Chapter 3

Early the next morning before dawn, I dragged my luggage to the Department of Education to finalize the last of my paperwork. To my surprise, the clerk behind the desk gasped in pleasant astonishment.

"Are you Mr. Qi? It's me, Tao! Are you... applying to teach overseas as an international volunteer?"

It turned out to be a former student who had recently passed the civil service exam and started working at the department. I smiled, chatted with her for a bit, exchanged contact information, and left after the procedures were completed.

Heading to a local shopping center, I planned to pick up a few gifts for the children in the conflict zone. Unexpectedly, I ran into Gu Lianyi and her entire entourage right there.

"Brother Yanze, what are you doing here? You're not working here as a retail clerk, are you?"

Ye Siming was wearing a sharp, tailored burgundy suit, looking immaculate and dignified.

Hearing that, my father-in-law flew into a rage instantly.

"Qi Yanze, you've completely lost your damn mind!"

"If word gets out about this, our family's reputation will be dragged through the mud again because of you!"

Gu Lianyi's face chilled over, her voice dripping with impatient scolding.

"I told you not to go volunteer in those mountains back then, but you wouldn't listen! And what good did it bring you?"

"You rotted in prison for a whole year for nothing, dragging our family down in shame! Now that your name is finally cleared, instead of keeping a respectable teaching post, you come here to work as a lowly store clerk!"

Hearing this, I let out another bitter laugh.

Once upon a time, Gu Lianyi had claimed that what she admired most were ordinary people doing extraordinary, selfless work, just like me.

She used to tell me how immensely proud she was.

Now, all that remained in her tone was blame, disgust, and condescension.

Time truly changes people. Or perhaps, she simply never loved me at all.

Holding the infant, my mother-in-law rolled her eyes at me with open revulsion.

"When you're out in public, don't you dare tell anyone you know us! Tell people you and Lianyi are divorced!"

"What an absolute embarrassment! Let's get out of here, he's bringing us bad luck."

A faint smirk touched Ye Siming's lips, though he feigned hesitation.

"Isn't that a bit harsh? Brother Yanze is probably just trying to earn formula money for my son."

"Let's go, Siming. That's the bare minimum he should be doing; otherwise, what right does he have to let the boy call him Dad?"

With that, Gu Lianyi linked her arm through Ye Siming's. Flanked by her parents, they walked away without a single backward glance.

Birds of a feather truly flock together.

Since they were so eager to play house, I would gladly grant their wish and hand Gu Lianyi a divorce!

On the eve of the one-month milestone banquet, my phone buzzed with a message from my lawyer.

He informed me that during a recent deposition, the female student had confessed everything: my father-in-law had bribed her with cash to frame me for assault. The lawyer asked whether I wanted to press criminal charges and file a police report immediately.

My father-in-law paid someone to frame me and orchestrate a smear campaign online?!

I stared blankly at the screen, feeling as if I had plunged headfirst into an icy abyss.

All the vile abuse, the public humiliation, and the three hundred and sixty-five days I spent locked in a dark, cold cell—it had all been orchestrated by my "beloved" father-in-law?!

My fists clenched uncontrollably. Every fiber of my being screamed to storm up to that hypocrite and demand an answer—why would he do this to me?!

Just then, Gu Lianyi's family walked toward me, carrying the baby.

The moment my father-in-law saw me, the cheerful grin on his face vanished, replaced by an ugly scowl.

"Qi Yanze, you're supposed to be this child's father on paper! Today is his milestone banquet—how can you be this careless and disrespectful?!"

"Showing up dressed like a bum! Can't you learn a thing or two from Siming? You're completely humiliating us!"

I stared at him with burning eyes. Just as I was about to speak, Ye Siming smoothly cut in, his voice oozing artificial disappointment.

"Seriously, Brother Yanze, did sitting in prison make you lose all sense of propriety?"

"My son's one-month banquet is a huge milestone, and you show up looking like this. Even if he's biologically mine, he's still going to call you Dad!"

My mother-in-law shot me a venomous look, cradling the child as she sneered, "He's not a teacher anymore, just a cheap retail cashier. It's only natural he can't afford decent clothes."

Seeing the tension, Gu Lianyi's face darkened. She grabbed my arm and dragged me harshly into an empty corner.

"Qi Yanze, you stay right here. Keep your head down so you don't embarrass us in front of everyone."

"And once this banquet is over, quit that pathetic retail job! Cry, beg, do whatever it takes, but crawl back to the school board and get your teaching post back! Stop humiliating me in public!"

With that, she turned and strode away.

Watching their retreating backs, pure rage boiled in my chest until my lungs felt ready to burst.

They framed me, stole a year of my life behind bars, degraded me at every turn, and now expected me to play the compliant fool and raise their love child?!

Did they really think they owned me?!

Then at the banquet today, I would make sure to deliver an even greater spectacle right to their faces!