Volume One, Chapter 13: Fulfill My Final Wish

As Xie Yancheng’s words fell, Su Wanqing felt as if something had struck her chest, causing unbearable pain. She furrowed her brows and forced down the ache within. Before she could utter a single word, Su Wanning stepped over to Xie Yancheng’s side.

A flash of wild joy sparked in her eyes, but it quickly faded. She cleared her throat lightly and pretended to mediate:

“Yancheng, brother, it’s not necessary to take it as far as divorce. Su Wanqing, look at how angry you’ve made Yancheng. Why don’t you apologize quickly?”

Su Wanqing urged silently, as if she truly did not want them to part ways. Yet she could see Su Wanning desperately suppressing a smile, though the corners of her mouth betrayed her, curling upward against her will.

It was clear she was overjoyed.

Su Wanqing glanced at Xie Yancheng, then at Su Wanning, as if a realization dawned upon her. She gave a bitter smile and replied, “Fine.”

“But since it’s going to be a divorce, isn’t it fair for me to have one last wish fulfilled?”

She pointed at Li Yan and the kindergarten principal, then looked back at Xie Yancheng, repeating herself.

“Punish Li Yan and expel Xie Kexin.”

Since uttering the words about divorce, Xie Yancheng had been carefully watching every move and expression from Su Wanqing, naturally noticing her frown and bitter smile. Seeing she wasn’t as unaffected as she pretended, a slight relief softened his mood.

He gave the principal a meaningful glance, and the latter immediately understood, nodding quickly in agreement.

“Of course, punishment! Absolutely.”

“But this certificate of expulsion...” the principal hesitated. “President Xie, Miss Kexin isn’t an ordinary child to begin with. If she’s expelled, even if another kindergarten accepts her, it might harm her healthy growth... Are you sure about this?”

Xie Yancheng glanced at Su Wanqing. Seeing her resolute attitude and no hint of retreat, a colder chill settled in his heart.

This woman, letting him down was one thing, but dragging an innocent child into it was unforgivable.

Still, he looked down at Xie Kexin once more. His daughter stirred little emotion in him.

She was born with autism, naturally withdrawn and disliking communication. The fact that she was Su Wanqing’s daughter made him even less inclined to care.

“Expel her,” he nodded, pausing briefly before deliberately stabbing at Su Wanqing’s heart.

“An autistic child is essentially useless. And useless things don’t deserve to be my daughter.”

Su Wanqing knew it would not be easy to have him fulfill her wish, but she never imagined he would stoop so low as to insult her in front of their child.

She instinctively reached out to cover the child’s ears. The emotions she had been holding back surged up all at once, her eyes reddening.

“Xie Yancheng, have you gone mad? No matter what, Kexin is still your child! How can you say such things in front of her? Besides—”

Unable to bear Xie Kexin being insulted like this, she wanted to tell him about Kexin being a prodigy.

But Xie Yancheng interrupted coldly, “There’s never been any autistic gene in my family.”

Su Wanqing’s pupils dilated in shock as she stared at him. His lips moved slightly, and suddenly a sharp “beep” sounded in her ear.

Her heart felt as if it were being clenched tightly, not with pain but with an indescribable twisting agony.

Xie Yancheng... was doubting whether Xie Kexin was truly his biological daughter.

A metallic taste of blood rose in Su Wanqing’s throat, but she swallowed it forcefully.

Looking into Xie Yancheng’s eyes, she realized for the first time that this man was not the one who had saved her as a child.

The boy who rescued her was gentle — even when angry at being burdened by her, he still held her hand tightly, afraid she would get lost in the deep mountains.

It couldn’t be him...

The room fell into a terrifying silence. Seeing Su Wanqing’s reddened eyes, Xie Yancheng suddenly felt a flicker of remorse, realizing he had gone too far.

“I didn’t mean—”

At that moment, Su Wanning stepped forward, tugging on Xie Yancheng’s sleeve with a smile.

“Brother Yancheng, don’t you have a meeting soon? I think it’s about time we head back or we’ll be late.”

Then she turned to Su Wanqing, a smug smile flashing in her eyes.

“Su Wanqing, don’t make such a fuss. Even if Xie Kexin has autism, she wouldn’t hear it even if you didn’t cover her ears. Besides, after being married to Yancheng for so long, don’t you know his temper? You haven’t said a single soft word since coming here. If I were a man, I’d be angry too!”

“Just take the expulsion certificate and leave quickly. But we’re family after all, so let me kindly advise you: even if the child is ill, you can’t just stop her from going to school. Otherwise, she’ll truly become useless!”

She mocked Xie Kexin while shifting all blame for the current situation onto Su Wanqing, ending with a seemingly kind reminder to paint herself as a sensible and gentle woman.

Hearing this, Xie Yancheng’s fleeting guilt vanished completely.

Looking at Su Wanqing again, he saw only a poorly acting clown with no grace or concern for their child’s future.

Compared to her, he was just bluntly speaking some harsh truths.

She was the one who truly treated the child as an object, exploiting her at will.

Only after Xie Yancheng and Su Wanning left did Secretary Wang cautiously place a USB drive in front of Su Wanqing.

“Madam... President Xie is probably in a bad mood today. Please don’t take it to heart... I’ll be going now.”

Meeting Su Wanqing’s almost desperate gaze, Secretary Wang’s own heart trembled as he hurriedly left as if escaping.

Ten minutes later, Su Wanqing held the expulsion certificate issued by the principal and witnessed the public reprimand and dismissal of Li Yan on the kindergarten’s official website before she finally left the office cradling Xie Kexin.

Upon stepping outside, she noticed that the once clear sky had begun to drizzle quietly, the clouds thick and dark, making morning feel like night.

It suited her mood perfectly.

Instinctively, she looked back. She could have asked the principal for an umbrella, but recalling Xie Yancheng’s cruel words, she no longer wished to set foot inside that building.

Removing her coat, she draped it over Xie Kexin to shield her from the rain, then held her tightly in her arms.

Just as she stood, she realized it had stopped raining above her head.

Startled, she looked up to see a black umbrella held steadily over her, sheltering her from the lingering droplets.