1014: Miss, your marriage certificate is fake.

Miss, your marriage certificate is fake.

"Ziming… please. Please let this marriage certificate… be real… Please, please don't be fake…"1

Alas, her prayers were meant to go unanswered.

When she placed the certificate before the bureau staff, the latter scrutinized it and then told her, "Miss, I don't know where this was made, but while it looks real, we don't have records of it in our system…"

The staff's words shot down the last bit of hope in her heart.

"It's fake, huh…" she mumbled, feeling out of sorts.

"Yes, miss. Your wedding certificate was falsified. If you were conned, we could make a report for you. Would you like us to do that?"

Seeing how hard she took the news, the staff felt pity for her.

"It's fine… Thank you…"

Now that she knew that her marriage certificate was fake, she wobbled out of the Civil Affairs Bureau without much strength.

The staff watched her leave like that and felt bad for her.

"Aiya… That woman is so pitiful! She got scammed!"

"He he! I think it's a good deal! Did you see how good-looking that guy in the photo is?"

"Who cares about his looks?! I'm guessing that she got cheated out of her money and body. Sigh… Such a poor thing."

"Isn't it? I feel terrible just looking at her. She's probably emotionally invested in that guy…"

Pei Ge had no idea of this conversation between the employees of the bureau, but even if she did, she would not have the energy to bother herself with them.

Right now, she was treading on the streets like a mindless zombie.

She walked forward mindlessly and aimlessly.

'Miss, your wedding certificate was falsified. We don't have records of it in the system.

'Miss, if you were scammed, we could make a report for you. Would you like us to do that?

'Miss…'

"Ahhhhh!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, as if her head was about to explode.

Startled by her scream, those around her gave her a wide berth.

No one was curious why she was behaving this way, nor was anyone curious what had happened to her.

In this busy city, everyone was rather indifferent to each person's plight; they would not slow down or stop for a random stranger.

Looking at all the people walking forward coldly, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Suddenly, she wanted to leave this place and get away from everything…

However… if she left, what would happen to her mother?

She should stay for her mother to get treated, right?

What if Ji Ziming had lied to her? Nothing really mattered compared to her mother's condition, right?

Besides, besides… This was what he owed her. He used and lied to her so she should get something in return, should she not?

"That's right… I should stay whether… he loves me or not…"

The words were rather self-hypnotic, but they did not have any effect.

Sobs… Her heart ached. Why? They were once so happy, so how did things turn out the way they did…

Aren't we supposed to get married and live happily ever after?

Your dad… taught you to be an upright person, so how could you harbor such despicable thoughts now?

Even if he is in the wrong, that's no reason for me to use him…

Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes.

Stuck in self-hatred and self-blame, she did not know where to go from there.

Given her straightforward and loyal personality, she wanted to leave the man and this city.

However, she could not do so because her mother still needed the Ji family's support.

In the moment, she was torn between staying or leaving the city.

Just like that, she roamed the cold and unfamiliar streets aimlessly in her indecision.

Tak, tak, tak…

She walked aimlessly as she listened to the clacking of her heels on the ground.

She walked from noon until night…

Her phone rang on and off for who knew how long, but she did not pick it up in her hopes to escape from everything.

Her phone rang again when she was finally sitting down on a bench in her exhaustion.

Since she was calm now, she took out her phone.

She paused when she saw the caller ID on it.

Almost instantly, she answered the call.

"Hello, Xiao—"

Before she could really say anything, she heard yelling from the other end.

"Pei Ge, you finally picked up! My plane landed this noon, you know? Do you have any idea how many times I've called you?! Do you know how long I've been waiting here at the airport for you to pick me up?! How dare you not to take my calls! You…"

Her best friend's upbeat voice came through.

Inexplicably, she felt much better when she heard her best friend's chiding.

"Are you still at the airport?" She asked this softly after the other was done yelling at her.

"Of course, of course! I'm still here. I haven't even had lunch yet!"

She looked at her watch upon hearing that. It was almost four in the afternoon—way past lunchtime.

"What a coincidence; I haven't had lunch yet, either. Perhaps, we can grab lunch together."

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