Zhuang Qiting clearly remembered that Li Yarou had agreed to marry him, saying she was willing.
That surge of emotion in his heart lingered persistently, thin yet unending.
He admitted that he had used means, even subtly coerced her, knowing she was only nine years old at the time and had no courage to resist him.
Whether willing or unwilling, it was not up to her.
The Linghua Window sliced the moonlight into beautiful, regular shapes.
The mountain breeze blew gently, bamboo shadows swayed, summer cicadas called tirelessly, accompanied by the croaking of frogs.
The woman beneath him looked at him quietly, the girl from eighteen years ago quietly overlapping in his mind.
Her delicate skin was just as before.
Eighteen years had passed in a flash, yet she seemed hardly changed — still so beautiful, radiant, vivid, even her eyes remained clear and bright, stirring a tide of excitement within him, never tiring of admiring her.
The woman who had borne heavy burdens of life, whose eyes would no longer be light and carefree — he had cared for her well, protected her well.
“Have I treated you badly, Arou?” He traced his wife’s face carefully with his gaze.
Li Yarou’s mind flashed through countless past memories, inevitably carrying a tinge of unspeakable bitterness.
She spoke softly, “Zhuang Qiting, you have treated me badly. Why would I marry you, endure so many hardships for you? Which woman marries just to suffer?”
“I remember it was you who said you were willing to marry me. On our wedding night, you were so happy you got drunk. Arou, we’ve been through more than eighteen years. Must we argue for a divorce now?” Zhuang Qiting’s eyes turned cold again. “Your father told me — have you lost your heart? Do you like someone else?”
Li Yarou couldn’t understand this man’s thought process, and she hated that he still failed to see the root of their divorce.
Was she a woman looking for trouble? With his strong possessiveness, she had endured over eighteen years for him.
If she weren’t pushed to her limits, would she willingly give up comfort to divorce, move out, make a mess, lose face?
Li Yarou felt suffocated by him. She deliberately refused to look at him and said coldly, “I don’t like anyone. I don’t like other men, and I don’t like you.”
Zhuang Qiting was so furious that smoke seemed to come from his seven orifices. She didn’t like him — his own wife said she didn’t like him anymore.
He couldn’t help but forcibly turn her face towards him, restraining himself as he said, “Baby, take back that sentence just now.”
“Oh? Then I didn’t say I didn’t like other men. I like other men — I like a gentle, tender, and obedient younger brother.”
“Li Yarou! Must you always anger your husband?” His voice deepened, his face dark as iron.
Li Yarou snorted coldly, recalling his earlier words about breaking her wings, filling her with anger. He still treated her as his possession.
“We’re divorced. You’re not my husband anymore. Mind your own business. If you love bossing people around, boss your son or your employees.”
Zhuang Qiting knew it was useless to argue further. She had a sharp tongue and was hardly pleasant to listen to.
He really wished he could silence her until tears welled up.
His breath burned hot, veins bulging on his arms supporting himself on either side of her.
His long fingers clenched the bedsheet so hard his knuckles turned white.
After a few seconds, he lowered his head and fiercely kissed her lips. The wet softness felt like biting into cotton candy.
Unable to restrain himself, his tongue swept aggressively. Li Yarou angrily bit his tongue and he punished her with a pinch.
“You’re so childish and immature. I won’t argue with you. But Arou, I have to remind you, even if we’re divorced, you should behave. Don’t think you can do whatever you want. If you make me angry, no one benefits.”
Think looking for another younger man? In her dreams.
Is he dead?
–
Their twenty-year marriage had always been full of cracks, and Zhuang Qiting’s unrepentant aggravation only worsened it, pushing their relationship to freezing point.
Li Yarou no longer wanted to pretend, and she refused to play along with his act of a loving couple.
During the next two days at the temple retreat, whenever she saw Zhuang Qiting, she pretended not to see him — ignoring, not responding, not touching, not cooperating.
At lunch, Zhuang Qiting still personally prepared her food, bringing it to her with utensils and napkins arranged neatly. “Here’s your favorite Songrong Shaomai and Vegetable Soup.”
Li Yarou quietly pushed the plate away, expression indifferent, without a trace of emotion.
Zhuang Qiting hadn’t expected to be publicly snubbed by his wife. He glanced at her once, finally saying nothing, silently eating both meals himself.
All the Zhuang family’s servants exchanged puzzled looks, not understanding what had happened.
The couple had been so affectionate just the night before, inseparable — and yet overnight, this?
The sharp-witted junior servants sensed the brewing storm and knew that the elder uncle was like the Grim Reaper now — untouchable.
Whether eating, copying sutras, or doing labor, they all behaved obediently, not daring to slack off.
Zhuang Qikai took the opportunity to ask, “Big brother, did you offend big sister?”
Zhuang Qiting’s expression was cold. “No.”
“Big sister gave you a sour look right in front of us. It must be you who offended her.”
Zhuang Qiting ignored him, annoyed, leaning against the corridor. He lit a cigarette but immediately crushed it in his hand, having sworn off smoking, drinking, and meat.
He silently stared into the bamboo grove. After a moment, he muttered, “She, I just want to reason with her.”
Zhuang Qiting didn’t want to get involved in his elder brother’s family affairs, but since his wife insisted he ask, he couldn’t refuse.
“I told you, big brother, this is obviously your problem. Whatever big sister says, it’s your fault. I never reason with Lanlan; whatever she says is right.”
Zhuang Qiting gave his younger brother a meaningless glare. He had neither the energy nor patience to explain what was wrong.
He also didn’t want to hear people boasting about how loving their marriages were around him.
“I’m short-tempered.” He ended the discussion.
Zhuang Qikai nodded and stopped worrying. He believed his big brother would soothe big sister eventually.
Over the years, big brother had been like an indestructible giant ship, never misstepping, unfazed by any storm.
Even during the global financial crisis when banks collapsed one after another, under his strong leadership, Shenghui Group survived and grew even stronger, hailed as the Far East’s number one financial conglomerate.
Big brother was always big brother.
–
The temple retreat ended, and after returning home, Li Yarou packed five boxes of luggage.
When Zhuang Qiting came home from work and found she was gone, he asked Li Guan, only to learn Li Yarou was staying at Lu Junqiu’s mansion in Qianshui Bay for a few days.
“Nonsense.”
Zhuang Qiting had always disliked Li Yarou’s cousin, who was full of crafty tricks!
Now that Li Yarou kept talking about her “younger brother, younger brother,” it was mostly because this cousin had corrupted her! The two living together now — who knew what mischief they would cause?
“You don’t even try to persuade her? Just let her run wild.” Zhuang Qiting pulled his tie and strode inside, glancing coldly at the useless old steward.
Li Guan looked worried. “Sir, how could madam not listen to me…”
Zhuang Qiting’s eyes darkened. Yes, even she no longer listened to him. She was drifting away.
Thinking of his wife’s cold attitude, Zhuang Qiting felt as if needles pricked his heart.
She was cold and distant to him now, no longer even cursing him, treating him like a stranger under the same roof, not even willing to glance at him when passing by.
Zhuang Qiting hated this kind of neglect with all his heart. His heart felt like a playing card crumpled harshly, unplayable, left alone to be tossed into the discard pile.
He would rather she fuss at him, fight with him — even if they broke up, even if she cursed or hit him — at least he could say something, even if rude or harsh. That was better than this cold treatment.
Lost in thought, he suddenly stopped, astonished at such an unseemly idea forming in his mind.
Had he gone mad? How could he so easily tolerate his wife calling him an old man? He should either gently or firmly correct her, so she wouldn’t offend him again.
–
At dinner, Li Shengming came home from school and immediately saw his father at the table. Quickly suppressing his grinning expression, he greeted respectfully, “Daddy, you’re here too.”
“Go wash your hands. Sit down and eat.”
Li Shengming felt unlucky. If he had known mom wasn’t home but dad was, he would have gone to Causeway Bay to eat seafood hotpot with his classmates.
Everyone knew Zhuang Qiting had been in a bad mood lately. Li Shengming didn’t want to get in trouble and understood why his second brother kept making excuses not to come home.
The father and son ate quietly. Occasionally, the clinking of chopsticks against bowls broke the silence.
Li Shengming buried his head in his food, not daring to take any dishes further away.
Zhuang Qiting used serving chopsticks to pick up a Pearl Shrimp Ball for his son and asked kindly, “How’s school been recently?”
“Good, pretty good.”
“Have you decided what major you want for university?”
“Second brother wants me to study psychology.”
Zhuang Qiting chuckled lightly. “He thinks you’re dumb. Don’t you realize?”
Li Shengming was roused but not fully awake. “That can’t be. Didn’t second brother study psychology himself?”
Zhuang Qiting shook his head helplessly. When would his youngest son grow up? He never expected his youngest to manage the family business. Compared to his eldest and second sons, he was more patient and tolerant with the youngest, probably because he resembled Li Yarou.
He just hoped the silly boy wouldn’t waste his efforts and could at least be somewhat useful.
“By the way, Aming. Your mom said she wanted to see you tonight. Did you know?”
Zhuang Qiting casually brought it up and picked another Pearl Shrimp Ball for his son.
“No, mom didn’t tell me. Is it important?”
Zhuang Qiting raised his chin. “Of course it’s important. Send her a message to check so she doesn’t forget and get upset later.”
“Okay.”
Li Shengming didn’t think much and took out his phone to message Li Yarou, lowering his head, focused on typing.
At that moment, a servant carelessly brought the dessert.