When the Vows Turned to Ashes

The day my wife gave birth, my mother-in-law held her hand, comforting her gently. "Lianyi, don't worry. Your dad and Siming are keeping guard right outside the delivery room. There's no way he can come here and make a scene." Yet, even after the baby's first cry echoed through the ward, I never showed up. My wife was thrilled. She assumed I had finally learned my place, that I wouldn't make an unreasonable fuss over her lifelong crush anymore. She had never understood my pain. In her eyes, she was merely preserving her crush's bloodline, so why couldn't I be more considerate? She even magnanimously decided that if I came to visit her at the hospital tomorrow, she might consider allowing me to be the child's legal father. What she didn't know was that my heart had already turned completely cold toward her. Before my own mother died of an illness, all she had wanted was a grandchild, but my wife flatly refused, claiming she despised children. Yet when her sick crush wished to pass on his legacy, she turned around and gladly bore his child. My father-in-law, terrified that I might ruin everything, paid one of my female students while I was volunteering in a remote mountain school to accuse me of sexual assault. I was thrown into prison over that fabricated nightmare. It took an entire year of agony before my name was finally cleared and I was released. In ten days, I would be leaving for a war-torn country as a volunteer teacher, never to see her again in this lifetime. The day I signed the paperwork for the overseas volunteer teaching program happened to be the day Gu Lianyi was discharged from the hospital. Carrying my resignation handover documents, I walked into the house, only to be greeted by a cozy, joyful scene of a "family of five" in the living room. Gu Lianyi, dressed in postpartum loungewear, was leaning blissfully against Ye Siming's chest. My mother-in-law was affectionately kissing the baby's cheek. "Look at him! His eyes look just like Lianyi's, but his features and bone structure are entirely Siming's. He's definitely going to grow up to be a handsome heartbreaker." My father-in-law, beaming with pride, chimed in, "Absolutely. You can tell this boy is destined for great things. Good thing he's Siming's boy. If he were Qi Yanze's, he'd probably be doomed to a lifetime of miserable, exhausting labor!" Hearing that, I let out a bitter, self-deprecating chuckle. Once upon a time, my father-in-law had been so proud of my career as an educator. Whenever he visited relatives or friends, he never missed a chance to boast about me. Now, everything had changed. I had become the target of his utter contempt—someone supposedly doomed to a lifetime of meaningless toil. How laughable. I still remembered three years ago, when I signed up to teach in an impoverished, remote village. Gu Lianyi had tearfully told me how proud she was of me, promising she would wait faithfully at home for my return. Her parents had been deeply moved as well, heaping endless praise on me: "Yanze, you are our pride! We'll wait right here with Lianyi until you come back!" When I first arrived in those mountains, the harsh climate and brutal conditions made me constantly sick. With the severe shortage of medicine, I nearly lost my life multiple times. Yet, holding onto the desperate desire to return home to my family, I gritted my teeth and pulled through. It was during my third year of volunteer teaching that a mutual acquaintance told me the truth: my wife was pregnant. "Brother Yanze? Why didn't you give us a heads-up before walking in?" Ye Siming spoke with the effortless arrogance of the man of the house, casually reprimanding me. Gu Lianyi and her parents all turned their heads toward me. Her father frowned, glaring at the resignation documents in my hand, and barked, "Lianyi just gave birth and needs to recover, and raising a baby costs serious money! You just got your official teaching post reinstated, and now you have the nerve to quit?!" "You really rotted your brain in prison, didn't you?! I was completely blind to ever let my daughter marry you!" Gu Lianyi looked equally irritated, her face turning frost-cold. "Qi Yanze, you were locked up for an entire year, and we could barely keep food on the table! If you lose your job right now, what is the baby supposed to do?" Hearing her shameless words, my brow furrowed as I let out a frigid sneer. "Is this baby mine? What the hell does it have to do with me?" Gu Lianyi's face darkened instantly. She glared at me furiously. "Just because he isn't your biological child means you won't provide for him? Qi Yanze, when did you become so damn selfish?!" "Three years ago, I was in a terrible car accident. If it weren't for Siming, I would have died right then and there! Now he's suffering from advanced liver cancer and doesn't have much time left. I carried a child for him to keep his family line going, and you're being this petty and jealous?!" Hearing this, a fleeting glint of mocking satisfaction flashed across Ye Siming's eyes, though his tone was sickeningly pitiful. "Brother Yanze, if the baby grows up calling you Dad, won't he be your child anyway?" "If my presence makes you angry, I can just leave. After all, I'm going to die soon anyway. As long as you treat my love and my baby well, that's all that matters." He said he would leave, yet he didn't move an inch. Gu Lianyi immediately grabbed his arm, her eyes overflowing with heartache. "Siming, where could you possibly go? You don't have much time left as it is!" Not much time left? He had been diagnosed with "liver cancer" an entire year ago, yet here he was, lively, healthy, and full of energy. How did that look like someone running out of time? It was nothing more than Gu Lianyi's pathetic excuse! Gu Lianyi shot a freezing, thoroughly impatient glare at me. "Qi Yanze, if you keep your head down and stop causing trouble, there will still be a place for you in this household!" "Ten days from now is the baby's one-month milestone banquet. You will show up as his father so our family doesn't become the neighborhood gossip. Do you hear me?!" Ten days from now was the exact date of my international flight. Since that was the case, I would leave them an unforgettable parting gift before I took off. Without uttering a single word, I turned on my heel and walked straight into the bedroom.As I packed my luggage, sounds of laughter and cheerful chatter continued to filter through the door. "Siming, relax. I promise you, Qi Yanze will only ever be the child's father on paper. I won't hide the truth from our son." "He will carry your last name, Ye, never Qi." Hearing that felt like someone had rubbed crushed glass against my raw heart, sending sharp, throbbing waves of pain through my chest. I remembered returning from the mountains a year ago during the holidays, having submitted a special leave request and traveled thousands of miles. The moment I pushed open the door, I found Ye Siming standing there. He had frowned, asking who I was and whom I was looking for in his house. Just as I was wondering if I had somehow walked into the wrong apartment, Gu Lianyi walked out, her belly heavily swollen. The moment she laid eyes on me, there was no joy—only panic, shock, and utter guilt. "Hubby... weren't you supposed to be teaching in the mountains? Why did you come back so suddenly?" In contrast to her shock, Ye Siming didn't look flustered in the slightest. Instead, he greeted me like the rightful master of the house. "Brother Yanze, we wanted to keep this from you a bit longer, but since you're already here, there's no hiding it anymore." "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the biological father of the baby in your wife's belly..." He had smiled serenely as he spoke, but everything after that turned into a blur of ringing noise in my ears. What did he just say? Gu Lianyi was carrying his child?! Before my mother passed away, she had pleaded so desperately for a grandchild, but Gu Lianyi had coldly rejected her, claiming she despised children. And now, she had cheated on me and conceived a baby with this man! Losing all reason, I tackled Ye Siming to the floor. With bloodshot eyes, I rained fist after fist onto his face, unleashing all the agonizing betrayal, grief, and fury pent up inside me! At that moment, only one thought consumed my mind: kill these two shameless hypocrites! Gu Lianyi screamed at the top of her lungs, but cradling her pregnant belly, she didn't dare come close, so she called 911. The responding officers pinned me to the floor. After sorting out the situation, the police looked conflicted, stating it was a messy domestic dispute that we needed to resolve privately. Yet her parents rushed over in a frenzy, demanding the police lock me up for "assault and disorderly conduct" so I could "cool my head" in a cell. They fretted over Ye Siming with immense tenderness, rushing him to the hospital, while I was hauled away in handcuffs, barred from my own home, and locked in a freezing jail cell for seven whole days. That was the moment I realized with absolute clarity: there was no longer a place for me in that home. Everything that belonged to me had been usurped by another man. My child-free wife had willingly borne him a child. My in-laws treated him like the golden son-in-law. And I was nothing more than an obsolete relic to be tossed aside. It wasn't until seven days later that Gu Lianyi, heavily pregnant, reluctantly came to the police station to pick me up. "Qi Yanze, can you please stop throwing tantrums? Siming's health is failing and he doesn't have much time left. All I wanted was to give him a legacy before he dies." "He is even willing to let his child call you Dad! Why can't you learn from him and show a little grace and maturity?" Hearing her words, I lowered my head into the shadows, my voice raspy and broken. "Then when my mother was on her deathbed, why weren't you willing to have a child with me?" Gu Lianyi remained dead silent. But I already knew the answer. At that moment, I felt like the biggest joke in the world. I walked out of the precinct alone, refusing to go home with her. After all, that was no longer my home. Then, a massive storm erupted on social media. A female student of mine publicly accused me of sexually assaulting her, even producing security footage of me leaving her home late at night—a visit that had been nothing more than free after-hours tutoring born of pure goodwill. No matter how I pleaded my innocence, no one believed me. Strangers condemned me online, the police hauled me back into custody, my in-laws hurled vile curses at me, and Gu Lianyi openly proclaimed that I was unworthy of being her husband. I spent an entire year locked behind bars, bearing the agonizing burden of a tarnished reputation. It wasn't until my lawyer finally uncovered irrefutable evidence proving the student had lied that my name was cleared, my record expunged, and my formal teaching credentials restored. Gu Lianyi walked into the bedroom. "Qi Yanze, good to see you're acting sensibly for once. Once you're done packing, go sleep in the study. Siming and I need to take care of the baby tonight." "Siming... he doesn't have long to live. You don't need to be jealous of a dying man. I just want him to feel happy and at peace during his final days..." Gu Lianyi tried to explain further, but I didn't want to hear another word. Cheating was cheating, plain and simple. Keeping a cold, indifferent expression, I grabbed my bags and headed to the study. It was already too late tonight; I would check into a hotel first thing in the morning. Just as I was drifting off to sleep, repulsive, breathless sounds drifted through the wall from the master bedroom next door. "Siming... be gentler... the walls aren't soundproof." "Isn't that even better?" "You're so bad... I meant, don't wake the baby." Happy and at peace, indeed. Holding my wife in his arms and making sure I could hear every disgusting sound—how could he not be thrilled? Gu Lianyi, you truly have no soul.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!Soon, the banquet officially began, and the hall was packed with relatives and friends. "Yanze?! Ugh, when the hell did that scumbag get released?!" "Probably here to see the kid. What an absolute monster—having a beautiful wife and still assaulting his own student!" Those guests who had no idea my name had been cleared recognized me immediately, murmuring insults and deliberately backing away from me in disgust. I remained expressionless, not bothering to offer a single word of defense. Just then, the venue staff wheeled out a massive family portrait backdrop. On it were Gu Lianyi, Ye Siming, her parents, and the newborn baby—a picture-perfect family of five. I was nowhere to be found. Someone nearby frowned in confusion. "Wait, why isn't Qi Yanze in the photo? Who's that guy holding his wife? Her brother?" Hearing this, I smiled calmly and answered, "That's Gu Lianyi's husband. I'm already her ex." The guests around me gasped in sheer disbelief. Whispers spread like wildfire, rippling across the entire banquet hall in seconds. Noticing the commotion, my in-laws realized something was off. They immediately dragged me aside, hissing threats under their breath. "None of these guests know your charges were dropped! If you keep stirring up trouble, don't blame us for having security throw you out on your ear!" "If it weren't to protect our family's reputation, do you honestly think we'd ever let a useless bum like you be our grandson's father?!" Gu Lianyi marched over as well, her face grim. "Qi Yanze, today is your son's milestone banquet. You know what you should and shouldn't say. If you dare cause a scene, I swear I'll divorce you!" Hearing her threat, I gave a placid nod, assuring them I definitely wouldn't "cause trouble." Only then did they let me go. Smiling warmly, the family stepped up onto the stage. Gu Lianyi took the microphone, her voice brimming with radiant emotion. "Dear family and friends, welcome to my son's one-month milestone celebration. I believe the greatest blessing a woman can experience in her life is marrying a wonderful husband." "And an even greater blessing is creating a tangible crystallization of love with that man! Because when a child enters this world, happiness itself is brought into physical form!" Her speech was impassioned and stirring, her eyes repeatedly drifting toward Ye Siming with profound tenderness. Yet, whenever her gaze brushed past me standing beneath the stage, all that tenderness vanished, replaced by an icy, warning glare. Smiling faintly, I stepped up onto the stage. Her expression shifted instantly, and she hissed in a frantic, hushed tone: "Qi Yanze, what do you think you're doing?!" "Today is the baby's banquet," I replied smoothly. "As your 'husband,' it's only right that I say a few words." Gu Lianyi's brow knitted tightly, but with hundreds of eyes watching, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and whisper a venomous warning: "If you dare say a single out-of-line word, you will regret it!" Panic danced across her eyes, while Ye Siming and her parents watched me with guarded hostility. I could even see my father-in-law's fists tightening, ready to tackle me the second I said something wrong. I offered a polite smile, gesturing for them to relax—I certainly wouldn't speak recklessly. "First of all, as the child's 'father' and Gu Lianyi's 'husband,' I want to thank all of you for traveling from near and far to celebrate this occasion." Seeing how compliant I appeared, relief flickered across Gu Lianyi's face, and she let out a quiet sigh. Ye Siming and my in-laws, however, exchanged subtle glances of mocking disdain. Noticing this, I instantly flipped the script: "However, I also have to tell everyone the truth about this baby! This child isn't mine at all! He is the illegitimate product of an affair between Gu Lianyi and this man right here, Ye Siming!" The entire banquet hall erupted into shocked silence before breaking into utter chaos. The relatives from my side slammed their tables, rising to their feet in fury! Gu Lianyi lunged forward to rip the microphone from my hand, while Ye Siming and her parents charged at me like rabid dogs. I sidestepped them effortlessly and projected my voice clearly into the mic: "Not only did Gu Lianyi carry another man's bastard, but she also expects me to legally claim him and raise him with my own money! How utterly absurd!" "As her husband, I refuse to be their scapegoat! As an educator, I refuse to live a lie!" "Starting today, Gu Lianyi, I am divorcing you!" With that, I hurled the microphone to the floor and slammed a signed divorce agreement onto the table in front of everyone. Gu Lianyi snatched up the fallen mic, tears streaming down her reddened eyes as she sobbed into it: "Qi Yanze! What lies are you spewing?! That's not how it happened at all!" Enraged, my father-in-law lunged, grabbing my collar and slamming me down against a table, roaring like a maniac: "You ungrateful little bastard! I knew you came here to ruin us!" "Everyone, don't believe a word he says! It's all filthy lies! Watch me beat this lying degenerate to death—the scumbag who even preyed on his own student!!" He grabbed an unopened glass bottle of liquor, raising it high, about to smash it directly over my skull! Right at that moment, the grand double doors of the banquet hall were kicked wide open, and a squad of uniformed police officers marched in! "Freeze! Drop the weapon!" Seeing the police storm inside, my father-in-law froze, but instantly burst into triumphant laughter: "Qi Yanze! Evil deeds always catch up to you! Look, the police are here to drag you back to a cell!" "Officers, take this rapist away right now!" My mother-in-law chimed in with venomous spite, "Qi Yanze, this is your karma! Justice never lets the wicked off the hook! This just proves that Ye Siming is the only one worthy of being our son-in-law!" I looked at them with an amused smirk. "Is that so? Are you sure they're here for me?" The officers strode straight onto the stage and produced an arrest warrant. But the name printed on it wasn't mine. "Gu Jiuhai! You are under arrest for malicious fabrication and framed defamation! Put your hands behind your back!"