Return to the Day When My Pregnant Wife Jumped Off the Building-Chapter 422 Do You Have No Self-Respect?_1

Falling had a strong allure.

Since I was already late, I might as well sleep a little longer.

Since the remaining money wasn’t enough anyway, I might as well spend a bit more.

Since it was adultery either way, once or twice wouldn’t make a difference.

The so-called ’give up when it’s broken beyond repair’ mentality made pleasure too easy to come by and too easy to let go of.

The biggest difference between humans and animals lies in their capacity for self-discipline in thought.

Humans do not blindly submit to desire.

Until now, Xiao Ming had not intended to indulge himself to the extent of leaving the category of "human," which is why he could decisively accept Ding Jianwei when passion struck and also say no in the face of Zhou Qingyuan’s tearful sadness.

It had nothing to do with moral responsibility, but conscience alone.

Unfortunately, he overlooked one thing. Though Qingyuan might lack emotional experience, she was smart as ice and snow and couldn’t be completely fooled by mere wordplay.

So, it didn’t take long for anger to flare up in the young lady’s eyes again.

"Xiao surnamed, you..."

"Qingyuan!"

Yang Hanqing suddenly stood up. "Come here, I have something to say to you."

Zhou Qingyuan frowned and hesitated for a moment, poking Xiao Ming’s chest silently with a threatening gesture before following him into the bedroom.

"If you still want a good outcome, I advise you to stop here," Yang Hanqing said bluntly as he closed the bedroom door.

"What do you mean?" Zhou Qingyuan glared, "Couldn’t you hear that he was just playing me just now?"

"If you keep pushing him, you may not even get pretense in return."

Zhou Qingyuan faltered, at a loss for words.

Yang Hanqing sighed, took her hand, and sat down on the bed. "Qingyuan, ask yourself, are you really this angry because Ding Jianwei can and you can’t?"

No, you’re angry because you’ve got another rival.

You consider yourself superior to Jiang Xue, with your only disadvantage being that she has taken the lead with marriage. You’re confident you can one day take Xiao Ming from her and you didn’t even take me, Yu, Xuechao and the others seriously.

But now there is Ding Jianwei by Xiao Ming’s side, two against one, and you’re getting scared.

You can’t stand being just a secret lover, but the reality won’t allow you to monopolize him, hence your rage.

"So what if it’s true?"

Having her true feelings exposed, Zhou Qingyuan instead lifted her chin in defiance.

"I graduated from a top global university, I’m the heir to tens of billions in assets, I’ve been learning from my father in business since my teens, mastering all his savvy.

I can predict the general trends of the world economy for the next ten years, whether in finance, real estate, industry, or technology, I can be his strongest right-hand man.

I’m young, beautiful, and have a nice figure, and most importantly, I truly love him. Why shouldn’t I be able to marry him?"

"Of course you can marry him," Yang Hanqing said with a faint smile. "In fact, you could pick any man in the world with your qualifications.

But just because you can doesn’t mean he has to marry you.

No matter how perfect you are, if you’re not what he needs, what good are you?"

Zhou Qingyuan’s expression stiffened as she stubbornly retorted, "But... but he likes me too!"

"That’s why he rejected you."

Yang Hanqing shook his head. "I can see right through your thoughts and feelings. How could he not?"

Zhou Qingyuan’s brow furrowed deeply. "Are you saying that he won’t accept me, even if he likes me because I want to monopolize him?"

"You’re overthinking it," Yang Hanqing said with a cold laugh. "He can never abandon Jiang Xue, so the question of monopolization doesn’t even come into play.

You’ve only ever had one choice, whether to be his lover or not.

And because he likes you, feels for you, he thinks you deserve better.

Meaning, he accepts Ding Jianwei because he likes her; he responds to you with familial love, also because he likes you. Understand?"

Zhou Qingyuan’s face began to turn pale, and after a long silence, she asked with reddened eyes, "What should I do then?"

Yang Hanqing shook his head again. "This is your issue; my answer doesn’t apply to you.

But before you think it over, you have to accept one fact."

"What’s that?"

"Unless Jiang Xue suddenly loses her mind and wants a divorce, Xiao Ming’s wife can only be her."

With that, Yang Hanqing stood up and walked to the door, stopped, and said wistfully, "Actually, if you think about it, Ding Jianwei’s success makes the most sense from a certain perspective.

Her line of work ensures that she’s often apart from Xiao Ming, sometimes not even seeing each other for months. What they have is more a connection of the soul.

She doesn’t infiltrate Xiao Ming’s life, nor does she pose a threat to Jiang Xue. Aside from some warmth and consolation, she has almost no other desires.

This poses the least mental strain on Xiao Ming, who is inclined to ’stray.’

But not you... not us. Our lives and work are entangled, and even maintaining the status quo would likely fill him with guilt towards Jiang Xue, making it even less likely for him to easily accept us.

Compelled by these thoughts, Zhou Qingyuan lifted her face and looked at her, "Is that why you’ve always tried to please Jiang Xue?

You seek to gain her acceptance first to overcome the biggest obstacle? A roundabout rescue?

Pfft! So lowly. Yang Hanqing, have you no pride?"

Ha!

Yang Hanqing turned back with a look of utter contempt, "Miss Zhou, understand this: The moment we began to chase a married man, any semblance of our self-respect was gone.

If you can’t handle that, then I suggest you better settle for the familial love Xiao Ming offers, for that’s the best outcome you could get."

With those words, she opened the door and walked out.