2 – Divorсе Аgrееmеnt
Сen Wan сurlеd uр in аgоny within the pitсh-blаck darknеss, her soul fееling аs if it wеrе bеing torn араrt аnd devourеd by malevolеnt sрirits. Hеr brоws wеrе tightlу furrowеd, hеr fаce dеаthly рale, and hеr eхpression wаs onе of unbеаrable рain.
She murmured tо hеrsеlf, “Lu Вeixun… I’m in sо muсh раin, where аre уou…”
“Mаdam, wakе up.”
“Mаdam.”
Seeing thаt shе wоuldn’t wakе, thе voice grеw loudеr, “Мadam, уou’re hаving a nightmаrе, wаke uр.”
Aunt Yang сalled оut tо hеr. The woman curled up on thе bеd was pale, tеаrs soaking the strау hairs at her temples.
Trapped in the darkness, Cen Wan heard the familiar voice and, as if grasping a lifeline, suddenly opened her eyes and sat up in bed, her expression dazed.
Cen Wan stared blankly at Aunt Yang and murmured, “Aunt Yang…”
Her brows furrowed tightly, “Aunt Yang, are you dead too?”
Aunt Yang: “…”
Aunt Yang gave her a helpless look and gently patted her trembling shoulder, “What nonsense are you saying, Madam? Look, where is this?”
Aunt Yang didn’t think much of it, assuming she was just disoriented from a nightmare.
Cen Wan looked around, her face filled with disbelief.
It was the Lu residence…
Her bedroom…
Could there be a Lu residence in the underworld? That was completely impossible. Dismissing that thought, she must still be dreaming.
She reached out and pinched her thigh hard, the pain making her gasp. It hurt so much…
This wasn’t a dream.
Suddenly, an idea dawned on her. She threw off the covers, got out of bed, picked up the phone from the bedside table, and checked the time. It was early September, one month after her marriage to Lu Beixun.
Cen Wan frantically grabbed Aunt Yang’s arm, “Aunt Yang, how long have Lu Beixun and I been married?”
Her question left Aunt Yang bewildered. After a moment’s pause, she answered truthfully, “One month.”
Cen Wan released Aunt Yang and took a step back. That was right—she had married Lu Beixun in August when she was twenty-two.
Had she been reborn!?
She had read plenty of novels and watched many dramas of this genre, but she never imagined it would happen to her one day…
This was too unbelievable!
Seeing her look of utter disbelief, Aunt Yang wondered if she had lost her mind from sleeping too much.
Aunt Yang was completely baffled by her. After a moment, she remembered her original purpose, “Madam, Sir is waiting for you downstairs.”
Sir? Lu Beixun?
In the blink of an eye, Aunt Yang found herself alone in the bedroom.
In her haste, Cen Wan was afraid that even a second’s delay would mean missing him. She forgot to put on her slippers.
She wore a misty blue silk nightgown, her long hair cascading down past her shoulders, slightly disheveled. Her features were delicate, her skin fair and smooth, with tear stains still visible on her cheeks.
When she reached the downstairs, she looked at the man sitting on the sofa. He leaned back casually, his long legs crossed at ease, dressed in a black suit that exuded an air of restrained elegance.
Lu Beixun had deep-set features, high cheekbones, and narrow, dark eyes. He was dignified and elegant, gentle yet distant.
As if noticing her intense gaze, the man turned his head slightly to look at her.
The moment their eyes met, Cen Wan froze. His gaze was cool and detached, devoid of any emotion, so unfamiliar it felt as if he were looking at a stranger.
Her heart trembled uncontrollably, but she didn’t care about any of that. As long as he was alive, that was enough.
Lu Beixun’s gaze fell on her feet, lingering for no more than two seconds before he calmly looked away.
Seeing her approach, Lu Beixun stood up from the sofa. He was tall and slender, and Cen Wan barely reached his shoulders.
Cen Wan stared directly at the left side of his chest—the spot where she had once stabbed him, the blow that had nearly taken his life. Her eyes were filled with regret.Lu Beixun’s thin lips pressed together as if he wanted to say something, but his words were cut off by her actions.
Cen Wan reached out to unbutton Lu Beixun’s shirt, her hands trembling uncontrollably. Before she could undo even a single button, Lu Beixun seized her wrists, took a step back to create distance between them, and then released her.
Raising her eyes to look at him, Cen Wan’s eyes were already moist. Lu Beixun’s gaze was distant, as calm and unreadable as an ancient well.
Cen Wan’s eyelashes trembled slightly. The Lu Beixun of the past would never have looked at her with such eyes, nor would he have retreated when she tried to get close to him.
“Lu Beixun…”
She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his lean waist and holding him tightly, refusing to let go. It was as if he were a precious treasure she had lost and regained, and she feared this was all a dream—that once she woke, he would disappear again. She pressed her cheek firmly against his chest, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat, and only then did she feel a sliver of reality.
Lu Beixun’s body stiffened for a moment. He could clearly feel the trembling of the girl in his arms. His hand at his side lifted slightly, hovered in the air for a few seconds, then fell back down. His expression was inscrutable; no one could tell what he was thinking at that moment.
After more than ten seconds, Cen Wan’s arms around his waist were ruthlessly pulled away. Lu Beixun distanced himself from her again, as if avoiding a plague.
Cen Wan’s heart ached, but it didn’t matter. What was this pain compared to everything else? Even if Lu Beixun demanded her life now, she would give it without hesitation.
Lu Beixun picked up a folder from the coffee table and handed it to her with a cold expression. “Sign it.”
“What?” Cen Wan’s gaze never left him, afraid he would vanish and abandon her.
She took the folder, opened it, and froze when she saw the words “Divorce Agreement” written on it. Holding her breath, she never imagined it would be a divorce agreement.
Staring at the divorce agreement in her hands, she sank into memories.
Her marriage to Lu Beixun was a business alliance—or rather, it was more like Lu Beixun had used some underhanded means to bind her to his side. The Cen family’s company had encountered internal problems: funds had been embezzled, and company secrets had been leaked. The Lu family had a project that could save the Cen family from disaster, and he had set a condition: a marriage alliance between the two families.
Cen Wan’s parents loved her dearly and told her that if she was unwilling, it didn’t matter—they could move to another city and live an ordinary life.
Unable to bear watching her father’s hard-earned business collapse, she nodded in agreement. At twenty-two, she married Lu Beixun, who was twenty-six.
For someone as noble and outstanding as Lu Beixun, falling in love with him after spending day and night together wasn’t difficult. Even without feelings, they could treat each other with respect. After all, marrying anyone was the same.
After the wedding, she and Lu Beixun never consummated their marriage. Lu Beixun respected her deeply, and the two lived under the same roof but in separate rooms.
A week after the wedding, Cen Yuan told her that the embezzlement of funds and the leak of company secrets at Cen Corporation were orchestrated by Lu Beixun’s people, all for the purpose of binding her to his side.
She didn’t believe it, but compared to Lu Beixun, her naive heart leaned more toward her brother, whom she had spent twenty years with day and night.
In search of evidence, she went to his study while he was working. In the most hidden drawer of his desk, she found a leather business notebook. As soon as she opened it, a photograph fell at her feet—a picture of her on her eighteenth birthday.
In the photo, her smile was radiant.
On the page where the photo had fallen, a line of writing was inscribed in clear, powerful strokes:
“Cen Wan at eighteen, her smile bold and bright.”
Staring at the handwriting for a few seconds, she turned the page. On the next page, in the same handwriting, another photo of her was tucked away—this one from her twentieth birthday.[At twenty, Cen Wan, arm in arm with another man, her smile still radiant—in that moment, I wanted to keep her by my side by any means necessary.]
Flipping further, it was the year she married Lu Beixun. On her twenty-second birthday, Lu Beixun was by her side. The photo tucked into this page showed her holding Lu Beixun’s arm, her smile no longer as bright and unrestrained as before, now tinged with a touch of maturity.
[In the year Cen Wan turned twenty-two, I used dishonorable means to keep her by my side.]
Only these three pages in the notebook had writing. Because of these words, she became even more convinced of what Cen Xiu had said. From then on, she and Lu Beixun fell out completely.
As long as they didn’t divorce, Lu Beixun would indulge her in everything. He moved out of the Lu family estate, and they only met to appease their parents.
Lu Beixun’s parents were abroad and rarely seen. Her own parents, unaware of what Lu Beixun had done, liked him very much. To avoid worrying them, she put on an act with Lu Beixun—and he was more than willing to play along.
Because only during these times would she show him a pleasant face.
Though Lu Beixun played his part flawlessly in front of her parents, she found it disgusting and hypocritical.
Looking back now, the embezzlement of funds and the leak of company secrets were undoubtedly Cen Xiu’s doing. Few people had access to such things, and Cen Xiu was one of them.
In the past, she had been foolish. Lu Beixun came from a powerful family, influential enough to dominate the capital. He would never stoop to such despicable methods. What he wrote in his notebook must have meant something else.