight-centimeter stilettos on her feet were hardly what any pregnant woman should wear.

Sang Ke overheard her soft question, “Are you sure the medicine you recommended is safe?”

Medicine?

Sang Ke paused in her tracks.

“There’s no problem taking this kind of medicine during pregnancy—at least, not for the mother. I can only guarantee it won’t do her much harm.”

“That’s enough.” Song Linlang visibly relaxed.

Watching her care nothing for the child in her belly, Sang Ke suddenly felt a wave of self-pity.

Even a tiger will not eat its own cubs. Yet Pei Xuyun was willing to abandon her for someone like this.

“But isn’t that woman about to get divorced? Once your relationship is public, who cares if your belly gets a little bigger? If you keep taking this medicine and he finds out—”

“He won’t know.” Song Linlang’s reply was cold and certain. She pulled out a red invitation card, changing the subject. “The day after tomorrow, I’m holding my solo art exhibition at Astral Hall. You should come.”

The other woman grew excited. “Astral Hall? That’s the Huo family’s private museum! Last time my dad hosted foreign diplomats, they wanted to visit and even he couldn’t get them in. The Huos wouldn’t budge, not even for the mayor. How did you manage to get a show there?”

“There’s no secret. I’m just too talented. Even the Huo family’s young master, newly returned from overseas, has heard of me. He sent someone to offer the venue himself.” Song Linlang’s eyebrows arched with pride.

Hearing this, Sang Ke’s lips curled in a sneer.

Unfortunately, Song Linlang noticed.

Sang Ke, not wanting to be drawn in by this woman, turned to leave—but she was already too late.