Volume One, Chapter Four: Lou Ye, Congratulations!

"Sang Wan, you should be grateful for the cooling-off period..."

As they left the Civil Affairs Bureau, Lu Jinnian's gaze toward Sang Wan was filled with icy disdain and ridicule. "It gives you a whole month to regret your decision."

So, even now, he was convinced she was just throwing a tantrum? That in a month, she would inevitably regret this?

Sang Wan's expression remained calm. "Lu Jinnian, I won't regret it!"

Lu Jinnian, his face full of disbelief, turned and walked away.

A Mercedes sped past in front of her.

Sang Wan stood at the roadside, a fleeting sense of loss washing over her.

No house.

No car.

Not even any luggage.

Other than her phone, she hadn’t even brought a change of clothes.

This… was the true definition of leaving with nothing.

A soft chime. Her phone vibrated gently in her hand. Raising her wrist, Sang Wan saw the bank notification on the screen.

A hundred thousand.

When she was an architect at the Lu Corporation, her monthly salary was eight thousand, and with half a month’s year-end bonus, it came to exactly one hundred thousand a year.

One year pregnant.

Five years as a full-time wife.

In those six years, even as a nanny, she could have saved two hundred thousand.

But in Lu Jinnian’s eyes, she was free labor.

The sorrow that had just begun to surface in her heart was quickly suppressed by a soft sigh.

Sang Wan lifted her head, gazing up at the blue sky and white clouds above.

At this hour on a normal day, she would have sent little Lu Mumu to kindergarten, then stopped by the supermarket or market to buy groceries before finally arriving home.

With no time to even sit and rest, she would first go to the bathroom to stuff last night’s laundry into the washing machine, then tidy up the dining table and wash the dishes.

There was a robot for sweeping the floor.

A floor washer for mopping.

But all still required her to operate them.

In between, she’d run to the children’s room to put away toys and arrange the bookshelves.

Only after hanging the laundry could she finally rest for a moment—before it was time to prepare lunch.

Alone, she rarely bothered to cook, just grabbed a few bites and dozed for half an hour before getting up again to make soup and prep vegetables for dinner.

At five, she picked up Lu Mumu, and as the pots and pans clanged in symphony, the air was filled with an endless chorus of “Mama, Mama.”

If Lu Jinnian came home early, the three of them might eat together.

If he was late, she would read picture books to Lu Mumu, bathe him, coax him to sleep, and then get up to make a sobering soup for Lu Jinnian, waiting for his return.

The last light in the house was always the one she turned off.

She went to bed the latest and woke the earliest.

Day after day.

Year after year.

It had been a long time since she’d had a quiet moment like this, to simply gaze at the sky above her and the street before her.

But in just a brief moment, the feeling of relief outweighed the bewilderment.

Sang Wan walked along the street, following the familiar aroma into a wonton shop at the corner of an alley.

Delicate wrappers stuffed with fragrant shepherd’s purse and pork.

Her favorite.

Back in university, she often came here. After marriage, the alley was too narrow to park, and Lu Jinnian had only come a few times before refusing to return.

Only when Sang Wan felt homesick would she occasionally come by.

"Senior?"

A doubtful voice sounded just as Sang Wan received a white porcelain bowl from the gray-haired shop owner.

She turned, momentarily stunned.

"What are you doing here?"

"What about you?"

They spoke in unison.

Sang Wan looked at the handsome man now seated across from her, sizing him up with amused disbelief. "Did you… come to the wrong place?"

His bespoke black suit was flawless.

The white shirt underneath seemed to glow.

They say clothes make the man, but when Lou Ye appeared, all anyone could think was—

He lit up the room.

And now, this dashing, impeccably dressed man appeared in such a messy little shop.

Sang Wan found it all too strange. "Don’t tell me you’re here for breakfast."

"What else?" Lou Ye nudged the red plastic stool with his toe and sat down. "If you’re not here for breakfast, would you be working here?"

Sang Wan chuckled.

They had both been students in the architecture department at Imperial University.

Sang Wan was two years above Lou Ye.

She never expected that the aloof campus heartthrob who used to follow behind her, calling her “senior,” would turn out to be the heir of the Lou family.

Even more unexpected was meeting him again, years after graduation, in such a humble wonton shop.

She glanced at the alley entrance, where a black Ferrari gleamed with understated luxury in the morning sun—just like him.

Sang Wan smiled. "You haven’t changed much in these years."

Still handsome.

Still aloof.

Whatever dark clouds had been weighing on Lou Ye’s heart seemed to pop like bubbles the moment he saw Sang Wan. "But you… have changed a lot."

His gaze swept over Sang Wan’s pale face. He glanced around, frowning. "Are you here alone?"

"What else?" Sang Wan tossed his own words back at him, laughing. "At this hour, people are either at work or at school. Only those with nothing to do—like you, a rich young master, or me…"

The words “housewife” hovered on her lips, but remembering she’d soon be looking for a job and starting a new life, she changed her answer. "Or someone as idle as me."

"But you…" Lou Ye began, only to be interrupted by the shop owner.

"Here you go!"

The jovial shop owner placed a porcelain bowl in front of Lou Ye. "Boss, your wontons!"

Sang Wan blinked. "Boss?"

"Of course," the owner replied cheerfully. "The economy’s been bad in recent years. If it weren’t for the boss here buying the shop because he loves the taste, I’d have closed down long ago."

The little wontons slid warmly into her stomach.

The aroma of shepherd’s purse lingered from her lips to her heart.

Sang Wan suddenly realized she couldn’t comprehend the minds of the wealthy.

Bill Gates wouldn’t stoop to pick up a coin, because in the time it took, he could earn so much more.

Lou Ye was the same.

Forget the massive Lou Corporation.

After nine o’clock, the stock market opened. A flick of his finger could send tens of millions surging through his accounts.

Yet he had bought a wonton shop that might not make money and could even lose it.

The strangeness she felt upon seeing him returned. Lowering her head, Sang Wan quietly sipped her soup and ate her wontons.

Lou Ye leisurely picked out the cilantro from his soup; after a night of drinking, the first thing he ate was a piece of seaweed from the bottom of the bowl. "And you? How have you been lately?"

"Quite well," Sang Wan nodded, a gentle smile on her lips as she alternated between wonton and soup. "In fact… I’d say I’m doing especially well."

A stray tangle of seaweed hung from her chopsticks, just like the mess of feelings in his heart.

Lou Ye gripped his chopsticks tightly.

Behind him, the shop owner called out delightedly, "Boss, I saw the news—today’s your engagement! Congratulations!"

Instinctively, Lou Ye glanced at Sang Wan, just as he caught the bright smile on her face.

A restless gloom settled in his eyes.

The shadowy haze that had been hovering in his chest thickened once more.

"Lou Ye, congratulations."

Sang Wan hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "If you don’t mind my bad luck, leave me your address and I’ll send you my blessings and a gift later."

"Bad luck?" Lou Ye frowned. "What do you mean?"

She hesitated, unsure if it was something to be embarrassed about.

But perhaps it didn’t matter whether Lou Ye minded.

In a soft voice, Sang Wan said, "Today is the day of my divorce."

"What did you say?" Lou Ye was stunned. The irritation and gloom that had been brewing in his heart froze, gathering in his chest like a volcano about to erupt. "Sang Wan, say that again!"

Sang Wan.

Sang Wan!

Two voices—one from the stunned and out-of-control Lou Ye before her.

And another, a desperate, angry shout from the edge of death.

Sang Wan’s heart skipped a beat. She looked at Lou Ye in disbelief. "Lou Ye…"