The 99th Divorce

Song Yifan’s home was not located in the center of Kingstown, but in a middle-class neighborhood outside the downtown area. It was quiet, cozy, and clean. Going up to the sixteenth floor, Su Qianci entered the apartment and Song Yifan quickly cleaned up a room for her. It was a two-bedroom apartment with simple and modern declarations–Song Yifan’s style.

When he went to clean up the room for her, she went to the kitchen and looked around, but found nothing. The fridge was empty and lots of electrical appliances were not connected to power. Thinking of the suitcase that he was carrying, Su Qianci suddenly thought of a possibility: Was he… going on a trip? But he came back for her and then spent all of his time helping her. Feeling touched and guilty at the same time, Su Qianci closed the fridge and saw Song Yifan walking out.

“All set. I’ll take your luggage inside.”

She looked at him and nodded, following him to the room. The apartment was not big, not even one third of the size of Li Sicheng’s house. But it was kept very clean and cozy. She could smell air freshener.

Feeling a bit ashamed, he said, “It is a bit tight. You can stay here for now. We can get a bigger place later.”

She smiled and asked in a low voice, “Dad, why are you so good to me?” She was not his biological daughter, and he could have chosen to ignore her. However, he treated her like his own daughter, thoughtfully and warmly. She glanced at his suitcase, which had the security check tag from the airport on it. The date was today. He came back for her from the airport.

Gentle as always, Song Yifan smiled. “Little fool, because you are my daughter.”

Su Qianci felt her heart warming up and her eyes getting wet.

“Don’t cry. You won’t be pretty anymore if you cry.” Song Yifan did not want to see her tears. “Are you hungry? Dad will take you out to eat. What do you want?”

She shook her head. “I don’t have an appetite.”

“You can’t abuse yourself no matter how unhappy you are. Let’s go. I’ll take you to my favorite place.”

Pulled downstairs by Song Yifan, Su Qianci saw a noodle place after walking for a while. The noodle place looked modest, and the decorations were a bit old. However, it was very clean.

An old man was sitting at the counter, watching television and holding a big white cat. Seeing Song Yifan and Su Qianci, the cat gave them a stare with its blue eyes and meowed. The old man looked up with a smile. “Song Yifan, you’re here. Didn’t you say you are going to London today? You didn’t make it?”

“Something came up and I came back.” Song Yifan obviously knew the old man well. “This is my daughter.”

The old man looked surprised. “Oh, you have a daughter? Aren’t you single?”

“Goddaughter.”

“Wait, she looks familiar. Is she the wife of the captain’s grandson? The captain that travels around all the time despite his old age.”

“Captain Li Xun,” said Su Qianci.

“Right, him. Are you that Mrs. Li?”

Su Qianci looked embarrassed. She seemed to have a tag that she could not get rid of. The effect of that press conference turned out to be annoyingly good.