The 99th Divorce

The vicious warning in the man’s voice, together with the static over the phone line,

sounded indescribably scary.

Shen Zhilie didn’t cower. Instead, he asked breezily, “You want my woman to go?” His voice had a hint of a chuckle in it.

The man didn’t expect Shen Zhilie to react in this way, and he couldn’t decipher what Shen Zhilie was thinking.

“My woman is timid,” Shen Zhilie said unhurriedly. “She might accidentally reveal something to the police or rat you out unintentionally. Who do you think will be on the losing end if that happens?”

“Hmph! So what are you proposing?”

“I’ll go. You said it yourself. I’ve got the guts.”

“Tch!” The man clicked his tongue dismissively. “If I find out that you’re hiding something up your sleeve, I won’t let you off easily.”

“Haha… all right. I’ll be waiting.” With that, Shen Zhilie disconnected the call.

Ye Qianqian was beside him, and she clearly saw that he wasn’t as unconcerned as he made himself out to be. When Shen Zhilie placed the phone down, his palms were covered in a layer of sweat, and beads of perspiration had appeared on his forehead.

Tears welled up in Ye Qianqian’s eyes as she asked, “Old Shen, are you really going to go?”

“Yeah, I have to.” Shen Zhilie lowered his head slightly and planted a gentle kiss on Ye Qianqian’s forehead. “Don’t be afraid. Nothing will happen.”

“How can I not be afraid?” Ye Qianqian began to cry aloud. She held tightly onto Shen Zhilie’s waist. “You’re scaring me! How are you able to act so convincingly? It’s obvious that you’re nervous as h*ll, too! But you talk as if you don’t have a care in the world. It’s almost like you’re bipolar!”

The smile disappeared from Shen Zhilie’s face, and he tapped her on her head. “Judging from your speech,” he said, “are you complimenting me?”

“Yeah!” Ye Qianqian’s face was drenched in tears. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and continued, “Why don’t I go instead? Perhaps if a woman goes, he’ll let his guard down…”

“No way.” Shen Zhilie was firm; there was no room for discussion. “I’ll go. You’ve seen for yourself that I can act. Are you able to do the same?”

“I…” Ye Qianqian had nothing to say to that.

She couldn’t. She couldn’t at all. Her mental resolve was nowhere as strong as Shen Zhilie’s. It was more likely that she’d break down in terror the moment she reached the scene.

Shen Zhilie looked at her and suddenly turned his body to face her directly. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her on the mouth.

Ye Qianqian felt her fear intensify. Her breathing grew heavy as she pushed him off and began to cry, “No… don’t go!”

Her sudden action caught Shen Zhilie by surprise, and his hands moved back.

“Don’t go!” Ye Qianqian began wailing in earnest as she curled herself up into a ball. “I’m so scared. I keep feeling that something is going to happen to us. Old Shen, will you please not go?”

Shen Zhilie hugged her tightly and consoled her in a gentle voice, “It’ll be fine. Nothing will happen. I’m just going to buy something. Don’t be scared.”

“Old Shen,” Ye Qianqian suddenly looked up as tears streaked her face. “Do you love me?”

Shen Zhilie looked into Ye Qianqian’s eyes unflinchingly and declared, “I do. Ye Qianqian I love you very, very much. That’s why I cannot lose you. Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to me.”

Ye Qianqian sniffed and burrowed her head into his chest. She tried her best to calm down, but to no avail. Her tears continued to stream out of her eyes against her will as she sobbed uncontrollably. “What are we going to do? Shen Zhilie, I love you very, very, very much too. But please, don’t go! I’m begging you. Don’t go.”

Shen Zhilie didn’t agree to it, but he didn’t disagree to it, either. Stroking her hair with his large hands, he sighed and said, “Get some sleep.”