“Wen Tingyan…” She choked up despite herself.
“Hmm? Jian Zhi?” He took her hand, “What’s wrong? Feeling like crying? If you want to cry, then cry. Don’t hold it in.”
His voice was truly so gentle, so tender.
Just like back then, when she came out of the operating room, he and the nurse wheeled her back to the ward. He stayed by her bedside just like this, speaking to her in that voice dripping with tenderness, “Jian Zhi, does it hurt? If it hurts, cry it out. Don’t hold back…”
Back then, she thought such gentle, soothing care was the best painkiller. Unfortunately, it took her all these years to fully understand that a man’s tenderness and care could never transform into love…
“Wen Tingyan, let’s get a divorce,” she said softly, withdrawing her hand as a stinging pain gradually blurred her vision.
He frowned, clearly not expecting her to say this.
After a brief silence, he called a waiter to bring a clean bowl. Picking up a piece of fish, he lowered his head and carefully removed the bones with his chopsticks. Meanwhile, he spoke in that soft, low voice, “Jian Zhi, I know you’re still angry, but talking about divorce is irrational. If you divorce me, what will you do? How will you live alone?”
Jian Zhi’s breathing quickened.
For five years, in everyone’s eyes, she had been dependent on him. Without him, she would be an unwanted, helpless wretch.
He thought so too.
“I can manage!” For the first time, she asserted herself in front of him. For the first time, she wanted to stand up for herself.
But he merely smiled, still treating it as a fit of pique, and placed the deboned fish before her. “Eat. I’ll allow you to be angry a little longer, but after the meal, no more anger.”
“I’m not angry. I truly want a divorce!” How could she make Wen Tingyan understand that her request for divorce wasn’t just a tantrum?
“Jian Zhi.” He set down his chopsticks. “Enough. I canceled two meetings and a business negotiation today specifically to spend time with you. Tomorrow and the day after, I might not have this much time. Let me say it again: Cheng Cheng is a good friend to all of us, one of my brothers and me. The way I treat her is no different from how I treat Awen and the others. She likes you too and has always wanted to be friends with you. Your attitude… how can I bring her to meet you?”
“Then there’s no need to bring her,” she replied, not believing Luo Yucheng genuinely wanted to be friends.
“Jian Zhi!” He was getting annoyed.
She knew it—whenever it involved Luo Yucheng, his patience wore thin.
“Eat up. After this, we’ll go shopping and buy whatever you like. Then we’ll head to your parents’ place for dinner. How long has it been since you last visited them?” He kept adding dishes to her bowl.
She didn’t want to mistreat herself, so she picked up her chopsticks and ate. No matter what, she had to ensure she stayed healthy. Starving herself out of spite wasn’t worth it.
“That’s better,” Wen Tingyan’s voice softened again. “Don’t mention divorce anymore.”
She paused, then continued eating in silence.
After the meal, she didn’t want to go shopping, but Wen Tingyan insisted, driving straight to the mall.
In their five years of marriage, the times Wen Tingyan had accompanied her shopping were few and far between. In fact, the occasions they appeared together in public were equally rare.
The mall’s lights were dazzling even in the daytime.
She felt somewhat unaccustomed to it, clutching her bag as she carefully walked in the shadow behind him.
The first floor was filled with counters for luxury bags, watches, and jewelry.
“What would you like to buy?” he turned and asked her.
She didn’t want to buy anything—she just wanted to go home!
But before she could utter a single word, someone called out from a distance, “President Wen!”
“It’s a recently partnered company. I’ll go greet them,” Wen Tingyan instructed. “Take a look around first. I’ll come find you later.”
Wen Tingyan’s clients were strangers to her anyway. Watching him shake hands with a man not far away, she stood still, surrounded by opulence and luxury, yet nothing appealed to her.
“Miss, it’s your turn,” the sales assistant reminded her.
Only then did she realize she had unintentionally joined the queue at a luxury store.
“Oh, no, thank you,” she quickly replied before immediately stepping away.
She wandered aimlessly through the mall until, at a branded watch counter, she spotted a familiar figure—Luo Yucheng.
As she looked at the watch brand, something sank in her heart, and she unconsciously moved closer to the counter.
Awen was accompanying Luo Yucheng as they browsed the watches. As she drew nearer, their conversation gradually became clearer.
“If you like it, buy it,” Awen’s voice chimed in.
But Luo Yucheng hesitated, “This isn’t appropriate. It’s really too expensive. Even though A Yan gave me his supplementary card and told me to spend freely, I’d feel too guilty splurging on something this pricey!”
Jian Zhi’s footsteps halted abruptly, heavy and unable to take another step, mirroring the weight in her heart.
Supplementary card…
His supplementary card…
“If he gave it to you, it’s for you to use. When has A Yan ever said one thing and meant another? After all these years as brothers, don’t you know his character? If he gave it to you, he meant it sincerely,” Awen continued.
“You’re right…” Luo Yucheng began tilting her wrist from various angles, showing it to Awen.
Jian Zhi saw it too.
“Is it pretty, Awen? I really, really love this watch. I’ve liked it since college. Back then, A Yan promised to buy it for me after graduation, but later…”
Later?
A bitter, mocking smile tugged at Jian Zhi’s heart.
Later, every year on her birthday or their anniversary, Wen Tingyan had gifted her this exact watch.
She had thought that even if Wen Tingyan had no heart, at least he remembered her birthday and their anniversaries. No matter how thoughtless the gifts seemed, they were at least valuable.
But it turned out he wasn’t heartless or careless. On the contrary, he was deeply thoughtful and deliberate—only, what was engraved in his heart had nothing to do with her…
“Well, A Yan is fulfilling his promise now. You can buy whatever you want. As long as you like it, he can afford it,” Awen encouraged her.
“Then I’ll use the card?” Luo Yucheng was visibly tempted.
Elsewhere, Wen Tingyan had finished exchanging pleasantries with his business partner. The partner had come to pick up his wife, who was shopping, and upon learning that Wen Tingyan was accompanying his wife, he suggested greeting her.
Seeing Wen Tingyan approach, Jian Zhi quickly hid behind a Roman column.
But Luo Yucheng had already spotted Wen Tingyan and waved enthusiastically, calling out, “A Yan, I’m over here! Come here.”
Peering from behind the column, Jian Zhi watched as Wen Tingyan and his partner walked toward Luo Yucheng.
Luo Yucheng held onto Wen Tingyan’s arm and swayed it gently, “A Yan, I want to buy this watch, okay?”
“Alright.” Wen Tingyan’s gaze at Luo Yucheng was as tender as water, the brightness in his eyes making his entire face come alive, no longer as indifferent as when he was at home with Jian Zhi.
“Thank you, A Yan! I’ll go swipe the card then!” Luo Yucheng waved the supplementary card Wen Tingyan had given her.
The business partner who had come with them smiled upon seeing this, “Mr. Wen and Mrs. Wen share such a deep affection, it’s truly touching.”
Mr. Wen? Mrs. Wen?
Both Wen Tingyan and Luo Yucheng were startled, but neither of them offered an explanation…