A deep, soul-level disgust surged up instantly. At the same time, the silent Ethan Bolton suddenly raised his head and said to the scornful Linda Howard, “You did very well! I have nothing more to say. Let’s get a divorce!”

“Heh, you think I’m afraid? I’ve had enough of you long ago! Fine, let’s divorce!” Linda Howard sneered coldly. Every time she lost her temper, hadn’t the other party always groveled? This time, it was just about getting rid of the child—so what! She hadn’t demanded his house or car when they got married; that was already a blessing he’d earned over eight lifetimes. Hmph, without me, let’s see how he manages!

As Linda Howard thought this, a disdainful sneer appeared on her face. Then her expression darkened as she walked toward the elegantly decorated marital bedroom and slammed the door hard!

“Bang!”

The wooden door shuddered violently, and the already cracked white tiles on the wall trembled as well. With a clatter, a lot of white plaster dust fell down.

That wall had been painted by Ethan Bolton with Dulux paint and a very strong adhesive, and those large, high-quality square tiles were genuine products. For the wall and door to be damaged like this, it was clear this woman had lost her temper like this many times before.

Ethan Bolton felt utterly calm inside, his face betraying no emotion. He quietly opened the door and walked into the bedroom, not even glancing at Linda Howard, who was packing her clothes. He went straight to his computer desk, opened a drawer, and took out the household registration book, marriage certificate, ID card, and some bareheaded photos taken for the wedding.

Because she had been pregnant and they were preparing to apply for a birth permit, Linda Howard’s household registration book was still here. That was perfect—none of the documents were missing!

After gathering the documents and placing them in a white plastic briefcase, Ethan Bolton also took out a few bank cards from the drawer.

Most of these bank cards had little money in them, but the ICBC online banking card still had some funds—enough to cover the divorce procedures.

Linda Howard had a lot of clothes—she filled three huge rolling suitcases and still wasn’t done. Ethan Bolton wasn’t the least bit impatient. When she finished packing the fourth large suitcase, Ethan Bolton said coldly, “Let’s go, to the village committee to get the certificate!”

With that, he left the still somewhat dazed Linda Howard behind and walked out first.

A moment later, the door slammed shut again with a “bang.”

Ethan Bolton frowned slightly but said nothing more, walking ahead alone with the briefcase full of documents in his hand.

……

Xinji Town Civil Affairs Bureau.

After handling the divorce procedures, there was still a one-to-three-month review period and issues like property division agreements to be checked. However, since both parties were present, it was easy to resolve! For the sake of efficiency, Ethan Bolton didn’t say much and simply handed over 1,000 yuan to get rid of the so-called troublesome “review.”

Since there were no children and it was a small place, property issues and the like were easy to settle. The clerk handling the case was apparently also connected, so everything went extremely smoothly.

The two of them could get their divorce certificates on the tenth day, and the marriage certificate was already reported for cancellation that very day.

“Ethan Bolton, I really underestimated you! You’ve got guts! You just threw away a thousand yuan for the divorce! Now that we’re divorced, I haven’t asked you for anything, but since you’re so bold, how about giving me tens of thousands as compensation?” Linda Howard sneered.

“There’s only twenty thousand left. Consider it your compensation. From now on, we’re completely finished. I hope you won’t regret it!” Ethan Bolton said calmly. He then took out twenty thousand yuan from the pockets of his blue jeans and, expressionless, placed it in Linda Howard’s hand.

“You… didn’t you say you had no money?” Linda Howard’s voice suddenly trembled, her momentum faltering.

“This twenty thousand was set aside for the child’s birth and your hospital delivery. Although I don’t make much money writing entertainment novels, I can still save up twenty or thirty thousand. Actually, I didn’t lie before—there was eighty thousand in savings, plus the royalties from those entertainment novels over the past two or three years, totaling nearly two hundred and thirty thousand. My dad’s illness cost about fifty thousand, our wedding and the house renovation cost nearly a hundred thousand, and buying you clothes and such cost over fifty thousand. Add in the laptop I bought for you and your brother’s expenses, and now this twenty thousand is all I have left. Take it—it’s fine. I’ll start over from scratch.”

Ethan Bolton spoke in a detached tone, as if talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

Linda Howard was slightly stunned. In fact, although she herself was never particularly well-off, she’d never lacked a few hundred or a thousand yuan. Her family hadn’t spent a cent on the wedding, and Ethan Bolton had never really mentioned the expenses. As for the laptop and clothes, though they were expensive, Linda Howard hadn’t thought much of it—weren’t those clothes just three or four hundred yuan each? How much could that be worth?

Now, thinking it over carefully, three or four hundred per piece, fifty or sixty pieces added up to over twenty thousand. A top-tier laptop capable of running large 3D games would cost at least ten thousand… Indeed, all of that was real money.