Qin Yan had been kept up until well past midnight, and when she woke, her lower back ached and her legs felt weak.
There was a document envelope on the bedside table.
When she opened it, the first thing she saw was a divorce agreement. Her name had not been written on it, but the official seal of the Military Government was already stamped across it.
She set it aside and went to wash up.
After breakfast, Qin Yan went upstairs to change before heading to the newspaper office. Her eyes once again fell on the divorce agreement.
She put it back into the envelope and locked it inside a drawer of her dressing table.
“Adjutant Qian, where is the Young Marshal?”
As Qin Yan came downstairs, she happened to run into Cheng Tianxun’s adjutant and asked.
She and Cheng Tianxun had been married for a year.
For most of that year, Cheng Tianxun had been stationed away from the city, only returning occasionally.
After their marriage, Qin Yan had not lived at the Military Governor’s residence, nor at the Cheng family’s ancestral home. Instead, she lived in one of Cheng Tianxun’s private residences. Since he was rarely home, she was accustomed to living on her own and enjoyed the freedom.
Whenever he returned to the city during his leave, Cheng Tianxun would come to this residence first.
He had more than a dozen trusted subordinates, and as usual, they would hold a meeting on the third floor. The meetings often lasted several hours.
Afterward, he would return to the master bedroom on the second floor—Qin Yan’s room.
Qin Yan always waited for him, no matter how late it was.
That was what a wife was supposed to do.
The two of them rarely spoke much. Cheng Tianxun was a forceful man when it came to such matters. The last time, he had even managed to break one of the legs of that Western-style iron bed.
Last night’s meeting had ended relatively early. Cheng Tianxun had been in an unusually good mood and had even joked with Qin Yan, telling her that her pale-purple nightgown made her look particularly alluring.
Afterward, they became hungry and had some small wontons, along with a little wine, to regain their strength. Cheng Tianxun went back upstairs to handle some official business, while Qin Yan sorted through the newspaper’s latest documents.
When he came downstairs, it was already one in the morning. Qin Yan was still awake.
For some reason, he hooked a finger around the hem of her nightgown and asked, “What kind of jewelry do you want?”
Qin Yan told him she had no shortage of jewelry.
“I want to see you wearing a diamond necklace,” he said. “Just the diamond necklace.”
Their clothes soon fell away. With Cheng Tianxun pressing her down, Qin Yan leaned back against the sofa, feeling slightly dizzy.
It had been an intensely passionate night.
By dawn, he had left.
The traces of their intimacy from the previous night still lingered on Qin Yan, yet he had left behind a divorce agreement.
She found it rather bewildering.
As a wife, Qin Yan had done everything expected of her.
Cheng Tianxun had been involved in quite a few romantic scandals, while her mother-in-law was determined to see her son surpass his elder brother and third brother. Qin Yan had always helped cover things up.
She had never questioned where Cheng Tianxun went, even on the several occasions when he returned to the city without coming back to the residence.
Whenever he did come home, she always instructed the maids to have his clothes and meals prepared, and she would wait for him to come downstairs no matter how late it was.
The two of them had never been in love.
Their marriage had been arranged by the Military Governor.
They had met only twice before the wedding.
During their first meeting, Cheng Tianxun had looked her over lazily before asking, “Can you handle being my wife?”
Qin Yan replied, “I can.”
“Tell me, then. How do you intend to do it?”
“Turn a blind eye and pretend not to hear anything.”
That was why Cheng Tianxun agreed to meet her a second time.
He told her that if his mother was willing to accept her, he would obey the Military Governor and marry Qin Yan.
The Military Governor’s wife had been extremely serious about the matter. She had not been satisfied with Qin Yan when they first met.
But the Military Governor had said from beside her, “She’s the daughter of Chief of Staff Lan.”
Marrying her would bring Cheng Tianxun an ally within the military, which would be greatly beneficial to him.
The Military Governor’s wife became even more solemn as she asked Qin Yan, “Being Tianxun’s wife isn’t easy. Do you have the confidence to do it?”
Qin Yan answered, “I’m a traditional and conservative woman. Naturally, I will be gentle, respectful, modest, and virtuous, and I will fulfill my duties as a wife.”
The Military Governor’s wife frowned even more deeply.
She was in charge of the Military Government’s diplomatic affairs and had gone abroad to study alone when she was only ten years old. She was a thoroughly modern woman.
“Are you mocking me?” she asked Qin Yan.
Qin Yan immediately said she would never dare.
“If you don’t like her, then forget it. Find someone else,” the Military Governor said.
Qin Yan never knew what had ultimately made the Military Governor’s wife agree.
This marriage came with an alliance between forces within the Military Government, as well as the approval of both the Military Governor and his wife.
And after two thoroughly satisfying encounters the previous night, Cheng Tianxun had given no indication that anything had displeased him.
Qin Yan’s heart had never belonged to Cheng Tianxun, and Cheng Tianxun might not even have been willing to spare her a second glance.
Their marriage had always been one of mutual pretense. They both understood that perfectly well. Neither expected anything from the other, so neither could be disappointed.
Why, then, had he suddenly decided to divorce her?
It wasn’t that Qin Yan couldn’t accept it.
She simply couldn’t understand it.
“…Young Madam, the Young Marshal has gone to the Military Government for a meeting,” Adjutant Qian replied, pulling Qin Yan back to reality.
Qin Yan said, “I’m going to the newspaper office. Get in touch with the Young Marshal. I’ll wait for him to have dinner with me tonight. If he has something to say, he can tell me in person.”
If Cheng Tianxun told her himself, no matter how ridiculous his reason was, Qin Yan could cooperate and explain the matter to the Military Governor and his wife.
She had already obtained what she wanted through this marriage. Whether they divorced or not didn’t really matter to her.
The newspaper Qin Yan had founded was called the Plain-Speaking Times. Its office was located on Hongxia Road, one of the more prosperous areas of the southern part of the city. Several famous dance halls in East China stood on the neighboring streets, making the area lively and bustling.
The newspaper covered everything: current affairs, entertainment, and even gossip.
The only difference was that everything was written in plain, vernacular Chinese.
Qin Yan was promoting the use of vernacular Chinese. She had faced considerable resistance at first, but in less than two years, her newspaper had captured a significant share of the market. Its circulation was excellent, and she had recruited and cultivated four chief writers who had become famous throughout the country.
She had a secretary named Ling Manyun, a fellow student from her days studying in Hong Kong. Ling was from Guangzhou and had run away from home to escape an arranged marriage.
“There’s another scandal involving Cheng Tianxun. You really don’t want it?” Ling Manyun asked. “Reporter Sun managed to get photographs.”
Qin Yan replied, “Tell him to sell them to another newspaper and make some money on the side.”
She had never objected to her employees earning extra income, as long as they remained dedicated to their actual jobs.
“What a pity,” Ling Manyun said.
She efficiently sorted the documents into their proper categories, then brought Qin Yan a freshly brewed cup of coffee before leaving.
Qin Yan would never use Cheng Tianxun’s scandals to make money.
Her mother-in-law would skin her alive.
Cheng Tianxun himself, however, didn’t seem to mind. Occasionally, he would even bring some gossip papers home.
After reading them, he would comment, “What terrible writing. How can they write this badly? Even the Plain-Speaking Times does a better job.”
One of his friends would tease him from nearby, “You can only understand vernacular Chinese, can’t you?”
In any case, he wasn’t particularly angry about such things. In fact, because he was willing to comment on them, the people around him dared to joke about it.
The newspaper office carried on as usual.
By the end of the morning, Qin Yan had stopped dwelling on why Cheng Tianxun wanted a divorce.
She was twenty-three years old, and most of the hardships in her life had descended upon her without reason. No one had ever given her an explanation for any of them.
Perhaps divorce would be the same.
“Do you have time to come look at a residence with me?” she asked Ling Manyun.
Ling Manyun stared at her. “You’re buying a residence?”
“We’re getting divorced.”
Ling Manyun was stunned.
“The chief writers under you have no filter. They curse this person and that person in their articles. Once you’ve lost the protection of the Military Government, the powerful families could have you assassinated at any time. And you still want to get divorced? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Qin Yan: “…”
“There are two residences for sale on Hongxia Road. Think it over. I can contact a real-estate broker for you. Are you free to go see them at noon?”
Qin Yan: “…”
By mid-afternoon, Qin Yan had purchased one of the residences.
The price was on the high side.
But she wasn’t short of money.
Her secretary, Miss Ling, was decisive and efficient, both in her actions and in her speech. Qin Yan wasn’t the indecisive type either. After meeting with the owner and discussing the matter for half an hour, Qin Yan signed a check.
She left the remaining paperwork to her secretary.
When they stepped outside the residence, Qin Yan and Ling Manyun stood beneath the elaborate wrought-iron gate, staring at it for a long while.
“Hongxia Road No. 4… Isn’t that unlucky?” Qin Yan finally realized.
Ling Manyun said, “In Western music notation, four means ‘fa,’ which sounds like ‘fortune.’ You’re going to have good luck with money this year.”
Qin Yan: “…”
“Your neighbor is coming out.”
Someone had emerged from the house next door. Qin Yan hadn’t noticed, so Ling Manyun quietly nudged her.
Qin Yan turned her head.
It was a mild early-autumn afternoon, without the oppressive heat. A young man wore a white shirt, a coffee-colored vest, and coffee-colored striped trousers, with his coat draped over his arm.
His hair was neatly combed, and his features were strikingly handsome. His complexion was fair, and even the irises of his eyes were a relatively light shade. There was a distant, cold quality to his gaze.
He looked at Qin Yan.
The afternoon sunlight happened to fall directly into his eyes, coating his irises in a faint golden sheen.
Qin Yan’s reunion with Luo Qisheng was so sudden that her mind went blank for a brief moment.
Luo Qisheng looked at her as though he merely wanted to make certain that she was truly the person he thought she was. His brows drew together slightly.
“Hello, sir. Do you live here…?”
Ling Manyun had only gotten halfway through her greeting when he turned and walked away.
Her words were left hanging in the air, receiving no response whatsoever.
But Miss Ling was never one to trouble herself over such things. She turned back to Qin Yan with complete certainty.
“He’s deaf.”
Qin Yan: “…”