Chapter 57: But He Was Never a Kind Person

After returning from dinner that evening, An Ling planned to double-check the shooting schedule for next week.

She had been too busy finalizing the test shoot details these past few days, leaving her with no choice but to review things after work.

Just as she sat on her bed and opened her laptop after a shower, she received a call from Shen Linyan.

To be honest, she was a bit surprised, but on second thought, it was probably about the video from last time, so she answered without overthinking it.

She turned on the speakerphone and casually placed the phone on the blanket beside her.

"Are you calling about the video? How did it go? Did you show it to that old woman?"

The person on the other end was silent for a moment before giving a soft "Mm."

"I showed it to her. She'll handle it."

"That's good."

An Ling opened a file, teasing as she skimmed through it, "Did she curse me out? I could guess it with my eyes closed! But whatever, it's not like I can hear her anyway."

The moment she sent the video, she already knew exactly what that woman would say about her.

A very faint laugh came from the man on the other end. It was low, and if one listened closely, it carried an almost imperceptible huskiness.

An Ling paused, turned to pick up her phone, and placed it against her ear. "She didn't scold you, did she? If she tells you to take all the blame and let Lu Jingshen play the victim, you absolutely cannot agree to it!"

After all, it wouldn't be the first time Mother Shen did something like that.

"No." Shen Linyan lowered his eyes. "She didn't say that."

An Ling opened her mouth, unsure of what else to say. Holding the phone, she chuckled, "Alright then, just take care of yourself and get some rest early."

After she spoke, she remembered something else. "Oh, right! The food tonight was delicious!"

She didn't mention why she had become an executive producer, nor did she explain why she had hidden it before.

There was no need to say anything when they were in a marriage of convenience, and now that they were divorced, these things mattered even less.

Sensing the silence on his end, An Ling stared at the document on her laptop and blinked. "If there's nothing else... I'll hang up now?"

Just as she was about to end the call, the man's gentle voice suddenly rang out.

"An Ling."

She paused her movements. "Hmm? What's wrong?"

Shen Linyan's gaze fell on his empty finger. His dark eyes were unreadable as he said softly, "...If Shen Fuyuan gives you any trouble, just tell me. She has a terrible temper, so you don't need to be polite to her."

As soon as he said that, there seemed to be a few seconds of stunned silence on the other end.

Immediately after, the girl's bright, cheerful laughter carried over.

"Hahahaha, okay! I'll definitely look to Chairman Shen to back me up then. Isn't this what they call a fox exploiting the tiger's might? Don't worry, I even taught you how to be the bad guy before. My temper might just be worse than hers."

Her laughter broke the dead silence of his living room, tearing away the dense cobwebs in the house and letting the bright light shine in from outside.

Shen Linyan thought back to that night again.

The girl had sat on the sofa, holding up her phone for him to see with a serious expression, saying she wanted to teach him how to be a bad guy.

She said that if he developed feelings for someone else, this relationship of mutual benefit would end.

But they clearly hadn't developed feelings, yet their beneficial relationship had ended prematurely.

She also said that because he was so kind-hearted, she needed to teach him how to be bad.

Listening to the laughter through the phone, he numbly reached up to touch his face, only to feel a patch of wetness. Tears had fallen again without him realizing.

But he was never a kind-hearted person.

He wanted his wife to come back.

He had been constantly regretting letting his wife leave.

He couldn't forget her, no matter what.

He tried not to think about it, tried forcing himself not to see An Ling for days. But the moment he saw her, the longing he had desperately suppressed all these days burst forth, drowning him like a tidal wave.

He had even deliberately let Shen Fuyuan bring the two of them over, masochistically watching An Ling interact with others with his own eyes.

That scene didn't bring him any relief; instead, it drove him mad with jealousy. His heart felt like it was being torn in two, and the fire of jealousy burned relentlessly within him.

If he had known... he wouldn't have hypocritically agreed back then.

His wife was someone who easily softened her heart. If he had just pretended to be a bit more pitiful, she would have stayed.

She said he was kind.

In reality, she was the one who was so good that he couldn't bear to deceive her.

That was why he had confessed everything about his act of pretending to be a lover, unable to bring himself to deceive her with fake affection anymore.

After An Ling finished laughing, she chatted with Shen Linyan a bit more about things that had happened in the past.

She even brought up the incident of buying a bag with Shen Fuyuan at the mall, and Ms. Chen's misunderstanding when she gifted the fountain pen.

These trivial matters that she wouldn't have mentioned while they were married were instead spoken of after their divorce.

"And my parents too. They were so surprised when I came back that day. Especially my brother—when he found out you gave me two hundred million, I really regretted not taking a picture of the expression on his face..."

When she accidentally glanced at the time, her voice suddenly paused. She realized it was getting late.

She hadn't read much of the document she originally planned to review; she had spent all her time chatting.

Well then. She had previously rejected Jiang Mai's call to chat, yet here she was talking to Shen Linyan until this late hour. If Jiang Mai found out, she would definitely get an earful again.

"It's really late, and we both have work tomorrow. You should go to sleep early."

An Ling smiled and shut her laptop, just about to hang up the phone.

Suddenly, the man's voice came through the receiver.

"An Ling, can you have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

She was slightly taken aback, not expecting him to bring this up out of the blue.

"Dinner?"

Didn't they just eat together tonight?

Seeming to guess what she was thinking, the man on the other end gave a soft "Mm." His gentle tone was slow and light.

"On the night of our divorce, I originally wanted to have one last meal with you before we parted ways, but I didn't expect you to move out early."

An Ling, feeling a sharp prick to her conscience: "..."

Since Shen Linyan hadn't brought it up, she had deliberately ignored it and avoided explaining herself. She even pretended not to see the messages Auntie Cheng sent her, offering no reply whatsoever.

Just the day before the divorce, she had said they should be friends, but immediately after the divorce, she left without a word, not even sending a single message.

Mainly, she was afraid that she might accidentally soften her heart and go back to offer Shen Linyan comfort.

She had just told Jiang Mai during the day that she absolutely wouldn't try to save Shen Linyan, so she needed to follow through with concrete actions.

Well, now look. He had brought the matter up himself.

She rubbed her nose. "Dinner... Sure, no problem. Tomorrow night, right? Should we invite Shen Fuyuan along?"

Shen Linyan really was different from her. He was such a decent and proper person.

He even needed a sense of ceremony for a divorce. Was this the "breakup meal" people talked about online?

Hearing the girl's voice, Shen Linyan lowered his eyes, his voice very soft. "Just the two of us, is that okay?"

Before An Ling could answer, he let out a soft chuckle, his voice remaining gentle.

"If you feel it's inappropriate for the two of us to eat together now that we're divorced, that's fine too. I'm okay with whatever you decide."

"..."

An Ling gave a guilty, dry laugh. "You're joking! What's wrong with it!? It's completely fine! I really was in the wrong that day, and I wanted to ask you out for a meal too. You can set the time and place."

She would keep it a secret from Jiang Mai. Just this one meal.