Chapter 02 Chapter 2
Shen Li came back soon, pulling a suitcase.
Wen Ying watched him walking in the moonlight in the night, the wind blowing the loose hair on his forehead.
The box was obviously not small, but it looked like a pocket toy next to Shen Li.
He put the suitcase in the trunk, got in the car and started it: "Just this one suitcase?"
Wen Ying hummed, "I came back temporarily to discuss something, so I only brought a change of clothes." She paused, "The rest has been packed, and Jiang Cheng's assistant will help me send it back by express."
The car drove for a while, and Shen Li saw Wen Ying holding her stomach out of the corner of his eye: "Does it hurt a lot?"
Wen Ying deliberately concealed it: "It's not serious. It will be fine in a while."
Shen Li concentrated on driving and said nothing more.
Wen Ying came to the Wen family when she was five years old. In her memory, Chen Li seemed to have had this dull personality since childhood.
Chen Li was four years older than her. His parents were both prospectors on a geological team and were away from home year-round. Wen Ying's adoptive mother was in poor health and passed away the year after they adopted her. Her adoptive father, Wen Lin, was a high school teacher teaching politics and had no time to care for Wen Ying while he was teaching the graduating class.
The three adults, who lived across from each other, had a meal together and hit it off immediately. After school, Shen Li would take care of Wen Ying and help her with her homework. When Wen Ying was asleep, or on weekends, Wen Lin would tutor Shen Li.
In reality, the relationship between Shen Li and her wasn't as close as one might imagine between childhood sweethearts. A four-year age gap might not seem like much now, but back then it was the difference between an elementary school student and a high school student.
She has been in the welfare home for five years, and her best skill is reading people's expressions and speaking to them.
Chen Li was cold and indifferent, and Wen Ying also looked upon him as a mountain and would not approach him easily.
They talked occasionally, but mostly they argued with each other. There was a generation gap between them, and each found the other unreasonable.
The ringing of the phone disrupted Wen Ying's thoughts. The three characters "Hou Liping" were displayed on the car's central control screen.
"Hello." Shen Li answered the phone.
Hou Liping's loud voice rang out in the car: "No, Lao Shen, I still haven't come to my senses. You really do have a wife!"
Wen Ying turned her head to look at Chen Li. His tall nose was edged with light from the street lights outside the car window.
Shen Li seemed to want to laugh: "I told you long ago that I was married, but you didn't believe it."
"It's not that I don't believe it, it's that no one in the entire unit believes it. He just has a ring on his finger, and he hasn't even been seen yet, so how can he suddenly be married? But then again, you're quite lucky." The other end tutted, "A lawyer from Zhongsheng? Or Lao Yao's junior sister? Why haven't I seen her before?"
Zhongsheng is the largest law firm in the entire Minshi City. It has frequent dealings with the courts and procuratorates, and is basically familiar to everyone there.
Shen Li explained: "She has been in the Jiangcheng branch for the past few years."
Hou Liping was amazed: "No wonder no one has seen your wife. Such a beautiful wife, but you left her so far away in Jiangcheng for so many years. You are really amazing!"
Without any warning, Wen Ying's eyes met Chen Li's.
She hastily turned her head to look out the window.
Chen Li's fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel, his gaze returning to the road ahead. "Liping, I have a favor to ask of you. Please keep my relationship with Wen Lu a secret for now."
Fortunately, the dim lights outside the window could compensate for the gloom in Wen Ying's eyes.
Hou Liping's thoughts were simple: "I understand. If a prosecutor and a lawyer are married, they'll need to avoid and report many things in the future, which is very troublesome. I understand. We've been together for many years, don't worry."
After saying this, Hou Liping remembered something. "Oh, Old Shen, I have to remind you. Since you have such a wonderful wife, don't let your feelings get the better of you and make some mistakes. Zheng Lu from Hengyi... is your classmate, and she's so beautiful. She's been hanging around you all these years. You have to be careful and tactful."
His stomach started to ache again, and Wen Ying couldn't help but gasp.
Hou Liping heard this and asked hesitantly, "What are you doing?"
"Drive," Shen Li said concisely, "My wife is next to me."
Hou Liping hung up the phone in a panic: "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry, I said the wrong thing. Let's go out and sit together next time when we are free. Bye!"
After hanging up the phone, Shen Li said, "He's just like that, always talking nonsense."
Wen Ying clutched her stomach and forced a dry smile. "I thought all prosecutors were as calm and measured as you."
Shen Li glanced at her and said, "Perhaps, Wen Ying, we don't really know each other that well."
Wen Ying seemed to have developed an occupational disease and couldn't help but correct him: "Yes, but we have known each other for twenty-two years."
Shen Li shook his head: "We didn't actually get along well."
"Yes, but," she said with some regret, "we may not have the chance to get along well."
The traffic light at the intersection was red. Chen Li stopped the car and turned to look at her: "Wen Ying, don't leave out the most important key condition when making a conclusion - I haven't agreed to divorce you."
This sentence surprised Wen Ying a little.
------
In the afternoon in prison, she filed for divorce.
Wen Ying kept looking at Shen Li, hoping to see some other emotion on his face, even for a moment.
Unfortunately not.
Shen Li was very calm, as if he had anticipated what she was going to say: "I'm still working hours now, we can talk about personal matters after get off work."
Lawyers generally had no objection to the prosecutor's proposal. Wen Ying shrugged: "Okay, let's talk when you have time."
Wen Ying thought that "talk later" meant sitting down to discuss the details of the divorce. Unexpectedly, Chen Li's intention was actually to disagree with the divorce.
Wen Ying was a little confused about Chen Li's thoughts.
It was obvious that she and Shen Li married for their own benefit.
Three years ago, Wen Lin was critically ill and was only concerned about Wen Ying.
Wen Lin was an only child, with no siblings or children. He took Wen Ying home from an orphanage and raised her as his own daughter. Wen Ying's grandfather had left behind a row of ancestral houses before his death, and three years ago, the city's entertainment and leisure commercial city plan was released, which happened to include those houses.
My grandfather had two brothers, and my second grandfather had a son named Wen Lei. This cousin followed his father's example and started his own business in the 1990s. He was lazy and had a lot of troubles, and he was eyeing this row of ancestral houses with covetous eyes.
Wen Lei always thought that Wen Ying was just an orphan from an orphanage and had no right to inherit the Wen family's ancestral home. Wen Lin knew his cousin's character, so in his dying moments, he struggled to stay awake, only looking at Wen Ying with tears streaming down his face.
Without his protection, Wen Ying would become an orphan again, and this time an orphan who was plotted against by others.
At the critical moment, Shen Li spoke up, even talking about something as casual as marriage: "Wen Ying, why don't we get married? I need a wife, and you need a husband. I hope you will seriously consider my proposal."
At that time, Shen Li was 27 years old and was annoyed by his mother's crazy urging to get married.
Wen Ying thought about it for only ten seconds. Or maybe even less. She wiped her tears and said okay.
She agreed readily, which surprised Shen Li for a moment.
He thought for a moment and added, "If you wish, our marriage can be kept secret. It will probably only last for three or two years to minimize any trouble for you."
Wen Ying said yes again.
The marriage with Shen Li not only made her cousin wary of his schemes, but more importantly, it allowed Wen Ying to finally get one step closer to her high mountain.
She was just a bunch of weeds that no one cared about.
The weeds at the foot of the mountain look up at the mountain, but the mountain is invisible.
------
Wen Ying followed Shen Li into the room, where the layout was still familiar.
Shen Li washed his hands and took out two packets of medicine, a packet of instant powder and a box of tablets from the drawer under the sideboard with ease.
He had prepared the medicine when Wen Ying had just changed her shoes at the entrance - she was in so much stomach pain that she couldn't get up, and every movement she made was so painful that it was terrifying.
Wen Ying was in so much pain that her face turned pale. Seeing Shen Li coming over with the medicine, she raised her head and drank it all in one gulp without asking any questions.
Shen Li took back the empty cup: "You didn't even ask what medicine it was. What if I gave you the wrong one?"
Wen Ying casually wiped the water stains from the corners of her lips: "I will sue you."
"Ha," Shen Li couldn't help laughing while washing the cup, "It seems the medicine is right. Wen Lu already has the strength to choke people."
Wen Ying changed into slippers and walked into the house, with a worried look in her eyes: "How did you get stomach medicine? Do you have a stomachache too?"
Shen Li wiped his hands clean and casually threw the remaining medicine back into the drawer: "You bought it last year and forgot to throw it away. It shouldn't be expired."
Wen Ying decided to withdraw her concern and worry about Shen Li.
This is an old red brick house with the widest balcony and bright living room. Outside is a whole street of plane trees, filling up the entire floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room.
Wen Ying curled up in a corner of the sofa, while Chen Li sat on the other side, causing the sofa to sag slightly.
The family of three next door sounded very lively, with occasional children's laughter and singing coming over.
Wen Ying hasn't lived here for a long time. Due to the epidemic in recent years, she rarely came back and only stayed in Yuebo a few times.
The Shen family had already purchased a wedding house for Shen Li in a new part of the city. It was a modern, high-rise building with an elevator and stylish decor. After getting the marriage certificate, Shen's parents suggested they move into the new house, but Shen Li declined, saying it was closer to his workplace and that he was more comfortable living there.
The old couple decided to give the newlyweds some space to themselves, so they packed up and moved to the new part of town, and she moved into the guest room there.
Seeing that Wen Ying's pain seemed to have eased, Shen Li continued the topic they had left off in the car: "Next week is my mother's sixtieth birthday. You know, she has loved you since you were a child. I was wondering, if you decide to divorce, could you wait until after this period of time has passed?"
Wen Ying's adoptive mother died young, and it was Mother Shen who gave her the little maternal love she had. She was very friendly and cheerful, and it was Mother Shen who taught her how to use her first sanitary napkin.
So that's why.
Wen Ying nodded: "Of course. It's my fault for being too busy and forgetting Mom's birthday. Luckily you reminded me. I will prepare a gift in advance."
Shen Li looked at her, as if he could see through her: "Wen Ying, do you really want to divorce me?"
Wen Ying pretended to be nonchalant: "Our marriage is just an agreement, not a reality."
Shen Li corrected her: "The fact that the agreement takes effect is what actually happens."
"I'm abiding by the terms of the original agreement," she said.
Shen Li was silent, and finally nodded: "If you have made up your mind, I agree to divorce."
Wen Ying stood up and put on her slippers, her tone carrying a sourness she wasn't aware of: "Zheng Di has been waiting for you for so many years, I can't just sit there and take up the position for nothing."
Shen Li raised his head: "I've told you many times that she and I are just classmates."
"You should ask her what she thinks of your relationship," Wen Ying walked into the guest bedroom, clutching her stomach. "Thank you for today. I have a severe stomachache. I'm going to rest first."
"Good night, Shen Li."
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