Chapter 8
Chapter 8
He froze, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d heard. “What did you say?”
I enunciated every word. “I said, let’s get divorced.”
This was the first time I had ever brought up divorce.
In that instant, it felt as though a heavy stone had been lifted from my heart. Even breathing became easier.
Sheng Jing’s brows knitted tightly, anger edging into his voice. “Ouyang Se, is this really necessary?”
“I’ve always stayed within the line. I’ve never deleted any chat records, either. My conscience is clear!”
Tick, tick…
The sound of the wall clock was especially clear in the quiet living room.
I gave a soft, mocking laugh. “Maybe you stayed within the line. But you allowed her to cross it.”
“She sent you those intimate stickers and said things that were way out of bounds. She messaged you on WeChat at eleven at night about things that had nothing to do with work…”
“She even provoked me again and again.”
“You really don’t understand any of that? Or do you enjoy the ambiguity and just pretend not to?”
Sheng Jing defended himself. “She’s my assistant. She’s only twenty-two. You’re being too sensitive. We’re just colleagues.”
I took out my phone and opened WeChat.
“When Jiu Jiu was sick that day, Cheng Cheng from downstairs drove us to the hospital and helped me with everything.”
“I’m just going to ask what size he wears so I can buy him an outfit to thank him.”
Sheng Jing snatched the phone from my hand.
“It’s already so late. Besides, if you want to thank him, treating him to a meal is enough. Why buy him clothes?”
“Heh…” I laughed, my eyes stinging as if sand had been rubbed into them. “So you do know where the line is. Then why did you help Lin Ling choose which outfit looked better when she asked you after ten at night?”
Was that really an appropriate question to ask a married man?
I was about to keep pressing him when the door to the second bedroom opened.
Jiu Jiu poked her head out, looking timid. “Daddy, Mommy, are you fighting?”
Sheng Jing turned and patted her head. “No. Mommy and Daddy are discussing where to take you this weekend.”
He went with Jiu Jiu back into her room, chatting with her and coaxing her to sleep.
Half an hour passed, and he still didn’t come out.
Avoiding it again.
As if, after one night, this whole thing would simply blow over.
The next morning, he took the initiative to offer to drop Jiu Jiu off. But just over ten minutes later, I received a call from him.
“Why isn’t her school open?”
He sent me his location.
I was speechless.
“Her school moved campuses last year. You went to the old campus. She’s at the new one now.”
From the other end of the line came Jiu Jiu’s anxious voice. “Daddy, hurry up! I’m going to be late!”
A little after three that afternoon, Sheng Jing called me.
“It’s International Women’s Day today. I’ll get off work early to pick up Jiu Jiu, then come home for you. Let’s go out for dinner tonight.”
He had never been good with words. For him, this counted as an apology.
I didn’t want to go.
Then he added, “I already promised Jiu Jiu this morning.”
I remembered when we were dating, how hard it was to get a table anywhere on Valentine’s Day.
International Women’s Day counted as a major holiday too, but surprisingly, the mall wasn’t very crowded.
Perhaps once you step into marriage, all those pink bubbles burst, leaving nothing but the daily grind of groceries, meals, and bills.
After we finished hot pot, Sheng Jing led me into the Chow Tai Fook downstairs.
“Let’s buy a pair of rings.”
Back then, we had rushed into marriage for the qualification to buy a home in Shanghai.
There had been no wedding, no betrothal gift.
Because neither of our parents could help us, we saved up for the house ourselves. We hadn’t even bought wedding rings.
Over the years, one thing after another had come up.
I had never been willing to buy myself a single piece of expensive jewelry.
The sales associate brought out several popular pairs of gold rings.
The simple design and smooth lines gave off an alluring gleam on my ring finger.
Sheng Jing stared at my hand. “It looks good. It really suits you.”
“I should’ve bought this for you a long time ago. Let’s take this pair.”
The sales associate happily started to write up the order, but I took the ring off and said quietly, “What’s the point?”
“Are we buying these rings to celebrate our happy divorce?”