“Sister, maybe you should get a pair of reading glasses. You’re not even thirty yet and you can’t walk properly how do you fall on flat ground?”
Bai Jingya was so furious she didn’t even lift her head. She ran straight out.
After she left, Xu Zhixia realized she was still holding Lu Xiuyuan’s hand. Now there were only the two of them in the house.
Even when she remembered the cold expression he wore in her previous life while handing her the divorce agreement, she still didn’t want to let go.
Her fingers brushed against the rough pads of his fingertips, and she subtly rubbed them.
In this life, she would never let go of his hand again.
In her previous life, she had been stupid instigated into divorce. Afterward, her own brother fell in love with Bai Jingya, and her own father abandoned her.
Fortunately, her mother had stood behind her unconditionally.
Sadly, in the end, both of them lost their reputations and were driven out of the house.
And her father had actually gotten together with Bai Qingya’s mother, claiming she was the love of his life.
During that period, it felt as though everyone could bully them.
All the resources that once belonged to her and her mother were taken by Bai Jingya and her mother.
At their most difficult time, it was Lu Xiuyuan who had someone deliver them a sum of money.
That money helped them survive their darkest days.
Unfortunately, just when her business was improving, she didn’t know whom she had offended in the past.
Her mother, on her way home late at night, was assaulted by two vagrants. In despair and fury, she jumped into the river.
When she was rescued, she was left in a vegetative state.
Xu Zhixia sold her business to fund her mother’s treatment, but half a year later, her mother still passed away.
She was devastated. After finishing the funeral, while living alone, she was robbed and assaulted. She used the large knife hidden under her pillow and killed the attacker with one strike.
But the man, young and strong, used his remaining strength to take her life as well.
Even at the moment of death, she regretted divorcing.
All her misfortune had begun with that divorce.
Meanwhile, Bai Jingya’s good fortune had seemed to begin the moment she moved into their home.
Everything went smoothly for her. She won over countless people and ended up wealthy and beautiful.
And Xu Zhixia had merely been the stepping stone she trampled underfoot the foolish supporting character meant to highlight her kindness, beauty, nobility, and popularity.
A dark glint flashed through Xu Zhixia’s eyes.
This marriage she would never dissolve it.
Lu Xiuyuan felt her small hand rubbing against his palm. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
Perhaps this was the final flicker of light before their marriage died.
He didn’t like dragging things out emotionally. Since he had decided to divorce, it should be clean.
He pulled his hand away.
A chill seemed to emanate from him, lowering the temperature in the room.
He handed her the divorce agreement.
“Sign your name, and we can go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to complete the procedures. I’ll submit the follow-up report to the army.”
When her hand was suddenly pulled away, Xu Zhixia felt an immediate emptiness.
She didn’t take the divorce agreement. Instead, she looked up into his eyes.
Only then did she notice the red veins filling them, the deep shadows beneath them, and the faint stubble on his chin.
He hadn’t slept all night. Early this morning, she had cut her wrist, and he had taken her to the hospital. After that, who knew where he had gone.
No matter what, he must have been hurting inside.
She softened her voice.
“Have you eaten?”
Lu Xiuyuan didn’t understand why she was suddenly concerned about him, but he answered honestly:
“No.”
Xu Zhixia said nothing. She didn’t accept the divorce agreement either. Instead, she turned and went downstairs.
Lu Xiuyuan loved noodles. In her previous life, she had never once made him a bowl of hand-pulled noodles.
The thought made her feel ashamed.
Watching her hurry downstairs, Lu Xiuyuan placed the divorce agreement on the table.
He took one last look at the room.
It held so many shared memories, but from now on, he didn’t want to step into it again.
As for her cooking for him perhaps she had some request? Did she want him to keep things confidential?
She seemed quite afraid of her family finding out.
When he walked downstairs and passed the kitchen, he saw Xu Zhixia taking out a basin to knead dough.
She was wearing a hip-hop style T-shirt and heavy makeup completely mismatched with cooking.
Sure enough, she had barely started kneading when she hissed in pain.
Lu Xiuyuan strode in quickly and grabbed her wrist. The bandage wrapped around it was still seeping blood.
“What are you doing? Did you forget your hand is injured?”
His voice was stern.
Xu Zhixia listened to his harsh tone but didn’t pull her arm away from his grip.
With a pitiful expression, she said,
“I just wanted to make you a bowl of hand-pulled noodles.”
When she had come downstairs, she had thought about making him a couple of dishes too. But when she looked in the kitchen, there were no vegetables at all.
Only some flour, a handful of chopped scallions, and a bit of leafy greens.
Only then did she realize that most of the time, Lu Xiuyuan cooked for her. She rarely even entered the kitchen.
Lu Xiuyuan looked at her deeply and sighed.
“What do you still need me to do?”
Her round eyes stared at him innocently, soft and adorable.
He couldn’t help looking at her a moment longer.
Hearing his words, she immediately knew he had misunderstood. She looked straight into his eyes.
“I… I just want you to taste my cooking.”
In the places you couldn’t see, I’ve grown a lot. I can cook many delicious meals now.
She could see the lingering attachment in his eyes.
But at that moment, Lu Xiuyuan released her hand and put his hands into his pockets.
“I’ve already put the divorce application on the table. You don’t need to do this. I’m leaving.”
He knew Xu Zhixia couldn’t cook.
After saying that, he turned to leave.
Without thinking, Xu Zhixia hurriedly wrapped her arms around him from behind, circling his waist.
Afraid that if she moved even a second slower, he would walk away.
The moment she hugged him, she felt his body stiffen for a second. He was wearing a well-tailored uniform.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist, strong arms just standing there felt solid and dependable.
His scent filled her nose instantly. Breathing in that familiar smell, she even felt the urge to cry.
Lu Xiuyuan’s eyes darkened.
If this hug had happened before yesterday, he might have been happy.
She had never been this proactive with him.
But remembering how brightly she smiled at other men, how uncomfortable she felt even sharing a room with him all those memories linked together. She had never loved someone like him.
She had only married him because of the engagement.
Such a marriage must have felt like a burden to her.
Slowly but firmly, he pried her hands off his waist.
With a helpless sigh, he said,
“Do you want noodles? I’ll make them for you.”
Lu Xiuyuan loved noodles and made them very well. Every time, Xu Zhixia who had a tiny appetite could still finish a full bowl.
He assumed she simply wanted noodles.
After all, she wouldn’t be able to eat them anymore in the future, so she was being so proactive now.
He decisively rolled up his sleeves, walked to the stove, washed his hands, and began kneading the dough.
Watching his back, Xu Zhixia’s eyes grew hot.
Even after she had made so many mistakes, he was still willing to cook her a bowl of noodles.