The 99th Divorce

She looked at him. In a tone that was none too friendly herself, she said, “And, you think you’re all that? Don’t forget... That piece of trash you speak of was once my husband!”

More importantly, he was an important part of her growing up and a lifelong obsession.

So, what if he was a piece of trash? He hadn’t been that way in the past.

Li Jinnan’s expression turned ugly when he heard that. “Ye Youyou!”

She was determined to ignore him. She knew that they were headed for a quarrel if they continued with this conversation. She didn’t want to quarrel with him. She closed her eyes and kept quiet.

Li Jinnan pursed his lips into a thin line. He continued driving steadily, but his heart was in turmoil.

When they reached the restaurant that Ye Youyou had named, Li Jinnan parked the car, and walked in with her. Neither of them said a word throughout.

Once inside, Ye Youyou picked up the menu and ordered a set meal for two without asking Li Jinnan for his opinion at all. He was feeling suffocated. He poured Ye Youyou a glass of water and one for himself.

Ye Youyou glanced at him and picked up her phone. Ye Qianqian and Shen Zhilie were in the midst of their hot pot dinner and had snapped a shot for her.

Ye Youyou looked at it and looked up quietly at Li Jinnan.

Li Jinnan was staring at a green bonsai plant at the side. The artificial plant had been arranged quite nicely, but he had never been one to appreciate such things.

Ye Youyou pursed her lips and thought back to what she had said in the car. Perhaps I was a little too harsh.

Sensing Ye Youyou eyes on him, Li Jinnan turn to look at her. Her heart skipped a beat. She turned her head away and looked at her cup.

Her heart felt strangely nervous. After a moment’s thought, she called out, “Li Jinnan.”

Li Jinnan’s response was curt, “Yeah?”

“I am not pining for him.” Ye Youyou took a sip of water but didn’t dare to look up as she continued. “I haven’t even thought about him lately. I did think of him in the past, and I did pine for him. After the divorce, that feeling has faded.”

Li Jinnan looked up at her with his fathomless eyes and didn’t say a word.

Ye Youyou could feel his gaze on her. She uneasily said, “I think about you a lot more than I think of him.”

Li Jinnan’s dark expression suddenly relaxed, and his countenance looked a lot better.

“However...”

However?

Li Jinnan gazed at her and raised an eyebrow.

“He is after all someone that I loved for a long time. Feelings that have been there for so long aren’t going to disappear overnight. I grew up with him. To me, it’s not as simple as a case of first love.” Ye Youyou looked up and saw that Li Jinnan’s expression was a lot more amiable than before. She released a sigh of relief inwardly. “He was like an older brother to me. I respected him very much. He didn’t use to be this way in the past. In recent years...”

“OK.” Li Jinnan’s hands overlapped each other. He looked away.

The waiter approached with their food and roasted the meat for them. Li Jinnan and Ye Youyou didn’t speak after that. The silence lasted all through dinner.

Upon exiting the restaurant, Li Jinnan retrieved his car. Both of them were in the car, and the silence was unbearable.

Ye Youyou couldn’t take it anymore and exclaimed, “How much longer are you going to stay upset?”

Li Jinnan didn’t look at her and continued driving. With a calm expression, he asked unemotionally, “Am I upset?”