Chapter 49
Standing at the entrance of the hospital corridor, Shen Huan carefully pulled the ultrasound photo out of her sweatshirt pocket and tilted her head to stare at the oval black cavity in the center. Earlier, Jini had pointed to the blurry spot on the screen and told her, "This is the gestational sac, a small bubble. This is the embryo. This is the yolk sac. The yolk sac is the embryo's own lunch box."
This thing growing inside her body was strange and bizarre, like an intruder without reason. But she remembered the light spot on the ultrasound screen just now, flashing like fluorescent light, at 105 times per minute.
Shen Huan quietly threw the ultrasound image into the trash can in the corridor.
After becoming pregnant, Shen Huan began to feel sleepy in the afternoons. She returned to the hospital parking lot, got in her car, lowered the window slightly, turned off the engine, and climbed into the back seat, half-lying down to doze off. She'd planned to sleep for five minutes, but her eyes opened and closed again, and she had one dream after another, as if she were sinking into a swamp of the past. By the time she woke up and reached for her phone, it was already dark outside.
Meng Zixuan called her on her phone, but the ringing didn't wake her. He left a message saying he'd arrived at the airport that afternoon and was heading back to New York, but had changed his flight at the last minute. Oliver Schumer's condition had worsened, and he would drive to the hospital in Maryland that evening.
Chen Huan didn't reply. She felt a little sad that he hadn't come back to cook for her as he had promised her that morning. As this thought clearly entered her mind, she realized how selfish and inconsiderate she had been. Oliver was a very important person to Meng Zixian, and she definitely wanted to see him one last time.
Chen Huan got out of the back seat. The wind outside was a bit cold. She stepped into the driver's seat, started the car, and drove onto the highway. On the way back, Meng Zixuan called again, but she still didn't answer. She didn't know what she was thinking, but not answering the phone while driving was also a good way to follow traffic rules.
Driving to Jericho, Shen Huan thought that perhaps her feelings this afternoon were unnecessary. Even if she asked, the man at the door of the blood test room would not give her a seat, and Meng Zixuan would not stay in Long Island to accompany her.
Shen Huan didn't want to cook. The thought of the smell of cooking fumes had taken away her appetite. She drove to the beach for a run, and her appetite returned.
She was washing apples in the kitchen when she received a call from Li Ting. Li Ting joked that divorce lawyers were like engagement rings: if the two of them could agree on something, they could get the deal done without spending a penny, but if they couldn't, they could just ask for an exorbitant price.
Shen Huan turned off the faucet and sat down at the kitchen island, clutching an apple. Li Ting had just said that he had spent a lot of money on legal fees. Then Greenwood would have to charge her a lot of money too. She didn't know who paid for it.
She took her vitamins, found the original email from the law firm on her phone, scrolled to the bottom, clicked on the blue highlighted number, and dialed Greenwood.
The oven read 8:10 p.m. She expected the call to go to voicemail, but the dial tone rang and then the call was picked up. A sweet female voice spoke. Shen Huan explained the situation, and the person on the other end said Scott was off work, but she could transfer the call to his private number. Shen Huan hurriedly said, "No, I'll call back tomorrow." The person on the other end gave an awkward laugh and said it wasn't her decision.
This was Shen Huan's first time speaking with his divorce lawyer. After a few pleasantries, Shen Huan felt that Scott Greenwood's voice sounded familiar. He had a standard British accent, his vowels drawn out slowly, and he was used to interrupting people with "pardon but" instead of "sorry."
She couldn't remember where she had seen him.
Shen Huan asked Scott many questions, questions that would definitely anger Meng Zixuan if he asked him in person.
For example, why couldn't she and Li Ting go directly to the Civil Affairs Bureau in Hancheng to get a divorce certificate.
Scott explained, "You and Mr. Li got married in New York three years ago. The Hancheng Civil Affairs Bureau can't accept divorce applications. You still need to obtain a New York State notarized document and go to the Hancheng Court to proceed with the divorce process. Besides, it would be more advantageous for you to sue directly in New York."
Shen Huan asked where the advantage was.
"Privacy is paramount," Scott said. The Xuan Tao scandal in Hancheng had just subsided, and going to court to divide the assets would only provide new fodder for public opinion. New York State's Domestic Relations Act ensures that judgments, property divisions, and custody agreements are visible only to the parties involved and their lawyers.
"When I go to Hancheng Court to sue, I will apply to the court for a closed trial, but it may not be approved," said Scott.
Shen Huan was quiet for a moment. She admitted that this was important to her. "But public opinion is on my side, right? It was Li Ting who cheated." She figured public opinion could also help with the division of property.
There was a pause of several breaths, and Scott, as if with great difficulty, squeezed out an insincere laugh from his throat, "Everyone can have different understandings."
Chen Huan placed the apple, which had been bitten a few times, on the island counter.
Scott's uncomfortable tone made her realize that if Li Ting might have been the one at fault in the public eye a month ago, now she was the one who had committed infidelity. No matter how outrageous the rumors of Xuan Tao's workplace harassment were, Lin Jing had never been able to produce any concrete evidence. But Chen Huan had moved out of Yunjingli, left Hancheng, lived in another man's house, and was pregnant with his child. These were all tangible facts.
Now, Li Ting is a conscientious entrepreneur who has been abandoned by his wife after falling into the water and becoming seriously ill. And Meng Zixian is not a poor scholar. No one would believe that Chen Huan's attachment to his new love is out of noble freedom and love.
Perhaps Meng Zixuan had considered this a long time ago, so he contacted a New York lawyer in Beverly two weeks ago.
“Just now you said that privacy protection is the first priority.” Shen Huan said.
"That's right. Secondly, for the future benefit of the fetus, the father clearly expressed his desire to arrange a cross-border trust in advance. Such matters are more likely to be recognized and supported by New York courts." Scott said, "Hancheng law generally protects the interests of children after birth. The father is a third party in your current marriage, and Mr. Li may accuse the financial transactions of being a transfer of common property."
Shen Huan was stunned for a moment, “The father you are talking about is Meng Zixuan.”
There was no response from the other side.
Shen Huan found it funny. Apart from the $300 she stole, Meng Zixian had never given her any money. But from what Scott said, Meng Zixian didn't want the money he transferred to her to fall into the category of her and Li Ting's joint property.
Scott continued to call Meng Zixian "father" and continued according to his own logic: "A father's caution is necessary. In the current situation where custody is still in dispute, establishing an irrevocable trust is the best way to ensure the child's future custody arrangements, medical insurance, and education. The New York courts have very complete channels for enforcing trusts."
Scott kept emphasizing "father." Shen Huan suddenly remembered when he had met this divorce lawyer.
One evening last week, she came back from a run and saw Meng Zixuan talking to a bald man with a small mustache and straight shoulders. The man was thin and leaned on a pointed black umbrella with a long handle that could be stuck under his armpit and used as a crutch.
When she got out of the car, Meng Zixuan came over and took her gym bag, kissed her, and told her to go back to the house first without introducing the person to her. The person didn't greet her either, just whispered something, often starting his sentence with a pardon but.
She understood. Scott was nominally her lawyer, but he never forgot to protect Meng Zixian's rights. He avoided mentioning Meng Zixian's name on the phone, sounding completely concerned with the unborn child, but the focus of his plan was Meng Zixian's custody of the child. Her request for property division was merely incidental.
Given this conflict of interest, Scott shouldn't have taken her case; he might have lost his license. But Scott likely earned far more than just this fee from Meng Zixian, and the lawyer didn't even mention Meng Zixian's name, leaving no room for leverage. Meng Zixian was also certain that Chen Huan wouldn't contradict him on this matter. Without his support, she wouldn't be able to get much from Li Ting.
Meng Zixian came back in the middle of the night.
Chen Huan lay in a hammock in the backyard as headlights swept past the intersection. Soon, a car drove into the front yard, and the porch light at the entrance came on. She got out of the hammock, a blanket draped over her shoulders, and walked along the lawn to the front yard, pushing open the wooden fence. While he parked, she walked around the flowerbed and to the driveway to wait for him.
In the night, the headlights cast a cold, white halo in the air, the glare so intense that she briefly closed her eyes. Through the car window, Shen Huan couldn't discern his expression, but she had a vague feeling that he was angry. She didn't know what he was angry about; there were many things between them that she couldn't bring herself to talk about.
But Meng Zixuan said nothing after getting off the car. He sighed, walked to her, and wrapped her and the thick blanket in his arms. His warm breath beside her ear felt like a relief.
Shen Huan tilted her head back and kissed his chin, saying that she thought he would be back tomorrow.
You didn't answer my call. He paused and said nothing more.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com