Li Yaru doubted her ears. “Dad, you’re really… bending over backwards for me…”
Zhuang Shaozhang was nearly exasperated by his daughter-in-law’s mouth. He solemnly pounded the tea table. “You’ve been my daughter for over twenty years. Do you really think I’m so biased? What bending backwards? Doesn’t that sound reasonable?”
Li Yaru lowered her head silently. Warmth surged in her heart. Everyone in the Zhuang Family treated her well — the matriarch, her sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, and the kids. She knew this as clearly as a mirror.
Zhuang Qiting treated her well too.
She knew it.
“Thank you, Dad, and thank you, Mom. It’s me… who was too willful,” she said softly, fingers clutching the decree tightly, still trembling.
“You know you’re willful. If I hadn’t allowed this, you two would have caused chaos in the Zhuang Family, making Hong Kong Island a laughingstock!”
Li Yaru blushed slightly.
“The Shenghui Group will not release any official announcements about your divorce. No family member will speak of it in public. Whether or not you want to attend future family events is up to you. You may stay or go as you please. But the Zhuang Family will have no response. Do you understand what I mean?”
That was the best arrangement possible. Li Yaru nodded, drained the last of her tea, and rose to say goodbye.
“Xiaorou, if Qiting changed his ways, would you be willing to continue with him?”
Li Yaru was quiet for a moment, her gaze slowly drifting to the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, the courtyard’s flowing water and clusters of pink and purple hydrangeas bloomed — this variety called Wujin Xia.
The flowers stretched endlessly, blooming through the summer with no end. And Hong Kong Island had no winter.
“Dad, that man…” Li Yaru’s eyes glistened as she smiled helplessly.
That smile was mixed with sweetness, sourness, bitterness, love, hatred, greed, and folly, all tangled into a taste she could never untangle.
“Forget it. If he really changed, he’d probably scare me to death. Let’s go, Dad. Next time, bring Ayan and the others to have dinner with you and Mom.”
Li Yaru gathered her scattered thoughts, rubbed her cheeks, and her bright eyes lit up again. She held her head high, pushed open the tea room door, and walked out lightly.
The corridor was peaceful, with sheer curtains drifting and bathed in warm afternoon sunlight.
Her high heels clicked crisply on the wooden floor, her slender shadow swaying with her steps. Just as she turned the corner, she caught sight of a tall, deep black silhouette. Her steps froze.
The man stood silently against the wall, waiting patiently like a hunter for his prey. His tall, strong figure cast a shadow that fully covered her.
“Rou.”
Zhuang Qiting looked up, his voice low as he called her. His eternally youthful face couldn’t hide the exhaustion beneath.
A sleepless night, restless thoughts, and a long flight had worn him down — he wasn’t made of iron.
Li Yaru clenched the Divorce Decree tightly in her hand, eyes filled with complexity as she looked at his rumpled open shirt collar. “Why are you here?”
“I heard Dad was looking for you. Afraid you’d feel wronged, I came straight after landing.” Zhuang Qiting exhaled and reached out to hug her. “Baby, please don’t be mad at me, okay?”
“You… hey… let go of me!”
His strong arms coiled around her like two giant snakes.
The moment he touched her, Zhuang Qiting lost control, wanting to bury her deep into his bones and blood.
Last night he tossed and turned, his mind replaying her harsh “Get lost” and her hysterical face.
Had he done anything wrong? Didn’t he just drive away that annoying little man? Was that enough for her to tell him to get lost?
He hated all the men around her — wasn’t that natural? He was her husband. Didn’t he have that right?
“Rou, baby, Grandma doesn’t allow you to say ‘get lost’ to me anymore. Not allowed. Understand?”
Zhuang Qiting spun her halfway around and pressed her against the wall, urgently trying to kiss her. The scent was a wild mix of earth and sun from the grasslands, the fragrance of the private jet, the dust of travel, and his own intense woody musk all crashing over her.
His tongue probed inside, erratic and unrestrained.
Li Yaru’s lips were soaked in his chaotic taste, her lipstick smudged, breath stuck. She wanted to call for help but remembered this was her mother-in-law’s home. Being caught would be embarrassing.
She pushed him fiercely. “Zhuang Qiting… Zhuang Qiting! Get a grip!”
Zhuang Qiting’s fingertips caressed her delicate cheeks. “I’m very alert. I want you. I want you, Rou.”
“We’re really divorced.”
“No more talking about divorce.”
Pressed against the wall by his overwhelming strength, Li Yaru couldn’t resist. Her legs were pinned by his long, sturdy limbs like a specimen nailed to the wall.
She calmed her racing heart and met his eyes, seeing bloodshot veins crawling in them.
Her feelings were complicated— this time, no hysteria, only calmness, almost gentleness. She sighed, “Zhuang Qiting… we’re really divorced.”
Zhuang Qiting frowned. “Rou, you insist—”
“Look at this.” Li Yaru held up the Divorce Decree, the black letters cutting off their tangled gaze.
Zhuang Qiting focused, quickly scanning it. His palm suddenly clenched tightly, voice low, as if suppressing a storm, “Where is this from?”
He had already ordered the lawsuit withdrawn and told them not to issue the divorce decree.
“Dad gave it to me.”
“Qiting, we really… are finished.”
She spoke his full name quietly and gently. That gentleness was coated with venom, an arrow aimed at his heart, churning his insides.
Zhuang Qiting suddenly turned his head, hiding his embarrassed expression from her.
After a few breaths, he snatched the decree away and calmly tore it in half right before her eyes.
“You’re useless like this.” Li Yaru didn’t stop him, letting him tear it up.
This was already decided. Tearing it could be undone, but the outcome would not change.
Zhuang Qiting remained silent, his whole body like a taut bow, his inner heat rising step by step.
He crumpled the torn paper and threw it harshly to the floor, his eyes locking on hers with hunger, as if he wanted to devour her.
Then he turned and strode out of the tea room.
The man left, taking the chaos and heated tension with him. Li Yaru exhaled deeply, heart pounding.
She pulled a small mirror from her bag and tidied the lipstick smudged at her lips. In the mirror, her eyes were moist. She was dazed for a moment.
Then, from deep in the corridor came a loud door slam.
“Bang!”
Li Yaru’s heart pounded violently. She sensed a brewing storm and quickly put away the mirror, hurrying away from the battlefield.
Qing Shu stood by the main gate, respectfully greeting her. “The car is ready.”
Li Yaru looked at the black Bentley and suddenly got an idea. “Uncle, I remember I have a Lamborghini parked here. Do I still have the keys?”
Qing Shu recalled, “There is one, but it’s been parked for years. It’s been maintained annually. If you want to use it, I’ll send it over to the Zhuang Residence.”
Li Yaru smiled, “Give me the keys. I’ll drive it back myself.”
Qing Shu hesitated. “That might not be a good idea, Madam. Great-Grandma said you’re not to drive such sports cars.”
Zhuang Qiting had given Li Yaru several sports cars but forbade her from driving them alone. Every time she wanted to drive, it had to be under his supervision.
This was because she once nearly crashed into a mountainside guardrail. Since then, Qiting banned her from driving alone.
Li Yaru protested repeatedly, saying it was the slippery rain, not her driving skills. Unfortunately, Qiting wouldn’t listen.
Usually, Li Yaru was chauffeured everywhere, and over time, she lost the desire to drive. The sports cars she owned were either given to her son or lent to friends and relatives.
Li Yaru snorted coldly, recalling this made her angry again. She had some pity for Zhuang Qiting before — after all, he was betrayed by his own father.
But now, she felt no sympathy. The one who was truly pitiful was her — having been controlled by a man for over twenty years!
She shot Qing Shu a frosty look. “I’m divorced from him now. Don’t call me ‘Little Grandma’ anymore. Call me… Madam Li.”
“Yes, Madam Li, or Mrs. Li!” Li Yaru was very pleased with these titles.
All these years of being Mrs. Zhuang, Mrs. Zhuang Tai Tai, or Little Grandma of the Zhuang Family — now she wanted to be Madam Li, Mrs. Li, Miss Li, General Manager Li, or Boss Li. Anything was fine!
Qing Shu: “……………”
The Lamborghini keys finally returned to Li Yaru’s hand. She faced the sunlight and the garden full of Wujin Xia, donned sunglasses, and coolly opened the car door, slipping inside.
The supercar roared, its thunderous engine deafening. Li Yaru felt her soul nearly fly out.
She pressed the accelerator hard, the intense rush of acceleration sending her straight to heaven.
“Ah! This feels amazing! Bye-bye, you bastard!” Li Yaru gripped the steering wheel excitedly.
The red Lamborghini was a galloping steed, carrying its beautiful owner quickly out of sight.
The roaring startled the father and son quarreling inside the tea room.
Zhuang Qiting strode to the floor-to-ceiling window and saw the long-lost red Lamborghini burst back into view — an untamed wild horse galloping wildly.
His face twisted with anger. He had said she was not allowed to drive the sports car! And she was driving it so fast!
Zhuang Qiting was furious beyond words, turning sharply to glare at his father.
His deep black eyes were as sharp as blades as he growled, “Dad, I’m so disappointed in you. The matter between Rou and me is ours to settle. Why do you have to meddle?”
“Rou is young and immature, I can understand that. You’re old, and you still don’t understand?”
“???”
Zhuang Shaozhang stared at his son in disbelief. What nonsense was he spouting?
Grandfather Zhuang was so furious his face flushed red. At over seventy, his body was still strong and agile.
He grabbed his dignified Serpent Patterned Cane and gave Zhuang Qiting several harsh whacks without mercy.
“You’re crazy! I’m not disappointed in you. You’re the one who’s disappointed in me. Zhuang Qiting, listen well— I am your father! Not your servant!”