Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I got the divorce certificate with Shen Yichuan very quickly.

After he confirmed I’d said I wanted a divorce, he fell silent for a long time.

“That’s not what I meant… at least not today.”

He didn’t come home for twelve days and didn’t contact me.

He was forcing me to bow my head and apologize to Ruan Qiao.

He said, “It hasn’t been easy for Ruan Qiao to get where she is. Everything she has now, she earned through hard work. Shaowei, you shouldn’t use the bit of power you have to make things hard for others.”

Shen Yichuan was always saying it wasn’t easy for Ruan Qiao.

So he stayed up late helping her revise her résumé.

So when she went to interview at Mingyuan, he took her in his private elevator.

Ruan Qiao became his assistant.

He gave her a custom-made business suit as a congratulatory gift.

She wasn’t good at socializing, so he coached her on every little detail.

He brought her to banquets, greeted the society ladies, and said, “She’s just a young girl and doesn’t know better-please be understanding.”

They didn’t hug, didn’t kiss, didn’t sleep together.

There was only her admiration and his appreciation.

He didn’t understand.

“Why do you have to be so petty?”

I wasn’t being petty.

I only reminded him three times.

First, I told him not to contact Ruan Qiao anymore.

Second, I said I wouldn’t accept her joining his company.

Third, I fired her.

Seven years with Shen Yichuan.

Three reminders were enough.

Any more would be letting myself down.

So I said to him, “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Whether he and Ruan Qiao crossed a line, what they were to each other, whether they lacked boundaries or I was vicious and jealous-none of it mattered anymore.

“Let’s get a divorce.”

No arguing, no tears.

We walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau one after the other.

Ruan Qiao was there too, waiting by his car like a dutiful secretary.

Lips pressed tight, he asked if I needed a ride.

“No need.”

“By the way, if it’s convenient this afternoon, I’ll go back to the marital home and clear out the rest of my things.”

In the division of assets, I asked for nothing but money.

The house, the car, the shares-I had him cash them all out to me.

He was upright and rational.

He advised, “You should keep the shares. Compared to cashing out, they’re a long-term return.”

I understood.

But it wasn’t necessary.

Since we were cutting ties, better to make a clean break.

He probably realized that too.

His face darkened.

In a low voice, he said, “You don’t have to do this. You can come back anytime.”

I nodded, hailed a cab, and went to the villa.

On the way, I contacted a moving company.

By the time I arrived, they were already waiting outside.

One afternoon, three hours.

I cleared out everything in the villa that had to do with me.

When I left, I took off my ring and set it in the entryway.

From then on, my love and marriage with Shen Yichuan were completely over.