Chapter 45 Sincerity Must Be Exchanged for Sincerity
Bai Zhenzhen appeared to have a very imposing presence, and Shen Huai'an couldn't tell whether she was joking or serious.
But when he heard her say those words, Shen Huai'an's heart sank to the bottom, and his face turned uncontrollably somber.
"Tell me, do you want a divorce?" Bai Zhenzhen glared at him, looking nothing like she was there to apologize, but clearly there to cause trouble.
Shen Huai'an didn't know, he simply followed his heart and denied it in a deep voice, "No."
That was exactly what she wanted to hear. Bai Zhenzhen showed a satisfied expression at the right moment, and then questioned him, "If you're not busy, why don't you come to see me? Why don't you call me? Why do I have to come to you?"
“No,” Shen Huai’an continued to deny, then explained, “I was originally planning to wait until the weekend to pick you up.”
Bai Zhenzhen squinted at him suspiciously, "Really?"
Shen Huai'an remained silent for a moment, then continued to deny it without blinking.
To his surprise, Bai Zhenzhen asked him again, "You really have no issues with me?"
"No." Shen Huai'an replied relatively quickly this time. He truly had no objections to Bai Zhenzhen, if he really didn't care.
What opinions should he have? Does it count if she doesn't like him? Does it count if she doesn't genuinely want to spend the rest of her life with him?
He felt incredibly pretentious just thinking about it, and he could never bring himself to say it.
Upon realizing this, a hint of mockery flashed in Shen Huai'an's eyes, but his heart quickly returned to calm.
But Bai Zhenzhen's next words were like a boulder thrown down, instantly shattering the calm surface of the lake.
Bai Zhenzhen glanced at him, and whether she knew in advance that he had heard those words, she felt that Shen Huai'an's emotions seemed colder and more somber than usual.
“Shen Huai’an, I need to tell you something,” Bai Zhenzhen crossed her arms and chose to be direct, “I moved here a while ago because I promised my father that I would cultivate a good relationship with you…”
Before she could finish speaking, she noticed that Shen Huai'an's expression had suddenly turned even colder. Bai Zhenzhen paused and continued, "...I made a promise with him that as long as he saw that I was doing well, he would be willing to go abroad to have surgery and treatment. But now, I feel that this is a bit unfair to you."
"So I've decided that after Dad's surgery is successful and he returns to China, I will personally go and bring up the divorce with him, and give you your freedom."
Bai Zhenzhen deliberately ignored Shen Huai'an's ugly expression and continued, "Anyway, you only married me because my father was kind to you. Now that the debt of gratitude has been repaid, aren't you happy that I'm taking the initiative to divorce you?"
"Should I be happy?" Shen Huai'an's expression was inscrutable. He couldn't help but step forward, slightly raising his head to look directly at her and ask, "Bai Zhenzhen, what are your feelings for me..."
He almost blurted out the question: had she ever truly loved him at all?
It turns out that Miss Bai was acting from beginning to end, and in the end, he was the only one who got caught up in it.
"Why are you making that face? Are you unhappy? Or do you not want a divorce?" Bai Zhenzhen asked, her tone questioning, but her eyes were filled with barely concealed smugness.
She did it on purpose. Bai Zhenzhen isn't stupid. She accidentally learned from Uncle Liu that Shen Huai'an had arrived long ago that day. It's very likely that when she heard what she said to Ren Lina, her first thought wasn't to quickly find him to explain, but to get angry.
He clearly heard what was happening, but he pretended nothing was wrong and used overtime as an excuse to deliberately ignore her, making her genuinely angry for several days. This kind of behavior can't be tolerated. She doesn't really want a divorce, so she definitely needs to change his bad habit of not explaining things clearly.
Of course, despite her anger, Bai Zhenzhen felt a little guilty. However, Miss Bai had never bowed her head to anyone before, and she couldn't easily say sorry, so she came up with this idea.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Bai Zhenzhen cleared her throat and asked, "You really don't want a divorce?"
"Marriage is not a game, and I have never had the thought of divorce." Shen Huai'an's voice was particularly strained when he said this.
At that moment, his mind was completely occupied by the word "divorce" that she had said, and he had no energy left to discern whether Bai Zhenzhen's words were true or false.
“I see. It’s not impossible not to get a divorce,” Bai Zhenzhen said, as if she was considering it. Shen Huai’an’s heart jumped. She continued, “But I don’t want a marriage without love. I just want to marry someone I love and who loves me. What should I do?”
Mutual affection and holding hands for a lifetime—this is indeed the most beautiful state of marriage. The breath that Shen Huai'an had just caught in his throat instantly dissipated by half.
His marriage to Bai Zhenzhen was a result of a series of coincidences; he didn't meet either of the two criteria she had mentioned.
Having said all that, there seemed to be no turning back. Unconsciously, Shen Huai'an blurted out the question he had been keeping to himself: "I can agree to divorce you, but I want to ask you a question: have you ever been sincere for even a single moment during these past few days?"
Bai Zhenzhen was stunned for a moment when he said he agreed to the divorce, then realized what he had misunderstood. She was both ashamed and angry. Her father had praised him for being smart. Look at him, she just wanted him to say something to express his feelings, and this man actually asked her a question instead.
"And what about you? Do you like me? You always have a cold face and won't say much. How can anyone know what you're thinking?" Bai Zhenzhen was actually quite suspicious, wondering whether Shen Huai'an liked her or not, but she couldn't ask him directly.
He was pushed to the limit and unknowingly revealed a bit of his emotions.
Shen Huai'an didn't notice it at first, but he soon sensed something was off from Bai Zhenzhen's tone. Her tone now seemed different from when she came to him to make a fuss about divorce.
"Do you want to know what I'm thinking?" Shen Huai'an asked tentatively, his gaze fixed on her. "What if I said I like it? I've never thought about divorce."
Bai Zhenzhen's cheeks flushed from his sudden confession. Her voice choked for a moment before she continued to be sarcastic and critical, "What kind of answer is that? It's not formal at all!"
A dark undercurrent surged in Shen Huai'an's eyes. Suddenly, he reached out and lifted her off the sofa. Bai Zhenzhen gasped as he held her tightly in his arms.
A slightly deep male voice sounded in her ear, "Zhenzhen, I like you. We can cultivate our feelings slowly. Let's not get a divorce, okay?"
Perhaps his embrace was too warm, Bai Zhenzhen forgot to refute for a moment, until Shen Huai'an put his big hand around her knees and lifted her up, she came back to her senses and whispered, "Hmph, then let's see how you do, anyway I don't dislike you."
Her slightly coquettish voice was part of Miss Bai's personality, but Shen Huai'an felt no disgust upon hearing it; instead, he felt extremely at ease.
It was only then that he had time to reflect and slowly come to understand.
He turned and sat down on the sofa, carrying her in his arms. Shen Huai'an lowered his head and gently sniffed her scent, catching a faint smell of alcohol. Memories from several days ago instantly flooded his mind, and in a flash, he suddenly asked, "Have you been drinking today?"
Bai Zhenzhen nestled comfortably in his arms, not wanting to move. After clarifying the situation, the alcohol hit her again, and she mumbled, "I went to play with Lina and had a drink."
He seemed to understand something, and gently cupped her face in his large hand. Shen Huai'an's gaze fell on her misty eyes. "You know everything?"
The sentence was unclear, but Bai Zhenzhen opened her eyes immediately after hearing it clearly. Shen Huai'an understood what was going on with her reaction.
He was unsure whether to be angry or amused, so he leaned in slightly closer until their breaths touched.
"Did you bring up divorce on purpose just now?" Although it was a question, his tone was very certain, and his gaze was fixed on her without blinking.
Bai Zhenzhen looked away guiltily, her red lips slightly parted, "No way, I wouldn't... um..."
Shen Huai'an didn't really want to argue. He pressed his thin lips down. At this moment, whether Bai Zhenzhen was sincere or not was no longer important to him. He just needed to know that Bai Zhenzhen didn't really want to divorce him.
Just like he said, feelings can be cultivated, and she doesn't dislike him, which is enough.
He wanted her sincere heart, so he offered his own in exchange. Isn't that fair?
After that night, Bai Zhenzhen tacitly moved back to the family compound, and the two resumed their previous way of getting along.
But something seems different.
On Saturday morning, Shen Huai'an got up early as usual. He had a case to finish and was going to work for a while. Before leaving, he kissed Bai Zhenzhen, who was sleeping soundly, without waking her up. He only told Aunt Wang that he would be back before noon.
Bai Zhenzhen woke up naturally as usual. After washing up, she went to the living room, where Aunt Wang was cleaning with a rag. She smiled and relayed what Shen Huai'an had said that morning.
"I didn't ask him, Aunt Wang, why are you telling me this?" Bai Zhenzhen felt like her thoughts had been read and deliberately denied it.
Aunt Wang walked into the kitchen with a smile and brought her a warm breakfast, without saying anything more.
Shen Huai'an returned before lunch. Bai Zhenzhen initially avoided looking at him when she heard the noise, but her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a bunch of bright red roses in his arms, and her gaze was instantly drawn to him.
"I saw a newly opened flower shop on the way, and the roses displayed at the entrance were very beautiful," Shen Huai'an said, handing the flowers to her and asking in a soft, clear voice, "I thought they suited you, so I bought them. Do you like them?"
The delicate roses were indeed very beautiful. They weren't decorated much; they were just wrapped in a few old newspapers. Bai Zhenzhen took them, and her nose was filled with the rich fragrance of roses. She couldn't help but look up at him.
Although the man didn't talk much, he seemed to really listen to everything she said.
She nodded. She really liked the bouquet of roses, and she also felt a little bit of affection for him.
After lunch, Shen Huai'an helped Bai Zhenzhen prune the flowers, clean the vase, and put the roses he had bought that morning into it, as requested.
Bai Zhenzhen looked at the busy man and suddenly asked him, "This bouquet of roses isn't cheap. Even if you keep it in a vase, it will wither quickly. Do you think it's worth it?"
As far as she knew, Shen Huai'an lived a frugal life and had no romantic ideas. Given his personality, he shouldn't have liked this kind of seemingly wasteful behavior.
Shen Huai'an put down the scissors and turned around, naturally telling her, "Whether it's worth it or not can't be measured by value. The premise for me to buy this bouquet of flowers is that you like it, so it's worth it for me."
The roses may wither quickly, but his love will not; another bouquet of beautiful roses will continue to bloom before her eyes.
From that day on, Shen Huai'an would buy a bouquet of flowers every few days and bring it home, and indeed, the flowers in the vases at home never withered.
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Author's Note: I'd like to let you all know in advance that this book is nearing its end. There are probably only three to five more chapters left before it officially concludes.
It seems like the books I've started lately haven't been very long [laughing and crying emoji]. I don't want to pad the word count, so I feel like ending this one here would be just right. Next, I'd like to write a quick transmigration novel, but let me get back into the swing of things first, and then I'll try writing a longer one later [please].
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