The 99th Divorce

He had hated her for pushing Guan Queye over, even though Ye Youyou had been innocent in the matter. In the face of all the fingers pointing at her, at a time when everyone was convinced that she had done it, no matter how Ye Youyou tried to explain or voice her version of the events, no matter how regretful she had been, Shen Luo’an hadn’t believed her.

Shen Luo’an was a person whose mind was hard to change once he had decided on something. Ye Youyou knew that well. She knew that regardless of how much she hated it, and how much resentment she felt, she was powerless to change anything.

That feeling of helplessness had continued for a long time. Up until now, Ye Youyou had never even considered the possibility of whether Shen Luo’an might have liked or even loved her. So many years had passed, and the hopes that had once been had long disappeared into nothingness.

When Guan Queye heard Ye Youyou’s words, her eyes beheld her for a long moment before she suddenly burst out in laughter. “Ye Youyou, sometimes I really pity you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ye Youyou asked.

“For so many years, Shen Luo’an was by your side. Heaven knows how much I envied you, but you just wasted all that time. If it had been me, I would have used those seven or eight years to have him firmly within my clutches.” The expression on Guan Queye’s face was a combination of regret, satisfaction, and gloating. “I’m guessing it was because of me that the both of you fell out so badly. Ha ha ha!”

The emotions in Ye Youyou’s heart were complex. She pursed her lips into a thin line. It would have been normal for her to cuss out at Guan Queye and call her a home-wrecker and despicable shameless person.

Guan Queye’s feigned madness a few years back had planted a thorn between Shen Luo’an and Ye Youyou, causing the distance between them to grow. Every time she went near him, she was pricked mercilessly by that thorn.

All these years, her life had been very difficult, all thanks to Guan Queye. After all was said and done, Shen Luo’an had actually disappeared on such an important occasion as his wedding day.

Guan Queye’s laughter grew louder and louder, but tears began streaming down her face. “Ye Youyou, I’m sorry. I’m sorry…” The elegant makeup on her face began to meld with her tears. Her cries began to sound desperate. She sounded on the brink of despair.

Guan Queye crumbled in a heap on the floor, swathed in her wedding gown. The tumbler fell from her hand and landed on the floor with a dull clang.

The Psyduck tumbler bounced a few times before finally rolling to a stop at Ye Youyou’s foot.

Crouched on the floor, Guan Queye was wailing in earnest. “I’m so jealous of you… so, so jealous.”

Guan Queye buried her face between her knees. The words came out muffled but were laced with sorrow and heartache.

A bride was supposed to be full of smiles and happily receiving blessings from all the well-wishers. Instead, Guan Queye was in a room wailing her eyes out.

Ye Youyou’s heart ached as she gazed at her. Her lips tightened. She lowered her eyes to look at the cute little Psyduck tumbler on the floor. She bent down to pick the bottle up and opened the cap. It was filled with water.

She took two steps forward and crouched down. She reached out to hand the bottle over and gently said, “Everything will pass. Shen Luo’an’s disappearance today was because he’s an irresponsible cad. Such a person will not be able to give you a happy future and is not worthy of your love.”

Guan Queye head was between her knees, and her sobbing slowly abated. She raised her head and looked at Ye Youyou.

Ye Youyou was holding the water tumbler in her hands. Her eyes were filled with sympathy as she said, “We both deserve better.”

She gently handed the bottle over. Her expression was like it had been before.

In the past, when Guan Queye had lost in the ballet competition and had locked herself in her room to cry, Ye Youyou had consoled her gently in a similar manner.

It was as if everything had gone back to what it was before. Guan Queye’s eyes stopped at the water tumbler in Ye Youyou’s hand.