Song Qiao stood there for a while before turning around to face him. The window inside was open, and the outside breeze blew directly in, yet Song Qiao still felt a stuffy sensation in her chest.
She took a few deep breaths, her gaze steady as she looked at the man in front of her. Her face showed little expression as she said directly, "Lu Jingchen, let’s get a divorce."
Because she had just drunk so water, her voice lacked its usual hoarseness. The woman’s voice was as gentle as ever, each word clearly enunciated, reaching the man’s ears directly.
The woman’s sudden words caused the man’s eyes to constrict sharply as if a knife had sliced through his heart, pain spreading throughout his body instantly.
In fact, this wasn’t the first ti he had heard her ntion divorce. In the less than a year they had been married, she had brought it up countless tis. Yet, never before had he seen such an indifferent look on her face that it seed completely void of emotion, making it clear to him that this ti, she wasn’t joking about wanting a divorce; she ant it.
He had a vast adow in his heart, one that had been full of life and birdsong since marrying Song Qiao. But now, because of her resolute expression and because of his own words, the lush greens of the vast adow withered away instantaneously, leaving no trace of life. All his rationality and restraint burnt away in an instant.
The man clenched his hand, which was resting by his side, into a tight fist. He stared at the woman in front of him, and after a long while, his voice, dark and almost dripping with moisture, finally erged, "Song Qiao, I believe I’ve ntioned before, anything is negotiable except for divorce. That is absolutely impossible."
However, Song Qiao seed indifferent to his words, her eyes as clear as a tranquil pool, not a hint of emotion within. She averted her gaze from him, looking towards the balcony instead. The balcony door was not closed, and from where she stood, she could just see the table and chairs set out there, along with the flowers on them.
Her crimson lips parted slightly, her voice soft and light, "Do you know? I actually regret marrying you. You’ve been both the kindest and the cruelest person to . In this marriage, I’ve experienced happiness as well as sadness. It wasn’t until last week, at our wedding ceremony, when Murong Rui spoke those words, that I understand why you so readily agreed to marry , and also why, even though you were unhappy in this marriage, you never divorced ..."
As if rembering sothing, she chuckled lightly, but even her laughter was faint, giving off an epheral quality, "During this wedding, I have also resented why you couldn’t love , couldn’t always treat well. I’ve hoped that we could stay together for a lifeti, till we grow old. After all, whether you treated well or not, I found myself falling in love with you in such a short ti."
The man’s eyes suddenly widened, staring at her. His lips moved, but he could not utter a word.
He had never thought that Song Qiao could fall in love with him. He had always believed that at most, Song Qiao only liked him.
Because Lu Jingchen was very clear that with Song Qiao’s personality, it was quite difficult for her to fall in love with soone. So, he had always been waiting for her to fall in love with him, but he had not realized that she had already fallen for him a long ti ago.
At this mont, it was only around three o’clock, the sun outside was intense, and the light pouring in was very strong. Looking at the woman in front of him, he suddenly found his vision blurred by the glaring brightness, only her voice remained exceptionally clear, each syllable deliberately pronounced with clarity.
"Actually, you and Zuo Yuqing are quite a good match. In the past, when I saw you standing with Zuo Yuqing, I would feel jealous, angry, and even lose my appetite from being upset. But strangely enough, this ti when I saw you together with Zuo Yuqing, I was able to face it calmly, without a hint of jealousy, without any anger, and it didn’t make upset. Probably because... Lu Jingchen, I don’t love you anymore."
Listening to her, the man seed to understand the reason behind her words. Perhaps it was because at that ti he had always stuck by Zuo Yuqing’s side, including when she was threatened by Chu Munan and he still did not hand over Zuo Yuqing, even more so when... that ti at the Lu Family Mansion when he, without hesitation, dived into the pool to save Zuo Yuqing, resulting in her being taken away by Chu Munan...
He was well aware that Song Qiao was the kind of woman who couldn’t tolerate even a grain of sand in her love, yet it seed he was repeatedly walking on the edge.
All of a sudden, Lu Jingchen felt as if his heart was torn open, the wind constantly blowing into it, especially seeing her expressionless face as she spoke these words, which pained his eyes even more.
...
In the end, Song Qiao was not successful in divorcing Lu Jingchen. Just like the man had said, except for divorce, he could agree to anything.
After she finished speaking, the man didn’t say a word, his face looking incredibly displeased. He just stood there in the room facing her for a while, carefully avoiding that topic as if on purpose, and after asking her to go down for dinner later, he left directly.
Only the sound of the door being forcefully closed, making a loud bang, let Song Qiao know that he was probably in a very bad mood because of her words, likely filled with anger.
After coming out of the bedroom, Song Qiao went straight down to the first floor. She didn’t see Lu Jingchen. The maid said he had already left. She ended up sitting down and eating two bowls of rice with the dishes the maid had made to her liking, then without returning to the set, she called Song Xi to let her know to go ho after finishing filming. After that, she took a taxi back to the Mu Mansion.
Song Qiao returned to the Mu Mansion and saw Elder Mu playing chess in the living room with another old man who seed to be about the sa age as him.
Apparently, they were so engrossed in their ga that even her entrance went unnoticed by the two elders.
It was only when Maid Zhang ca out with so pastries and a pot of tea and saw Song Qiao changing her shoes that she hurriedly exclaid with delight, "Miss, you’re back!"
In the past, it was Mu Shinian’s mother who was referred to as ’Miss,’ but since Mu Shinian’s mother did what she did, under Elder Mu’s instruction, Maid Zhang began calling her by her full na instead, and now she called Song Qiao ’Miss,’ which sounded more pleasant to the ear.
The two old n were also drawn away from their chess ga by Maid Zhang’s words; they shifted their gaze from the chessboard and looked towards the door. Elder Mu, catching sight of Song Qiao’s return, imdiately smiled at her and said, "Song Qiao, you’re back. Co here, let Grandpa introduce you to a very good old friend of mine."
The old man sitting across from Elder Mu looked about the sa age as Elder Mu, but his hair wasn’t as white, and he seed sturdier in stature, with a more solemn expression on his face compared to Elder Mu.
The old gentleman’s eyes landed on Song Qiao and, finding her satisfactory, he nodded in approval and said, "So this is your granddaughter? Not bad at all, I can’t believe you old codger managed to have such a fine granddaughter."
Being complinted on his granddaughter filled Elder Mu with pride; his face spread into an even more triumphant smile as he said, "Naturally."
Seeing Elder Mu’s smug expression, the old gentleman imdiately regretted his earlier words and had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes.
After so many years, this old coot still puffs up at the slightest bit of praise, shining bright with just a little sunlight.
Can’t he be a little more modest?
After Song Qiao finished changing her shoes, she walked in, her mood evidently better, with a smile on her face, and dutifully greeted, "Grandfather."
Elder Mu gave a grunt of acknowledgnt, then said, "This is an old friend of your grandfather’s; you can call him Grandfather Chu."
Song Qiao’s eyes fell on the old Mr. Chu sitting across, and she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Upon closer inspection, she realized he bore a striking resemblance to Chu Munan...
A look of astonishnt spread across Song Qiao’s face, but quickly, noticing the smile on Grandfather Chu’s face, she regained her composure and politely greeted, "Hello, Grandfather Chu."
Grandfather Chu nodded and pulled out a rather large red envelope from his pocket, handing it to Song Qiao, "Here, take this. I didn’t have a chance to prepare a gift for our first eting. Buy yourself sothing nice, you look so thin..."
Song Qiao, "..." Cringe. She was no longer a kid or a teenager; was she really still getting red envelopes?
And judging by Grandfather Chu’s manner, it seed he had co prepared.
Song Qiao hesitated to reach out for it, her lips parting slightly before she said, "Thank you, Grandfather Chu, but I’m not that young anymore, so maybe the red envelope is a bit..."
Before she could finish, her own grandfather interjected, "If Grandfather Chu gives it to you, just take it. It’s not often that this old miser parts with such a big red envelope, don’t refuse it."
Grandfather Chu, hearing these words, nearly blew his stack, his displeasure evident as he retorted, "You old coot, what’s that supposed to an? You make it sound like I was stingy before. When have I ever been stingy?"
Elder Mu snorted and shot him a look, "When have you ever not been stingy?"
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