The 99th Divorce

Time had slowed to a crawl.

–

Ye Qianqian spent Sunday sleeping the day away. When she finally woke up, it was evening.

The dim rays of the setting sun made everything look like they were covered in a gray veil.

None of the lights in the house were switched on, and Fang Tongtong wasn’t back yet.

Ye Qianqian looked at the scene in front of her. A sense of emptiness struck her heart.

For no apparent reason, she suddenly felt as if she had been abandoned by the whole world.

Alone and desolate…

Ye Qianqian felt an ache in her heart and picked her cellphone up. She checked the time. It was 7 p.m.

She opened her contact list and dialed the number that was infinitely familiar to her.

The call was answered very quickly. There was a moment of static followed by Shen Zhilie’s voice.

Shen Zhilie coughed heavily before speaking. “Is something wrong?”

Ye Qianqian’s heart felt empty. It was such an unpleasant feeling.

She got up and switched on the light.

The sudden light was a little harsh to her eyes, but that feeling of loneliness abated.

“I just woke up. I dreamed of you.” Ye Qianqian sat on the bed and squinted her eyes. “Guess what I dreamed of.”

“Hm… if you dreamed of me, it’s not an empty dream. You must have dreamed that your whole head was filled with my handsome face and you were so awed to the extent that you couldn’t walk.”

“Pfft…” A voice could be heard over on Shen Zhilie’s side saying, “Brother Shen, how shameless can you get?”

When Ye Qianqian heard that, she burst out laughing, and said, “Look! Even your colleague is calling you shameless! Can’t you carry a proper conversation?”

“OK. Let me think. You dreamed that we got married and gave birth to a cute little girl. After that, we held our little daughter’s hands and happily walked her to school. During the day, we headed to our respective workplaces and school. At night, we had each other for company at home…”

Ye Qianqian felt her heart getting warm, but she retorted, “That’s called a pipe dream!”

“I had such a dream before,” Shen Zhilie said before bringing the topic back. “So, what did you dream of?”

“I dreamed that we broke up. You were a blubbering mess telling the whole world that I’d dumped you and was fooling around outside. I had to go everywhere to clear my maligned name. I kept saying, ‘It wasn’t me… It wasn’t me…” Ye Qianqian chuckled as she related her story. “But you kept slandering me and accusing me of cheating. You kept insisting that I had another man on the side. After that, my reputation was completely destroyed, and everyone cast me aside. After that, I scared myself awake.”

Shen Zhilie was silent for a while before replying, “That is what you call a pipe dream! Do you want to break up? Not even in your dreams!”

“Damn.” Hearing Shen Zhilie’s words made Ye Qianqian feel reassured. Her stomach growled. She said, “I’m hungry. I’m going to eat something now. Bye!”

“Hey…” Shen Zhilie wanted to say something more, but Ye Qianqian had already disconnected the call.

Ye Qianqian smiled happily and tossed her cellphone aside. She headed out into the kitchen to cook some noodles for herself.

A realization suddenly hit her.

Who was the person who had spoken to Shen Zhilie just now?

Only his colleagues called him “Brother Shen,” which was why she had instinctively referred to the person as a colleague.

Wasn’t Shen Zhilie supposed to be at home in the Capital? Why didn’t Shen Zhilie correct her?

Before Ye Qianqian could sort her thoughts out, the front door opened.

Fang Tongtong looked exhausted as she walked in. She looked at Ye Qianqian and waved as she said, “Hi.”

“Hey. I’m cooking noodles. Have you had your dinner yet?”

“Yeah.”

“Who did you eat with?” Ye Qianqian nudged her mischievously. “Were you with that little boyfriend of yours?”