Hearing Xu Tingyu's explanation, Qi Shifeng didn't seem so unhappy anymore.
"Got it. I'll ask Jiang Li to look into it."
He agreed.
Xu Tingyu thanked him and was about to hang up the phone.
"Wait. Is there nothing else you want to say to me besides this?"
He was a bit incredulous and somewhat inexplicably disappointed.
Xu Tingyu rolled her eyes on the other end of the phone.
He was getting all mopey.
"Mr. Qi, I remember your memory has always been good. Do you remember that when we were still married, you hated it when I called you?"
"You thought most of my calls were nonsense, so you always told me to get to the point."
"Now that I've said what I needed to say, you think I should have something else to say. You're really hard to please."
Just thinking about his attitude towards her back then made her feel a sense of irony.
This damned man was still as annoying as ever.
Qi Shifeng was so choked up that he couldn't say a word for a while. After he recovered, his tone became somewhat tentative.
"Even though I said that, I never refused to answer your calls."
"Moreover, we're still not divorced yet."
He had long realized that this woman responded better to kindness than to force.
He was also quite good at playing the victim.
Sure enough, as soon as he played the victim card, Xu Tingyu fell silent.
Because he was telling the truth.
Xu Tingyu had managed to live three peaceful years with him not just because she was patient.
They had also had a relatively harmonious married life.
For example, when she called him, as long as he wasn't in a meeting, he would answer. Even if he was impatient, he would basically respond to every word.
Of course, she rarely called.
Another example was that before he went on a business trip, he would let her know. When he came back, he would bring some gifts instead of just disappearing.
And sometimes when he came home early, he would have a drink with her, and the two of them would chat calmly.
...
It could be said that before Xie Yu returned to the country, their marriage wasn't as bad as it later became.
However, this didn't mean that she was willing to forgive him.
"Mr. Qi, when do you think you'll be free? Let's go and register for divorce first. After all, there's a one - month cooling - off period now. It's best to get this done before I leave Kyoto."
She was actually quite glad that he had reminded her that they weren't officially divorced yet.
Otherwise, she would have forgotten.
Qi Shifeng couldn't believe it. "You still want to divorce me? You don't want me, and you don't want our son either?"
Listen to that tone. He sounded extremely aggrieved.
If someone didn't know better, they would think he was the one who had been cruelly abandoned.
However, Xu Tingyu remained unmoved.
"No, I just don't want you. But the son will always be my son. If you try to stop me from seeing Youyou because of this, then we'll see each other in court."
She had also thought it through. Qi Ruixi was right. The custody of Youyou was in Qi Shifeng's hands, and for now, it was actually an advantage.
Her career had only just started a few years ago and was still unstable. She had to travel all over the world.
Youyou was in Kyoto, surrounded by familiar people, and could be better taken care of.
Moreover, she knew that Qi Shifeng wouldn't let go easily.
He took good care of Youyou, which showed that he truly loved this child.
If she really sued for custody, not only would he not let go, but he would also fall out with her.
That wasn't what she wanted to see.
"You, you... Have you ever thought that although the son will always be your son, if you divorce me and I remarry? Would you have the heart to watch him call someone else mom?"
Qi Shifeng was so angry that his chest hurt. He could only resort to his ultimate move.
He wanted to use their son to give her a wake - up call.
Who would have thought that Xu Tingyu wouldn't take the bait at all. "It doesn't matter. As long as she treats him well. Then he'll have two sets of parents, and everything will be doubled."
"Two sets of parents? Where did that come from?"
Qi Shifeng was so angry that his voice got louder.
Xu Tingyu let out a soft laugh. "You can find a step - mom for him, and I'll find a step - dad for him. Just right, two sets of parents. Don't worry, the step - dad will also treat him very well."
Although she wasn't planning to start another relationship, she couldn't lose face in front of Qi Shifeng.
After saying all this, she didn't give Qi Shifeng a chance to continue talking and simply hung up the phone.
Qi Shifeng seemed unwilling and called her back.
But she didn't answer. Instead, she happily went to take a shower and get ready for bed.
Thousands of miles away, Jiang Li carefully wiped the sweat off his forehead.
It wasn't that he wanted to eavesdrop, but the space in the car was just so small. Even with the partition up, the sound still leaked through.
Just by listening to the tone of his boss's voice, he could tell who was on the phone.
Only Xu Tingyu could make the boss lose his composure with just a few words.
Qi Shifeng was indeed a bit out of control with anger.
He never thought that Xu Tingyu was actually planning to find a step - dad for Youyou!
He couldn't even imagine the scene of Youyou calling someone else dad.
No, he couldn't even imagine the scene of Xu Tingyu finding another man.
He would go crazy.
Also, when did she start having this idea?
He wouldn't allow it!
If it weren't for the troublesome affairs at the branch company, he would have returned to Kyoto long ago. Now he could be sitting in front of Xu Tingyu and asking her what she meant.
But he couldn't get away for a while, so he couldn't help but feel even more annoyed with that Li guy.
For a moment, he wanted to ask Jiang Li to investigate who else dared to get close to Xu Tingyu besides Shen Yan, who was eyeing her covetously.
Hadn't he already found something for Shen Yan to do and made him leave Kyoto for a while?
Did Shen Yan confess his love to Xu Tingyu before he left?
He wasn't sure. He was so angry that his heart, liver, and lungs ached.
But in the end, he gave up the idea of having someone keep an eye on her.
During the years when Xu Tingyu was away, he had once gone to see a psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist said that he didn't know how to love someone and would have excessive control and obsession over his partner.
This wasn't loving someone but pushing the other person away.
He was changing.
He didn't want to push her away again.
Jiang Li silently sweated for a while, and then suddenly felt the oppressive atmosphere disappear.
The partition was lowered, and Qi Shifeng suddenly said, "I remember there's a royal art treasure auction the day after tomorrow. The highlight item is a crown, right?"
The auction had sent him a catalog. He had glanced at it and had an impression of that crown.
Jiang Li quickly flipped through the information and gave a definite answer. "Yes, boss. You said you weren't going to attend before. Do you want to change your schedule now?"
"No. I'll make a list later. You arrange for someone to go and bid for the items."
Qi Shifeng wasn't very enthusiastic about these activities and rarely participated.
When Xu Tingyu was still with him before, he had also bid for a few items to give to her.
But when she left later, she didn't take any of them with her.
He then remembered that from the moment he gave those things to her, he had never seen her wear or use them. They were all locked in the safe.
She probably didn't like those things.
Then he would give her something she liked.