Volume One, Chapter One: Let's Divorce

Page 1/3

Jiang Li stepped out of the bathroom, drying her hair, and came face to face with Shen Yechu, who had just returned home. A sudden unease surged in her heart. “So early today? Did the project get settled?” Shen Yechu nodded and placed a thick stack of documents on the bedside table. Jiang Li glanced at them and noticed a sheet deliberately hidden at the bottom. The first uncovered character she saw was: “divorce.” Her hand holding the towel froze; her entire body stiffened. It was the divorce agreement.

She had seen this document a week ago. Back then, it had been left at home by Shen Yechu, and she had only glanced at it hurriedly before his assistant came to retrieve it. For the past week, she had been deceiving herself, telling herself perhaps it was Shen Yechu holding it for a friend, or maybe it was related to a company client’s needs. She feigned calm indifference.

Until today, when the document appeared again at home. Three years of marriage, three years of Shen Yechu’s constant busyness, and this was the first time he came home so early. Women are always sensitive; Jiang Li lowered her hand from drying her hair and asked in as calm a tone as she could muster, “Is there something you want to talk to me about?”

Shen Yechu pushed up his rimless glasses, paused for a few seconds, then said, “Xiaoli, let’s get a divorce.” The words struck her like a bolt from the blue, making her tremble all over. She looked at the man before her, feeling dazed.

“Why?”

“I think we both deserve the right to pursue love.”

Love? Love.

They had been married three years, and Jiang Li believed she had managed their home meticulously, caring for him wholeheartedly. Although they had never consummated their marriage, since they were married, Jiang Li trusted that one day she would enter his heart. But he said he wanted to pursue love.

Jiang Li’s face turned pale; the towel in her hand slipped to the floor without her noticing. Shen Yechu picked up the towel and gently wiped her hair. “Xiaoli, we don’t need to gamble our whole lives on a whim.”

Only then did Jiang Li recall that their marriage had never truly been about love from the beginning. Shen Yechu had a girlfriend at the time, but the Shen family’s decline meant they couldn’t afford the high bride price she demanded. Meanwhile, Jiang Li, educated and refined, unexpectedly met him through a matchmaking arrangement. Shen Yechu was gentle and courteous. Jiang Li’s father had just been discharged after heart bypass surgery and, in fragile health, hoped his daughter would have lifelong support. Thus, after six months of knowing each other, they registered their marriage.

Living together day and night for three years, Jiang Li had feelings for him. After all, even raising a cat or a dog for three years creates bonds. So she always thought Shen Yechu felt the same.

But reality slapped her hard.

Jiang Li fled their home as if escaping, despite Shen Yechu desperately calling her name from behind.

Page 2/3

Shen Yechu hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from Jiang Li; he thought she would accept it calmly. Walking down the street, Jiang Li felt lost, her heart torn by invisible claws repeatedly.

All the tenderness Shen Yechu had shown, all the excuses she had whispered to herself at night, now seemed ridiculous. The street bustled with passersby, couples sweetly entwined. She felt as if she had never been held in Shen Yechu’s arms.

Her whole body ached with sorrow, limbs stiff. Reaching an alley, she turned and leaned against a wall, slowly crouching down. She stifled her sobs, covering her mouth to avoid looking too disheveled.

“Jiang Li?”

A somewhat cold male voice sounded beside her. She hadn’t reacted when it first came, but instinctively looked up. The man’s eyes showed slight surprise. “Jiang Li, is that really you?”

Only then did Jiang Li snap back to reality. Flustered, she wiped her face and hesitantly said, “Lu... Jinye?”

The man took off his neatly pressed dark gray suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders. His hand deliberately avoided touching her. “Mm.”

At that moment, Jiang Li’s inner grievance and shame peaked. It was him! Lu Jinye, whom she had broken up with four years ago! Wasn’t he studying in the UK? Why had he come back now? Why did he have to see her in such a pitiful state?

Her nails dug into her flesh, but she felt no pain. All she wanted now was to escape this place, to get away from him.

“Why are you out here alone without a coat? Trying to show off your figure?” His words bore a mocking tone, but Jiang Li didn’t want to argue. She returned the jacket to his embrace, her hands trembling violently. “Thanks for your concern, I’m going home now.”

With that, she turned and boarded a taxi by the roadside. Lu Jinye watched her fleeing silhouette, his eyes clouded with an indistinguishable shadow.

“Mr. Lu, the purchases are ready.” The secretary emerged from the mall carrying several delicately wrapped gift boxes.

Lu Jinye nodded and got into a waiting white Mercedes.

*

Jiang Li rode the taxi in circles but eventually returned to Shen Yechu’s apartment. The lights upstairs were still on, and Shen Yechu’s figure moved near the window. She gritted her teeth, pushed open the door, and ascended the stairs to the second floor.

“Let’s talk.”

Shen Yechu looked back at her. “Okay.”

Though they said “talk,” neither spoke first. The silence grew heavy.

Page 3/3

Unable to bear the silence, Shen Yechu took off his glasses and rubbed his aching eyes. “I’ll leave the house to you.”

Jiang Li looked at him, noticing no trace of reluctance in his eyes. She gave a bitter smile. “Alright.” Then paused before asking, “When?”

Shen Yechu understood she meant the divorce. “Tomorrow. There’s a one-month cooling-off period.”

Jiang Li felt she was already calm enough, so she said, “Okay. Should I pack your things or will you come get them yourself?”

Since the house was hers, whatever belonged to Shen Yechu should be moved out by him. The sooner, the better.

Unexpectedly, he answered quickly, “Leave everything. I’ll just take some clothes.”

The conversation ended faster than she imagined. Shen Yechu went to the study to sleep. As he left, he saw a conspicuous white Mercedes slowly driving away downstairs.

Inside the car, Lu Jinye didn’t understand why he had followed her home. Was it to see her married life? To witness the affection between her and another man? Upstairs, the two leaned by the window talking quietly. Jiang Li’s expression was peaceful, no longer the sadness and pain she had shown by the roadside. He guessed she had been comforted.

Lu Jinye felt he was just torturing himself; after all, she had been the one to end things before. He stifled his cigarette and pressed the accelerator.

The next day, the two met at the civil affairs office. The process was swift; they were told that if they still wished to divorce after the thirty-day cooling-off period, they could come back together.

Jiang Li declined Shen Yechu’s invitation to eat and turned to go home. She hadn’t been home for nearly a month. Just as her father was about to start eating, there was a knock on the door. The housekeeper quickly opened it.

“Oh, it’s Xiaoli! Your father was just talking about you. Come in, come in. Have you eaten?”

As she spoke, the housekeeper took out a pair of chopsticks and bowls from the kitchen.

Jiang Li thanked her and sat down to a warm lunch with her beaming father. The heaviness in her heart seemed a little lighter.

Before returning home, she called the doctor, who said her father’s condition was very good. He felt comfortable daily and wasn’t overexerting himself; as long as he avoided major shocks, he would be fine.

After much hesitation, Jiang Li told her father about the divorce. Hearing this, he sighed heavily.

“Your dad knows you married Yechu because you were worried about me.” He smiled. “But don’t worry, your old man is in great shape now! My daughter should never have to suffer through life! The Jiang family’s daughter was once sought after by many, and I didn’t let anyone have you. Letting him support you for three years is already a blessing.”

Jiang Li laughed at her father’s words. “Don’t be sad, daughter. Even if there’s no Shen Yechu, there’s Zhang Yechu, Li Yechu, Liu Yechu—there’s always someone for you.”

“Even if all the Yechus aren’t right for you, there’s your old man. I’ll live long and well, staying by my daughter’s side, so you never have to worry.”

Jiang Li’s laughter turned to tears, ripples stirring in the softest part of her heart—her father’s deepest love for his daughter.