Quality Novels Reading 27

"What are you two doing?" My ex-husband was outside the door, begging for another chance. Inside, my younger boyfriend deliberately pressed harder, and I couldn't help but scratch his back raw. He winced, leaned in, and whispered, "Tell me, baby... who's better? Him or me?" After being reborn, Evelyn Hart seemed like a different person. She no longer got up before dawn, timing every minute to prepare a steaming breakfast for Adrian Whitaker, packed it into an insulated food carrier, and carried it all the way to regiment headquarters, just so he could have a taste of home. Nor did she go to the nursery every evening to pick up the child, holding her son's hand and listening all the way home as he chattered about the new nursery rhymes he had learned that day. Even when her son was in a car accident and taken to the hospital, and Adrian called her again and again, she ignored it completely. Only when the thirty-eighth call came in did she finally answer at an unhurried pace. Adrian's voice shifted from anxious to barely contained anger. "Noah was in a car accident. Did you even know?" Evelyn held the phone, her eyes fixed on the documents before her, her voice calm and without a ripple. "I know. Haven't you already called dozens of times?" Adrian choked on her indifferent tone, and his anger shot up at once. "If you know, why haven't you come? Noah's leg is broken, and he was badly frightened. Right now he needs his mother by his side! Do you have any idea how hard he has been crying? His voice is hoarse, and he keeps calling for his mom!" Evelyn paused for a beat and turned a page without looking up. "If he cries long enough, he will stop crying. Children have to learn to face things on their own eventually. I'm reading materials. I'm hanging up." "Evelyn!" Adrian nearly roared from the other end. Evelyn hung up directly, then pulled out the phone cord in passing. That evening, Adrian rushed home with cold fury clinging to him. Evelyn had her head buried in a pile of heavy reference materials and manuscript paper, so focused that she did not even notice him come in. A surge of unnameable fury, mixed with the suffocating feeling of being ignored for days, instantly overwhelmed Adrian's reason. He strode over in a few quick steps, grabbed the thickest stack of materials on the desk, and slammed it hard onto the floor. "Evelyn!" His voice was as cold as if it had been tempered in ice. "Noah is still lying in the hospital! And you still have the mind to sit here reading this?" Startled by the sudden commotion, Evelyn raised her head and looked at him. Adrian was exceptionally good-looking. His crisp military uniform set off his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and straight, pine-like posture, giving him an innate cold elegance and the resolute bearing unique to a soldier. If this had been Evelyn in her last life, the moment he looked at her like this, she would already have been flustered and at a loss, rushing to explain, rushing to soothe him. But now, not the slightest ripple stirred in her heart. She calmly bent down, wanting to pick up the materials. "Don't you dare pick them up!" Adrian barked sharply. He lifted his foot and actually kicked the materials straight toward the briquette stove burning in the corner. "Materials, materials, all you know are these materials! I know you've been preparing to enter the Institute of Physics Research during this period. That's your dream, and I have never said I wouldn't support you! But do you know the institute has been reformed now? Once you enter, you'll have to join a top-secret critical research project. At the shortest, three years. At the longest... ten years! Maybe even longer!" "Tell me, what do you plan to do with this family? What about Noah? He's only four! He ran out today and got into a car accident. Isn't it because you, as his mother, failed to look after him properly and spend all day buried in these things?!" Evelyn slowly straightened and met his furious gaze. Her eyes were clear and cold, like a lake sealed in ice. "So?" she asked softly. "So?" Adrian was so enraged by her impervious manner that the veins at his temples jumped. "I'm giving you two choices. First, give up entering the institute, stay home and take care of Noah, and be a proper wife and mother. Second--" He paused, stared into her eyes, and enunciated one word clearly and coldly. "Divorce." Evelyn looked at him quietly, at this man she had loved for an entire lifetime, and who had also ruined an entire lifetime for her. A young and accomplished regiment commander, handsome and upright, with outstanding military achievements, he was the object of secret admiration for countless women soldiers in the cultural troupe and girls in the family compound. In her last life, she had been one of them too. Her heart had pounded at first sight, and from then on, her whole heart and eyes had been filled with him, humble to the dust. But now, as she looked at him, all that remained in her heart was a dead, still pool, unable to raise even the faintest wave. "I understand," she said, her voice very light. "Don't worry. I will make... the right choice." Adrian's heart suddenly tightened. Her excessively calm tone and gaze made him inexplicably panic for a moment. For an instant, he almost thought she would say the word "divorce." But how could that be? He knew better than anyone how much Evelyn loved him, how much she loved Noah Whitaker, how much she loved this family. When the organization had introduced them for a blind date, the way she looked at him had shone like stars. After marriage, she had taken meticulous care of him and cherished Noah like a treasure in the palm of her hand. For this family, she had even resigned from the job she liked most and stayed home with peace of mind to support her husband and raise their child. Anyone might get divorced, but Evelyn absolutely would not. She loved him so completely that she had lost herself in him. It seemed his forceful attitude had worked. She must be planning to put down the institute and return to the family. At that thought, the taut string in Adrian's heart loosened, and his tone softened somewhat. "Since you understand, stop reading these useless things. My allowance is enough to support this family and keep you well provided for. A place like the institute is not where you should stay." He rubbed his brow, clearly a little weary. "I'll take a bath first. Tomorrow morning, we'll go see Noah together." After saying that, he took off his military jacket, casually draped it over the back of a chair, and turned into the bathroom. The jacket slipped to the floor, and from the inner lining pocket, a small black-and-white photograph fluttered out. Evelyn bent down and picked it up. The girl in the photograph was young and beautiful, with two glossy black braids and a gentle, moving smile. It was Vivian Snow. The edges of the photograph were somewhat worn, clearly from being often rubbed by its owner. Adrian's expression changed sharply. He rushed over in a few strides and snatched the photograph away, his movements so quick they seemed almost panicked. "This... Vivian asked me to help her develop some photos a while ago. I forgot to give it to her and put it in my pocket casually." The lie was laughably clumsy. Photos were always developed in batches. Who would develop a single one by itself, and then carry it so carefully close to the body? The moment the words left his mouth, Adrian himself realized something was wrong, and a trace of annoyance flashed across his face. He opened his mouth, wanting to explain further. But Evelyn had already turned away calmly. "I know. I didn't say anything. Go take your bath." Adrian froze, looking at her calm, unwaving profile. The unease he had just pressed down faintly rose again. How could she... not care at all? This was not like her. "Evelyn," he could not help adding, his tone a little dry, "Vivian and I... have long been over. Don't overthink it." "I'm not overthinking it." With her back to him, Evelyn began sorting the scattered manuscript pages on the desk. Adrian looked at her completely unruffled back, the unease in his heart spreading like ripples, yet he could not say exactly what was wrong. In the end, he could only return to the bathroom full of doubts. Just then, the phone in the living room rang. Evelyn walked over and answered it. "Hello, is this Ms. Hart? This is the National Institute of Physics Research." A solemn yet slightly excited voice came from the other end. "After multiple rounds of screening and final evaluation, we are pleased to inform you that you have been officially accepted into the Project Spark top-secret critical research team! Congratulations!"