Chapter 17 Happiness Is Your Priority

• Mrs. Lu said nothing. “There’re a lot of men in this world,” she said. “You will meet someone who reciprocates your love. You’ll feel sad, of course, but that’s temporary. Remember, your happiness takes top priority.”
• Lu Yao sniffled, agreeing to what her mother told her. “Shao Yunchen will come here, I’m sure. But I don’t want to see him. Can you give him the divorce agreement and ask him to sign it when that happens?”
• “Sure.”
• Lu Yao called Xiang Dongnan, asking indirectly if she could stay at his place. Xiang Nandong said nothing, only giving her the passcode of his front door to her. When she got what she needed, Lu Yao took Tiantian and left her mother’s home.
• The next day afternoon, Shao Yunchen came back from Jincheng City hurriedly before going straight to Mrs. Lu’s home.
• Mrs. Lu opened the door, her face inscrutable when she saw Shao Yunchen. “Anything?”
• “Is Lu Yao here, mom?” Shao Yunchen asked politely, but he felt frustrated.
• He only found out that Lu Yao was Yingxin’s representative after he got back to his company yesterday. And that was when he noticed that she had left her ring in his office. When he called her, she was crying about wanting to have the divorce, refusing to take even a step back.
• He wanted to come back, but was delayed by a few meetings, only managing to fly back this afternoon.
• “She’s not here, but she left something.” Mrs. Lu went into her home. Shao Yunchen took the opportunity to look inside, feeling defeated when he noticed that Lu Yao was not there. A moment later, Mrs. Lu handed Shao Yunchen a document.
• When Shao Yunchen saw what was written across the cover, his face darkened. “Mom, I have never thought of divorcing Lu Yao.”
• “But she wants to divorce you,” Mrs. Lu said. “Shao Yunchen, my family did nothing wrong to you, and Lu Yao is loyal to you. But I can’t do anything if this is the end of the line.”
• “I know I’m busy with work, and I told her…”
• “Are you really busy with work?” Mrs. Lu interrupted him. “Have you ever loved my daughter, Shao Yunchen?”
• Shao Yunchen stood there in silence.
• Mrs. Lu became colder toward him. “Shao Yunchen. My daughter is a woman no matter what you think. She will have her own children, and she will be older in time. She doesn’t have much of her youth left. If you’re a man with a conscience, let her go. Don’t squander her time.” Mrs. Lu handed the divorce agreement before kicking him out.
• Shao Yunchen stood outside with the divorce agreement in his hands, feeling stunned.
• I thought I told her we would talk about the divorce when I come back from work. Why did she become so adamant about this all of a sudden?
• Frustration inexplicably welled up within Shao Yunchen. When he remembered that Lu Yao was working in a company, he drove there, only to be told that Lu Yao had applied for an indefinite duration of leave. When he heard that, he knew she wouldn’t appear as long as he didn’t sign the divorce agreement.
• After not getting any answers from the two places he knew, Shao Yunchen angrily ripped the divorce agreement into pieces. What makes her think she can marry and divorce as she likes? And she’s trying to force me to sign the paper? Did she even ask about my opinion? I’m going to get her and ask her about this!
• Lu Yao was in Xiang Dongnan’s home with Tiantian during her days of absence, choosing not to go anywhere.
• Mrs. Lu called her to tell her that Shao Yunchen came back from Jincheng City after the day she left, frantically looking for her everywhere, including her company. As Lu Yao listened to her mother, she thought this was laughable.
• She and Shao Yunchen lived in two different worlds before their marriage, like two parallel lines that would never intersect. Even after they were married, they only met once in a week. But now when they were getting a divorce, he was searching for her everywhere. Ironic, she thought.
• “The next time he comes to you, don’t open the door, mom,” Lu Yao told her as she went to the hospital to arrange an abortion, for she didn’t want this child if she couldn’t give it a complete home.
• Lu Yao sought help from Mr. Song, and drove to visit her father in the jail. She waited for a long time before seeing her father being brought into the visitation room by two cops.
• Mr. Lu seemed to have lived the past few months in suffering. His hair was almost all grey, and his back was hunched. When he saw Lu Yao, guilt welled up on his face.
• Lu Yao held back her tears as she pointed at the phone, signaling her father to pick it up. “I brought something for you,” Lu Yao told him after Mr. Lu had picked up the phone. “I’ll get someone to bring it in for you. And your verdict is out.”
• Mr. Lu clutched the phone, not knowing what he should say. “I’m sorry, Lu Yao.”