Chapter One: New Year’s Eve
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, clusters of dazzling fireworks burst into the sky. At Hongqiao Villa.
Lin Mengmeng gripped an old, cracked mobile phone, opening the WeChat chat labeled “Brother.”
“Sister, I’m coming to see you. Show me your handsome boyfriend on New Year’s Day.”
“Sister, I’m afraid I’ll have to break my promise. Take good care of yourself…”
Then, the sound of an earthquake collapsing everything drowned out the voice message.
Lin Mengmeng caressed the phone, unable to suppress the bitterness in her heart. On December 31, 2016, an earthquake took away her only family, leaving behind just two voice messages.
At that moment, the villa door was pushed open by a man. Her husband, Shao Tingyu, whom she had secretly married five years ago, was the youngest and most promising neurologist at the First Affiliated Hospital of the Magic City, while she was a pediatrician.
Suppressing her emotions, Lin Mengmeng stood up to greet him: “You’re back. Haven’t eaten yet? I’ll go make something.”
Shao Tingyu avoided her hand, walked past her into the living room, and sat on the sofa: “No need.”
Lin Mengmeng watched the cold figure of the man, her brows lowering slightly: “It’s New Year’s Eve tonight, and we haven’t had a reunion dinner yet.”
Before she finished speaking, she was interrupted by Shao Tingyu’s cold voice: “We’re already preparing for divorce, what reunion are you talking about?”
Lin Mengmeng’s expression stiffened, as if a thorn had pierced her heart. Three days ago, he had brought up divorce. They had been schoolmates since high school, but Shao Tingyu never liked her. Even their marriage was because he needed a wife to appease his family. She knew marriages without love would eventually end, but she hadn’t expected it to happen so soon…
Swallowing the sourness in her heart, Lin Mengmeng softly spoke: “Can’t we wait a few more days? At least until after the Lantern Festival, after I’ve paid respects to my brother, can we?”
The atmosphere grew oppressive. Shao Tingyu was impatient but didn’t refuse: “As you wish, it’s not like it makes a difference of these few days.”
