Chapter 47: He Is Gone, His Wife

Twelve midnight, the night was hazy.

"Beep—"

The electronic lock clicked open, and the front door swung wide.

The man stood outside, looking down at the light spilling from inside.

The light in the living room had never made Shen Linyan so afraid before.

It was as if a cliff was waiting for him right in front of his eyes.

He didn't know how high this cliff was—whether falling would leave him lightly injured, heavily injured, or if he would die without a sound.

After a moment of silence, he slowly pushed the door and walked in.

The woman was sitting on the sofa looking at her phone.

She was still wearing that light gold silk nightgown, her hair let down, nestled softly into the cushions.

It was exactly the same scene Shen Linyan had seen when he came home that night.

The moment he pushed the door open, the living room lights were warm. Seeing that scene, the first thought in his mind was:

It actually feels like a home.

This house, bought to be their marital home, was for the first time crowned with the special meaning of a home.

He thought he was crazy at the time.

Why would he have such a thought?

But now, he had long grown accustomed to calling this place "home."

Hearing the sound of the door opening, the woman on the sofa paused her movements, but she did not turn her head.

Both of them maintained their silence.

After an unknown amount of time, An Ling slowly turned her head and looked at him gently.

"Shen Linyan, can we talk after you take a shower? I've been waiting for you to come back."

Shen Linyan's pupils shrank slightly, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the door handle.

This sentence was exactly what he had said before apologizing to An Ling back then.

"...Okay."

After coming out of the shower, the man sat on the sofa.

He lowered his head, his eyelids drooping and casting a faint shadow under his eyes. His profile was elegant and clean. Drops of water rolled down from the tips of his hair and fell onto the back of his hand.

An Ling sat on the sofa, hugging her knees, her clear eyes looking at him quietly.

In the silent air, a very soft voice suddenly sounded.

"I'm sorry."

Shen Linyan's body stiffened slightly, and he slowly raised his head.

Under the dim light, his eyes met the woman's. In their seemingly calm gaze, complex and obscure emotions were surging.

He opened his mouth slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty and bitterness:

"...Why? Madam."

His hoarse voice lost its usual gentleness, gaining an indescribable hidden pain.

She clearly knew that there was nothing between him and Zhou Wen, so why did she deliberately make him admit it in public?

They clearly could have gone on like this forever, so why ask for a divorce?

An Ling's heart trembled at his words. Her eyelashes fluttered rapidly as she looked away, pressing her lips tightly together, her voice thick with suppressed emotion.

"I'm sorry, Shen Linyan. I was the one who broke the interest relationship this time. I will accept whatever compensation you want. I will make it up to you, anything except... divorce."

But all he wanted was not to divorce.

He didn't want An Ling's identity as his wife to disappear.

Once An Ling left, he would be all alone...

He would be all alone.

The light in Shen Linyan's dark eyes suddenly extinguished. His fingertips turned white from clenching, and he anxiously twisted the wedding ring on his ring finger back and forth.

The alcohol he drank earlier in the evening seemed to churn wildly in his stomach, sending waves of cramping pain. Even his heart felt heavy and sour, like a wad of cotton was blocking his throat.

After a long silence, he asked softly, "Madam... can you promise me anything?"

"Anything," An Ling nodded hurriedly.

Shen Linyan looked at her gently and said softly:

"Then will Madam spend today's birthday with me?"

As soon as the words came out, An Ling's eyes suddenly froze.

She blankly lowered her legs and opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. At a loss, she looked down at the time on her phone, turning her head back and forth, hesitating to speak.

After a good while, she asked hesitantly, "Today... is your birthday?"

Shen Linyan nodded: "Yes."

An Ling was truly stunned now, her head spinning.

How could it be today?

According to the plot, Shen Linyan had only been back in the country for less than a year. He came back at the beginning of this year and married her a few months later.

Calculating like this, the female lead and Shen Linyan hadn't spent a birthday together yet.

Then what was the gift?

An Ling remained silent for a long time.

"Shen Linyan, can I ask you a question?"

"You may."

"What was the gift Zhou Wen gave you before?"

Shen Linyan paused for a moment, then his eyes curved into a smile, his tone gentle.

"She was having a conflict with Lu Jingshen at the time, so she gave me a jar of folded paper stars that Lu Jingshen had rejected."

"..."

Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!

What kind of crappy gift was that!

An Ling closed her eyes and took a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair in frustration as her eyes constantly searched around the house.

How could it be today? The day after the male lead's birthday was Shen Linyan's birthday.

What a damned setting!

An Ling gritted her teeth, stood up, walked over, and cupped the man's face in her hands.

She looked down at him, her face serious, and spoke solemnly:

"Okay, I'll celebrate it with you. What kind do you want? Lively? Or quiet? What flavor of cake do you want to eat? How about I have someone decorate the house? And then we set off fireworks? We can spend a few million, I'll pay for it. I promise it will be better than Lu Jingshen's. His party was too low-class and not fun at all. I'll give you an unforgettable one."

The girl's chattering voice broke the lifeless atmosphere in the living room.

Shen Linyan's eyes curved as he let out a low chuckle. He slowly grasped her wrists, turned his head, and gently kissed her palm.

"I just want to spend it with my wife."

Instantly, An Ling's fingers froze in the air.

She forgot what else she was going to say, just staring blankly at the man on the sofa.

A voice in her heart seemed to be frantically warning her: That's enough, this is enough, don't continue anymore.

You can't like him, you can't like him.

Staying in the Shen family would do her no good. She had to run away as soon as possible, as far away from the male and female leads as possible.

Shen Linyan treats you like this only because you are his wife. If it were someone else, Shen Linyan would do the same.

He is simply a good husband by nature.

If you like Shen Linyan, you will be imprisoned in the Shen family for the rest of your life.

Are you gambling on Shen Linyan's unknown affection, or are you gambling with your own life?

Let Shen Linyan go. You've used him enough.

An Ling's eyes stung. She forced a smile, slowly pulled her hands back, and quietly withdrew from that touch of tenderness.

"Then I'll cook you longevity noodles. You've been drinking all night and haven't eaten anything."

After cooking the noodles, An Ling had Shen Linyan sit at the table to eat while she went to the sofa to grab her phone and pick out a cake.

But the moment she picked it up, the screen of the man's phone next to it suddenly lit up, and a message caught her eye.

Zhou Wen: [I'm sorry, Big Brother, tonight's events were too sudden. I originally planned that after the party ended tonight, when I gave Sister-in-law her gift, I would also give you a birthday present. I'm afraid I won't be able to give it to you now. Wishing you a happy birthday.]

An Ling's movements froze in place as she quietly stared at this message.

It wasn't until the screen went dark again that she slowly picked up her own phone, the emotions in her eyes unreadable.

Sitting back at the dining table, she smiled at the man in front of her.

"Is it good? The only thing I'm relatively skilled at cooking is noodles."

Shen Linyan nodded gently. "It's delicious."

The light hit the man's face, highlighting his thick and long eyelashes, his high nose bridge, and his clean, sharp brow bone. It made his shallow eye sockets look clear and translucent, giving him an air of noble elegance and gentleness.

With such a kind and gentle husband from an arranged marriage, it was impossible for anyone not to fall in love with him.

Any other wife would do better than her.

An Ling slowly tightened her grip on the phone in her hand and spoke softly,

"Shen Linyan, I don't want a divorce because you're not good enough."

The man sitting across from her stiffened.

Without giving him a chance to speak, her words came out slow and gentle, yet exceptionally clear across the table.

"During the day, I will buy a cake and celebrate this birthday with you. The day after, we can go through with the divorce procedures. I don't need to take anything; you can choose whatever terms are most favorable to you."

"Shen Linyan, you are a good husband, but I am not a good wife. You will meet a wife who is much better than me."

"She will remember your birthday, she will spend many birthdays with you, she will give you gifts and even more love. You will be happier than you are now."

An Ling stood up.

The chair scraped against the floor with a harsh, jarring screech.

"Happy birthday, Shen Linyan."

The man hadn't looked up once. In the shadows, his tense jaw trembled, and his lips quivered slightly along with it.

It wasn't until An Ling reached the hallway that his voice sounded from behind her.

"Is a divorce... what my wife truly wants?"

His hoarse voice carried a barely perceptible tremor.

She stopped in her tracks. Without turning around, she replied softly, "Yes."

Shen Linyan's gaze instantly shattered. As if his soul had been drained away, his eyes fixed stiffly on the bowl of noodles in front of him, the corners of his once-clear eyes instantly turning red.

His Adam's apple bobbed with bitter emotion as he tightened his grip on his chopsticks.

"I agree to it..."

Whatever An Ling wanted, he would give her.

Even if it was a divorce.

This was... what a husband ought to do.

And it was the last thing he could do as her husband.

Shen Linyan didn't look up until he heard the sound of the door closing.

The corners of his eyes were painfully red. Large teardrops smashed against the back of his hand and fell into his bowl, but he remained completely oblivious, just staring blankly ahead.

It felt as though a piece of his heart had been hollowed out, a dense, overwhelming ache spreading across his chest.

He had lost her, his wife.

He would have a new wife.

A better, new wife.

He would have to continue fulfilling the duties of a husband for this new wife.

After an unknown amount of time, the man numbly raised his hand. Looking at the tears on his skin, he murmured in a low voice:

"But I don't want to celebrate my birthday anymore..."

He never wanted to celebrate his birthday again.