Chapter 54
Shen Yan felt a chill run down his spine at the thought of childbirth.
Before, when he had been writing stories, he had specifically looked up the process of pregnancy and childbirth online. That was when he realized how incredibly difficult and painful it was for women to give birth.
The idea of men having children was still a bit jarring to him, so even though he had been transported into this strange world, he never once considered the possibility of getting pregnant and giving birth.
Luckily, his grandmother had only been joking and wasn’t actually suggesting that he have children.
After that, she eagerly ushered him inside and treated him to a variety of delicious dishes, being even more enthusiastic than the last time.
Not long after, Su Mubai arrived, and there were no awkward moments like Shen Yan had feared. Su Mubai treated him the same as before—kind and caring, as if he were his daughter-in-law.
Shen Yan knew his nervousness was unnecessary. With Su Yunzhe’s personality, he would never let him suffer. He had most likely already informed his family about Shen Yan’s situation, knowing their attitudes beforehand, which is why he confidently brought him over.
However, it was still Shen Yan’s first time properly being in a relationship, meeting parents and elders, so feeling nervous was unavoidable.
It wasn’t until after dinner and when they were leaving that Shen Yan finally let out a long breath. “That was so difficult! My heart rate has finally gone back to normal. Did you know, from the moment I woke up, my heart rate was almost over 120? I was worried I’d get heart disease.”
Su Yunzhe reached over with one hand and placed it on his left chest. “I don’t feel it, but I can feel…”
“You idiot!” Shen Yan quickly slapped his hand away, staring at him in disbelief. Was this guy out of his mind? He dared to get handsy while driving.
Though it was winter, Su Yunzhe knew Shen Yan was sensitive to the cold. The car’s heating was turned up, and Shen Yan had already removed his coat, leaving on only a thin light-colored knit sweater.
Su Yunzhe’s hand on Shen Yan’s chest was obviously to feel his heartbeat, but his fingers were subtly taking advantage.
Originally, since they had gotten together, such things were no longer a big deal. Furthermore, in recent days, Su Yunzhe had been content with just being playful, without crossing the line and actually having sex with him. Shen Yan had generally allowed these small advances, though.
But the situation mattered, didn’t it?
It was dangerous to act like that while driving!
Of course, Su Yunzhe wasn’t serious about doing anything. He simply couldn’t resist the soft feel of Shen Yan’s pale skin and the way his light sweater complimented it, so he gave in to the urge to touch.
After his hand was slapped away, he returned to driving seriously, his face solemn as he said, “Why do you always bring up my grandfather? He’s already resting in peace.”
Shen Yan rolled his eyes in silence, not wanting to engage with him. He reached for his phone to play some music, but it rang. It was a call from Duan Songtao.
Shen Yan answered the phone.
“Grandpa, you’re looking for me?”
“Yes. You and Yunzhe are back, right? I’ve already had the lawyer draft the divorce agreement. If you and Yunzhe have time, we should meet up so you can review it. Duan Yang will also be there. He’s already seen the agreement and agreed to it. However, I think it’s best that we sit down together to discuss it. I’ll bring the lawyer, and you should have Yunzhe bring his lawyer too. Let’s get this settled today. What do you think?” Duan Songtao said.
“Uh… Grandpa, I think it’d be fine if Yunzhe and I just went to the civil affairs bureau and finalized the paperwork. We don’t need to sign the divorce agreement, right? As for the property division and everything, you don’t need to worry about me. I just want a divorce,” Shen Yan replied.
“Yan Yan, I know you don’t want to see that brat Duan Yang, but the divorce agreement must be signed. Otherwise, things might get messy later. I’ll be there, and Yunzhe will come too, so what’s there to be afraid of?” Duan Songtao insisted.
At this point, Shen Yan could only agree.
What Duan Songtao said made sense. For ordinary people, a divorce agreement might not be necessary, but for wealthy families, it was essential to clarify things like property division upfront to avoid disputes later.
After hanging up the phone, he told Su Yunzhe about the situation. “Do you think Duan Yang will cause any more trouble this time?”
A few days ago, Duan Songtao had contacted him, saying that Duan Yang had sincerely repented, realized his mistakes, and agreed to the divorce. He also mentioned that Duan Yang would apologize to Shen Yan. Shen Yan had felt relieved then, thinking that the matter would soon be settled, and he could be with Su Yunzhe without any lingering concerns.
But now that he was back, Duan Songtao had really started to act on it, catching Shen Yan a bit off guard.
Given Duan Yang’s pride, and the fact that he was currently the target of public ridicule, Shen Yan couldn’t quite understand why Duan Yang would want to meet him now. He imagined that Duan Yang would probably go abroad to avoid the scandal and only come back once things calmed down.
Regardless, Duan Songtao had a point. With Duan Songtao and Su Yunzhe both there, along with the lawyers, it should go smoothly.
Su Yunzhe didn’t seem to mind. He called his lawyer and then drove them both to the Wenxing Club, where Duan Songtao and his lawyer, Lawyer Chen, along with Duan Yang, were already waiting.
Shen Yan politely greeted Duan Songtao and Lawyer Chen. Since he was going to divorce Duan Yang anyway, he thought it would be nice to be cordial and take the initiative to greet Duan Yang. To his surprise, Duan Yang was the one who extended his hand first. “Happy New Year!”
Shen Yan glanced at him and felt something was off about Duan Yang today. He was gentle, refined, and polite—completely the image of a wealthy young gentleman.
But then again, Duan Yang had never been like this. He always acted proper in front of others, but when no one was around, he was a completely different person, acting erratically.
Shen Yan inwardly scoffed, extending his hand to shake, but before he could, Su Yunzhe, who had been chatting with Duan Songtao, reached over and grabbed Shen Yan’s hand, pulling him to sit down, leaving Duan Yang standing there ignored.
Shen Yan couldn’t help but laugh, turning slightly to hide his smile. He found Su Yunzhe’s occasional childishness endearing.
But Shen Yan also understood why Su Yunzhe was acting this way. He had never personally been hurt by Duan Yang, so he wasn’t as bothered by the latter’s past behavior. However, for Su Yunzhe, things were different—Duan Yang had actually hurt him before!
Although Shen Yan had convinced Su Yunzhe not to dwell on Duan Yang’s past actions, he knew Su Yunzhe still hadn’t truly forgiven him. This reaction, therefore, wasn’t unexpected.
What did surprise him was Duan Yang’s calm demeanor. After being ignored by Su Yunzhe, Duan Yang simply sat down, still smiling, his expression serene and polite, like nothing had happened. His composure was unexpectedly graceful.
When Shen Yan met his gaze, Duan Yang’s smile deepened, and there was even a subtle, almost…gentle look in his eyes.
Shen Yan shivered at the thought and quickly looked away, feeling disgusted with himself. He shifted his focus to Duan Songtao, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere.
It had been six months since Shen Yan had last seen Duan Songtao, and the old man enjoyed talking to him. It had been a rare opportunity to meet again, so naturally, Duan Songtao had a lot to say.
However, everyone knew today’s meeting was for business, so after a brief exchange, Duan Songtao steered the conversation back to the main topic. He stood up with a cup of tea in hand, preparing to offer it to Shen Yan as an apology. “I apologize, Shen Yan. I should have done a better job of teaching my grandson. I didn’t take good care of you. I’m truly sorry.”
As an elder, and since he had only intended to be kind, the fault wasn’t really his, but Shen Yan still felt awkward about receiving such an apology. He hurried to stand and help him, but Duan Yang beat him to it, stepping forward to support Duan Songtao and said, “Grandpa, this isn’t your fault. It’s mine. If anyone should apologize, it should be me to Shen Yan. Please sit down, Grandpa, you’re making Shen Yan uncomfortable.”
After Duan Songtao sat down, he glared at Duan Yang, his expression stern. “You know it’s your fault? Then why are you still standing?”
Duan Yang nodded and then turned to Shen Yan. He bowed deeply, and when he rose, he looked directly into Shen Yan’s eyes, his voice filled with sincerity and regret. “Shen Yan, I’m sorry. I know that an apology now doesn’t change anything. The harm I’ve caused is irreversible. But I still want to apologize, not to ask for your forgiveness, but just so you know that I realize my mistakes. I was scum, a bastard, a beast. I’ll change, and I’ll find a way to make it up to you…”
“Enough!”
Shen Yan cut him off.
Duan Yang looked at him, and Shen Yan avoided his gaze, looking instead at Duan Songtao. He smiled slightly and said, “Grandpa, I’ve told you before, the past is the past. I won’t hold it against him. Didn’t you say you had the divorce agreement ready? Let me have a look, and if everything’s fine, we can sign it right away.”
Shen Yan’s attitude clearly showed he didn’t want to engage in any more conversation with Duan Yang. And no one could blame him for that. After all, everyone in the room knew what Duan Yang had done. For Shen Yan to come here calmly to discuss the divorce already showed a great deal of tolerance.
Duan Yang’s apology, whether genuine or not, was something Shen Yan had every right to ignore.
But the reason Shen Yan interrupted Duan Yang wasn’t because he didn’t want to hear the apology.
Of course, he didn’t want to speak to Duan Yang at all, but since today was about the divorce, Shen Yan felt it would be better to keep things civil. As long as Duan Yang didn’t behave too badly, he was willing to accept his apology. After all, it was an apology.
However, there was something about Duan Yang’s gaze when he apologized that made Shen Yan uneasy. He couldn’t tell if it was just his intuition, but it felt like Duan Yang was plotting something, and he seemed to be targeting Shen Yan.
This feeling made him uncomfortable, and the mention of “making it up to him” made his skin crawl. He didn’t want to see that scumbag again for the rest of his life.
Duan Yang, however, wasn’t at all offended by Shen Yan’s cold response. He smiled politely, reached over to Lawyer Chen to take the drafted divorce agreement, and handed it to Shen Yan without saying anything further.
The agreement itself wasn’t very complicated. Since Shen Yan and Duan Yang had only been married for a short time and had no children, it mainly dealt with property division and Shen Yan’s alimony after the divorce.
The agreement clearly stated that after the divorce, Duan Yang’s assets would be divided equally with Shen Yan as part of their joint marital property. In addition, the Duan family would compensate Shen Yan with a one-time payment of 200 million in real estate and 5% of the shares in Duan Corporation. There were also various other clauses, mainly concerning financial compensation to Shen Yan in different forms.
When added up, it amounted to a huge sum.
Leaving aside the other assets, the 5% stake in Duan Corporation alone was worth an immense fortune.
Real estate was currently the most profitable industry in the country, and the value of Duan Corporation’s shares had been soaring. Over the next five years, the trend was only expected to rise.
It was undeniable that Duan Songtao was being exceptionally generous.
Shen Yan knew that all of this must have been decided by Duan Songtao. While Duan Yang was his grandson, when it came to the affairs of Duan Corporation, Duan Yang had no authority over even a single cent. A gift of 5% of the company’s shares would have required Duan Songtao to negotiate with the board of directors.
Shen Yan pushed the agreement back across the table to Duan Songtao. “Grandpa, I know you care about me and want me to live a better life in the future. Thank you. But I can’t accept all of this. According to the law, Duan Yang’s assets are considered pre-marital property, and they have nothing to do with me. As for your assets, you don’t need to give me anything.”
Without waiting for Duan Songtao to respond, Shen Yan continued, “How about this—I’ll draft a new agreement.” He glanced at the two lawyers. “Please help me take note. It’s simple: both parties voluntarily agree to divorce and waive any claims to each other’s property. Neither party will fulfill any further marital responsibilities or obligations. From the day of the divorce, there will be no interference or disturbance from either side. That’s all. Please help me prepare the document.”
