Luo Yueming arrived at her grandmother’s tombstone.
She set down the flowers.
She was met only by the sound of the whistling wind.
“These are flowers from Lu Yao’s shop.”
The wind seemed to quiet down; it was magical.
“She opened a flower shop. Business is good. You would probably like the flowers from her shop, too.”
“By the way, I divorced her.”
Whoosh—
The wind grew loud again.
Luo Yueming’s body was very cold, yet she seemed unable to feel the temperature. She said calmly: “She’s doing very well.”
As for herself—she didn’t know. Just so-so.
She stayed by the tombstone, keeping watch for an entire night.
What was the difference between her and the lonely spirits in the cemetery?
Probably just that she would still drift back to the office to work.
Luo Yueming was a very capable person. She could go several days without sleep and still participate in an exam, earning a decent rank.
A few days didn’t affect her, but what about nearly three months? For three months, her average sleep time was only three or four hours. Most of the time, she would close her eyes and then immediately open them, not knowing if she had even slept.
Regardless, she had persevered.
Persevered all the way to this banquet.
She was already like someone walking a tightrope, ready to fall at any moment, yet weirdly able to maintain her balance and hide the truth from everyone.
President Li noticed that Luo Yueming had been staring in a certain direction and suspected she was spacing out.
Surely not? Would his capable subordinate space out on such an important occasion?
President Li looked in the direction of Luo Yueming’s gaze and soon began to smile. He knew it; Luo Yueming wouldn’t just space out for no reason.
The protagonist of the banquet had arrived.
Zhou Shiye.
The lights suddenly went out, and a spotlight shone on Zhou Shiye. She and her best friend were both wearing large pink dresses with sparkling decorations and bows, taking the Barbie aesthetic to its extreme.
This person was a true princess, living in the highest circles of the country.
After escorting Zhou Shiye onto the stage, Shen Qing quietly stifled a yawn while standing below.
She had woken up too early. If she’d known, she would have slept a bit longer.
A friend standing next to her nudged her with an elbow: “Weren’t you going to invite someone? Didn’t get them?”
Shen Qing: “I said from the beginning she wouldn’t agree.”
“Then you clearly didn’t try hard enough!”
“Heh.” Shen Qing didn’t rush to argue, her eyes searching the venue.
With all the lights on Zhou Shiye, it was hard to see the crowd, but she was looking for Lu Yao’s wife—no, ex-wife.
That person was definitely in there.
“If I had known she was already divorced, I shouldn’t have been so polite from the start.” Shen Qing curled her lip.
Initially, she had questioned the motives of someone like Cao Cao, but after meeting Lu Yao, she came to understand them. Just as she was wondering if she should become like him…
She had learned some joyous news.
She could pursue Lu Yao boldly and without worry!
Shen Qing withdrew her gaze and continued to watch Zhou Shiye on the stage.
She curled her lip again.
When Lu Yao opened her eyes, the sky outside was dark.
She lay in bed, incredibly refreshed.
Her finger lit up the screen; it was already eight in the evening. There wasn’t much point in going downstairs to open the shop at this hour, so she decided to just slack off.
She felt like she had slept for a long time, and very soundly.
She had originally only planned to take a short nap, but she simply couldn’t bear to wake up.
After lying in bed for a while, Lu Yao crawled out. She still had to go and get stock tomorrow; running her own shop meant 365 days a year without a break—it was impossible to stop.
In a few hours, she’d have to go back to sleep, and she didn’t know if she’d be able to.
At the very least, she needed to find something to do now to burn some physical energy.
Lu Yao walked downstairs in her slippers, turned on the computer at the counter, and found the interface for her online shop.
She had registered an online shop before, intending to sell some flower baskets.
After registering, she and Li Jing had used their free time to weave a few baskets and put them up, waiting for someone destined to buy them.
In truth, it was like when she opened the flower shop—she didn’t have much expectation.
She just thought she’d make whatever profit she could.
She logged into her account, intending to check the shop’s page views. As soon as she logged in, she received a string of messages. The flower baskets she had listed were all sold out, and the system was prompting her to ship them.
Lu Yao’s eyes widened in disbelief. She then searched for a fortune teller online.
Could it be that after the divorce, her financial luck had arrived?
Fortune-telling sites each had their own theories. After looking around, Lu Yao didn’t know which one to believe.
She’d rather believe in the money that was about to arrive; money was real and solid.
She clicked on the buyers’ information, planning to pack the goods tonight and mail them out tomorrow.
She thought the recommendation algorithm had brought in many buyers, but upon clicking, there were only two people. These two had been going back and forth, snatching things up so fiercely they were “red-eyed,” managing to buy all the few baskets available.
Lu Yao: “…”
She checked the addresses.
Both were in the same city.
An ominous premonition rose in her heart. Ever since Lu Yao had received the fountain pen from Luo Yueming, she had been wary of local deliveries. Although she had thought it through and was sure she hadn’t left anything behind in the apartment, she couldn’t help that feeling of being on edge.
Only after confirming several times that the addresses had nothing to do with Luo Yueming did Lu Yao feel at ease.
This is money, this is money, this is money.
Lu Yao repeatedly reminded herself not to hold a grudge against money. Her hand finally moved the mouse away from the “cancel order” button with great difficulty.
There weren’t many flower baskets the two of them had woven in their spare time, especially Li Jing.
Though the girl was hardworking, steady, cheerful, and articulate, her hands were unfortunately quite clumsy. Whether it was bouquets or baskets, even after a month, there was still no significant difference from when she started.
Few of the baskets Li Jing wove were usable; more often, she treated weaving them as a way to pass the time.
Lu Yao had only woven about a dozen herself, and that was it.
She’d give each person half, then throw in the ones Li Jing wove as free gifts.
…Nothing to do again.
Lu Yao went upstairs and paced around her small room a few times, finally sitting down when she couldn’t find anything to do.
Living alone was truly lonely, especially for someone like her who wasn’t good at making friends.
The most frightening thing was that Lu Yao didn’t have any hobbies. Her biggest hobby had already been realized downstairs, and it wasn’t worth going down in the middle of the night to mess with those precious flowers.
Whenever times like this came, she would miss Luo Yueming…
The number of times she had stayed home alone waiting for her to return was too high; it was a habit more terrifying than her secret pining during their dark crush period. Even though she had moved, there was still a feeling that Luo Yueming might push open the door and come back at any second.
Luo Yueming always liked to work overtime until very late.
Sometimes eleven or twelve, sometimes one or two in the morning.
It was late, but she came back every day. Lu Yao could always wait for her to come home.
Luo Yueming didn’t like to talk when she returned. Lu Yao understood her work was hard and just watched her silently as she finished washing up and went to sleep, then went back to close the shop herself.
Lu Yao curled up on the bed, holding her knees with both hands.
Looking back, it was truly terrifying. She had completely lost her independence, reduced to a pathetic parasite.
Even her love was humble to the core; she deserved not to be valued.
Lu Yao buried her head in her arms. The thing she least wanted to admit was that she actually regretted the divorce.
Her thoughts were always scattered, and she liked to overthink. Even when she was happy about the flower shop’s success, a thought would uncontrollably pop up.
Actually, she could have done all this while they were married, because Luo Yueming never controlled what she should or shouldn’t do.
That way, her life might have been even richer.
Once the thought appeared, it would be struck back by logic. This was the hardest part.
She was clear about her choices—divorce, opening the flower shop—there was nothing wrong with those choices. Thinking about those “what-ifs” was the mistake.
But people are naturally inclined to argue with themselves. What if? What if?
There are no “what-ifs.”
How can you be so sure?
Two different viewpoints, arguing with herself until she felt she might split apart.
Fortunately, most of the time, she felt no regret.
She had thought long and hard before the divorce. At that time, she hadn’t opened the flower shop yet; she stayed at home every day and did nothing but think about these things. She had thought it through clearly then, so that bit of regret was just a lingering trace of having lost before the divorce and still stubbornly resisting afterward.
Lu Yao let out a breath, and her heart felt much lighter.
People also have a strong capacity for self-regulation; they eventually persuade themselves.
From the divorce, to her current state of giving up.
If Luo Yueming really was going to be with someone else, then let her go.
In any case, she had no standing to interfere, and she wouldn’t allow herself to step into someone else’s relationship. Regardless of whether Luo Yueming would eventually love that person, at least that person loved her.
Just like she once did.
Why should she hold a grudge against her past self?
She had been humbled enough; she couldn’t let herself become pathetic.
Just as she had done when persuading herself to let go, it just took a bit more effort, and she could eventually convince herself not to love Luo Yueming anymore.
Lu Yao picked up her phone, intending to scroll through some videos before sleeping.
A notification popped up—it was a transfer.
The allure of a transfer was indeed great; Lu Yao clicked in directly, her hand faster than her brain.
Shen Qing: Transfer
Shen Qing: Not asleep yet, right?
Seeing that her hand had already clicked to accept the payment, Lu Yao couldn’t pretend to be asleep and had to reply.
AAA Neighborhood Flower Shop: Received. Is your friend’s banquet over?
Shen Qing: It just finished. I was going to drive back myself, but I drank a bit. Now it’s awkward.
Shen Qing: They all left so heartlessly, not considering me at all.
AAA Neighborhood Flower Shop: Shall I call a designated driver for you?
Shen Qing: …
AAA Neighborhood Flower Shop: Don’t mention it.
After all, Shen Qing had let her earn quite a bit; Lu Yao wasn’t going to be stingy about this.
She very seriously asked for Shen Qing’s location and license plate—actually, she didn’t need to ask for the plate; that pink diamond car probably didn’t have a second one in the entire city.
Shen Qing: I’ll have someone come pick me up.
AAA Neighborhood Flower Shop: Okay.
So that was that, right? Lu Yao’s hand hesitated as she moved to put down the phone.
Or should she offer one more word of concern?
Dealing with people was truly difficult. Lu Yao sighed inwardly, racking her brain before coming up with “Get home safe.” Before she could send it, Shen Qing sent another message.
Shen Qing: Regarding the suggestion I asked you to consider before, do you really not plan to think about it again?
AAA Neighborhood Flower Shop: …
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to consider it, but that she really couldn’t afford to consider that suggestion.
The night Shen Qing had driven her back and seen the neighborhood across the street, she’d asked if Lu Yao wanted to buy an apartment there. If she did, Shen Qing would also buy one and move in so they could be neighbors.
An apartment costing over a million yuan—how could Lu Yao possibly afford that?
Even though she had received nearly a million in savings after divorcing Luo Yueming, was there a second fool in the world willing to be married to her for three years and let her walk away with a million?
To open this flower shop, Lu Yao had already spent half of that money.
The remaining half was being kept for emergencies; one could say she had absolutely no ability to consider an apartment in the neighborhood across the street.
If Shen Qing really wanted to move in, she could only be neighbors with Tang Xuesheng.
That wouldn’t be bad either; Tang Xuesheng was dignified and gentle, a very good person.
Shen Qing being helpful and the two of them being neighbors—how wonderful.