Sorting through her jewelry and haute couture was no easy task, and she could only pick a third of it. Just thinking about it made Li Yaru’s heart ache, the pain almost tangible.
Over the years, her greatest passion had been collecting custom-made dresses and jewelry. Whether it was top-tier blue-blood brands or niche designers, she had bought from them all.
She loved lingering at all the top jewelry auctions. Truly, every single piece was a rare treasure.
At the Zhuang Residence, there was a separate four-story villa dedicated entirely to storing her spoils. The jewelry alone took up an entire floor.
The whole floor was designed like an exhibition hall. The moment you walked in, it was as if you’d stepped into a high-end jewelry show, enjoying a perfect fusion of the world’s finest materials, craftsmanship, and design.
Brilliant lights shone on the dazzling gems, making her heart race.
On deep purple velvet stands lay countless rings, earrings, bracelets, bangles, necklaces, brooches, and hair ornaments— anything and everything you could imagine.
Li Yaru stroked each piece one by one. They were so beautiful, too beautiful— every piece was incomparable, each one her baby, big and small. She couldn’t bear to leave any behind.
If there was even the slightest chance, she’d want to pack them all up and take them with her, not leaving a single thing for that man.
Why should she! These were all hers!
“Red ones… I’ve chosen the red ones…” Li Yaru’s gaze lingered over a row of rubies, red diamonds, and red spinels.
“Madam, you’ve picked a total of 78 red pieces,” Ada reminded her softly, hugging her iPad. “That’s over the limit…”
Li Yaru resolutely put down the pair of Rose Finch Earrings she’d been holding. “Then forget these.”
The people Zhuang Qiting sent were absolutely infuriating, sticking to her like glue.
They followed her every step, and whenever she hesitated or seemed reluctant to part with something, a cold voice would chime in mercilessly, “Madam, you’ve already selected 278 items. Based on a third of the total, you can only choose 13 more.”
She knew, she knew, she knew!
Li Yaru gritted her teeth and said coldly, “I know. No need to remind me every second. Go tell that Zhuang, I won’t take a single extra thing. Tell him to stop watching me like I’m a criminal.”
The subordinate in a black suit kept his head down, firmly remembering Mr.’s instructions: not a single extra piece could be taken by Madam.
Zhuang Qiting couldn’t wait for Li Yaru to give up at the first hurdle, obediently accept his terms, and return to his side.
The subordinate said, “Madam, Mr. also said that if you really can’t part with them, you can go talk to him yourself.”
“As if.”
Li Yaru had seen right through Zhuang Qiting’s schemes. No wonder he’d agreed to the divorce so easily— he wanted to see her give up, to watch her beg him.
What a pervert, Li Yaru thought with contempt.
It took over a week to pick nearly three hundred pieces of jewelry and seven hundred dresses, with professionals handling the sorting, labeling, and cleaning.
Zhuang Qiting didn’t make any demands about her everyday clothes, shoes, or bags; she could take all those. That was nothing.
The important thing was that once the divorce was finalized, she’d be moving out of the Zhuang Residence, so she needed to pick out a new, comfortable home for herself.
Li Yaru’s properties were divided into three categories: those jointly owned with Zhuang Qiting, those gifted by the Zhuang family, and those she bought herself or were given by her own family.
Once divorced, according to the prenuptial agreement, the first two types would no longer belong to her.
Zhuang Qiting was dead set on forcing her hand— even her favorite Shallow Water Bay Garden Villa wouldn’t be left to her.
The only property he’d let her keep was half of their current home, the Zhuang Residence.
She could come and stay anytime.
She couldn’t be bothered to guess at his intentions.
“Ah Rou, we’ve lived here for decades. All three kids grew up here. I really can’t bear to see you move out and tire yourself out. Why not just stay? You still own half this house. If you want to keep living here, you can. After all, you won’t find a more comfortable place on all of Hong Kong Island.”
That man’s calculations were practically written on his face.
Li Yaru was so angry she could grind her teeth to dust. Who wants to live together after a divorce? That’s no different from not divorcing at all!
“No need for your concern, Zhuang Xiansheng. Once the paperwork is ready, I’ll move out.”
“Then where will you live?” Zhuang Qiting frowned.
Li Yaru’s properties on Hong Kong Island were all clear as day. The independent villas with gardens were all gifts from him.
Most of her real estate investments were in Europe, North America, and the Mainland.
“You’re going to move into that small apartment you bought in Bayshore Bay when you were twenty? Or that two-story townhouse in the Mid-levels? Surely you’re not moving back to your parents’?” Zhuang Qiting shook his head to himself and laughed. “Don’t joke. Those places can’t even fit your shoes, so why bother?”
Li Yaru ignored his sarcasm. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth— how could he imagine her family of five once squeezed into a fifty-square-meter broken-down apartment when she was a child?
Li Yaru met his eyes calmly, her bright gaze full of lively light.
She’d been like this lately, her eyes sparkling and smile bright no matter who she looked at, cheerful and at ease. “I’ve asked an agent to look for a house for me. I’m planning to buy a big villa in Qianshui Bay, so I can be neighbors with Ah Wen and Qiumei. When it’s ready, you’re welcome to visit as a guest.”
She spoke lightly, as if it was nothing: “That’s fine.”
He reminded her again, “All these years, you never had to look at the price, whether buying a plane or a flower. But Ah Rou, after the divorce, you’ll have to manage your own household. Do you understand that?”
Li Yaru smiled. “Of course. Zhuang Xiansheng, it’s just a divorce.”
She called him Zhuang Xiansheng at every turn, eager to—
A wave of sourness welled up in Zhuang Qiting’s chest, so stifling he wanted to end this farce immediately.
Li Yaru was supposed to be his woman, in life and death— why should he let her go? He was only making himself suffer.
Zhuang Qiting kept a composed smile, giving Li Yaru a deep look. “It’s not that bad. Even after the divorce, you’re still the mother of my children.”
“Will you have dinner with me tonight? I asked the kitchen to make your favorite health soup.”
“I won’t eat, I have plans tonight. Let our son keep you company. Oh, I haven’t told them about this yet, so as their father, you can be the one to break the news.”
The words “who are you meeting” were on the tip of his tongue, but Zhuang Qiting held them back by sheer will.
He sat quietly, watching as his wife picked up her limited edition doll bag, stood up, and waved at him with a smile.
She was exceptionally beautiful today, in a tender peach-pink short dress that made her skin look as white as porcelain. Her long, alluring legs drew every eye, and she was bedecked in jewels— there was not a trace of a forty-year-old woman about her, more like twenty-eight.
Zhuang Qiting thought she seemed so happy she might fly away.
.
—For five days in a row, Li Yaru didn’t eat at the Zhuang Residence.
If she wasn’t meeting her girlfriends, she was meeting her sisters-in-law, relatives, or mahjong friends, coming home late every night, sometimes not until eleven or twelve.
She was like a wild horse off its reins.
Zhuang Qiting, on the other hand, came home every day, eating dinner alone in the lavish dining room.
He showed no emotion, yet a suffocating pressure filled the house. From the Housekeeper to the maids, everyone was on edge, afraid of making the slightest mistake.
Without Madam at the table, the dining room was cold and dull. The entire staff at the Zhuang Residence could hardly stand it anymore, wishing they could beg Madam to have just one meal at home.
Tonight, as usual, the kitchen had made health soup. The aroma was rich and delicious. Zhuang Qiting drank more than half a bowl, and soon his body began to feel hot.
This had been happening every day lately— after a bowl of soup, he would feel feverish and restless. He unbuttoned his sweater and asked the Housekeeper what kind of soup it was.
Li Guanjia smiled and said, “Sir, the soup is made with pigeon and pork bones as the base, stewed with deer antler, sea dragon, eucommia, morinda root, and red dates—very nourishing. Do you not like the taste?”
Zhuang Qiting knew a thing or two about daily health—wasn’t this a tonic soup for men? He frowned and looked at the empty soup tureen. “What was the soup yesterday?”