Chapter 1 Divorce

• "Mu Nanyi, let's get a divorce."
• I stood frozen in place, staring blankly at Huo Chengjin, who was lying on the bed smoking a cigarette, as I came out of the bathroom, towel in hand, drying my wet hair.
• Huo Chengjin flicked the cigarette butt away, got up naked, picked up the scattered clothes on the floor, put them on one by one, buttoned them up, and looked straight at me with his usual cold and emotionless face. He said again, "See you at the lawyer's office tomorrow."
• "Wait." I stepped forward and grabbed Huo Chengjin's hand as he was about to leave.
• "Huo Chengjin, why do you want a divorce?"
• Our relationship started with a one-night stand and ended in a flash marriage.
• If this had happened in the past, I wouldn't have believed that I could be so crazy. But the fact was that it happened.
• A year ago, in a state of confusion, I slept with Huo Chengjin. At that time, my parents were pressuring me to get married because my younger brother needed money to get married. They wanted me to marry someone and get a dowry for my brother.
• My hometown is in a remote countryside where feudal ideas are still prevalent, and my parents are particularly biased towards males. I left home early to work.
• I earned four to five thousand yuan a month, three thousand of which I gave to my family, and the remaining two thousand I saved by living frugally.
• But even so, my parents kept asking me for money. My older brother needed to buy a house, so they asked me for money. My younger brother needed a job and connections, so they asked me for money. Now, even his marriage required me to get married to provide a dowry for him.
• I was so miserable at that time that I went to a bar to drink. When I woke up, I saw Huo Chengjin standing by my bed, like a god.
• He proposed to marry me because he wanted to get married, and I happened to be suitable.
• In a moment of impulsiveness, I agreed. We got our marriage certificate that day, and I didn't even know anything about his family background.
• The next day after our marriage, he gave my family a dowry of three hundred thousand yuan. My mother was overjoyed and told me not to come back home, but to live a good life with Huo Chengjin.
• Although I felt bitter about this act of selling myself, I had no choice.
• Fortunately, Huo Chengjin never mistreated me, although he had a cold personality. He came from a well-off family, but he never talked about his family with me. I thought maybe he was an orphan, a capable one at that.
• I thought we would live like this for the rest of our lives, but now Huo Chengjin was asking for a divorce.
• "Because the woman I love has come back." Huo Chengjin raised his chin, and his shallow pupils, which were already cold, carried a hint of chill as he said to me.
• Huo Chengjin... the woman he loves has come back, so he wants a divorce.
• "I'll leave this house and the car in the garage to you. Let's part on good terms."
• He didn't pay attention to my stunned expression and casually rolled up his sleeves.
• "I don't need them. The house and the car were yours before we got married. I have no right to take them. I'll go to the lawyer's office tomorrow." I clenched my fist, trying hard to restrain the discomfort in my heart, and calmly said to Huo Chengjin.
• Huo Chengjin glanced at me, his expression indifferent, and said, "Consider it as your reward."
• With these words, Huo Chengjin left the bedroom.
• I watched his cold back gradually disappear, and the strength that had been supporting me suddenly seemed to be drained away. I sat weakly on the floor.
• The air still carried the lingering scent of passion, but the man who had given me infinite pleasure had already left.
• We had just been entangled passionately on the bed, and the next moment, it felt like I had been thrown into an ice cellar, shivering from the cold.
• Was a flash marriage not meant to last?
• But in this year, I had already gotten used to Huo Chengjin's embrace, to... having him by my side, even though he rarely spoke and was often cold. I had fallen in love with this flash marriage partner.
• What kind of woman did Huo Chengjin fall in love with? She must be... better than me, right?
• ...
• The next day, I got up early, took half a day off from work, and went to the lawyer's office alone.
• Huo Chengjin was already there, and he placed the divorce agreement in front of me, saying indifferently, "Take a look and let me know if you have any other requests."
• The agreement stated that I would get the car and the house, and with the current housing prices, I would become a wealthy woman overnight if I sold them. But I didn't want them.
• "I don't want them."
• I pushed away the divorce agreement in front of me and shook my head.
• After marrying me, Huo Chengjin had helped me clean up the mess in my family. How could I take his house and car?
• Seeing my determination, Huo Chengjin said coldly, "Mu Nanyi, think it over. With the current housing prices, even if you don't live in it, you can sell it for at least seven million."
• Seven million, for me, I would never earn that much in my lifetime. But I couldn't accept it.
• "That's your pre-marital property. I... can't take it." I bit my lip and shook my head at Huo Chengjin.
• "Suit yourself." Huo Chengjin looked away coldly, had someone redraft the contract, and ten minutes later, we both signed it and completed the procedures. With trembling hands, I held the divorce agreement, straightened my back, and walked past Huo Chengjin.
• Behind me, I could feel Huo Chengjin's deep and mysterious gaze, like a thorn in my back.