Chapter 48: I Know the Ending of the Novel

The next afternoon, An Ling deliberately got off work early.

Shen Fuyuan sent her a message.

[Are you really going to divorce my older brother??]

An Ling was at the bakery picking up a cake. Seeing the message, she replied:

[Didn't you dislike having me as your sister-in-law? Isn't this a good thing.]

The other side fell silent.

The clerk brought out the cake. "Miss An, here is the cake you ordered. Actually, our store offers delivery, so you didn't have to go out of your way to come here."

"It's fine, I just happened to be free today."

An Ling took it and took a look.

The clerk asked out of habit, "Is it your birthday? Since you're here, we'll give you some freshly baked cookies as a gift."

She paused and looked up. "No, it's for my... husband."

"Your husband?" The clerk smiled, packed the cookies, and handed them over. "You two must have a great relationship, considering you made a special trip to the store to pick up his cake."

An Ling did not refute it.

Not knowing what to say, she just smiled and took the cookies.

Just as she walked out of the store, Shen Fuyuan's messages started popping up one after another.

[Oh... it's not that I dislike it. Since you've changed, it's not like I can't call you sister-in-law...]

[If you and my brother divorce, my mom will definitely be the happiest. No one will dare to blatantly talk back to her anymore. She'd love nothing more than for my brother to be alone, or to find him some random wife from who knows where.]

An Ling stood there, looking down at her phone. After a good while, she replied:

[That won't happen. Shen Linyan will refuse.]

She had told Shen Linyan to say no so many times, it should have had some effect, right?

Shen Fuyuan: [Are you so sure? What if he agrees? After all, he didn't refuse when he was told to marry a woman like you... Uh, I don't mean to insult you, I just mean my brother won't refuse my mom's demands, you know?]

Amused, An Ling replied: [If that day really comes, can I crash the wedding and steal the groom?]

Shen Fuyuan instantly got excited: [Really!?!]

An Ling: [Just kidding.]

Shen Fuyuan: [...]

Smiling, An Ling put her phone away and placed the cake on the floor of the passenger seat.

Just as she got into the car, her phone chimed again.

Secretary Chen sent a document.

[Young Madam, this is the drafted divorce agreement. Please take a look and see if there is anything you want to add.]

Just as she was about to open it, Secretary Chen sent another message.

[Chairman Shen said that regarding the assets, he will give you the maximum share, but he hopes to keep the house.]

An Ling paused and typed.

[Okay.]

Anyway, after the divorce, she would be living with the An family.

That place could be left for Shen Linyan, so he wouldn't have to move back to the Shen family home.

When An Ling opened the document and saw the amount Shen Linyan was giving her, her gaze froze.

The amount written there was exactly... two hundred million.

It was the exact number she had casually mentioned when joking with Shen Linyan.

She had said that if he ever went bankrupt one day, he should leave her two hundred million.

Seeing this number, her memory seemed to be pulled back to that night. An Ling let out a helpless laugh.

After arriving home, she parked the car and took the cake out.

Just as she pressed the elevator button, her phone rang again.

Looking at the caller ID, it was actually Jiang Mai, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.

Jiang Mai had been out of town on a business trip for training these past few days. She was so busy she didn't even have time to check her phone, so they had only chatted occasionally.

After answering, Jiang Mai's enthusiastic voice came through the line.

"I'm coming back tomorrow! I even bought you some local specialties, Lingling. The dragon's beard candy here is incredibly delicious! I'll bring some for your mom and dad too!"

An Ling smiled and agreed, "Sure, my parents were just asking me last time when you'd be back."

"The scenery here is pretty nice too, it's a good place for a vacation. It's just that the traffic is too congested, and it's not convenient to catch a cab."

Jiang Mai complained on the other end, "Also, that training institute doesn't cover accommodation, and the hotel is far away. It forces me to leave super early every time and take the bus. You know, the morning buses are full of old grandpas and grandmas, there are absolutely no seats..."

As she spoke, she seemed to remember something, and her tone shifted.

"By the way, how are things between you and Shen Linyan now? Last time you said you were teaching him how to be a bad guy, are you still teaching him?"

The smile on An Ling's lips paused slightly.

Seeing the elevator doors open, she walked in, pressed her floor button, and then said softly:

"Jiang Mai, I'm going to divorce Shen Linyan."

On the other end, Jiang Mai was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously exclaimed, "Divorce?!"

What the? She had only been on a business trip for a few days, how were these two suddenly getting a divorce?!?

She was a bit incoherent, "Wait, your relationship hasn't even started yet, how can you be getting a divorce? This doesn't follow the laws of romance novels! Where is the love, the hate, the passion, the melodramatic misunderstandings!"

"..."

An Ling let out a long sigh and laughed, "Isn't this a good thing? I'm getting away from the plot as early as possible. You were the one who advised me to do this in the first place."

As long as the divorce was successful, whatever male and female leads, whatever second male lead, would have absolutely nothing to do with her anymore.

Jiang Mai was still a bit surprised. "Are you guys really getting a divorce? But An Ling, didn't you say you wanted to change Shen Linyan?"

An Ling stared at the elevator doors and didn't speak.

After a moment, she lowered her eyes, pursed her lips, and said, "Divorcing him is my way of changing him."

"What do you mean?" Jiang Mai didn't understand right away.

An Ling sighed, "Jiang Mai, I didn't tell you guys, but I know the ending of the novel. My ending is death, and Shen Linyan's ending is bankruptcy. Right up until the very last moment, Shen Linyan and I are still married."

If she continued to be with Shen Linyan, what if Shen Linyan really headed towards bankruptcy, what if she really died.

What if they repeated the disastrous ending of the novel?

Divorcing now might just solve everything.

Jiang Mai on the other end fell silent. It took a good while before she spoke, "Why didn't you say so earlier..."

Looking at it this way, divorce was indeed the best choice.

The elevator reached her floor, and An Ling walked out. "I'm going to handle the paperwork tomorrow. We can talk more when we meet tomorrow. I have to celebrate Shen Linyan's birthday in a bit."

"Oh, oh, okay, then you go ahead and... huh??" Jiang Mai thought she had misheard, her tone hesitant. "...Celebrate whose birthday?"

"Shen Linyan's." An Ling patiently repeated. "That's all, I'm hanging up."

In her hotel room, Jiang Mai stared blankly at her disconnected phone.

"Is this... right?"

What kind of normal person celebrates their soon-to-be ex-husband's birthday the day before their divorce??