In the wintertime, the city of Shanghai was filled with a biting cold. The north wind blew, making the branches rustle.
In the Ye Nan Villa, a huge villa was silent.
On the dining table were placed over a dozen delicate dishes. One could tell that a lot of care had been put into their presentation just by looking at how they were arranged.
A woman in a camel-colored long-sleeved sweater sat in front of the dining table, with her eyes lowered, slowly waiting until the food gradually turned cold.
After an unknown period of time, the wall clock chimed.
Lin Xi slowly raised her head.
It was already twelve o'clock at midnight.
She took out her mobile phone and clicked on the top page of WeChat. That was Shen Yize's profile picture.
There were over a dozen messages inside, but none of them had received a reply.
Although today was their fifth wedding anniversary, for Lin Xi, this marriage over the years had been almost non-existent.
On this day every year, Shen Yize had never come back.
Lin Xi waited for another half an hour, but that man still hadn't returned.
She stood up directly, took the dishes, poured them into the trash can, and then cleaned the tableware.
Throughout the whole process, there wasn't the slightest emotional fluctuation on Lin Xi's face.
By the time she had finished dealing with everything, it was almost two o'clock in the morning.
Lin Xi dragged her tired body upstairs, fell onto the bed, and gradually drifted off to sleep.
Not long after she had just fallen asleep, her mobile phone rang.
It was a specific ringtone.
Even without looking at the caller ID, she knew who it was.
She answered the phone in a daze.
"Honey?" Lin Xi's voice was very soft, carrying a unique tenderness.
"Yeah." The other person's tone was very indifferent. Through the phone, it seemed even colder and more distant.
Lin Xi gradually woke up. "Are you drunk?"
Shen Yize was concise, "I'm at the Tinglan Club. Come and pick me up."
After saying that, he hung up the phone directly.
He wouldn't consider that it was three o'clock in the morning now.
Nor would he think about how cold it was outside.
In the entire wealthy circle, even Shen Yize himself thought that Lin Xi loved him deeply.
During the years of marriage, no matter what he did, Lin Xi would always go along with him. Even if Shen Yize's actions became more and more excessive, Lin Xi had never rebelled once.
It was the same this time.
Lin Xi looked at the phone that had already gone black, her eyes flickering slightly. She didn't even have time to change her clothes. She just simply put on a coat and hurried out.
But the moment she opened the door, she shivered from the cold. The cold wind blew straight into her neck.
...
It was half an hour later when she arrived at the club.
"Are you Miss Lin? Why are you so late? Don't keep Mr. Shen and the others waiting impatiently! Room 306, go in quickly!"
The club manager saw her figure at the entrance and his face didn't look too good. After giving the instructions, he rubbed his arms and left.
Lin Xi lowered her eyes. There were still drops of water from the melting frost on her eyelashes. She didn't say a word. Her delicate and fair face was flushed red from the cold, making her look even more submissive, as if anyone could bully her.
She quickly walked to the door of Room 306. Although the soundproofing effect of the club was very good, she could still faintly hear the laughter inside.
Lin Xi's fingers were a bit stiff from the cold. She moved them slightly. After they warmed up a little, she pressed the doorknob and walked in.
The warm air that hit her face made her gradually come back to life. Her numb fingers also started to warm up.
"Whoo!" There was a playful whistle.
"Brother Shen, look who's here!"
"Oh, she really came! Look, she didn't even change her shoes. She must have rushed here directly after receiving Brother Shen's call."
"However, it's also true. Everyone in the circle knows that Lin Xi loves our Brother Shen to death. I'm afraid she couldn't live without Brother Shen!"
"Yeah, but now that Xin Yi is back, this cheap substitute should leave the stage, right?"
They spoke without any scruples and didn't even care how insulting these words were.
Hearing this, Lin Xi then noticed a figure in black sitting beside Shen Yize.
It was Chu Xin Yi.
The person who had always been on the tip of Shen Yize's heart.
She had returned to the country?
A hint of emotion flashed across Lin Xi's eyes and disappeared in an instant.
Her gaze fell on the man in the middle, and her tone was still soft: "Are we going back?"
The people watching the show beside her looked at Lin Xi with a sarcastic smile on their lips.
At this time, Zhao Jin Yan, Shen Yize's childhood friend, smiled and said, "Yize, now that Xin Yi is back, should we prepare the gift money?"
Shen Yize slightly curved the corners of his mouth, lowered his eyes, shook the wine glass in his hand, and his expression was unclear. He didn't respond.
Hearing Zhao Jin Yan's words, Chu Xin Yi moved closer to Shen Yize, and her flamboyant face rarely showed a bit of shyness.
She glanced at Lin Xi from the corner of her eye. The originally disdainful look in her eyes instantly softened, and the corners of her mouth slightly curled up with a barely noticeable smugness.
It was hard for Lin Xi not to feel the scrutinizing gazes of the people around her. But she always kept her head slightly lowered. The warm yellow light in the private room made her look even softer, as if anyone could bully her.
After a long while, Lin Xi lifted her eyelashes and her gaze drifted to Shen Yize opposite her.
The corners of her eyes and the tip of her nose were reddened from the cold, somehow making her look even more pitiful. She still looked at Shen Yize calmly, patiently waiting for his reply.
Shen Yize looked up and met her gentle eyes. After a moment of silence, a barely noticeable look of disgust flashed across his eyes.
He put down the wine glass, casually and lazily waved his hand, and said in a flat voice, "Let's go."
"Hey! Yize, are we leaving already? Don't you want to play a bit more? We have another session. The ordered midnight snack will be here soon. Let's eat before we leave!" Zhao Jin Yan was stunned for a moment.
But Shen Yize ignored him.
Until the figures of Shen Yize and Lin Xi disappeared, Zhao Jin Yan then looked at Chu Xin Yi in confusion: "Xin Yi, what does Yize mean?"
Chu Xin Yi withdrew her gaze from the door, concealed the hidden gloom in her eyes, and when she looked up, she had returned to her normal state, smiling slightly: "Yize still takes Grandpa Shen's feelings into consideration very much."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Jin Yan immediately understood.
That's right.
Back then, the marriage between Shen Yize and Lin Xi was decided by Grandpa Shen alone.
If it weren't for Grandpa Shen supporting Lin Xi, it was estimated that Shen Yize would have divorced her long ago!
But this time it might be different.
Everyone knew Shen Yize's attitude towards Chu Xin Yi. Such a proud person would still lower his head in front of Chu Xin Yi.
...
When they got home, Shen Yize felt a burning and sour feeling in his stomach from time to time. Since he wasn't used to eating outside food, he had only drunk alcohol, and now his stomach couldn't take it, feeling as if it was churning.
Lin Xi noticed his occasional frowns and knew that his stomach must be feeling very uncomfortable at the moment. While he was taking a shower, she went to the kitchen to cook noodles for him.
Twenty minutes later, Shen Yize sat in the dining room, with the sleeves of his black pajamas rolled up, revealing a section of his forearm with smooth muscle lines.
This man was undoubtedly good-looking. Lin Xi's gaze couldn't help but fall on him.
She had to admit that Shen Yize was really to her taste. Otherwise, she wouldn't have followed him wholeheartedly for so many years.
It was very quiet around, only the sound of the man eating noodles could be heard.
"Shen Yize, let's get divorced."
Lin Xi's voice was very light and calm, as if she were saying, "The weather is nice today."
Shen Yize was stunned for a moment and frowned as he looked at the calm face opposite him.
Lin Xi also looked at him, with the same expression and gentle eyes.
He even suspected that he had misheard!
After a moment of stunned silence, Shen Yize remembered what had happened that night. The corners of his mouth slightly curved up, with a half-smile on his face, but the look of disgust in his eyes became a bit heavier.
"Oh, when did you also learn the trick of playing hard to get?"
Shen Yize stared at her, and the impatience and coldness in his eyes increased sharply.
Lin Xi looked up at him. "I'm not joking."
Shen Yize looked at her coldly, and the mockery between his brows grew even stronger. "Tsk, Lin Xi, it was you who agreed that we wouldn't interfere with each other after getting married. What? Can't play the game anymore?"
Lin Xi was silent for a moment and didn't say anything.
Shen Yize thought that she had been caught out by what he said, and the sarcasm in his eyes grew even deeper. He threw down his chopsticks and went upstairs directly.
He simply didn't believe that Lin Xi would divorce him.
Downstairs.
Lin Xi looked at the now-cold noodles, turned around and went back to her own room. She took out the divorce agreement that she had prepared long ago and placed it on the dressing table.
Then she dragged her suitcase and left without looking back.