The 99th Divorce

Li Jinnan nodded his head. “I will, Dad.”

Li Jinnan had been addressing Ye Zhenhua as “Dad” for a while. At this moment, his utterance of the word held a bevy of meaning.

Ye Zhenhua smiled gently as emotions flooded his face. He nodded his head twice.

He finally placed his daughter’s hand in Li Jinnan’s. He turned toward Ye Youyou and said, “Remember to come back often to visit.”

Although Ye Youyou had been married before, the only thing she had received from the previous marriage was a certificate. There hadn’t been any wedding, photographs, gowns, or even parents and relatives present.

This was the first time she was being treated so thoughtfully.

Ye Youyou’s eyes began to water. Her heart felt warm.

She gazed at Ye Zhenhua and nodded her head.

Ye Zhenhua patted Li Jinnan on his shoulder. “Go on,” he said.

Li Jinnan nodded his head. He took Ye Youyou by the hand and led her toward the bridal car.

Ye Qianqian watched from the side. She could not stop her eyes from watering.

Ye Zhenhua was getting on in age. His hair had turned white, and his back was beginning to hunch. He looked frail and tired.

Ye Qianqian stepped up and held Ye Zhenhua’s hand. “I’m still here, Father,” she said.

Ye Zhenhua laughed. “You have to get married sooner or later too. Shen Zhilie seems like a good guy. I’m expecting that he’ll whisk you off soon.”

“Hmph! That’s not going to happen. I don’t want to get married, at least not so soon. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Why not? You’re already 26, and Zhilie is 27. The age difference between you two isn’t big. A man’s prime is in his 30s. The same can’t be said for a woman. You shouldn’t wait too long.”

“No! I want to wait until I’m 28 before getting married. Shen Zhilie and I have barely dated for three months. If we get married now, wouldn’t that be a whirlwind marriage? I don’t want to rush into this only for him to take me for granted.”

Ye Zhenhua gave his daughter’s words some thought and nodded his head. “That makes sense. You shouldn’t rush into it. There’s no harm in dating for another two years before getting married.”

“Exactly!” Ye Qianqian was extremely pleased with herself. “The ideal duration for dating is around two to three years. When that time comes, if it feels right, we’ll get married. If we get married too early and the marriage ends in divorce, I’ll end up being called a divorcee. That sounds horrible.”

Ye Zhenhua glared at her with rebuke in his eyes. “Don’t be so sure. I can tell that Zhilie is serious about you. If you’re not serious about him, don’t string him along.”

“I’m not! If I didn’t like him, I wouldn’t be dating him. I just don’t want to get married yet.” Ye Qianqian waved her hand. “Dad, don’t bother yourself with our relationship.”

Ye Zhenhua looked at her helplessly. “As long as you know what you’re doing,” he said before walking back in.

Fang Tongtong walked up to Ye Qianqian and gave her a nudge. “You’ve only been dating him for three months?” she asked. “I thought it was much longer than that. It all makes sense now. Three months is within the honeymoon period. It’s no wonder that he’s so clingy to you.”

“Yeah.” Truthfully, Ye Qianqian wasn’t very confident in Zhen Zhilie.

She had seen such situations numerous times. The men always began passionately. When the passion subsided, the relationship faded with it.

“In the time you’ve been together, have you… done that?” Fang Tongtong laughed cheekily and nudged her friend.

Ye Qianqian pretended not to get it. “What?” she asked.

“I’m talking about… Well, that!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Fang Tongtong looked at her with distaste. “Stop pretending. Based on your reaction, you must have done it. Am I right? Tch! You’d better be careful. You’d be done for if you accidentally got pregnant.”