The 99th Divorce

Ye Qianqian checked the time. It was already past 10 p.m.

She took a shower and decided to give Shen Zhilie a call.

The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered it.

Fang Tongtong was seated on the couch playing a game on her cellphone. When she saw Ye Qianqian’s demeanor, she remarked, “Are you keeping him on such a tight leash? You aren’t even married yet! Should you really get married, how much worse is it going to be?”

When Ye Qianqian heard her words of ridicule, she grew even more impatient and replied in frustration, “He has never stayed out this late before. In the past, whenever he would be home late, he would always call to set my heart at ease. It’s now this late, and there isn’t any news from him. How can that be?”

“Sigh. Perhaps he’s just busy. Stop worrying. A man like Shen will never fool around outside regardless of the circumstances.”

“That’s not it…” Ye Qianqian’s heartbeat quickened. She placed her hand on her heart to calm herself down. In a whisper, she said, “I have this premonition that something will happen to him…”

“Stop scaring yourself. Nothing will happen,” Fang Tongtong indifferently said. She paused her game and poured Ye Qianqian a cup of water. She said, “Dry your hair. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

Ye Qianqian took the glass of water from her, but she wasn’t in any mood to drink it. Instead, she continued dialing Shen Zhilie’s cellphone.

She called a few times in succession. All the calls went unanswered.

–

Kingstown Huxin Hospital.

“Hurry up! What are you waiting for?”

“Where’s the patient?”

“Under control. We’ve injected her with a temporary tranquilizer. I think given her situation, she probably can’t be kept in this hospital any longer.”

“Who f*cking cares about that? Look at the state Dr. Shen is in! Who will dare to keep her? Arrange a blood transfusion for him immediately!”

…

The Psychiatric Department was in chaos. Everyone was running up and down with an expression of urgency on their faces.

By the time the commotion slowly died down, it was already 11 p.m.

A doctor walked into the Department Head’s office and found that there were more than 20 missed called on Shen Zhilie’s cellphone.

The name of the number saved was clearly seen—My future wife [heart emoji].

The doctor sighed when he saw those words. He picked up the phone and turned to walk out.

–

Ye Qianqian couldn’t fall asleep.

Shen Zhilie had never done this before.

It was as if he had disappeared into thin air.

After tossing and turning umpteen times, Ye Qianqian was still feeling thoroughly unsettled. She got up and logged in to Shen Zhilie WeChat account.

Shen Zhilie’s password for all his social accounts was the same. Ye Qianqian had no issue logging in and was immediately about to find Luo Ran’s contact details.

She sent a question mark over followed by three words: [Are you there?]

At this hour, Ye Qianqian assumed that if Luo Ran wasn’t flirting in some bar, he’d be in bed with some chick. In any case, she wasn’t expecting a quick reply.

Unexpectedly, he responded within seconds.

Luo Ran: [I’m here.]

Luo Ran: [Something happen again?]

When Ye Qianqian saw those few words, she sent an audio message over instead. She said, “I’m Shen Zhilie’s girlfriend, Ye Qianqian. It’s late at night, and Shen still isn’t back yet. I called his cellphone over 20 times, but there was no answer. Would you happen to know where he is?”

It was rare that Luo Ran was at home behaving himself and watching some comedies to unwind instead of painting the town red.

He jerked upright when he heard Ye Qianqian’s voice.

Immediately on an alert, he straightened up and typed his reply: [That guy isn’t home yet? Is his cellphone with you now?]

Shen Zhilie: [No. I logged into his WeChat account to contact you.]

Luo Ran: [Um, I have no idea either. I’m currently in the Capital. Isn’t he in Kingstown?]

Luo Ran: [I heard him mention a few times that he’s recently been dealing with a tricky female patient. Perhaps he’s still at work. Why don’t you give the hospital a call?]