Chapter 13: Divorce

After Zhou Erqin left, Ning Chu suddenly wondered why the divorce agreement that Tantai Chao had mentioned having his people draft was taking so long. Zhou Ran had managed to finish hers in a single night.

No, she would have to ask him about it when she returned tonight.

That evening, as soon as Tantai Chao walked in, he saw Ning Chu sitting in the living room. It seemed to be the first time she had waited for him there since proposing the divorce; usually, she would be in her room.

"You're back?" Ning Chu asked.

Tantai Chao handed his belongings to a servant nearby. "Is something the matter?"

"Yes," Ning Chu replied. "I wanted to ask about the agreement. How is it coming along?"

Tantai Chao paused as he was unbuttoning his coat. "We'll talk about it later."

Ning Chu nodded. "That's fine. Let's eat first."

At the dinner table, Tantai Chao sat at the head, and Ning Chu sat to one side. One of the dishes today was fish in pickled vegetable soup, which was slightly spicy. Ning Chu took two bites, and after a moment of thought, Tantai Chao reached out with his chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish, and put it in his mouth.

Ning Chu watched him as he picked up the fish slice. When he suddenly frowned and reached for a glass of water, she couldn't help but chuckle.

Hearing her laughter, Tantai Chao looked at her. Ning Chu coughed twice and lowered her head, focusing on her meal, though the upturned corners of her mouth betrayed her amusement.

After trying twice, Tantai Chao didn't dare to take any more risks and switched to the milder dishes.

Once they had finished eating, Tantai Chao said, "Follow me."

Ning Chu followed him upstairs to the study. Tantai Chao retrieved the divorce agreement from a drawer but didn't hand it to her immediately. He looked at her and asked, "Are you sure you've thought this through?"

Ning Chu nodded. "I'm sure."

Tantai Chao searched her face, finding no trace of reluctance or hesitation. He added, "If you are concerned about those previous rumors, I have nothing to do with those women; I don't even know them."

His assistant had mentioned that he might have been photographed with a woman during his trip to N City, and he assumed that was what she had seen.

Ning Chu looked confused. "What rumors?" Suddenly, she recalled Zhou Erqin suggesting she go to N City, and it dawned on her. "Oh, those. I don't mind. It's fine."

Perhaps she would have cared before, but not anymore. She looked at Tantai Chao, thinking that there wasn't much affection between them anyway. She might have had feelings for him in the past, but it was mostly out of obedience to her parents' wishes. As for Tantai Chao, she felt he had no real attachment to her—certainly nothing that took precedence over his work.

Tantai Chao studied her for a moment before handing over the agreement. "Take a look."

Ning Chu opened it and discovered that he had revised the asset division. He had actually reserved one percent of the Chaoyang Group's shares for her, and furthermore, he didn't require her to return the eighty-million-yuan dowry. He had even left her two properties, a yacht, and various pieces of jewelry.

Ning Chu frowned slightly. "You can take your things back; it's fine."

"The public will speculate that the Chaoyang Group is failing if I leave my ex-wife with nothing," Tantai Chao replied. "They'll call me cold-hearted. I know what the media will say."

Ning Chu softened her expression, acknowledging that he had a point. "Are you really going to give me one percent of the Chaoyang Group?"

"It's only one percent," he said.

Ning Chu’s attitude warmed, and she found him much more agreeable. Come to think of it, Tantai Chao hadn't done anything wrong since they married. His performance in the bedroom was admittedly lacking, but otherwise, he was faultless. The problems had mostly been hers, and in the original story, their divorce was largely due to her own self-destructive behavior, which Tantai Chao had endured for a long time.

"Thank you," Ning Chu said sincerely.

Tantai Chao looked at her without saying a word. He really wanted to ask if the reason for the divorce was truly because his... performance was poor, but ultimately, he decided not to ask.

"When should we go to finalize the divorce? Is tomorrow okay?" Ning Chu asked, her eyes wide. "Of course, if you're busy, we can pick another time."

"Let's make it the day after tomorrow," Tantai Chao said.

Ning Chu gave him an 'OK' sign and signed the agreement. They each took a copy, and Ning Chu bowed to him. "Thank you for taking care of me all this time." She gave him a radiant smile.

That smile made Tantai Chao’s heart skip a beat. The Ning Chu he knew would never have smiled so brightly; her smiles had always been gentle and faint, as if she were trying to show her most beautiful side. Yet, this beaming, unrestrained Ning Chu was far more captivating.

Ning Chu walked out, leaving behind a final sentence: "I will move out tomorrow."

Back in her room, she was delighted. She tucked the agreement away and, after a moment's thought, took a photo and sent it to Zhou Ran. "Help me check if there are any issues?"

Zhou Ran replied quickly. "There is a problem!"

"What kind of problem?"

"There's too much money! I'm so jealous." Zhou Ran sent an envious emoji.

"I'm moving tomorrow. I'll treat you to dinner once I'm settled," Ning Chu replied.

"It's a deal!"

After putting the agreement away, Ning Chu went out. "Ah Hua, please find someone to help me move my things tomorrow."

"Understood, Madam."

The next day, Ning Chu had the servants help her pack. She had so many belongings that it was hard to count the boxes, and many of them were quite precious, making them difficult to pack quickly.

"Let's move these things to the house in Lushui Zhibin today," Ning Chu decided. "Ah Hua, send a few people over to help me organize." Since they weren't officially divorced yet, she might as well borrow some of Tantai Chao's staff.

"Certainly, Madam."

Tantai Chao returned home very late that night, by which time Ning Chu was already asleep. Steward Gu approached him. "Madam moved a lot of things to the Lushui Zhibin property today."

Tantai Chao paused, then nodded. "I see. That's fine."

The next morning, when Tantai Chao went down for breakfast, he found Su Yi already sitting at the table. She greeted him, "Morning."

Tantai Chao glanced at her. "Morning."

After breakfast, Ning Chu came downstairs. "Wait for me a moment, I'll be ready soon."

"No rush," Tantai Chao said, sitting on the sofa with a newspaper, catching up on the day's news.

Ning Chu soon came down. She was wearing a dress and looked beautiful; she hadn't dressed up much these past few days, preferring comfortable loungewear.

They got into the car and headed to the Civil Affairs Bureau. Before long, both were holding their divorce certificates.

When the staff learned they were there to divorce, they looked at the stunning and perfectly matched couple, confirming their identities several times. Even after realizing it was true, they couldn't help but feel a deep sense of regret.

It was such a pity!