The 99th Divorce

Surrogacy. Twenty-four or 25 years ago…

“How did Auntie Xian’er die?” Yu Lili asked as she passed the photograph back.

The moment the question came out, she suddenly wished she could take it back.

Expectedly, Wen Fenglin smiled. But, that smile held a lifetime of hurt and pain. “Xian’er’s body had always been weak, and she was very afraid of the cold. Fortunately, she came from a rich family, and they were able to keep her going until she turned 20. Then one day, in order to be with me, she snuck out despite a heavy snowfall and came to my small rental apartment.”

Wen Fenglin choked on his words for a moment. His tone was laced with guilt. “She probably suffered from a severe chill. We stayed in that small apartment for two days. On the third day, Xian’er’s health started to deteriorate.”

A word came to Yu Lili’s mind immediately: elopement. In those days, elopement was a very serious transgression.

“I was just a poor student then with only dreams and ambitions,” Wen Fenglin said. “I was very tight on cash. I searched all over for medical help for her, but Xian’er’s health showed no improvement. So… I sent her back.”

When Yu Lili heard the beginning of the story, she had an inkling about how the ending would turn out. Actually hearing what happened still made her heart shrivel.

She was the pampered daughter of a rich family. How much resolve must she have had in order to decide to leave with you! But, this man whom she was determined to spend the rest of her life with sent her back after merely a few days. What was the girl supposed to do?

Just thinking about it made Yu Lili feel a keen sense of pity for the lady.

Wen Fenglin saw the look in Yu Lili’s eyes and could roughly guess what she was thinking.

With a bitter laugh, he asked, “Do you think I did the wrong thing, too?”

Yu Lili looked at Wen Fenglin’s anguished expression. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded her head nonetheless.

“I wanted very much to keep her by my side, but I didn’t have the qualifications to. Xian’er was a very good girl. She shouldn’t have had to suffer with me. More importantly, she shouldn’t have followed me at the expense of her own health.” Wen Fenglin’s small eyes were shrouded in pain. “In following me, she had no guarantee of anything in life at all. We were from two different worlds to begin with.”

That statement sounded so familiar to Yu Lili’s ears.

From two different worlds…

Yu Lili suddenly felt an anger ignite in her heart. Her expression toward Wen Fenglin gradually changed. “So, in sending her back, did she live a good life?”

Here he was saying it was for the good of the woman, but was that truly the case? They all said the same thing: It was for her own good! In truth, it was because of their own selfishness and their unwillingness to shoulder the burden.

Yu Lili clenched her teeth. “She loved you so much that she disregarded her family’s objection to live with a bachelor like you. Her reputation was already in shreds, and you sent her back?”

Wen Fenglin went silent. After a long moment, he replied, “I’m the one who caused her death.”

“You’re responsible for her death!” Yu Lili spat out ruthlessly. “You men think you know everything! You thought you were acting for her benefit, but did it really benefit her? How naïve!”

Yu Lili was fuming with rage. “So, after that, she married Mr. Zhen?”

“Yeah,” Wen Fenglin said.

Whatever Yu Lili had imagined had been flipped on its head. She had assumed that everything Wen Fenglin had done was a result of his helplessness in overcoming Xian’er’s parents’ objection. She had never expected that it would all be a result of his own doing.

The feeling of seeing a beloved woman marry another man had to be a terrible one.