Chapter 55
After Shen Yan’s insistence, the divorce agreement was finalized according to his version. After the lawyers added a few necessary clauses, the agreement was printed, and both parties signed it.
Following that, Shen Yan and Su Yunzhe stood up to take their leave.
Duan Songtao knew that with Duan Yang present, Shen Yan and Su Yunzhe wouldn’t stay long, so he simply said that they should arrange another time to have a meal together.
However, Duan Yang specifically followed them out of the private room. “Shen Yan, after the Lantern Festival, it’s a Monday, so let’s meet at the Civil Affairs Bureau and finalize the divorce procedures.”
“Sure!”
Shen Yan was once again surprised by Duan Yang’s proactive attitude. However, since the divorce agreement had already been signed and Duan Yang was the one scheduling the time for the divorce procedures, Shen Yan thought there would be no more complications. He agreed without thinking too much.
After leaving the Fengyin Club and getting in the car, Su Yunzhe suddenly remembered that he had an important meeting on Monday and was preparing to call Lu Xiaoqing to reschedule.
“No need. I’ll just go by myself. It’s broad daylight, and it’s just outside the Civil Affairs Bureau. Do you think Duan Yang is going to kidnap me? Besides, maybe he’s in a hurry to divorce me as well, otherwise, he wouldn’t be chasing me down to set the time for the paperwork.”
Shen Yan stopped him.
After all, if the meeting was something Su Yunzhe had to attend, it must be important, and there was no need to delay his work for something so minor.
Su Yunzhe shook his head. “You still can’t go alone. I’ll find someone to go with you.”
Although Duan Yang seemed to willingly go through with the divorce, Su Yunzhe could never forget how Duan Yang had once beaten Shen Yan.
Su Yunzhe was determined not to let Shen Yan meet Duan Yang alone.
Shen Yan understood his concerns and nodded. “Alright. But don’t you think you’re no better than Duan Yang? You’re always watching me.”
He said this with a smile, but in his heart, he knew Su Yunzhe cared about him deeply. Unlike Duan Yang, Su Yunzhe truly cherished him.
Su Yunzhe reached over to pinch his cheek and smiled. “Always watching you? Be careful, I might lock you up and not even let you get out of bed.”
Shen Yan puffed out his cheeks and glared at him. “You really can’t think of anything else, can you?”
Su Yunzhe turned his head and gave him a teasing look. “When you’ve paid off your debts, I’ll start thinking about other things.”
Shen Yan was speechless.
Since he hadn’t officially divorced Duan Yang yet, he always felt a little awkward when getting close to Su Yunzhe. He hadn’t spoken about it, but Su Yunzhe seemed to sense it. After carrying him back home and spending the whole night together before the New Year, he hadn’t pushed further. Every time they got close, Su Yunzhe would stop himself and go to the bathroom to resolve his needs alone.
After a while, Shen Yan understood that Su Yunzhe was aware of his emotional struggles and didn’t want to pressure him.
It was impossible for Shen Yan not to feel touched, especially since he knew how much Su Yunzhe’s physical energy could be, yet he still refrained for his sake. Shen Yan could only grin and bear it, praying that Su Yunzhe wouldn’t really start counting down the days to make him “pay back the debt.”
In the following days, Su Yunzhe returned to his normal work routine, and Shen Yan focused on preparing his new book.
Because of the events with Duan Yang during the New Year, Shen Yan had first been scolded by unaware readers online, but after the story turned around, he was unexpectedly showered with praise. His old books saw a surge in subscription revenue, and the one he had written recently became the website’s featured bestseller. After a significant rise in sales, it even topped the charts.
Additionally, his physical book, which the publisher had only printed 10,000 copies of to “test the waters” because Shen Yan was a new author with little fame, sold out within a year. Many readers even posted on the publisher’s social media demanding a reprint.
So, when work resumed on the seventh day of the New Year, the publisher immediately began reprinting and also started working on the second volume. They wanted to capitalize on this newfound popularity.
This outcome could only be described as an unexpected stroke of luck.
As a result, Shen Yan became a superstar author with just one book, and his social media was flooded with comments asking for his account information to set up fan clubs.
Shen Yan wasn’t interested in managing any of that, but both the website and the publisher wanted him to set up a Weibo account, at least so readers could find him and to help with publicity.
So, he created an account under his pen name. To his surprise, within the first day, he gained over 100,000 followers, and his name even trended on the hot search list.
That evening, Shen Yan stared at the six-digit follower count and his photos—both in men’s and women’s clothing—on the hot search, completely bewildered. Netizens were praising him for looking handsome in men’s wear and beautiful in women’s wear.
Although the compliments were true, Shen Yan couldn’t understand how, as a web author, he had ended up in the same realm as an internet celebrity.
What confused him even more was that, overnight, Duan Yang had followed him, and this news went viral. The public, of course, roasted Duan Yang for being shameless and a scumbag, even speculating about his intentions. Now, Duan Yang had become the symbol of a trashy ex-husband in the eyes of the public.
However, Duan Yang merely followed him and didn’t do anything else strange.
Shen Yan quickly brushed off the matter, as Ling Sicheng had arrived in H City and called him to meet up.
Before the New Year, Ling Sicheng had mentioned that he was coming to meet Duan Songtao after the holidays. However, before meeting Duan Songtao, he had arranged to meet Shen Yan first.
The two of them met for a meal, and after catching up on each other’s recent happenings, Shen Yan suddenly remembered that Qin Mofeng had said on the first day of the New Year that he was going to find his wife, but there had been no news since. Seeing that Ling Sicheng had come to H City alone, Shen Yan couldn’t help but ask, “Um… Did Feng Ge not come to see you?”
Ling Sicheng, sipping his tea, nodded. “He came. On the night of the first day of the New Year, it was raining heavily where we are, and he got soaked through. He said he wanted to stay at my place. You know, my grandparents don’t like outsiders, so they kicked him out. After that, I have no idea where he went.”
Shen Yan stared at him, his lips twitching.
What do you mean your grandparents don’t like outsiders? When Shen Yan had visited his place before, his grandparents were incredibly hospitable. Back then, he and Ling Sicheng had just met, and to his grandparents, Shen Yan was the true outsider. Yet, they were still very warm and welcoming.
It was clearly Ling Sicheng who had kicked him out.
However, Ling Sicheng’s actions weren’t entirely without reason.
To Ling Sicheng, Qin Mofeng was nothing but a scumbag, and he likely never intended to forgive him.
Shen Yan thought about it and realized that if it had been him, he probably wouldn’t have forgiven him either.
Well, it seemed like Qin Mofeng was really out of the picture.
“How about you? Have you handled the divorce procedures?” Ling Sicheng changed the subject to Shen Yan.
“Not yet, it’s next Monday. Oh, by the way, if you’re free on Monday, you can come with me,” Shen Yan said.
Ling Sicheng thought for a moment and nodded. “Sure, I don’t have anything planned while I’m here.”
Su Yunzhe had seen Ling Sicheng’s skills firsthand, so when Shen Yan mentioned this, Su Yunzhe agreed without hesitation.
So, on Monday morning at 10 AM, Shen Yan and Ling Sicheng arrived outside the Civil Affairs Bureau. Duan Yang hadn’t arrived yet, so the two of them stood on the steps waiting. Suddenly, a large number of colorful balloons floated over from somewhere, slowly drifting into the sky. The sight made a group of newlywed couples registering for marriage gasp in awe, finding the scene quite romantic.
Shen Yan couldn’t help but be drawn to the balloons, wondering if it was something a particularly extravagant person had done to please their boyfriend or girlfriend.
“Well… I wonder who did this. It’s quite thoughtful,” Shen Yan remarked.
“Can they just release balloons here? Don’t they need to file it with the relevant departments?” Ling Sicheng said.
Shen Yan looked at him and saw his handsome face serious and thoughtful, clearly deep in consideration. Shen Yan almost couldn’t help but laugh but then saw Ling Sicheng suddenly look behind him, his face showing shock.
Shen Yan turned around in confusion, only to be met with a bouquet of fiery red roses being presented to him. He instinctively stepped back a couple of paces, finally seeing that the person holding the flowers was Duan Yang.
Duan Yang, dressed in a high-end suit with his hair meticulously styled, stood in front of him, holding a large bouquet of roses.
Shen Yan’s heart skipped a beat. What was going on? Had Duan Yang lost his mind?
Then Duan Yang suddenly dropped to one knee in front of him, looking up at him with eyes full of tenderness. “Yanyan, please give me another chance. I was blind before and didn’t realize that the best person was right by my side. I’ve only just realized that I love you. I want to…”
“Duan Yang, are you crazy?” Shen Yan snapped, finally snapping out of the sudden situation. He was disgusted by Duan Yang’s words and coldly interrupted his so-called heartfelt confession. “Get up! It’s past the Lantern Festival. You kneel here, but I’m not going to give you any New Year’s money! If you don’t have anything else to say, let’s go in and handle the divorce procedures now. Stop talking nonsense!”
With that, Shen Yan didn’t wait for him to respond, immediately calling Ling Sicheng and turning to walk towards the Civil Affairs Bureau.
To Shen Yan’s surprise, Duan Yang didn’t say anything further. He obediently stood up and followed them in.
Once they sat down in front of the staff and were about to proceed with the divorce procedures, Shen Yan finally realized that Duan Yang had never intended to divorce him.
Before processing the divorce, the staff usually conducts a routine mediation session. For couples genuinely wanting a divorce, this process is just a formality, but Duan Yang sincerely told the staff that he loved Shen Yan, was willing to change, and wanted Shen Yan’s forgiveness. He would do his utmost for their future together.
As a result, the Civil Affairs Bureau refused to process their divorce, advising them to reconsider.
Inside the Civil Affairs Bureau, everything was quiet, and Shen Yan couldn’t say anything more. He could only suppress his anger and walk out. Duan Yang slowly followed behind him.
The moment they stepped out of the Civil Affairs Bureau’s doors, Shen Yan could no longer hold back his rage. “Duan Yang, you son of a—”
“Shen Yan!”
Before he could finish shouting, a sharp, piercing voice interrupted him, almost making his eardrums ring.
Wang Li and Shen Jiaqi had no idea why they were here.
Shen Jiaqi looked at Duan Yang, who was so upset that tears were falling from his eyes, while Wang Li, like a rabid dog, rushed towards Shen Yan, raising her hand to slap him and shouting, “You shameless—!”
But to everyone’s surprise, Duan Yang didn’t even glance at Shen Jiaqi. He swiftly stepped forward, grabbing Wang Li’s wrist and tossing her aside with cold, emotionless words: “Try touching him again. He’s my wife—who dares to lay a hand on him?”
Wang Li and Shen Jiaqi were both stunned, staring at him in disbelief. Shen Jiaqi, especially, was overcome with grief, her tears streaming down uncontrollably.
Shen Yan felt a wave of discomfort rise in his stomach.
For the past couple of days, he had been feeling slightly unwell, but after hearing Duan Yang’s disgusting words, his stomach churned violently. He quickly covered his mouth, fearing he might actually throw up.
Ling Sicheng, noticing his pale face, quickly supported him. “Are you okay? Not feeling well?”
Upon hearing this, Duan Yang left Wang Li and Ling Sicheng and rushed over, his tone anxious, “Yanyan, you…”
“Shut the hell up!” Shen Yan could no longer hold his frustration in. He struggled against the nausea in his stomach and glared at Duan Yang, his voice sharp with fury. “Duan Yang, listen carefully. It was your grandfather who came to me, asking me to let you go. That’s why I haven’t held the past against you. Don’t forget, I have evidence of your domestic violence and illegal imprisonment. If you come inside with me now to handle the divorce, we’ll call it even. But if you keep playing these games, I’ll have no choice but to let your grandfather down. We’ll meet in court, and at that point, not only will you have to divorce me, but you’ll also be going to jail. Five minutes—I’ll give you five minutes to think it over. After that, you can look forward to prison time!”
Once Shen Yan finished speaking, the churning in his stomach intensified. The feeling was so overwhelming that he thought he might vomit, but he pushed it aside. He was waiting for Duan Yang to go back in and finalize the divorce.
Just then, Su Yunzhe suddenly appeared. Under the surprised gazes of everyone present, he strode forward and pulled Shen Yan into his arms, his large hand gently rubbing Shen Yan’s stomach. “Are you feeling sick?”
