The 99th Divorce

Shen Zhilie was stunned when he received the news.

He rubbed his nose in embarrassment, but when he looked at Ye Qianqian, he noticed that she was unapologetically laughing at him.

“I see,” Shen Zhilie said to his colleague on the phone, then sighed. “My bad, my bad. Please let the director know that I’ll return as soon as I’m done settling my business here.”

His colleague’s temper exploded when he heard this.”You jack*ss!” he admonished. “Do you have any idea how much work we have, and you still have the cheek to f*cking ask us to wait for you to settle your business there? We’ll all have run ourselves into the ground by the time we’re done waiting for you to finish your d*mn business! Do you know how busy we’ve been?”

With the speakerphone on, Shen Zhilie could almost feel his colleague’s saliva spray his face.

Shen Zhilie was quiet for a moment before replying, “Well, you have to at least give me some time.”

“The director said that if you aren’t back at work immediately, you’re going to have all your bonuses deducted, including your promotion bonus and your year-end bonus. To hell with your illustrious family background! Asking your dad for help isn’t going to be of any use, either!”

He was so heartless! The sum of all his bonuses was no small number!

Shen Zhilie couldn’t contain himself any longer. “Hey now!” he exclaimed. “You can’t do that to me! I have a wife and child to take care of!”

Ye Qianqian sat up and hurled a pillow at him, but Shen Zhilie caught it easily. The person on the line went quiet for a long while before saying, “Do you think you’re the only one in a relationship? I’m going to tell the director to just deduct everything!”

“Hey!”

His colleague hung up the phone. There was nothing else Shen Zhilie could do. He turned to Ye Qianqian, who was sitting on the bed, and tossed his phone in the corner before pouncing on her. “You dare to laugh at me?”

Ye Qianqian squealed and curled into herself, bursting into uncontrollable laughter. “That tickles!”

Shen Zhilie groped her all over as he held her down. “You’re asking to be punished!” he chortled.

Ye Qianqian groaned, soon rendered breathless by her punishment.

The mattress began to squeak, and as time passed, their spirits rose.

…

Back in the capital, Shen Zhilie quickly settled all his backlogged work.

Fortunately, the director was kind. Although Shen Zhilie was demoted, his tasks remained just as numerous as before. In the words of his colleagues, he was asking for it!

Shen Zhilie had no choice but to smile bitterly and push through it, then return home at night to unload his complaints to his girlfriend over the phone.

Then, something caught Shen Zhilie completely off guard. When the time came for the year-end bonuses to be dished out, Shen Zhilie realized that not only had his bonus not been deducted, but it had also increased by quite a bit.

Shen Zhilie looked at the hospital director in surprise when he received it. The director scoffed and said, “Bring your girlfriend to the capital! If you dare to skive and run off to Kingstown again, I’ll have you fired!”

Shen Zhilie laughed sheepishly and launched into an idiotic military salute before saying, “Yes, sir!”

Four months wasn’t a long time, but it wasn’t exactly short, either. The weather turned cold, and the nights in the capital grew longer. The year was coming to a close. Two days before the New Year holidays, Shen Zhilie made a special trip to Kingstown and accompanied Ye Qianqian to Yun Town.

The weather in Yun Town was still relatively agreeable. When the couple reached her parents’ home, Ye Zhenhua was wearing a cotton jacket and sitting in the living room watching TV.

“Dad!” Ye Qianqian called out as she dragged her luggage in.

“Hello, Uncle.” Shen Zhilie’s breath condensed into white fog, but his smile was dazzlingly bright as he greeted, “Happy New Year!”

Ye Zhenhua glanced at Ye Qianqian and then at Shen Zhilie, who was standing behind her. He said, “It can’t be good news, seeing you back at this time. Are you about to tell me that you’re spending New Year’s in the capital?”