"Zhang Ma, Zhang Ma," President Gu called out while changing his shoes.
After calling for a long time without a response, he finally noticed Meng Shu Tang standing in the living room.
Only one wall lamp was on in the living room, its dim, yellow light casting her shadow into a graceful, slender, and elegant silhouette.
He paused for a moment.
"Zhang Ma's son came back today, so she took the day off."
Meng Shu Tang looked at him and explained slowly.
President Gu shifted his gaze away from her and landed on the cake nearby.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he walked over with unsteady steps, sitting down at the table, "How long have you been waiting?"
"Not long," reflecting the light, Meng Shu Tang saw the lipstick mark on his shirt again.
That smear of red was truly dazzling. For a moment, her heart felt as if it had been gripped by something, leaving her feeling stifled and sour.
In her mind, the scene of him celebrating her birthday in the first year of their marriage surfaced.
He had specifically pushed aside all his work to take her to Jeju Island.
There, he used drones and fireworks to celebrate her birthday, and in front of a crowd, he shouted, "My girl has grown another year older."
After saying that, he placed a one-of-a-kind diamond necklace around her neck and hugged her, spinning her around.
He was drunk that day, telling her over and over, "This year is the first year I have plucked the moon."
But what about now?
He had forgotten her birthday and even returned with traces of another woman.
"It's getting late, come over and take a photo to send to Grandmother." Seeing her standing there foolishly, President Gu turned his eyes slightly and called to her.
So he remembered everything, it was just... he didn't love her anymore.
Meng Shu Tang walked over and sat down facing the cold meal and the cooled cake. The moment before President Gu pressed the shutter, she turned her head toward him and playfully blew him a kiss through the air.
President Gu turned his head to look at her, stunned.
Meng Shu Tang smiled indifferently, "To make Old Madam happy."
How clever Old Madam was; the moment President Gu mentioned divorce, she had already received the news.
If they didn't act close, she was afraid they wouldn't be able to fool her.
The pain from the surging alcohol hit his temples. His well-defined fingers pressed against the corners of his eyes, his brows furrowed into a knot, and he looked wilted, having lost all his usual spirit.
The act was over, and Meng Shu Tang originally wanted to gather her things and go upstairs.
But seeing him like this, she stopped.
She had heard stories when she was young about people who drank until they were hungover, and because no one was around to give them water or take care of them, they were found dead the next morning.
So, she put her things down, "Come on, I'll help you upstairs."
President Gu did not refuse, and with her support, he walked unsteadily back to the bedroom.
She laid him on the bed and wanted to change his clothes, but seeing that lipstick mark again, she decided not to bother.
"Wait here, I'll make you some hangover soup."
Zhang Ma had taught her how to make the hangover soup. At that time, her heart and mind were completely filled with President Gu, so she had learned it very carefully.
She had surpassed her teacher, making it even better than what Zhang Ma cooked.
Ten minutes later, she went upstairs with a bowl of kudzu flower hangover soup. President Gu took it, drank one sip, and then set it down.
He slumped there and fell deeply asleep.
Meng Shu Tang looked at that face, which showed no signs of drunkenness. She had once felt that this face was so gentle it could drown a person.
Until now, in a certain moment, she also felt that President Gu must have loved her once.
It was precisely because she had been loved so passionately that she still had such an illusion, even while knowing he only treated her as a tool for revenge.
She wanted so much to walk over, grab President Gu, and demand to know why he had to be so cruel to her.
President Gu had only taken one sip of the hangover soup in the bowl, much like his attitude toward her.
Meng Shu Tang thought that he had always been a cold-hearted person, and that one sip of warmth was only because she had utility value.
She was nothing special, and there was only one possible ending—to be poured out!
She poured another glass of water and placed it on the nightstand, "President Gu."
The man slowly opened his eyes, not responding to her words, but just looking at her quietly.
Those clear eyes were limpid and bright, as pale as autumn water soaked in cold, just like her—graceful and clean, making one feel that the years were peaceful just by looking at her.
And the way she looked at him was gentle and lingering, hiding deep attachment.
It had been a while since she had looked at him with such a gaze.
Or perhaps, she had never looked at him with such a gaze before.
She was reluctant to take off the Ancient Bead Necklace she wore around her neck, and there was not a single trace of him in her studio.
The sweet-pet male lead he cared about most was never him.
But seeing this gaze, a glimmer of something indescribable still surfaced in his indifferent heart.
"Looking at me so affectionately, is there something you want to tell me?"
"I'm leaving."
Before Meng Shu Tang turned and left, she smiled faintly. That smile had no real meaning; it was just polite and decent.
Watching her, the smile on President Gu's face faded into indifference, and he stared at the place where she had disappeared for a long time with an unreadable expression.
It was unclear when he fell asleep, but President Gu was woken up by thirst.
He sat up, drank the water on the nightstand in one gulp, and was about to call for Zhang Ma, but suddenly remembered she wasn't there, so he called for Li Sao twice.
Li Sao didn't respond either, so he struggled to get up and went downstairs to pour more water.
The house was terrifyingly quiet, just like the moment his mother rolled down the stairs, when he could only hear his own heartbeat.
After drinking the water and returning, he went to the bathroom to shower and only then saw the lipstick mark on his shirt collar.
He grabbed it and threw it directly into the trash can.
Upstairs, Meng Shu Tang took a small desk calendar out of the nightstand.
Every page had the past days crossed out with a golden marker.
On today's page, it was written on the side—Divorce Countdown: 41 days.
The next day.
Meng Shu Tang got up to make breakfast.
President Gu heard the movement and came downstairs as well.
He walked slowly from the morning light, his whole body wrapped in a cold and distant aura.
After a night of rest, he showed no signs of fatigue; he was handsome and dashing, with excellent bone structure, and his beauty was highly distinctive.
He sat down opposite Meng Shu Tang, "I went out with Shen Duan and the others last night. My collar accidentally brushed against something; there were too many people and it was too chaotic, so I didn't notice."
Meng Shu Tang didn't look at him, "What kind of person... would brush against your collar?"
President Gu was speechless, and bit the bullet to reply, "It was just an accident, don't overthink it."
After saying that, he hurriedly changed the subject, "Zhang Ma has gone home, where is Li Sao? Why is she nowhere to be seen?"
"I fired her!"
"Why?"
Meng Shu Tang looked up at him, "She wasn't attentive to her work, and keeping her around was an eyesore, so I dismissed her.
If you have any objections, you can call her back after the divorce proceedings are finished."
Li Sao had only come to Shallow Bay in the last six months.
Her arrival at Shallow Bay coincided exactly with the time Bai Ci Xian returned to the country.
It was also from that time on that President Gu began to treat her coldly.
For the past six months, Li Sao had been mocking her openly and secretly, and she didn't believe President Gu didn't know at all.
Including recently, Li Sao had called Bai Ci Xian several times to gossip, and she didn't believe President Gu was completely unaware of that either.
How he treated her—she had endured it, considering he had been paying for her mother's high medical expenses for so many years.
But a servant trying to climb over her head? She would not tolerate that.
President Gu listened without a word.
A moment later, he stood up, "I'm finished eating."
After saying that, he turned and walked outside.
Meng Shu Tang only left the house a while after he had departed.
The street garden.
Li Sao waited until she thought Bai Ci Xian would be awake before she dared to call and tell her about being fired.
When Bai Ci Xian heard it, she really wanted to call her an idiot for not even being able to handle such a small matter.
"When you left, did you say anything?"
Li Sao knew what she wanted to ask, "Don't worry, Miss Bai, I didn't say anything. She has no idea that you were the one who sent me."
Bai Ci Xian, "That's not what I'm asking! I'm asking, does Brother Yun Ci know you are my person?"
Li Sao, "He doesn't know. Every time I called you, I deliberately avoided President Gu."
Bai Ci Xian, "Good. I'll give you the money in a moment. Go somewhere else for now; if I need you, I will contact you again."
Li Sao, "Okay, thank you, Miss Bai."
After finishing the call, Bai Ci Xian turned around and saw Bai Lian Yue standing behind her, startled, "Mother, when did you come over?"
Bai Lian Yue, "You are too careless. Your father is still at home, and you are calling that woman by her name?"
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