Chapter Ninety-Three: Divorce

By the time he returned to the dining hall, Su Yang had already pushed over the meal he had fetched for him.

“No need to work overtime today, right? All the test data has been sorted out.”

“Mm.” Lu Yan answered flatly.

Seeing him close the lunch box after only half the meal, Su Yang was stunned. “You’re not eating?”

“No appetite.”

It was the first time Su Yang had ever seen Lu Yan lose interest in something as important as a meal.

But Lu Yan was not one to waste food, so he picked up the lunch box and headed back to the dormitory.

Just then, a receptionist hurried over and said politely to him, “Engineer Lu, there’s a woman at the institute gate. She says her surname is Han and that she wants to see you.”

“How old is she?” At the mention of the surname Han, Lu Yan had already guessed who it was. But what was she doing here?

“About forty.”

Lu Yan thought for a moment. “Bring her to my dormitory.”

“All right.”

After the receptionist left, Su Yang nudged his shoulder in curiosity. “Someone from your family actually came all this way to see you?”

Lu Yan did not answer. Carrying the lunch box, he returned to the dormitory. After opening the door and setting the box down, he heard the receptionist’s enthusiastic voice.

Soon after, the man led her to the doorway.

“Engineer Lu, this is the comrade!”

Lu Yan gave him a nod, and the receptionist left.

Han Lanzhi walked in calmly, with a little girl following behind her.

Her eyes fell on Lu Yan, and it had to be said that this son-in-law’s looks were beyond reproach.

It was only his temperament that was truly unlikeable.

Lu Yan looked at her as well and called out, “Aunt.”

His tone was respectful, but carried no warmth at all.

Han Lanzhi acknowledged him.

“You came all this way to see me on purpose. What is it?” As he spoke, Lu Yan pulled over a chair and placed it behind her.

Han Lanzhi kept the air of an elder, her tone cool. “Are you planning to make Qingyi a widow for another few years this time?”

At that, Lu Yan suddenly looked up. “A widow?”

Han Lanzhi knew that no matter how imposing or aloof Lu Yan might be outside, he was always respectful before Old Shen, and that respect extended to her as well. No matter what she said, Lu Yan would either agree or remain silent.

“Being away from home for years at a time—how is that any different from having a dead husband? All the big and small troubles at home, all the hard things, fall on her alone,” Han Lanzhi said bluntly.

Lu Yan could not refute that.

Seeing his silence, Han Lanzhi went on, “She’s still young. If you have even a little conscience left, let her go.”

At those words, Lu Yan suddenly felt as though his heart had been struck hard, the pain overwhelming.

After a long while, he finally said, “Aunt, did you come here specially to persuade me to divorce her?”

Han Lanzhi did not hide it. “Yes.”

Lu Yan glanced at her. “Then I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. Unless she tells me herself, I will never divorce.”

Han Lanzhi had not expected him to refuse. Anger crept into her already stern voice. “How selfish. All those years of meals I cooked were wasted on a dog.”

“Thank you for taking care of her all these years. From now on, I will make it up to Qingyi twice over.”

Han Lanzhi found that almost laughable. “And what will you make it up with? Time? Do you have any? Or that little salary of yours? Perhaps to others it may seem like a lot, but I know now that with Qingyi’s looks and ability, she can have much more.”

She thought such words would shake Lu Yan’s confidence, but Lu Yan was not the kind of person who cared about such things at heart.

Instead, Han Lanzhi’s words relieved him of all his own burden.

“Though some of what you said is true, Aunt, I, Lu Yan, am not a man who follows rules to the letter. So don’t try to use these words to provoke me.

“And I’m not stupid. I can guess seven or eight parts of what you’re thinking.

“If you want to set your sights on her, I will not allow it.”

There was no more respect in Lu Yan’s voice.

Han Lanzhi said coldly, “As her mother, what can I possibly be scheming against her?”

“Why the Zhao family wants whatever Qingyi has in her hands—I think there should be an answer to that in a while.”

Han Lanzhi froze. Lu Yan was truly troublesome. She had thought he was the same as Shen Huaishan, a pure academic.

“This was left by her father for the two of us, mother and daughter. What does it have to do with you?

“I gave you the chance to leave with dignity and take the initiative in the divorce, and you did not cherish it. Then wait for Qingyi’s answer.

“I will testify for her father and clear his name!”

With that, she turned to the little girl behind her and said, “Let’s go!”

After Han Lanzhi left, Lu Yan sank weakly onto the bed.

He knew all too well how tempting this condition would be to his wife.

When Su Yang came by, he saw Lu Yan sitting motionless beside the bed, his face bloodless.

“What’s wrong, Lu Yan?”

Lu Yan did not move. Only after quite a while did he answer, “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Su Yang had never seen him like this before.

Lu Yan’s mind was in chaos. He pulled a manuscript from the drawer. “Go out. I need some quiet.”

He had never felt such panic before.

Su Yang did not move. He snatched the manuscript from Lu Yan’s hand. “Who came looking for you?”

Lu Yan pinched the bridge of his nose. “My wife’s mother.”

Su Yang let out a breath. “Nervous about meeting your mother-in-law?”

Lu Yan gave no answer.

Seeing his silence, Su Yang found it a little amusing. “So our Engineer Lu has moments of nerves too. What an honor to witness.”

“Since we finally don’t have to work overtime today, let’s go into the city and look around!”

Lu Yan was not in the mood. “Go by yourself.”

“If I had the authority to use a car whenever I wanted, I’d have had Hong Zhou drive me there already.”

Hong Zhou was another colleague traveling with them, and he could drive too.

Lu Yan picked up a pen and wrote an application for vehicle use, signing his name before handing it to Su Yang. “Take it.”

Su Yang felt that something was very off about him. This did not look like the reaction of someone merely too nervous. “What exactly is going on with you?”

“What would you do if your wife wanted a divorce?” Lu Yan asked suddenly.

Su Yang understood at once. “I spoil my wife so much—how could she bear to divorce me? If she really insisted, I’d shamelessly refuse and keep the child with me. Women can never bear to part with their children.”

“Shamelessly refuse?” Lu Yan had never tried that before.

Su Yang could not even imagine Lu Yan being shameless. “If you really can’t bring yourself to do it, with your conditions, once you’re divorced there’ll be plenty of women lining up for you. That Wang Simin, I could tell—she’s truly beautiful, and she sings well too…”

“Su Yang!” Lu Yan cut him off.

There would never be anyone better than her in this world.

Just thinking of divorcing her made even breathing hurt.

“All right, all right. I was only joking. I don’t think sister-in-law would bear to.”

“If you don’t need the car, then leave,” Lu Yan said again, chasing him off.

Su Yang did not take the application form. He looked at him, sighed, and was about to reach the doorway when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

“Could it be that there really is such a thing as karma in this world?”

He could not help but blame his own cursed mouth, and for a moment became uneasy. But there was no scientific basis for any of this.

After walking a little farther, he finally realized that Lu Yan cared about Shen Qingyi far more than he had imagined.

On the fifth day after leaving, Shen Qingyi finally returned.