Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Shen Manli suddenly said to Chen Bozhou, “Chen, this might be a trick!”
“Don’t forget your target.”
She didn’t lower her voice. Clearly, because she was mixing in English words, she wasn’t worried that anyone in this room would understand her meaning.
Chen Bozhou pursed his lips and replied in a low voice, “I won’t.”
While the two were engaged in this blatant “encrypted” exchange, Miss merely watched them with a faint expression, like a detached outsider patiently watching a play.
When Chen Bozhou looked back at Miss, he had regained his cold, scrutinizing gaze.
“Since you agree, what difference does it make if we divorce sooner or later? Why must we wait two months?”
“You unfilial son!”
Master Chen roared, “Is this any way to speak to your wife? *Cough, cough, cough-*”
He clutched his chest and coughed, bracing himself against the armchair.
Concern flickered in Chen Bozhou’s eyes, and he instinctively moved toward him, but thinking of something, he gritted his teeth and remained where he stood.
Miss spoke in a calm voice.
“First, regarding the divorce, Father and Mother need time to accept it. Second, I have some matters of my own to settle.”
Shen Manli let out an abrupt laugh from the side.
“What could a woman who never steps out of her front gate possibly have to do? This sounds more like a stalling tactic to me.”
Miss looked toward her.
Shen Manli tilted her chin up, her lips curving into a confident arc. Her eyes were bright and piercing, as if she were ready for a debate at any moment.
But Miss only gave her a single glance.
She quickly looked away with indifference.
It was as if she had only looked out of polite acknowledgment because the other woman had spoken; yet, it also felt as if what had just been said was something entirely unnecessary to focus on or respond to.
Shen Manli’s “attack” missed its mark, finding no purchase. It made her proud, lofty posture seem somewhat ridiculous.
Her face flushed red in an instant.
However, no one cared.
Chen Bozhou was lost in thought, his brows furrowed.
There was one point he could not avoid.
Even if he used the tide of the times to shout slogans about pursuing freedom and truth, it could not hide the fact that his actions had indeed harmed the woman who was his wife in name.
“Fine,” he finally relented. “I will stay until the end of the summer break to spend time with my parents. I hope that when the time comes… you will keep your word.”
As soon as he said this, Shen Manli wore an expression of disbelief.
Meanwhile, everyone else in the room visibly relaxed.
Madam Chen wept with joy.
Master Chen nodded at Miss with appreciation.
They clearly shared the same thought: Miss’s “stalling tactic” had worked!
“My son, come here quickly. Let Mother look at you!” Madam Chen called out through her tears.
Chen Bozhou’s eyes reddened, and he stepped forward quickly.
Mother and son embraced, a moving scene for any observer.
Shen Manli turned to Miss and asked in a low, smiling voice, “Young Mistress, I’ve heard that for women like you, if you lose your man, your whole world collapses. I really want to stay and see if you actually go through with this divorce in the end.”
Miss didn’t speak, her gaze lingering on the weeping mother and son.
I, however, couldn’t hold back and spoke with a cold sneer.
“No matter who my Miss leaves, she will always be the Young Mistress of the Chen Family, wedded with full honors. On the other hand, you seem so desperate to stay-are you afraid someone else’s husband is going to run away?”
Shen Manli’s face stiffened, and she snapped in embarrassment, “You’re just a maid. What right do you have to speak to me like that!”
I rolled my eyes and shot back without ceremony, “You’re just an outsider. In what capacity are you worrying about another family’s business?”
Shen Manli was momentarily speechless, her face turning various shades of red and white. But she soon recovered, putting on a mocking and pitying expression.
“Indeed, a mistress with zero sense of independence is bound to raise such a crude, disrespectful, and insolent maid!”
She sighed and shook her head, turning to walk away.
“Miss Shen.”
Miss suddenly spoke.
This was the first time she had addressed Shen Manli. Shen Manli turned back, looking somewhat startled.
Miss watched her, her gaze as calm and deep as an abyss.
“Being a maid is merely her job. What she chooses to say is her freedom; in that, she is no different from you or me. To speak so poorly of her just because she is a maid… could it be that the ‘equality for all’ you were just shouting about is a lie?”
“Miss Shen.”
Miss’s voice remained peaceful, yet it carried a trace of icy hardness.
“You must apologize to her.”
Shen Manli froze, her eyes widening in shock.