Chapter 10 Old Diary
I flipped through the old boxes where I kept my belongings.
Inside were a dozen love letters Jiang Yu once wrote me and a diary I had written myself.
A photo of Jiang Yu and He Yanzhou leaning together for the camera was tucked inside the diary.
Sure enough, there were clear signs that someone had rearranged the items.
I turned the pages of the diary. The parts I had once insisted were impossible for anyone else to read now made my toes curl in embarrassment.
It seemed Jiang Yu had read them and misunderstood.
But I had no idea how he had ended up casting himself as the Stand-In.
He had read too many Stand-In novels, right?
Thinking about him flipping through my old diary and then getting angry with me sent my anger boiling over.
Shouldn’t the one who should feel the most wronged be me?
I waited in the living room until two in the morning.
My eyelids felt heavy.
Just as I was about to fall asleep, I saw Jiang Yu return, looking completely drained.
The moment he saw me, his expression shifted to blank indifference.
He walked past me. I called out to him.
I let out a long, fake sigh.
“Since you already know you are the Stand-In, let’s get the divorce done quickly.
“We can go to the civil affairs bureau tomorrow morning.”
Jiang Yu’s expression cracked instantly.
It felt like he was about to cry again.
After a long pause, he choked out, “Fine, fine, we can divorce!”
Then he stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
I clicked my tongue and shook my head. What a waste of a mouth.
The next morning, seeing that Jiang Yu was still not coming out, I went to knock on the door out of worry.
He only emerged after a long delay.
The sight of him startled me.
His eyes were dark circles, his face looked haggard and exhausted. He probably hadn’t slept at all the night before.
He had still boasted yesterday that we should divorce right away, but now he was dragging his feet.
He said his head hurt and he needed to rest, then he said he was hungry and needed to eat first.
He ate with tears in his eyes, and his hands holding the bowl were shaking.
Looking at him like this, my heart tightened.
The urge to scold or tease him was completely gone.
“Don’t eat.”
I stopped his wooden hands from shoveling rice into his mouth.
Jiang Yu froze, thinking I was urging him on.
His eyes reddened in panic, and his voice trembled as he spoke.
“I’m not divorcing…”
He set the bowl down and shook his head emotionally.
“Can’t I not divorce? I don’t want to divorce.
“Being the Stand-In is fine. Let me be your Stand-In. Can’t we not divorce?”
I let out a helpless sigh.
“I didn’t actually want to divorce.”
Jiang Yu was stunned, looking at me half in doubt.
Once his emotions settled, I asked,
“Why do you think I am using you as a Stand-In?”
Jiang Yu’s face stiffened slightly before he spoke in a low voice.
“I read your diary…”
“We broke up with He Yanzhou a long time ago. Why would you think I am his Stand-In?”
I was truly speechless.
The two of them had nothing in common. Even if they were handsome, it was different in every way.
Aside from the gender, there was not a single similarity.
“Am I wrong? You bought me clothes exactly like his style and colors.
“You still keep his things.
“You even said that if we don’t end up together, you would definitely find someone like him in the future…”
Jiang Yu’s voice grew more and more aggrieved.
I clenched my fists.
Jiang Yu took two solid punches.
“What do you mean by buying me clothes exactly like his? It’s just the same few styles and colors.
“What I meant is that after this is over, I will find someone who treats me well, not someone who looks like him.
“Besides, wasn’t it you who chased me first and clung to me so tightly?”
I still remembered that hot afternoon when we first met.
A girl had been pulling him on the street, refusing to let him go, claiming he had touched her backside.
Crowds surrounded him, pointing and gossiping.
His face turned red, and he explained awkwardly to everyone, “I didn’t touch it…”
The girl looked at Jiang Yu with a shy expression. I immediately understood her intention.
So I stepped in front of him and kindly helped him out.
“You said my boyfriend touched you? Have any evidence?”
The girl looked disappointed. She shot me a glare before leaving unwillingly.
I also slipped out of the crowd.
Later, he chased after me under the blazing sun.
Sweat-covered and panting, he stood in front of me, blushing as he handed me his phone.
“Would you like to get to know me? Girlfriend.”
…
Later, he kept making excuses to ask me out.
He said he had a thick face! But he would blush at the slightest thing.
He said he had a thin face! But he would cling on like crazy, refusing to give up.