The 99th Divorce

“Marry me. Be the mother of my children.”

Li Jinnan leaned over. Ye Youyou could feel his hot breath at her ear. His tone was so earnest that it mesmerized her. His actions were tender, and his voice was gentle.

Shen Luo’an’s voice suddenly sounded in her mind. Do you want to marry me? We’ll get married tomorrow.

The words had been enunciated slowly and were emotionless. His tone had carried no love, intimacy, or yearning and lacked the tenderness that a usual proposal would carry.

She had married him anyway. She had married the man that she had been in love with for so long, the man that had been her beloved childhood sweetheart, whom she valued more than life itself.

There had been no wedding ceremony, no wedding gown, and no exchange of vows. All she got was a wedding certificate. Other than that, there had been nothing else between them. They both now each had a divorce certificate as well to bear testimony to the failure of their marriage.

I already married you. What more do you want?

Ye Youyou’s eyes began to sting, and her heart began to ache. She embraced the man in front of her, as Li Jinnan’s face suddenly came closer. His dark, fathomless eyes gazed into hers deeply.

He reached out and gently stroked her hair as he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Ye Youyou shook her head, but that simple action caused the tears that had pooled in her eyes to glisten and spill over.

Li Jinnan affectionately kissed the tears away. He lowered his voice and said, “If you’re still not ready, I’ll wait.”

Ye Youyou shook her head and tightened her hug. “Where’s the ring?” she asked.

Li Jinnan was stunned, “What?”

“You asked me to marry you, but you don’t even have a ring! What a miser!” Ye Youyou teased. Her eyes were filled with tears, but there was a smile on her face.

She looked as beautiful as a flower. Li Jinnan was frozen for a moment before the grin on his face widened.

A laugh finally escaped him. He yelled out, “I’ll buy it now!”

Ye Youyou embraced him. She lifted her head to kiss him on the lips. The kiss was gentle and tinged with her salty tears as she teased Li Jinnan.

He began losing control of himself. He pressed her into the couch and unleashed his love into her uncontrollably.

The passionate bout of lovemaking left them both spent. When they awoke from their afternoon nap, more than half the day had passed.

Li Jinnan pulled her out of “bed” and put on some clothes before driving over to the nearby mall. It wasn’t his first time entering a jewelry store, but it was indeed his first time buying a ring.

“How is this?” Ye Youyou asked.

“Yeah. It’s nice,” Li Jinnan replied.

“What about this one?” she asked.

“Yeah. It’s not too bad,” he said.

“And this?” she asked.

“It’s fine as long as you like it,” he said.

Ye Youyou grew upset. “Why are you being so perfunctory?”

Li Jinnan looked at her and rubbed the back of his head. He replied, “Everything you chose looked pretty good.”

The saleslady behind the counter giggled to herself. Ye Youyou’s ire increased. She arranged all her choices in a row and demanded, “Choose one.”

There were five rings to choose from. All of them had a beautiful design, and each diamond sparkled dazzlingly under the light.

Li Jinnan looked at them and found them all equally fine. He didn’t know how to choose or how to tell apart what was nice from what wasn’t. When he saw Ye Youyou angry countenance, he had no other option but to pretend to pick one. He picked the one with the largest diamond, pointed at it, and said, “This.”

“Why?” she asked.

“It’s pretty, like you,” he replied.

Ye Youyou’s mouth turned up at the corners. “This one it is, then!”