Playing the Divergent Card

On the way back, Zhuang Jingbai remained silent, even absent-minded.

“Wife, what’s wrong with you?”

Zhuang Jingbai shook her head and didn’t speak.

The faint fragrance from the kitchen kept replaying in her mind, along with that tightly shut door.

There was a woman in Lu Chen’s residence.

And she had been staying for more than a day!

Back in her own dwelling, Zhuang Jingbai didn’t know what she felt anymore.

She had made a mistake in a moment of confusion, but now she had woken up.

But why, when she learned that a woman was living in Lu Chen’s place, did she feel such pain and loss?

Lin Tian and Lu Chen were close friends.

In a sense, she would never have a chance with Lu Chen.

So wasn’t it perfectly normal for him to find a woman to marry?

Why didn’t she want to see him get married?

Was it because he had lifted her bridal veil, drunk the nuptial wine with her, and even received her most precious gift?

So in a way, she, Zhuang Jingbai, had not married Lin Tian, but… him!

And after she made that mistake, there could never be anything between them again.

Thinking of this, Zhuang Jingbai couldn’t help but take out from her storage pouch the item that the two of them had shared…

In Lu Chen’s residence.

He was now refining the treasure Lin Tian had given him.

It was a fine item that could unlock a second attribute!

In the original story, the protagonist Lin Tian had started his legendary life because of his second attribute (Blazing Sun Sacred Body).

So what would his own second attribute be?

Thinking this, Lu Chen took a deep breath, pressed the jade token to his forehead, and slowly closed his eyes.

Spiritual power surged.

The jade token turned into a stream of light and sank into his sea of consciousness.

Boom!

A roar came from the depths of his mind, as if something was being torn open, and as if something was growing.

Lu Chen felt every inch of his flesh trembling, every cell cheering.

This feeling… was more wonderful than breaking through a realm.

After an unknown time, the trembling gradually subsided.

Lu Chen opened his eyes, a hint of anticipation flickering in them.

He closed his eyes and looked inward at his sea of consciousness.

There, beside the [One Hit, Certain Hit] attribute that had been floating alone, a new light spot had appeared.

Lu Chen held his breath and probed with his spiritual sense.

The light spot dispersed, turning into a few ancient characters.

[Contradiction]

Lu Chen froze.

Contradiction?

What kind of attribute was this?

He read it over and over again, making sure he wasn’t seeing things.

It was indeed the two characters [Contradiction].

And then… that was it.

No function description, no effect introduction, no hint at all.

Just those two lonely characters, like a prank.

“What… what does this mean?”

“A Pokémon ability?” Lu Chen scratched his head.

He tried to touch that attribute with his spiritual sense.

No response.

He tried to activate it with spiritual power.

Also no response.

After studying it for a long time, still no response.

In the original novel, Lin Tian’s [Blazing Sun Sacred Body] clearly stated effects like “physical strength increased tenfold, blood energy recovery increased tenfold, possesses the pressure of a sacred body.”

What the hell was this [Contradiction] of his?

Contradict what?

Contradict whom?

What effect would contradicting have?

Completely unknown.

“Could it be a useless attribute?” Lu Chen frowned.

Attributes were highly bound to a person, and he wasn’t a genius like Lin Tian.

It was normal for the attribute he awakened to not be heaven-defying.

“Maybe… it needs specific conditions to trigger?” Lu Chen thought for a long time and could only come to this conclusion.

Little did he know, from this moment on, the game was already over.

Lu Chen couldn’t figure it out.

He sighed and opened his eyes.

Forget it.

Since he couldn’t understand it now, he would leave it for later.

Having something was better than nothing.

He got up and walked out of the bedroom, only to find Jiang Huaiyu standing in the hall, looking at him with a complex gaze.

“Senior Sister?”

“What’s wrong?”

Jiang Huaiyu hesitated for a moment.

“I went to the kitchen.”

“Just now… did Zhuang Jingbai discover something?”

Lu Chen was silent for a moment, then nodded.

“She should have smelled your scent.”

Jiang Huaiyu’s expression changed slightly, then she smiled bitterly.

“Sorry, I was careless.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“She was always sharp.”

Jiang Huaiyu looked at him, as if wanting to say something but holding back.

“Lu Chen, if… if she really finds out, will you drive me away?”

Lu Chen was taken aback.

Meeting her uneasy eyes, he saw trepidation, anticipation, and an unspoken dependence.

In an instant, Lu Chen felt that the genius senior sister at the late Golden Core stage before him had become somewhat fragile, making him want to hold her tightly and cherish her.

“No.”

A light shone in Jiang Huaiyu’s eyes.

“But Senior Sister, you have to think.”

“If word gets out, how will we explain…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t drag you down.” Jiang Huaiyu interrupted him, her voice firm.

“Instead of caring about others’ opinions, it’s better… to live your own life well.” She looked at Lu Chen, a faint smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

“In these three years, I’ve been afraid every day that this secret would be exposed, so I lived in constant fear.”

“After the divorce, these few days at your place have been the most peaceful days I’ve had in years.”

Lu Chen looked at her and didn’t know what to say.

He wasn’t stupid.

He could feel an odd atmosphere between them now, not like senior sister and junior brother, but more like his own…

“I mean… us continuing like this… isn’t right.”

Jiang Huaiyu was stunned.

“I know you have nowhere to go now, and I know you’re bitter inside.”

“But we are a man and a woman alone, living together for a long time.”

“It’s not good for either of us.”

Jiang Huaiyu didn’t speak, just looked at him.

“So, Senior Sister, after all…”

“After all, what?”

“After all, you are still his…”

Jiang Huaiyu still didn’t speak.

Lu Chen took a deep breath and said what he wanted to say most:

“If it really doesn’t work out, I can raise Ling’er.”

“You don’t have to worry about her being uncared for or being wronged.”

“I will fulfill a father’s responsibility.”

When these words came out, Jiang Huaiyu was clearly stunned.

She looked at Lu Chen, her gaze becoming complex.

She had not misjudged him.

Lu Chen was much more responsible than Wang Feng.

Wang Feng had proposed the divorce, and then she became the victim.

He turned around and divorced her.

But even so, Lu Chen still thought she could reconcile with that man, and he would fulfill… a father’s duty.

But he only mentioned the daughter.

The meaning was clear: he could be responsible for the daughter, but not for her.

This made her heart ache.

It was also at this moment that she realized that during these days, without realizing it, she had almost played the role of Lu Chen’s partner.

Cooking, cleaning, waiting for him to come out of seclusion, preparing food and drink for him… weren’t these things…

When did she start doing this?

And why did it come so naturally?

A wave of shame and indignation surged in her heart.