The 99th Divorce

“He wanted to warn me that if I ever let you down, he would go to the capital and blow my head off.”

Ye Qianqian burst out laughing. “Pfft…”

But Shen Zhilie remained straight-faced. “He wasn’t joking,” he said. “He really meant it when he said he’d blow my head off.”

Ye Qianqian’s laughter evolved into guffaws. “What in the world?” she exclaimed. “Did my father really say that?”

Shen Zhilie observed Ye Qianqian’s reaction with a look of exasperation, and nodded his head. “Yes,” he replied. “That’s exactly what he said.”

“Hmm…”

Curling up to sit next to Ye Qianqian, he said, “Even if your father hadn’t threatened me, I would still treat you well.”

“Ha! If you ever dare to treat me badly, I’ll leave!”

“Where to?”

“I’ll leave home. Why would I tell you where I’d go?” Ye Qianqian was rolled up in the quilt. “If you’re ever mean to me, I will leave. I will leave every single time you’re mean to me, and that will teach you.”

Shen Zhilie smiled in defeat. “I really can’t afford to offend you, then. Your threat is even worse than your dad’s to blow my head off.”

Ye Qianqian looked very pleased with herself.

“How on earth did we end up together?” Shen Zhilie commented somewhat ruefully. “I still find it miraculous considering the fact that I didn’t even pay you any attention the first time we met.”

Ye Qianqian pinched him on his waist when she heard that.

Shen Zhilie dodged her laughingly and continued, “But after interacting with you, I came to realize that you’re really interesting, even more so than Yu Lili.”

The bitterness in Ye Qianqian’s voice was evident. “Hmph!” she scoffed. “Lili’s about to give birth, and you’re still pining for her?”

Shen Zhilie pinched her on her nose and said, “Not at all! I’m just annoyed by how adamant she’s always been in her feelings for Ou Ming. There’s so many good men in the world. Why on earth did she insist on being with Ou Ming? I just don’t get it! Are all women wired that way?”

Ye Qianqian nudged him with her feet and replied, “I’m different from Lili. If you ever treat me the way Ou Ming treated Lili, I will leave you and never look back, no matter what.”

Shen Zhilie looked at Ye Qianqian aggrievedly.

“I mean it,” Ye Qianqian continued seriously, “I won’t look back. You said it yourself. The world isn’t lacking in good men.”

“But you’ll never be able to find a man like me.”

“Why would I want to find someone like you?” Ye Qianqian asked in disdain. “You’ve already let me down! Why would I want to find another one like you? So I can be disappointed again? I’m not a sadist!”

When Shen Zhilie thought about it, what she said did seem to make sense.

“My dear Qianqian,” Shen Zhilie began. His heart was full of love and resentment at the same time. “There are times when I really envy Ou Ming,” he said. “He was such a scumbag and such a jerk. How did he get someone like Yu Lili, who’s so steadfast, to fall in love with him?”

“Hmm… Probably because he’s rich and handsome?”

“I’m rich and handsome too!” Shen Zhilie retorted in displeasure.

“But you’re not as rich and handsome as he is!” Ye Qianqian replied matter-of-factly.

Shen Zhilie felt as if his heart had been pricked by a thousand needles. He said weakly, “But I’m a good man.”

“Yeah. That’s one area where you surpass him.”

“Don’t worry. I will never let you down.” Shen Zhilie hugged her and said, “If you were to really run away, I would cry.”

Ye Qianqian leaned her head on his shoulder and smiled.

She looked up and glanced at Shen Zhilie. There were times when she really couldn’t believe how lucky she was. He was so unbearably handsome, and his family background was incredibly prestigious. Just how had he fallen in love with her?