The 99th Divorce

“Hey! Fang Tongtong, you’re shameless! Are you trying to fleece my man?” Ye Qianqian reached out and smacked her.

Ye Qianqian had just spoken off-the-cuff. She didn’t notice the meaningful expression in his eyes and the wide grin that broke out across the face of the man standing behind her when he heard her use the words “my man.”

Fang Tongtong laughingly dodged her blow and replied, “It isn’t every day that a rich man comes to my shop. How can I let this business opportunity just pass me by? Don’t worry! I’ll definitely give him a good price!”

“Damn you. You can forget about it. My grandfather doesn’t smoke or drink much either. It’s not as if you didn’t know that.”

“Hey, that’s not exactly true either. Whether your grandfather consumes cigarettes or alcohol is completely unrelated to whether or not you should buy it! Am I right, Buddy?” Fang Tongtong was trying hard to make the sale. She even framed it as if she were doing it for their own good.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. She asked, “What’s your name?”

“Shen Zhilie!” Ye Qianqian rushed to reply.

“Wow…” Fang Tongtong raised her hand in a huge thumbs-up sign and said, “How cultured! Knowing (zhi) the greatness of matyrs (lie)! What a great name!”

That wasn’t what his name meant at all!

Shen Zhilie couldn’t help laughing. His laugh revealed his beautiful white teeth. Under the sunshine, he looked even more attractive.

Shen Zhilie explained, “The ‘zhi’ in my name means ‘of,’ and ‘lie’ means ‘coldness.’”

“Oh. So that’s what it means,” Fang Tongtong nodded her head. “So, will you be getting any cigarettes?”

“Ha ha. I’ll get two packets.” Shen Zhilie looked at the cigarette cabinet and asked, “Which is a good brand?”

When Ye Qianqian saw that he was really about to make the purchase, she held his hand back and said, “Damn it, don’t listen to her. My father doesn’t smoke. If you get a bottle or two of liquor, it’ll be fine to let it sit on our shelf.”

“Even if your dad doesn’t smoke, your man does, doesn’t he?” Fang Tongtong looked hopefully at Shen Zhilie.

“He’s a doctor. Why the f*ck would he smoke?”

Fang Tongtong’s eyes lit up even further. “Whoa. I thought he was some wealthy heir. I didn’t expect him to be a doctor! Oh my god, Ye Qianqian. Where on earth did you pick him up? How were you so lucky to be able to meet a blind man while I just can’t seem to do it?”

“Damn you! Are you still even interested in doing business? I’ll take a bottle of Maotai [1].”

“Just one bottle?”

“How many were you expecting?”

“Perhaps one more? Your boyfriend’s paying for it anyway. Aren’t you, Buddy?”

Shen Zhilie nodded with a smile, attracting an angry glare from Ye Qianqian.

Placing his hands on her waist, he gently said to her, “It’s my first time meeting your father. I have to at least bring a gift that he will like.”

“My father likes flowers. Did you bring flowers?”

Shen Zhilie was stunned. “Um… I didn’t.”

“Well, it’s settled then. You should hurry back to Kingstown. Don’t bother meeting my father. My father won’t want to meet you.” Ye Qianqian released a huge sigh of relief and waved him off as she said, “Without bringing any flowers, you can forget about seeing him at all!”

“Hey, come on now! Who on earth brings flowers when meeting with elders?” Fang Tongtong placed the two bottles of liquor down. “Shen, don’t listen to her. She’s probably feeding you this story in a bid to keep you away from her dad.”

Shen Zhilie knew that Ye Qianqian was trying to keep him from seeing her father. His smile deepened and he said, “It’s fine. I’m already here. Of course, I’ll have to see him.”

“Yes! Exactly!” Fang Tongtong laughed as she egged him on. She gave Shen Zhilie some tips regarding what Ye Zhenhua’s interests were.

Shen Zhilie laughed as he thanked her. After paying the bill, he brought the liquor bottles to the car.

Although Ye Qianqian’s home was nearby, it was a waste to just leave the car and go on foot.

When Ye Qianqian got into the car, she switched to cannon mode. “Shen Zhilie! Do you even know what you’re doing? Are you really going to see my dad?”

[1] Maotai is a distilled Chinese liquor.