Chapter 53 [VIP]
Chapter Summary: "What? Did you drink with clients again last night?"
Xu Tianzhou kept his word, and Ni Zhenzhen soon received a sum of money from him—money she had saved during her studies abroad, plus savings from three years of work. The money remained in her account for only two minutes before being immediately transferred out to pay off her debts.
After the money arrived, the other party called Ni Zhenzhen to express their gratitude, saying, "Of all the debt collectors out there, you're the most trustworthy. You said you'd pay back the money, and you did. I wish everyone were like you. I was too anxious before, and my words were a bit harsh. Please don't mind. You haven't bothered me since, have you?"
Ni Zhenzhen was stunned for a moment.
She hadn't even noticed until the other party brought it up. Thinking back, it seemed like she had only received one debt collection call after waking up from a drunken stupor, and hadn't received any since.
The other party continued, "Do you need money now? If so, take some back and pay it back when you have more money."
Ni Zhenzhen, of course, didn't take the other party's words seriously. After exchanging a few polite words, she hung up the phone.
On Friday, Ni Zhenzhen arrived at the court early.
In addition to several mediation rooms, there is also a playroom on the same floor. Looking around, there are all kinds of toys such as swings, slides, and rocking horses. But when you think about who this is for, the bright colors in the playroom seem to be covered with a layer of gray.
Fortunately, they didn't have children.
The mediation room was no different from a regular meeting room, with white walls and a dark red floor. The only difference was that the emblem of the court was hanging on the wall. It was a very serious occasion, and even the chairs were heavy and hard, so you could easily bump your leg and get a bruise.
Ni Zhenzhen thought she had arrived early, but she didn't expect Xu Tianzhou to have already arrived, along with a lawyer.
The lawyer stood up, greeted her politely, and then handed her a business card.
As for Xu Tianzhou, during the long period before the mediator arrived, he focused his attention on only one point and never looked away from it.
And that point was Ni Zhenzhen.
She didn't want to make eye contact with Xu Tianzhou, but she had nowhere to hide from his gaze, so she could only bury her head in a sandy imaginary field like an ostrich.
The mediation room was eerily quiet. Ni Zhenzhen didn't know how the lawyer endured it, but she certainly couldn't take it anymore. Ni Zhenzhen was filled with regret; she should have come later.
The clock struck nine, the mediator arrived, and Ni Zhenzhen finally relaxed a little.
After the mediator sat down, he first confirmed the identities of the two individuals and then inquired about their respective demands.
Ni Zhenzhen only requested a divorce, but Xu Tianzhou insisted on dividing his share of the property.
Ni Zhenzhen refused.
"..." The mediator thought he had misheard. He had handled countless divorce cases, each one ending in a bloody battle over a small amount of property. It wasn't really about the money; sometimes it was just about venting anger. He had assumed this case wouldn't be difficult, since the defendant had proactively proposed dividing the property—it was supposed to be a formality. He hadn't expected it to get stuck with the plaintiff.
The mediator asked Ni Zhenzhen why she didn't want it.
Ni Zhenzhen's reason was that this part of the property was left to Xu Tianzhou by his parents, and they would be heartbroken if she took it away.
The mediator turned to Xu Tianzhou and asked, "What do you think?"
Xu Tianzhou maintained his previous stance: if all else fails...
He tapped the table lightly and said calmly, "Then let's wait for the judge's decision."
“You…” Ni Zhenzhen suddenly became anxious.
This is exactly what she fears most. If she goes to court, the first time she will most likely not be granted a divorce, and then she will have to wait six months to file another lawsuit. After the first trial, there will be a second trial, and it is not impossible for it to drag on for a year and a half.
She didn't know what Xu Tianzhou was thinking, but she didn't want to drag it out for even a day longer.
The thought of having to repeatedly go to court in the future, and having to worry about divorce every day in addition to earning money to pay off debts, made her already suffocating chest feel even more uncomfortable.
Ni Zhenzhen was both angry and anxious. Just as she was about to speak, that feeling of nausea surged up again. She quickly covered her mouth and ran out without even having time to say "sorry".
Recently, Ni Zhenzhen has been feeling nauseous every morning, which has alarmed her colleagues in the HR department, who keep asking her if she is pregnant.
Fortunately, Xu Tianzhou insisted on taking her for a check-up, which allowed her to dispel his doubts with a report.
"That's good..." a colleague from the HR department said with relief, as long as she wasn't pregnant.
After vomiting, Ni Zhenzhen felt much better. She leaned on the sink, her head hanging down, exhausted, letting the water droplets, whether from water or tears, fall onto the back of her hand.
After a while, Ni Zhenzhen turned on the tap to wash her hands.
She glanced at herself in the mirror and saw that her face was as pale as paper and her hair was matted together because it was wet.
This is not the way she is used to.
Ni Zhenzhen told herself to cheer up. She had already gotten through the hardest times, so there was nothing to be afraid of in the future.
She turned off the tap and carefully wiped her hands.
Ni Zhenzhen believed she was strong enough, but she still felt a moment of disorientation after leaving the restroom.
Xu Tianzhou was waiting outside.
The restroom was at the end of the corridor, with sunlight streaming in through a side window, casting a shadow on the cold floor. Xu Tianzhou stood in the middle of that window, but the radiant sunlight brought him no joy. His face was somber, his gaze cold, like a predator eyeing its prey, gripping her tightly.
A cacophony of voices drifted from afar; a man and a woman were arguing about something, but even that loud noise couldn't drown out his unusually rough breathing.
Ni Zhenzhen didn't want to admit it, but the person in front of her seemed like a soft thorn, easily piercing through the facade she had painstakingly built.
She lowered her eyes slightly, casually touched her hair, and walked past the wall, pretending not to see him.
This action couldn't fool himself, nor could it fool others. Just as he brushed past Xu Tianzhou, a cold voice chased after him: "What? Were you drinking with clients again last night?"
As Xu Tianzhou turned around, the brilliant sunlight gilded him with a layer of gold, while also casting his sharply defined face completely into shadow.
Even though Xu Tianzhou was trying his best to restrain himself, his words still carried a sarcastic tone due to excessive hatred.
Ni Zhenzhen pursed her lips and did not answer, which Xu Tianzhou took as a tacit agreement.
His blood boiled violently at that moment. He suppressed countless crazy thoughts and silently released all the pain into his wounded heart.
Ni Zhenzhen continued forward with her head tilted back. Just as she reached the mediation room, her phone rang. Ni Zhenzhen glanced at it, then walked to the side to answer it. "Hello?"
Upon hearing what the person on the other end said, Ni Zhenzhen's face immediately lit up with joy, and her voice rang with laughter, "Really? That's wonderful!"
Her unreserved smile fluttered into his heart like a little bird. Xu Tianzhou comforted himself, thinking it might just be a polite remark, but he was instantly overwhelmed by overwhelming jealousy.
When will she be able to smile at him like that? When will she be able to speak to him so kindly, even if it's just a polite remark?
Ni Zhenzhen was listening intently to the people on the other end of the line and didn't notice Xu Tianzhou's change at all.
"Tonight?" Ni Zhenzhen said with a smile, completely different from her icy demeanor just now. "Alright, my alcohol tolerance has been getting better lately..."
Xu Tianzhou was suddenly stunned, and he rushed over almost uncontrollably.
As a shadow fell, Ni Zhenzhen had no time to react and could only instinctively call out, "Hey..."
Everything happened too fast.
Ni Zhenzhen's hand was still holding the phone, but Xu Tianzhou had already snatched it away.
Xu Tianzhou held the phone to his ear, ignoring who was on the other end, and said sharply and sternly, with a warning in his voice: "She's not going!"
Xu Tianzhou was about to hang up when he noticed three words written on the screen: Qian Lina.
Xu Tianzhou suddenly froze on the spot.
He couldn't possibly not know Qian Lina; she was Ni Zhenzhen's former colleague, a bank teller, not the pot-bellied, bloated customer he imagined, who was taking advantage of her drunkenness to grope her.
It turned out he had misunderstood.
Ni Zhenzhen glared at him and quickly snatched the phone back. "I'm sorry, just now..." She didn't know how to explain what had happened, so she changed the subject, "Tonight, right?"
"Yes, it's a really popular restaurant lately, and I've already made a reservation." Qian Lina is getting married. Her fiancé is a colleague from the branch office whom she met at the company's annual party. The two have been dating for a while since then and have unexpectedly hit it off. They've reached the stage of discussing marriage.
In a way, Ni Zhenzhen was her matchmaker; if Ni Zhenzhen hadn't agreed to let her participate in the annual party dance rehearsal, they wouldn't have met. So when her boyfriend proposed to her, Ni Zhenzhen was the first person she thought of.
Qian Lina asked, "Was that your husband just now? Let him come along."
Ni Zhenzhen hesitated for a moment: "He..."
Qian Lina was unaware that she was getting a divorce, and Ni Zhenzhen wasn't sure whether she should tell her. It wasn't that she was afraid of losing face, but rather that she didn't want to spoil Qian Lina's mood. They were just about to get married, and now she was getting a divorce; wouldn't Qian Lina find that unlucky?
Just as Ni Zhenzhen was hesitating, Xu Tianzhou snatched the phone away again.
Ni Zhenzhen's use of the word "he" made Xu Tianzhou realize that the two were talking about him. He first apologized to Qian Lina, and then explained that Ni Zhenzhen had been receiving harassing phone calls recently, which led to the misunderstanding.
"It's okay, but it did give me a fright..."
The two chatted on the phone without any formality, as if Xu Tianzhou was Qian Lina's colleague rather than Ni Zhenzhen.
Qian Lina: "See you tonight?"
"good."
Xu Tianzhou hung up the phone and handed it to Ni Zhenzhen.
Ni Zhenzhen didn't answer. She glared at Xu Tianzhou angrily, as if he had done something heinous.
Xu Tianzhou shrugged, his eyes looking innocent, as if to say that it was Qian Lina who insisted on inviting him, and that it had nothing to do with him.
Ni Zhenzhen simply didn't know what to say.
She snatched her phone back in a huff and strode back to the mediation room.
When the mediator saw her return, he asked worriedly, "You wouldn't be...?"
Ni Zhenzhen knew what he was worried about, and quickly said, "You're not pregnant. I can show you the test results."
"Oh..." The mediator, in a spirit of conscientiousness and responsibility, carefully reviewed the test report. After confirming that there were no problems, he inquired about the couple's wishes again. Given that the two had irreconcilable differences on the terms of divorce, the mediation had to end there.
Ni Zhenzhen was extremely discouraged and felt helpless.
After the mediator left, Xu Tianzhou asked Ni Zhenzhen where she was going, "Shall I take you?"
“No need,” Ni Zhenzhen said. “I’ll take the subway.”
Xu Tianzhou stared at her retreating figure, his gaze lingering until she disappeared from sight. He then recalled Ni Zhenzhen's haggard appearance, tormented by vomiting, and promptly took out his phone to call Su Wenjin. "There's something I need your help with..."
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