Without Jiaxi's betrayal and his indulgence of the woman he kept on the side, how would Lili have dared to be so bold? Moreover, after she understood everything, she truly had to thank that woman, Lili.
If Lili hadn't caused her to fall, she might never have seen Jiaxi clearly and would have, just as Jiaxi had hoped, crossed her bottom line and forgiven him once more.
Jiaxi suddenly knelt before her, startling Mengqi into shielding Mengyao, thinking Jiaxi would do something irrational. But she never expected him to resort to kneeling and begging.
Mengqi worried that Mengyao would soften and looked down on Jiaxi's behavior, saying, "A man's knees are made of gold. Don't act pitiful and kneel at the drop of a hat..."
"Sister, let him kneel if he wants to. Let's go," Mengyao interrupted Mengqi, casting a cold glance at the kneeling Jiaxi before turning and pulling Mengqi away.
Jiaxi knelt on the ground, pointed at by onlookers. He clenched his fists tightly, not expecting Mengyao to be so heartless.
He stood up in a rage, quickly catching up to Mengyao, and grabbed her neck from behind. "You deceived my feelings! You abandoned me first! You left me first! But I've forgiven you, so why can't you forgive me! Why!"
Mengqi and Mengyao were both startled by his sudden action.
Mengqi reacted first, trying to pull him away to make him release Mengyao, yelling at him, "What are you doing! Let her go!"
Jiaxi suddenly produced a dagger and pointed it at Mengqi, saying, "It's all your fault! Because you sowed discord, Mengyao left me again. You deserve to die the most!"
As he spoke, he excitedly plunged the dagger towards Mengqi. Before Mengqi could let go, the dagger pierced her wrist.
Feeling a sharp pain, she let go and quickly used her other hand to tightly grip the wounded area to stop the bleeding.
Seeing that he had injured Mengqi, Mengyao screamed, "Don't hurt my sister! It has nothing to do with her! I'm the one who insisted on divorcing you. I'm completely disappointed in you and will never forgive you..."
"You're lying! You still love me! We've been in love since childhood, our bond is stronger than gold! You belong to me, forever!" Jiaxi said, pressing the dagger against her neck.
Seeing that Jiaxi had completely lost his mind, Mengqi quickly said, "Yes, yes, you've been inseparable since childhood, your bond is stronger than gold. No one can break you apart. Put the knife down first, and let's talk things through properly. Mengyao, she..."
"Mengyao is blind to marry someone like you! Let her go! If you have the guts, aim the knife at me!"
Hearing this voice, Mengqi looked utterly bewildered. Mengyao could hardly believe her eyes.
Song Jiaping had appeared before them.
"Song Jiaping!" The tightly wound nerve in Jiaxi's mind snapped completely. His pupils constricted as he roared at him, "It was you, behind the scenes, instigating Mengyao! You made her divorce me! So you two could be together!"
Song Jiaping looked at him with cold, dark eyes, like a beast ready to pounce. He sneered and admitted, "Yes, it was all because of me that she left you. She and I have experienced life and death together. Our feelings are stronger than gold. Your feelings for her are not worth mentioning compared to ours."
Jiaxi felt that all his suspicions were now confirmed. Mengyao had indeed been secretly contacting Song Jiaping after marrying him.
Song Jiaping had been destroying their family behind his back. He was enraged to the extreme. He released Mengyao, gripped the knife with both hands, and charged at Song Jiaping. Only if Song Jiaping died could he truly have Mengyao!
Song Jiaping wanted Jiaxi to direct all his anger towards him.
When Jiaxi charged, he sidestepped, grabbed the hand holding the dagger, and with a clean over-the-shoulder throw, slammed Jiaxi to the ground. He then kicked away the fallen dagger and pinned him down.
Song Jiaping said to Mengyao, who was stunned, "Quick, call the police."
Mengyao responded by dialing the emergency number. Seeing Mengqi's bleeding wrist, she also called an ambulance.
Soon, the police arrived and took him and Song Jiaping to the police station to give statements. Mengqi was taken to the ambulance.
After giving their statements at the police station last night, Jiaxi was detained for intentional assault as he and Song Jiaping left.
As they walked out of the police station, Mengyao felt a heavy heart, a mix of emotions churning within her.
She recalled how Jiaxi had looked at her with a chilling gaze in the police station, a gaze filled with hatred that had seeped into his bones.
Thinking back now, where in this world was there a love like Yang Guo's for Xiaolongnü, a love that could wait in the same place for over a decade?
In truth, after they broke up due to a misunderstanding and she went abroad, Jiaxi had only harbored hatred for her, not love.
When she returned, Jiaxi had been very good at pretending, so much so that she hadn't detected anything.
"Are you alright?" Song Jiaping saw her low spirits and her silence.
Mengyao tried her best to treat him like an ordinary friend and gave him a faint smile. "I'm fine. It's not the first time Jiaxi has suddenly gone mad. Before, it was just between him and me. The only difference this time is that he couldn't control his behavior in public."
Song Jiaping's heart ached hearing this. He imagined that she must have suffered a lot in reaching this point with Jiaxi. He fell into deep self-reproach, thinking that if it weren't for him, Mengyao wouldn't have endured so much hardship.
Seeing that he wasn't responding, Mengyao asked, "Why did you suddenly come back? Are you leaving again?"
"I came back for something, and I'll be leaving again." Song Jiaping felt too ashamed to meet her gaze, only wishing she could overcome the pain of this marriage. "What are your plans after divorcing Hong Jiaxi?"
"I haven't thought about it," Mengyao hadn't thought that far ahead. She then asked, "Why were you at the city park? Such a coincidence?"
Song Jiaping said, "It wasn't a coincidence. I learned that Jiaxi was treating you badly. As soon as I returned, I intended to talk to him. But when I had someone track him, I discovered he was bothering you again, so I rushed over."
"Thank you. Would you like to go for a drink with me?" Mengyao wanted to drink to alleviate her discomfort.
Song Jiaping advised her, "You just recovered your health, you can't drink yet. If you're feeling down, I'll accompany you for a walk by the river."
"Alright." As Mengyao was about to hail a taxi, a jeep drove towards them.
Song Jiaping said to her, "No need to flag one down. My car has been following us."
Mengyao looked at the military-green jeep, her curiosity piqued about his current identity. "When you were abroad, were you still a Doctors Without Borders doctor on the front lines?"
Song Jiaping knew he couldn't hide it from her. He said, "I'm no longer a Doctors Without Borders doctor. I was a minor leader in the mercenary group there, but I still treated the wounded frequently."
"You became a mercenary leader?" Mengyao asked in surprise. "Why? Was someone forcing you?"
"That's a long story," Song Jiaping opened the car door for her, letting her get in first. "I'll tell you slowly when there's an opportunity."