This is truly the wise thing to do! Ethan Grant didn’t see her off, he just sincerely said, “Take care!” After Sean Cooper left, he turned around and went back into the inner room.

Ah, how unpredictable life is—just a few days after getting married, and in the blink of an eye, one goes left, the other right.

Ethan Grant lay on the bed, hands behind his head, legs propped up, staring blankly at the shabby ceiling, his mind starting to calculate how to pay off his debts.

In fact, he didn’t have any confidence at all; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so eager to get Sean Cooper to leave. He was also worried that if he couldn’t repay the money, Wang Bao would definitely not let Sean Cooper off. That was the last thing he wanted to see. Such a good cabbage—if he couldn’t have it, he couldn’t let the pig have it either. But he truly had no way to protect Sean Cooper, so letting Sean Cooper go was the best choice. Another thing was, Wang Bao’s target was Sean Cooper; if Sean Cooper left, the pressure on him would naturally be much less.

What should he do?

Ethan Grant couldn’t help but recall how he used to make money in the past.

Collect protection fees?

Come on, with my build, I should be grateful if I’m not the one being extorted.

Keep scamming?

I can’t even figure out what kind of environment or situation I’m in right now—how am I supposed to scam anyone? Besides, my tricks don’t work here; this place is full of antiques, and there’s no one doing finance.

“Forget it, forget it. Anyway, it’s just me now. At worst, I’ll die and that’s that. I’ll just sleep for now—at least I’ll save a lunch that way.”

As Ethan Grant thought about it, he drifted off to sleep. After all, he really was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

He slept all the way until nightfall, fully embodying the spirit of “when the wind blows, the eggshell breaks; when the wife leaves, the bird is at peace.”

When he woke up, he suddenly noticed a dim candlelight shining from the front room.

“Who’s there?”

As Ethan Grant spoke, he had already jumped out of bed and quietly walked out, just in time to see someone coming in—it was Sean Cooper, who had left that afternoon.

“Why are you still here?”

Ethan Grant looked surprised.

Sean Cooper glanced at Ethan Grant, a gentle smile on her face as she said, “Husband—”

“Don’t call me husband, it gives me a headache. Just call me Ethan Grant.”

Ethan Grant waved his hand, his expression resolute.

He had never really planned on getting married before, and honestly, he still didn’t. It was all because he was born into a broken family. His parents divorced when he was very young because his father had someone else outside. After that, he lived with his mother, but unfortunately, because she had to play both mother and father and life was extremely hard, she eventually fell ill from overwork and died when he was still a child.

From then on, he drifted through society, doing petty theft and small-time hustling. Although his father was still alive, he was stubborn by nature and would rather die than go to his father, especially since his father had another family. Luckily, he was extremely gifted at scamming, so he didn’t starve to death on the streets. But whether it was because he’d been on his own since childhood, with no one to discipline him, or because he started running cons in nightclubs at a very young age, or maybe because his personality was just like the father he so deeply resented, the fact was that after he started making money, he was quite the playboy. After all, in that kind of environment, it was hard for a lotus to bloom.

This created a deeply conflicted mindset. He had witnessed firsthand his mother’s pain and hardship after the divorce—an indelible memory. Yet he saw himself turning out the same way. On top of that, his line of work was shady, so he believed that marrying anyone would only bring them harm. He didn’t want to create another woman’s tragedy, so he simply chose not to marry. Ever since he had money, he was never short of women around him—of all skin colors and nationalities—but they were all just for fun. If there was money, they’d spend it together; as long as everyone was happy, that was enough. His only requirement for women was eight words: mutual consent, part on good terms. As for feelings, he never talked about them, no matter if you were a fairy or a saint.

His partner, Pete Zhu, described this mindset as a kind of incurable psychological cancer—almost impossible to change.

But precisely because of this, as a scammer without emotional attachments, he was truly terrifying. This was a key factor in what made him who he was.

“Didn’t you leave? Why are you back? Did you forget something?”

Ethan Grant was clearly very unhappy about Sean Cooper’s return. In his view, Sean Cooper didn’t like him, and he didn’t want a wife like this either. Parting on good terms was the best outcome; if they stayed together, neither of them would be happy, so why make things hard for each other?

“Ethan Grant, that’s enough.”

Sean Cooper suddenly shouted angrily, pointing at Ethan Grant and scolding, “I know you’re weak, but I didn’t expect you to be this weak. Have you ever seen anyone who, at the first sign of trouble, drives his own wife away? As a man, shouldn’t you shoulder the responsibility for this family?”

Ethan Grant retorted, “I really haven’t seen such a man, but I’ve seen plenty who sell their wives to pay off debts.”

Not just in ancient times—even in modern days, he’d seen plenty of people selling their wives to pay off debts. Many of the girls in nightclubs came from such situations.

Sean Cooper was momentarily stunned, then snorted, “I’m just afraid you don’t even have the guts for that.”

Ethan Grant nodded, “Yeah, I don’t have the guts. So why did you foolishly come back for a man like me? I really can’t understand what you’re thinking.”