Chapter 7
"Filming must have been tiring." Fang Wei reached out and hugged her. He knew the special nature of Shen Li's profession, so even if they argued, they wouldn't break off their relationship in front of outsiders.
However, Shen Li broke free from him: "I've already made myself very clear, what are you doing?"
Fang Wei's expression changed slightly, but he still maintained a smile that didn't betray him: "I hope you will think carefully before making a decision about the divorce."
After Luo Mingxiu finished taking the photos and tidied himself up, he came out of the dressing room and his phone showed a new message.
He opened the app and saw Shen Li's profile picture. A slight smile curved his lips. Just as he was about to reply, two people walked past him, talking amongst themselves:
"Isn't that Shen Li's husband outside? He looks even more handsome than in the news!"
"Yes, I heard they came to see Professor Shen as soon as they got back to China. They're so sweet together."
Upon hearing this, his expression turned cold. He put away his phone and strode out of the corridor.
Sure enough, the person was standing in front of Shen Li, in an intimate manner. Shen Li was holding a bouquet of flowers, and her expression was not visible.
He took a step back, using the pillar by the door for cover, and stared at the two from a distance, almost as if he were committing self-harm.
The man touched Shen Li's face, smiling as he drew closer to her.
A dull ache throbbed in his heart. Just as he was about to walk away, he saw Shen Li turn her head away from the person who wanted to kiss her, and she showed some physical resistance.
Luo Mingxiu unlocked his phone and dialed Shen Li's number.
When Fang Wei ignored her divorce proposal and tried to be intimate with her as if no one else was around, Shen Li felt a chill.
After she got away from him, her phone rang. She grabbed at it like a lifeline: "I'm leaving. Xiaoyu is waiting for me in the car."
Before leaving, she looked at him one last time and said, "Tell me when you've decided on the time to sign the agreement, so I can go back to Tianshui Garden in advance to move my things out."
Tianshui Garden was a house bought by Fang Wei. When they got married, he was just a photographer with a small studio and couldn't afford a house in B City, where land is extremely expensive.
She was blind to let him move into her villa and take him to shoot events. It can be said that Fang Wei relied on her to access a lot of photography resources in the fashion industry.
Later, he developed his business and started his own company. To make commuting easier, he bought another property in Tianshuiyuan, near his company.
Thinking about it this way, this is where their relationship cooled down. So that's why. The old saying "Men with money turn bad" really came true for him.
"Are you determined to get a divorce?" At this point, Fang Wei could no longer maintain his smile. He opened his mouth to say something, but Shen Li had already left.
He watched her walk away resolutely without turning back, took out a cigarette from his bag, lit it, dialed a number, and walked in the opposite direction.
Luo Mingxiu followed him out and watched Fang Wei leave completely before turning around and walking towards a black minivan.
Hearing the noise, Xiao Wen, who was slumped over the steering wheel, sat up with a start: "Brother Luo, did you go to the bathroom? You've been waiting for so long, I almost fell asleep."
“When a colleague struck up a conversation, we talked for a while longer,” Luo Mingxiu said coldly.
Xiao Wen got goosebumps all over. He turned around, about to say, "It's so cold, who can let you talk for a little longer?" But seeing the gloomy expression on the back seat, he shivered, turned back, and started the car.
Driving all the way to the apartment and taking the elevator, even though it was a hot day, Xiaowen felt as if she were in an ice cave, as if she had her own portable air conditioner.
He dared not ask, because if his curious gaze fell upon Luo Mingxiu, he would be met with a dagger-like stare.
The elevator dinged as it arrived at the floor. Luo Mingxiu stepped out first, but then stopped.
"Brother Luo, what are you spacing out about?" Xiao Wen came out of the elevator and followed his gaze. She saw a large bouquet of flowers on the trash can outside the elevator.
"Sigh, these flowers are still so fresh, and they're already being thrown away," Xiaowen sighed.
Luo Mingxiu, who had just looked like he owed him a fortune, suddenly became cheerful again, just like when he met him for breakfast this morning.
"Brother, are you really that emotionally unstable?" Xiao Wen asked, bewildered.
“We’ll take the bullet train to the city station, and then our driver will pick us up,” Shen Li sent a voice message to Luo Mingxiu after her lunch break. “Get ready, it’s almost time to leave.”
Luo Mingxiu didn't have the habit of taking a nap. He had been playing PSP with Xiaowen on the sofa since lunch, but he would always pick up his phone intentionally or unintentionally to wait for Shen Li's message.
Upon hearing the voice message, he ignored his teammates' calls during the game, immediately jumped off the sofa, and ran into the bedroom.
After checking the gifts I had prepared in advance, I went to the wardrobe and carefully considered which clothes to choose.
Ten minutes later, the apartment doorbell rang.
"Brother Luo, Teacher Shen is here to see you!" Xiao Wen shouted excitedly from outside the room. Luo Ming was putting on his pants. He hurriedly put them on, ran to the mirror to fix his hair, and then picked up his bag and opened the door.
The people who had just entered the living room turned their gaze to him.
He wore a slightly loose white shirt and a black tie. His hair was clearly styled with hair gel, and his bangs didn't cover his forehead, making him look particularly handsome and energetic.
"Why are you making such a formal entrance at home?" Shen Li said, both amused and exasperated, but still took a picture with her phone. "So handsome! Hurry up, you're even more slow than me."
Luo Mingxiu's heart pounded, not only because of her straightforward praise, but also because she was wearing a white dress, her face was rosy, and her long black curly hair was draped over her shoulders, making her look like a fairy with radiant white skin.
Moreover, his clothes matched her perfectly.
Xiao Yu parked the car outside, preparing to take them to the high-speed rail station. Shen Li walked ahead, and only when she got into the car did she realize that Luo Mingxiu was carrying bags of various sizes.
He glanced at it and saw that two of the bags had recognizable brand names on them, and there was also a yellow ball of yarn in his hand. Shen Li pointed at it, puzzled, and asked, "What's this?"
Luo Mingxiu unfolded the yellow ball of dough; it was a knitted bag that could be hung on his body, shaped like a yellow pear.
He gave it to her: "This is for you. There are three little things inside."
"Hmm?" Shen Li unzipped the pear bag, inside was a small yellow pear keychain, a pear blossom hairband, and a white and green pear blossom bracelet.
"These pear-shaped decorations!" She took them out one by one with delight to admire them, discovering that they were all hand-crocheted.
"Huh? There's another one, another puppy keychain."
“This is mine,” Luo Mingxiu said quickly, snatching it back. “I think I put it inside and forgot to take it out.”
Shen Li carefully put away the trinkets, slung the pear-shaped bag over her shoulder, and exclaimed in admiration, "They're so pretty! You didn't make all of these yourself, did you?"
"I looked up a tutorial online, but it's a rough draft," Luo Mingxiu replied.
“It’s not rough at all. I remember you loved doing crafts when you were little, paper folding, wood carving, you made so many,” Shen Li turned her head to look at him. “Do you remember? Because you secretly made these, Aunt Luo thought it would interfere with your studies, so she confiscated a lot of them. But every time my mom came back, she would help you keep them safe.”
"Have those not been thrown away yet?" Luo Mingxiu asked.
"Of course I didn't throw them away. They're all testaments to your growth. Ms. Shen put them all together in a box."
As Shen Li spoke, she reached out and took the two bags, looking inside a watch and a gemstone necklace. "So thoughtful, you've really grown up."
"Time flies," she sighed, stretching and leaning back in her seat. "I'm so sleepy, I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when we get there."
"Okay." Luo Mingxiu responded softly, looking at her face—her straight, fair nose and rosy lips. She was radiant and beautiful when in motion, and peaceful and gentle when asleep.
His gaze swept over her inch by inch, as if sketching her, never getting enough of her. Only when she was asleep could he look at her so unrestrainedly.
My gaze moved from her face to her wrist, where a jade bracelet encircled her fair wrist bone. The jade was no longer as translucent as when it was new, and upon closer inspection, there was even a faint crack.
Luo Mingxiu remembered that this jade bracelet was a gift from the man when Shen Li brought Fang Wei home that year, when they had just started dating. He didn't expect her to be so sentimental, still wearing it now.
He felt a pang of unease and looked away.
The journey was less than twenty minutes, and Shen Li didn't wake up once during the entire trip. She had insomnia last night, and now that she had caught up on some sleep, it felt like she had slept for a century.
When she was woken up, she was still yawning and her eyes were slightly open, clearly looking like she hadn't had enough sleep.
Luo Mingxiu said gently, "Sleep on the bullet train."
Shen Li nodded and asked Xiao Yu for two masks, giving him one: "Wear this."
The two passed through security smoothly. On the bullet train, Shen Li was no longer sleepy and opened the pear-shaped bag again to admire the little trinkets.
Seeing this, Luo Mingxiu also turned his head to look at her.
“This hangs on the key,” Shen Li said as she untied the key ring, hung the little yellow pear on it, and shook it. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it. “Oh my, who invented this, Mingxiu? How is he so amazing and skillful?”
After she finished speaking, she looked at him with a smile. Luo Mingxiu's joy was evident when he heard her words, but he quickly turned his head away the moment she looked at him, his ears burning with heat.
Shen Li picked up the hair tie again: "I'll wear this when I put my hair up, but it's so big, I'll have to wrap it around several times."
“Just a simple bun will do,” Luo Mingxiu said. “You have a lot of hair.”
Shen Li clicked her tongue: "You have such a sweet tongue."
Aren't you wearing the bracelet?
“You can wear it, but I feel that the braided cord on my wrist doesn’t really match the bracelet when layered with it.”
Shen Li held out her left hand for him to see. Luo Mingxiu lowered his eyelashes and said with a hint of disappointment, "It seems that my sister really likes this jade bracelet. She can't bear to replace it even though it has a crack."
"Hmm? Is it cracked?" Shen Li raised her hand to examine it, and after turning the bracelet around, she discovered that there was indeed an inconspicuous crack on the other side.
The gift Fang Wei gave her when they first started dating was a style she liked. She often wore it when she wasn't filming, and she's gotten used to wearing it over the years.
However, every time she took it out to wear, she never realized that the jade bracelet had already developed cracks.
Just like their relationship.
Shen Li suddenly felt a lump in her throat. She took off the bracelet and put it in her bag.
"Don't cry," Luo Mingxiu said.
Shen Li raised her hand in a daze, and sure enough, there was a little moisture in the corner of her eye. After wiping it away, she came to her senses and found that the pear blossom bracelet was already on her wrist.
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