Chapter 51: I Divorced Shen Linyan

After finalizing the divorce procedures, An Ling needed to move out of the house as soon as possible.

She didn't dare delay until Shen Linyan got off work. Right after leaving the cafe, she went straight home to pack her bags.

Click.

She turned on the light in the walk-in closet. Under the dazzling crystal chandelier, the room full of luxury goods exuded the scent of money. The air still carried a faint fragrance, just as exquisite and noble as when she first saw it.

Looking at the room full of designer items, she remained silent for a long time before letting out an ambiguous, sighing laugh.

"Wow... it's a pity I can't take them with me."

Back then, she thought that if she ever divorced Shen Linyan, she would definitely take all of these away.

But looking at them now, her heart didn't stir in the slightest.

She took a square velvet box from the drawer.

After opening it to confirm the diamond ring was still inside, An Ling stuffed the box into her bag.

She was only taking this. It was enough.

Opening her suitcase, she simply packed a few sets of everyday clothes. As for the untouched garments, An Ling didn't take a single piece.

She hadn't actually lived in this house for very long, but she had quite a lot of memories.

Thinking about it carefully, whether it was the kitchen, the sofa, or this bed, every scene in her mind featured Shen Linyan.

She used to say that they might not even see each other once while living in this house, but to her surprise, seeing each other every day had become a habit.

Closing the suitcase and lifting it, An Ling subconsciously scanned the room to see if she had missed anything.

When her gaze fell on the nightstand, she paused again.

The tie that was left behind that night was currently lying there all by itself.

An Ling looked at it for a good while, walked over and picked it up, but ultimately sighed and put it back down.

Forget it. Keeping it was useless to her now.

Carrying her suitcase out of the room, An Ling paused slightly at the bedroom door, her back lingering at the threshold.

A few seconds later, she silently turned around, walked back to the bedside, folded the tie neatly, and placed it in her bag.

As she folded it, she muttered softly, "It's expensive, this is very expensive. When I run out of money, I'll list it on a secondhand platform."

Walking into the living room, An Ling took one last look around, then turned and dragged her suitcase out the door.

Beep.

With the notification sound of the automatic lock, the house returned to silence. The twilight rays of the evening glow outside the window slowly crept up the edge of the sofa through the floor-to-ceiling windows, finally landing on a neatly folded blanket.

In the empty living room, only the ticking of the clock remained.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

The An family residence.

The TV was playing in the living room. Mother An sat on the sofa peeling an orange, while Father An read the newspaper beside her.

Hearing the door open, they looked up.

Upon seeing who had arrived, Mother An smiled and said, "You're back? Perfect timing for dinner. Your dad was just saying he was hungry."

An Zhou changed his shoes at the door and took off his suit jacket. "You guys could have started eating, no need to wait for me."

"It's fine, a little extra time doesn't matter anyway." Mother An placed the orange on the table and walked to the dining area with Father An.

Auntie Wang brought out the final soup.

They had just taken their seats and hadn't yet picked up their chopsticks.

Suddenly, the familiar sound of the doorbell rang through the air.

Ding-dong.

All three of them paused, looking stunned as they exchanged glances.

Who would come at dinnertime?

Auntie Wang went to open the door, followed by an exclamation of surprise: "Miss? What is this...?"

Mother An was just about to get up to look.

But accompanied by the sound of rolling luggage, the woman's familiar face suddenly appeared before them.

An Ling stood in the living room, dragging her suitcase.

She happily raised her hand, smiling brightly: "Hi! Mom, Dad, oh right, and my brother! I'm back!"

"..."

The three of them stared at her with dumbfounded expressions.

Mother An was the first to react, her gaze landing on the suitcase: "Lingling, why are you..."

Why did you come back with a suitcase?

Father An put down his chopsticks and frowned, his tone somewhat heavy: "Did Shen Linyan kick you out?"

An Zhou crossed his legs and ate some food. "I said long ago that Shen Linyan wasn't a good guy. Now look, he's not even pretending anymore."

An Ling put down her suitcase and took off her coat, finding their reactions amusing:

"What are you guys talking about? I wasn't kicked out."

Mother An hesitated: "Then why do you have a suitcase?"

An Ling washed her hands, sat at the dining table, picked up her chopsticks, and said casually:

"Oh, that. It's nothing, Shen Linyan and I just got a divorce."

Mother An: ?

Father An: ?

An Zhou: ?!???

That airy sentence instantly silenced the room.

The three people at the table froze in place, leaving only An Ling to drink her soup at her own pace.

The scene was eerily quiet.

Mother An slowly sat down, her expression solemn: "Lingling, you can't joke about this kind of thing."

An Ling guessed they wouldn't believe her, so she pulled the divorce certificate from her pocket and placed it on the dining table.

"I'm not joking, we divorced just this morning."

She drank her soup, her tone calm. "Don't worry, it was an amicable divorce. The Shen family brought it up first, so it has nothing to do with our An family. Besides, Shen Linyan gave me compensation."

Mother An picked up the certificate and looked at it with Father An, their expressions gradually becoming complex.

An Zhou also leaned over for a glance, then grimaced and sat back in his chair. "Oh my god..."

An Ling had mentioned wanting a divorce before, but they didn't expect it to happen so fast.

His sister was actually the speedy type.

He had even been worried the other day that this girl's love-struck brain would act up again.

An Zhou leaned in and asked quietly: "How much of the assets did you get?"

An Ling held up two fingers.

An Zhou looked disdainful. "Two million? That's way too little, isn't it?"

An Ling shook her head.

An Zhou: "Twenty million?"

An Ling shook her head again.

An Zhou paused, his expression complicated.

"Don't tell me it's twenty thousand. That guy Shen Linyan really wouldn't give away a single extra benefit."

"..."

An Ling looked up, her eyes curving into a smile: "Two hundred million."

An Zhou: "...?"

How much?

That Shen Linyan, who was shrewd down to the last penny in business deals, actually gave his trouble-making sister two hundred million?

An Zhou's expression froze as he slumped back into his chair.

"Incredible."

It was equivalent to taking back all the company projects Shen Linyan had snatched away before, now returned with interest.

Mother An handed the divorce certificate back to her. "This is too sudden. Why wasn't there any news at all?"

"The news will gradually be released in a few days."

An Ling put down her bowl, catching a glimpse of a message popping up on her phone out of the corner of her eye.

Auntie Cheng: Madam, are you not coming back for dinner tonight?

Only then did she remember that she hadn't told Auntie Cheng she had already moved out.

Auntie Cheng, I have already moved out.

Auntie Cheng: Madam, did you and Sir have a fight?

An Ling paused.

Didn't Shen Linyan tell you that we are already divorced?

The other side seemed stunned. It took a good while before a reply came, surprise leaking through the lines.

...Divorced?

Just as she was about to reply, Auntie Cheng sent another message.

But, it was Sir who asked me to ask you.

An Ling's gaze froze.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Auntie Cheng hesitantly put down her phone and turned to look at the man in the chair.

"Sir, Madam says... she has already moved out."

The man looking down and twisting the wedding ring on his ring finger paused at her words. His fragmented hair fell across his forehead, casting a shadow under his eyes, his lowered eyelashes trembling slightly.

After a moment of silence, he slowly lifted his head. His expression was gentle, and with a soft curve of his lips, he said warmly, "I understand. You may head back now."

Aunt Cheng hesitated, as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately turned around.

Just as she was stepping out the door, the man's faint voice suddenly sounded from behind her.

"Aunt Cheng, there is no need to prepare meals anymore. Let's just go back to the way things were before."

Aunt Cheng paused in her tracks. Turning her head, she saw the man getting up and returning to his room.

She was about to look away and leave when her gaze suddenly caught on something.

After a brief silence, Aunt Cheng lowered her head, let out a soft sigh, and pulled the door shut.

Beep— The front door locked.

The living room was dead silent, moonlight cascading in through the window.

The surroundings were dim. The only illumination came from a single white bulb shining in the empty kitchen. A lavish spread of food sat on the dining table, still emitting faint wisps of steam.

Under the light, a silver wedding ring lay quietly on the table.