Chapter 54 Epilogue
Shen Huan remembered Meng Zixian's last year of service, when the Green Berets transferred him to Tampa Air Force Base and she left Fayette. They had been separated for more than a year when he filed for divorce over the phone.
Chen Huan flew to Raleigh and only found out at the courthouse that North Carolina marriage law required couples to be separated for a full year before they could divorce. She thought at the time that Meng Zixuan understood the law. Perhaps he had already calculated the date and was waiting to go through the paperwork with her.
Shen Huan assumed New York State had similar requirements, so she was surprised when Greenwood called and asked her to submit an electronic signature online to divorce Li Ting. Later, she found out online that New York State didn't have a separation requirement. However, after signing, the court would still need several weeks to hear the divorce proceedings before the process was complete.
Chen Huan had thought his divorce from Li Ting would drag on for four or five years, just like his divorce from Chang Yueqing. But after only a month in the US, without even having to fill out a single form at the law firm, the matter was settled.
Greenwood told her that the prenuptial agreement she had signed was very harsh, and he had done his best to secure it for her. She would receive some cash, a house on Wenyin Street, and a few shares in three Xuan Tao subsidiaries. Unless she asked for alimony, this was the best possible outcome.
Meng Zixian came back from the supermarket with some groceries. Chen Huan leaned against the kitchen peninsula, looking into each paper bag. Meng Zixian put the raw meat and fish aside and put the fruits and vegetables in the bottom tier of the refrigerator.
Shen Huan told him that Scott had called and she was not happy with the results.
Meng Zixian closed the refrigerator, washed his hands, and took a stack of clean food containers from the cupboard. He slowly packed the raw meat on the island. He asked, "How do you want it?"
Shen Huan asked why it was an uncontested divorce, as the prenuptial agreement was clearly unfair. "You didn't fight for it for me."
"How should I fight for it? Should I use the company's affairs to pressure him?" Meng Zixuan asked.
Shen Huan was choked. She did not deny that she had this idea, but when he said it like this, she seemed like a villain who forced him to throw away the watermelon in order to pick up her own sesame seeds.
"Greenwood doesn't represent my interests. He just takes care of your requests." Shen Huan said.
"I ask that you divorce me as soon as possible." Meng Zixuan put down the knife in his hand and looked at her, "What about you?"
"You don't have to say such bad things about me." Chen Huan said, "I want to fight for some property for myself. Is that too much? You grabbed what Li Ting had. Do you think it's nice to eat it?"
"Oh. Sorry." He closed the lids of the lunch boxes one by one, turned around to wash his hands, and said expressionlessly, "He has a few pieces of junk in his house. I don't like them."
Shen Huan's neck turned red with anger. Before she could refute, Meng Zixuan turned off the faucet, turned around, folded his hands on his chest, and said coldly: "You are very greedy. Back then, you were in a hurry to marry a rich man and didn't even read the property agreement carefully. In the three years after marrying you, Li Ting's net worth was reduced by half due to poor performance of the company. If we talk about his income after marriage, it is a negative number. If Ronghui hadn't survived two months ago, you would have owed a debt. I helped you so much, and you still say that I didn't fight for you."
Chen Huan sat on the lift stool beside the island counter, her chest heaving, her palms covering her eyes. Meng Zixuan wiped his hands on his trouser legs, took two steps closer and asked her if she was dizzy. Chen Huan said yes.
Meng Zixian stood stiffly, his hands at his sides. After a while, he whispered, "This hormone makes no sense. I feel dizzy for no apparent reason." Chen Huan removed his palms, slowly opened his eyes like a puppet, lifted his eyelids, and looked at him in disbelief. There was only sincere concern on his face. Meng Zixian said, "Let me carry you to bed and lie down for a while. I'll chat with you." Chen Huan said, "Just cook. Don't talk."
Meng Zixuan was willing to give in to her on many things.
For example, that day at the law firm in the Isle of Man, there were no pens in the meeting room. Shen Huan took the pen Greenwood handed her and signed. After signing a stack of papers, Meng Zixuan's eyes lingered on the date at the end of the page in front of her. He said your handwriting is beautiful.
Chen Huan liked the pen, with its pearly white body and a red cap engraved with cursive characters. She asked Greenwood if she could take it away. The man on the other side was momentarily embarrassed and glanced at Meng Zixian. Meng Zixian nodded slightly.
After finishing the work, Greenwood walked them out of the meeting room and did not go back to the elevator, with his legs stuck to the ground.
Meng Zixuan said sorry, took out the checkbook and pen, and stood at the front desk to sign the check. Shen Huan glanced at it and saw that the amount written was not small. She thought it was the lawyer's fee, but he wrote pen in the memo column.
If it were Chen Huan, she wouldn't spend the money just for his whim. Even if she was well-off and didn't care, she would still say why don't we go to the counter and buy a new one. But Meng Zixian said that love is a matter of fate, and fate is rare.
For example, they had looked at several beachfront houses in Long Island but hadn't decided on one. His brother, Lyle, had someone find one and recommended it to him, but Meng Zixian scoffed. Chen Huan said, "Let's go take a look. Isn't Lyle in real estate?" Meng Zixian said he was taking advantage of his old friends.
The house, in Sag Harbor, was newly built three years ago. The owner, an elderly woman, couldn't stand the cold and planned to move to Florida. Chen Huan loved the house; the interior was well-maintained, and the kitchen had a large window, like a sunroom. She said it saved her from having to renovate. She couldn't stand the smell after she became pregnant.
So Meng Zixian signed a contract with them and gave them a lot of room for bidding. Chen Huan asked, "Aren't you afraid that Lyle will take advantage of you? Why don't you bargain?" Meng Zixian said, "Let him do it. He's the one who's going to take advantage of me because my wife is about to give birth."
On the day the house was handed over, Lyle brought a note and spread it out on the table. There were two rows of handwritten names on it. Lyle said that they were given by the children's grandparents, one row for boys and one row for girls.
Meng Zixian glanced at it and pushed the paper away. He said that none of them sounded good. Chen Huan asked what name he wanted. Meng Zixian said seriously that it was Meng Dahan, and that it was the same name for both men and women. Chen Huan laughed and said that it was too rustic. Meng Zixian said that it would be called Shen Xiaoxian, and that it would sound fashionable.
But when it comes to other things, Meng Zixuan will never give in.
For example, during their last few nights in Jericho, Meng Zixian came upstairs late. Chen Huan pulled back the bedroom curtains a little and looked out at the backyard. First, the neatly trimmed lawn came into view, then two rows of lush, dark green cypress trees. Beyond that, there were fields of pine needles, the long golf course of the country club, and the inky black sky. No moon was visible.
Meng Zixian stood by the tower, talking to a man in a gray jacket. The man in the gray jacket came every night. His face was mostly hidden in the shadows, and he would occasionally glance around. He always had a burning cigar between his fingers, and he would blow out half-circles of smoke from his mouth, which were quickly blown away by the night wind.
Chen Huan closed the curtains and lay on the bed, flipping through comics. Meng Zixian returned to the bedroom, carrying a chill that smelled like pine needles and cigars. He went to the bathroom to take a shower.
Two weeks later, Li Ting was taken into custody by Homeland Security Investigations on charges of illegal capital flow when he got off a plane at Kennedy Airport.
Shen Huan wanted to ask Meng Zixuan if this was related to him, but she knew he would not give her an answer.
Many years ago, Meng Zixuan said that he wanted to give Emma some money. Shen Huan asked him how much he had saved, but he didn't answer.
That evening, Chen Huan asked again. They were walking along a stretch of abandoned railroad tracks. By the 24th week of her pregnancy, she had stopped running and was out of breath even when walking. So he walked with her every day.
The track was very long, and the metal in the distance reflected the light of the setting sun. Meng Zixuan held her hand and walked slowly. He told her, two hundred thousand US dollars.
Shen Huan smiled and said how is it possible, the military allowance you get can’t be saved even if you don’t eat or drink for four years.
Meng Zixuan turned his gaze away from her face and looked at the sunset in the distance. He pondered for a long time before speaking again: "That's Henry's money."
"Where did Henry get such a large sum of money?" Shen Huan looked at him in surprise.
Meng Zixian didn't stop walking. After a moment of silence, he said calmly, "Didn't I tell you that there are a lot of drug dealers in the area Bravo patrols. There are also a lot of arms dealers there."
Shen Huan paused. Her breathing was heavy. The two hundred thousand was dirty money, but it was Henry's last guarantee for Emma. The E Company members found a way to get the money back.
Because of the stuffy ears, her heartbeat was beating like a drum in her ears. When her heartbeat gradually subsided, Shen Huan said, "You are a bunch of lunatics."
Tyler Tedesco returned to his native New Mexico after a five-year contract and took a job as a ranger at White Sands National Park, but within months he became embroiled in the drug trade south of the U.S.-Mexico border.
After completing his assignment in Dawash, Phil Austin eagerly asked his superiors to go to Iraq, where he remains deployed to this day.
Aaron Hughes was ambushed in Kabul when a bullet shattered his right knee. Forced to retire from the Army, he returned to his family's farm in Houston. He gave up smoking and drinking because of his leg injury, but one winter night three years ago, he still took his own life in the barn.
"It's a madman." Meng Zixuan's voice was as dry as gravel. He stopped staring at the horizon and returned his gaze to her face. "A madman will not let you down."
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