Late at night, Jiang Cong received a strange call in his sleep.
The voice on the other end of the phone was quite noisy. The drunken murmur of a woman came faintly, "Jiang Cong, I've proposed a divorce to him. Jiang Cong, I'm free."
Jiang Cong propped up on his elbows and leaned against the head - board of the bed, listening silently to Gong Si's complaints.
"Jiang Cong, you know, I mean if, if I hadn't left back then, would you still be with me?" Gong Si's voice choked several times as she said intermittently.
Actually, Gong Si wasn't really drunk. She was just taking advantage of the alcohol to say what she had been suppressing in her heart for so long.
Jiang Cong knew Gong Si's character well. He gave a soft chuckle but didn't answer her.
However, Gong Si read the meaning from his chuckle. She murmured to herself, "I'm sorry, Jiang Cong. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Jiang Cong finally spoke, but what he said was to draw a clear line with Gong Si. "The reason I helped you is not because I still have feelings for you. I'm just saying goodbye to the past. From now on, you go your way, and I'll go mine. We'll stay out of each other's business."
Gong Si hung up the phone like a soulless person, covered her face, and burst into tears.
This night was destined to be a sleepless one.
The next day, Gong Si and Yuan Xiangdong went to go through the divorce procedures. Standing at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, a sense of unreality hit them.
There were many people coming and going in the Civil Affairs Bureau. There were loving couples coming to register their marriage sweetly, and there were also estranged couples getting divorced, wishing they'd never see each other again. All kinds of life's situations were just like this.
The staff in the Civil Affairs Bureau was used to such partings. She took the certification materials from Gong Si and Yuan Xiangdong in a routine manner and asked formulaically, "Reason for divorce."
Gong Si blurted out without thinking, "Incompatible personalities."
The staff's expression didn't change at all. She had heard this excuse countless times. Almost every couple coming for a divorce would attribute the root cause of their divorce to incompatible personalities.
"Have you made up your minds?" The staff still hesitated a bit. There was a reason. Gong Si was extremely beautiful, and the staff could hardly believe that the elegant man sitting beside Gong Si would be willing to let go of such a beauty.
Gong Si nodded. Seeing this, Yuan Xiangdong could only endure the dense pain in his heart and nodded in agreement.
With a "pop", the official seal was stamped.
Gong Si put away the divorce certificate, turned around, and walked out without any hesitation.
Yuan Xiangdong followed closely. When they reached the entrance, he saw Gong Si looking around for a taxi. "Do you want to go together?"
Gong Si shook her head and refused directly, "No, thanks. I've already called a taxi."
The once - bed - sharing couple had now become the most familiar strangers in the world.
Yuan Xiangdong didn't force it. Before leaving, he said, "Take care."
Since the two had divorced, the corresponding property division was naturally put on the agenda.
Because of Yuan's mother's greedy seizure, half of Gong Si's parents' property was firmly in Yuan's mother's hands. Gong Si, who had given up all hope of getting the property back, was quite surprised when she received the property transfer certificate.
The certificate was sent by Yuan Xiangdong. Gong Si flipped through it briefly and was even more astonished. She stared at the number in her phone contacts hesitantly, gritted her teeth, and dialed it.
The phone was quickly answered. Gong Si's voice sounded strange, "You don't have to do this. I..."
Yuan Xiangdong sighed softly and said in a relaxed tone, "This is originally yours. I know you endured it all this time because half of your property was in my mother's hands. Now, it's back to its rightful owner."
Although Yuan Xiangdong made it sound so easy, Gong Si didn't really think the matter could be solved so simply.
Yuan's mother was extremely difficult to deal with. How could she be willing to spit out what she had already swallowed? Presumably, Yuan Xiangdong had put in a lot of effort to get it.
Gong Si didn't know what to say. To avoid an awkward atmosphere, she simply said, "I'm sorry."
Yuan Xiangdong responded with an "um" and then hung up the phone.
Gong Si hugged those documents tightly, lay on the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling without blinking.
Yuan Xiangdong soon went abroad. He left without saying goodbye to anyone. When Gong Si heard the news that Yuan Xiangdong had left, she felt an inexplicable emptiness in her heart.
The news of Yuan Xiangdong and Gong Si's divorce didn't cause much of a stir. It was like a stone thrown into a still lake, only causing a small ripple.
Gong Si threw herself into the research work with ease and more enthusiasm than before.
Jiang Cong's collection of materials for his research project was almost coming to an end. But somehow, Zhao Xian, who usually supported Jiang Cong, actually reminded him tactfully not to write on this topic this time.
Jiang Cong keenly sensed something was wrong. He didn't question Zhao Xian rashly. Instead, after everyone had left, he stared at Zhao Xian intently, waiting for a reasonable explanation.
Zhao Xian was also quite helpless. He didn't want to reject Jiang Cong's project in public. He believed in Jiang Cong's ability to complete it perfectly. However, the situation this time was so special that he couldn't be heartless.
It was obvious that Jiang Cong wouldn't give up until he got what he wanted. Zhao Xian also knew it was hard to fool Jiang Cong, so he told him about the whole thing in bits and pieces.
"Sure enough, it's still him," Jiang Cong let out a meaningful low laugh, but his expression was colder than ever.
Zhao Xian was helpless. After hesitating for a while, he could only pat Jiang Cong on the shoulder and walked out.
Jiang Cong stood beside the window with his hands behind his back. A storm was brewing in his black eyes.
In the conversation with Zhao Xian just now, the "he" that Jiang Cong mentioned was Fang Shaocong, the apprentice he had taught personally.
Fang Shaocong used to be the person Jiang Cong trusted the most, but he was also the one who betrayed him heartlessly and pushed him into the mud.
The once - sensational academic paper plagiarism case was exactly Fang Shaocong's doing. He knew Jiang Cong better than he knew himself, so he could easily export the relevant materials and sell them to Jiang Cong's competitors at a high price.
Afterwards, Fang Shaocong felt sorry for Jiang Cong and fled abroad with a large sum of money.
Jiang Cong thought he would never meet Fang Shaocong again in his life, but unexpectedly, they still ran into each other.
Fang Shaocong had now become the vice - chairman of the academic research society. Zhao Xian was afraid that Fang Shaocong would take revenge, so he asked Jiang Cong to stop the current research project to prevent Fang Shaocong from causing trouble.
Jiang Cong's fists tightened more and more and didn't loosen for a long time.