The 99th Divorce

Shen Luo’an sounded extremely tense.

Shen Manting could sense his anxiousness and her heart began to beat more rapidly.

When she saw Shen Luo’an’s silhouette move further and further away, her heart slowly began to empty out, she felt empty, hollow even.

…

By the time Shen Luo’an brought Shen Zhilie over, Shen Manting’s consciousness was on the verge of collapsing, she was nearly asleep.

Shen Luo’an helped her up before gently trying to wake her, “Manting, wake up. Don’t fall asleep.”

He tapped Shen Manting on the cheeks in an attempt to keep her awake. “Wake up!” Shen Luo’an called out.

Shen Manting opened her eyes with great difficulty. It seemed as if somewhere in the depths of her soul, something or someone was pulling her into the darkness, into the bottomless abyss beyond it.

Her vision continued to darken.

“No, I don’t want to go there! I don’t want to fall asleep!” Shen Manting thought.

She felt terrified for she knew that she had already been asleep for such a long time and now that she was finally awake, she did not want to fall into an unconscious state again.

Shen Manting could hear Shen Luo’an’s voice beside her, calling out to her gently. She tried to keep herself awake; struggling, she tried to lift her hands up but she could not hold it up it fell back down limply.

She wanted to reach out to him, to let him know that she was conscious but her hands move to their own accord.

It was her yet at the same time, it was not.

“No… No…” Shen Manting resisted fiercely and continuously in her mind.

“Someone is stopping me from touching Shen Luo’an but who could it be?” Shen Manting ruminated.

“He Yuncun, get lost!” A voice roared and it sounded like a crash of thunder beside her ear.

Shen Manting suddenly felt as if someone was wringing out her heart, mercilessly and immediately opened her eyes upon hearing the voice.

The feeling instantly faded off, she was no longer being dragged back down into the darkness. Shen Manting’s vision began to brighten and as she came around, she realised that she was panting heavily.

Shen Luo’an was hugging her tightly while Shen Zhilie and Ye Qianqian stood beside her, worry etched clearly on their faces.

Shen Zhilie looked pale and his expression was grave.

Whereas Ye Qianqian looked petrified and sounded extremely worried as she anxiously asked, “Sister-in-law, are you alright?”

Shen Manting was still caught up in her own thoughts and took a long while before she could muster up some strength to respond to Ye Qianqian.

She then attempted to sit upright and using her hands to support herself, she looked at Shen Zhilie and Ye Qianqian, slightly confused. She then nodded and said, “I’m fine.”

Her head had been throbbing painfully but it seemed to have ceased at that very moment and she felt much better now.

“Zhilie,” Shen Manting called out as she looked up. She was leaning rather feebly against Shen Luo’an and could not sit up straight on her own at all. As she looked at Shen Zhilie, she asked, “Whose name did you call just now?”

Shen Zhilie looked at Manting, baffled as he asked, “You remember who I am?”

Shen Manting was momentarily stunned by the question but she quickly regained her composure and replied, “Of course.”

“Do you know who the person behind you is?” Shen Zhilie asked.

When Shen Manting heard his question, she immediately turned around to look and when she saw Shen Luo’an, she immediately shrieked, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Are you aware that you have psychological problems?” Shen Zhilie asked. “You can let me know if anything feels strange,” he said.

Shen Manting could sense that something was amiss and when she heard what Shen Zhilie said, she fell silent for a moment before asking, “Have I become slightly mad?”

“I wouldn’t have done so many intimate things with Shen Luo’an if I had been fully aware of the situation,” Shen Manting thought.

“I may have eventually agreed to it if I had been conscious but I would never have accepted it so readily,” Shen Manting reasoned to herself.

Based on the vague fragments of memories and feelings, that she could recall, she knew that she had been very accepting and cooperative when they were intimate with each other.

But surely, that wasn’t her.

“Yes,” Shen Zhilie acknowledged. “Tell me how you feel. Otherwise, you’ll be in a very critical situation.”

“A very critical situation?” Shen Manting repeated as she looked up, startled by his words. While she seemed weary and fatigued, her eyes were bright and clear. “Will I die then?” she asked.

Shen Zhilie met her gaze and emphasized each word earnestly, “Your body won’t die, but it’s hard to say if you will.”