Chapter 67: The Divorce Agreement
The moment An Yi came home from the studio and stepped through the door, he saw a man in a tailored suit changing his shoes.
Seeing someone come in, the lawyer stopped changing shoes at once and quickly straightened up. It was a young face. This had to be An Yi.
He froze for two seconds, then bent a full ninety degrees and gave Little Frog an extremely deep bow.
An Yi’s eyes went blank. Faced with such a grand gesture, he hurriedly bowed back.
The moment the lawyer raised his head and saw An Yi bent over just like him, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. “Mr. An, why are you being so polite?”
Seeing that the other man still had not straightened up, An Yi tilted his face to the side the same way and said, “It’s only proper to return courtesy with courtesy.”
Lawyer: No!
The person he was bowing to looked like An Yi, but in reality, he was bowing to his future boss.
If the boss walked out, then once the other party inherited the will, he might inherit him too while he was at it.
Huo Beixing heard An Yi’s voice and walked over, only to see the two of them bowing at each other.
“What are you doing?”
An Yi answered without thinking, “We’re bowing like it’s a wedding ceremony.”
Huo Beixing: ……
Lawyer: ……
The lawyer straightened up stiffly and looked at Huo Beixing. “It’s a misunderstanding. Do you believe me?”
Two minutes later, the lawyer was standing outside in the winter wind.
Wonderful. He did not.
Looking at the lawyer leaving, An Yi found it strange. “Huo Beixing, why would a lawyer come to our house?”
Huo Beixing’s advancing steps paused so slightly it was almost invisible. “My brother sent him back.”
An Yi nodded in understanding. “I see.”
Since it was something between the two brothers, An Yi did not ask further. Instead, he collapsed onto the sofa in a rather dispirited heap.
Like someone who had lost his dreams.
Huo Beixing noticed An Yi’s low mood and sat down beside him. “What’s wrong, Wife?”
An Yi lifted his eyelids and looked up at him, hesitant to speak. But after thinking it over, he figured that telling Huo Beixing might not be such a bad thing.
Ever since coming to the big city, An Yi had been fully aware of his own shortcomings, yet he still felt embarrassed to say them out loud. The fast pace of life here had shown him how hard everyone was fighting, so whenever there was something he could not do well, he would usually work on it secretly by himself and digest the emotions alone in private.
But after spending so much time with Huo Beixing, he had developed a certain emotional and mental reliance on him.
He sat up, lips drooping as if he were still thinking, and after a long silence, finally spoke.
“I’ve been taking part in a design competition lately. My studio and I want to design womenswear.”
Huo Beixing listened seriously. “And then?”
Hearing how earnest Huo Beixing sounded, An Yi lifted his head and looked at him in surprise.
Huo Beixing immediately played dumb again, switching to a Crayon Shin-chan tone. “And thennn?”
An Yi scratched his head, looking defeated. “And then we realized we don’t seem very good at designing it. It’s also been a really long time since I last designed womenswear, so I’m pretty rusty. I’ve been wondering whether we should keep going.”
Without hesitation, Huo Beixing said, “Keep going.”
“Why?”
“Because it looks like you still want to continue, Wife.”
An Yi was not nearly that confident. Things had been going badly these past few days—if it was not one part going wrong, then it was another where the design drifted off-theme.
An Yi drooped like a wilted plant. “Can I really do it?”
Holding his shoulders, Huo Beixing said, “Of course. I’m full of confidence in you, Wife.”
An Yi stared blankly at him.
“If it’s something you’re doing, then I’ll always trust and support you unconditionally, because no one works harder at it than you do.”
Huo Beixing did not directly say good; instead he shifted the focus slightly. As long as you worked hard, that was enough. For some things, what mattered was not the result, but the attitude.
After hearing this, An Yi sat there dazed for several seconds, then suddenly felt that what Huo Beixing said made sense.
If they truly gave up on designing womenswear, then the three of them would probably carry that regret in their hearts this whole competition. Even though he kept saying he wanted to give up, deep down he had never truly intended to.
He shot to his feet, grabbed his draft bag, and rushed for the door, confidence renewed. He wanted to go to the studio and tell Gu Lingling and Lin Jiu that they were settled on it now—they were doing womenswear.
Seeing his mood improve, a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Huo Beixing’s mouth.
But after taking a few steps, An Yi suddenly turned back to look at him.
Huo Beixing froze on the sofa like a snow sculpture left outside.
Could it be that he had just said too much and An Yi had noticed something?
An Yi’s eyes shone brightly as he stared at him, then he stepped forward.
Huo Beixing’s breathing went unsteady for a few beats, and in the next instant his cheek turned warm.
An Yi’s smile was dazzling. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at him and said, “Huo Beixing, thank you.”
Huo Beixing touched his cheek rather foolishly. “N-no need to thank me.”
Even after An Yi left, he still had not fully recovered, sitting there on the sofa red from face to neck.
When Uncle Zhong happened to see him, he was startled. “Young Master, do you have a fever?”
Huo Beixing: ……
Encouraged by An Yi, the Pink Crystal Maidenheart Studio, which had previously fallen into total discouragement, pulled itself together again and decided not to change course after all.
After all, failure was common in the military. There were ten teams in the competition, but only one winning slot. That meant there were nine losing slots. Why couldn’t one of those nine be theirs?
And besides, there would still be eight others losing with them. If you lost and I lost too, at least you had company.
So the three of them brought their handwritten concept drafts and their initial womenswear sketches to the meeting organized by the competition side.
While registering, Lin Jiu made a startling discovery: among the members of the other studio, there was also someone named An Yi.
He quickly called An Yi over to look.
Tapping the list, he said, “Amazing~~”
An Yi said, “China has such a huge population. Having the same name is normal. Very common.”
Lin Jiu said, “Not common at all.”
“Common!”
“Not common!”
An Yi stared at him for two seconds, then turned around and shouted toward the crowded waiting hall behind them, “Is there a Mr. Zhang Wei here?”
Instantly eight heads popped up.
“Here!”
Lin Jiu: ……
An Yi politely offered New Year blessings to all the Zhang Wei gentlemen.
Watching the two of them, Gu Lingling’s head started throbbing with irritation. She grabbed one in each hand and dragged them into the meeting room.
The moment they entered, there was a commotion inside.
“An Yi, are you okay?”
The member called An Yi had collapsed under the table. “I’m fine. I just suddenly don’t feel well. I need to go to the bathroom first.”
As he said it, he also pulled someone up to shield him. When the three from Pink Crystal Maidenheart walked in, he quickly hid behind the other person and slipped out.
Once they got to the bathroom, he collapsed onto the floor as though all the bones had been removed from his body.
The friend beside him jumped in alarm. “An Yi, are you okay?”
Li Shouquan let out a long breath, a sheen of cold sweat on his forehead. “I’m okay. I just suddenly felt unwell. I probably can’t attend the meeting.”
“It’s fine. Not attending doesn’t really matter much. The competition people won’t be part of the later judging, and they won’t report any attitude issues to the organizers either, so don’t worry. If you really feel that bad, you can go home today.”
Li Shouquan shook his head. “It’s okay. I’ll just wait in the bathroom until you all finish. Don’t we still have to work overtime after we get back today?”
Seeing how insistent he was, the friend said, “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”
Li Shouquan nodded.
“Fine then. Once it’s over, I’ll come get you from the bathroom.”
There was nowhere else here to stay—no reception room, no lounge—so the bathroom was the only place he could linger.
Li Shouquan lit a cigarette. Seeing his complexion improve slightly, the friend turned and left.
Once he was alone in the bathroom, Li Shouquan stood there trying to steady himself for a few seconds, then suddenly yanked the cigarette from his mouth, threw it on the ground, and ground it viciously beneath his shoe.
His pupils trembled; his whole body shook with emotion.
Why was An Yi here?
He had not been mistaken. The person who had just walked into that meeting room was An Yi.
Even though his skin had turned fairer, Li Shouquan remembered clearly—An Yi’s eyebrow had been broken in that fight when he tried to save Chunhua.
He could not have mistaken him.
But why was he here?!
Shouldn’t he still be in that godforsaken mountain ravine?!
Fate really was one rotten thing.
Back then he had stolen the other man’s identity and gone to college in his place. He had assumed An Yi would collapse completely and be left to rot in those barren mountains for the rest of his life. After all, his father had called and told him that once the An family boy found out his identity had been stolen, his mind had gone wrong. He would pose no threat.
After entering his second year at university, when his father died, he went back once. He had gone back under cover of darkness and never ran into An Yi. He had not wanted to. After that, he had completely severed ties with that mountain and become a city person.
Yes, he had stolen someone else’s identity, but he had worked hard. He studied and worked odd jobs harder than anyone. Later he got into a famous studio, and everything had been moving in a better direction.
But now An Yi had appeared.
The explosives that had long ago gone cold had suddenly become an uncertain time bomb. There was no knowing when it would go off.
Li Shouquan’s thoughts were in total chaos. He slammed his fists against the sink several times to vent, wanting to scream but not daring to make a sound.
He absolutely could not let anyone discover his true identity. If they did, everything he had now would disappear from his grasp, and all the effort he had put in over the past few years would be for nothing.
Chewing at his fingernails like a rat, he told himself he had to think of something. There had to be a way.
Before An Yi came to settle accounts with him, he had to get rid of him—just like the last time, when he stole his university place.
By the time the meeting ended, both studios had shown their written concepts and design drafts to the competition representatives. The papers were not collected; instead, they were given feedback on the spot and wished luck in the competition before the representatives left.
Lin Jiu put the sketches back into the bag and slung it over his shoulder.
Gu Lingling said, “Alright, the meeting’s over. Let’s go eat.”
“What should we eat?” An Yi asked.
“Good question. You tell me.”
While the two of them were talking, Lin Jiu suddenly said, “My stomach’s uncomfortable. I’m going to the bathroom.”
“Alright, then we’ll wait for you at the entrance.”
Lin Jiu gave an okay sign.
After entering the bathroom, he set the bag containing the sketches on the sink counter and then went into a stall.
Standing beneath the window, Li Shouquan watched him enter the stall, then looked at the bag sitting on the counter.
A few minutes later, the bathroom door was pushed open from outside.
“An Yi, let’s go.”
Li Shouquan shoved his phone into his pocket. “Is it over?”
“Mm. Everyone’s heading back to the studio now.”
—
Over the next two months, An Yi and the studio completed their competition entry and submitted it.
Once the work had been sent off, the three of them let out huge sighs of relief.
Gu Lingling asked, “Do you think we can win a prize?”
In a drained voice, Lin Jiu said, “Life and death are fated. Wealth and honor are in heaven’s hands.”
The two of them chatted in a relaxed way, but An Yi still had other things he had to handle.
Over the next few days, the divorce agreement between him and Huo Beixing also had to begin the signing process.
And he needed to start packing his things and moving out of the Huo household.
The next day, Huo Beixing sat at home face-to-face with the divorce lawyer.
The lawyer behaved as though he could not see the threatening look the other man was giving him, raising his head to admire the ceiling.
An Yi set a cup of black tea in front of the lawyer, who then took out two copies of the divorce agreement and had the two men sign them.
An Yi obediently signed his.
“Mr. Huo, it’s your turn,” said the lawyer.
With a dark face, Huo Beixing said, “Can’t write.”
“That’s alright. You can use your personal seal.”
Huo Beixing: ……
Faced with the evil forces before him, the lawyer remained firm in the face of power. A moving and heroic sight.
Looking at Huo Beixing, who still refused to sign, An Yi tried to comfort him. “Even if you sign, it won’t change our feelings.”
Huo Beixing asked, “Then can I still call you Wife?”
After hesitating for a few seconds, An Yi said, “Yes.”
“Then I’m still not signing.”
An Yi blinked. “Why?”
“Because I don’t do things that are nameless and without status.”
An Yi: ……
Lawyer: ……
So that question had just been him looking for an excuse?
The lawyer coughed lightly and began reasoning with Huo Beixing. “Mr. Huo, everyone has their own rights, including the right to marry. Mr. An divorcing you was already decided at the start when the marriage was made. He is exercising his lawful rights, and you have no authority to interfere. Even if you refuse to sign and don’t agree to the divorce, Mr. An can still file for separation and sue in court for a divorce.”
He said it righteously and with conviction.
He would defend the legal rights of every citizen to the end. The messenger of justice was him—he was justice itself!
Huo Beixing looked at him for a few seconds. Then his brows suddenly drooped in a wounded way.
The lawyer’s heart skipped.
This guy definitely wasn’t about to say anything decent.
Sure enough, the next second Huo Beixing threw himself onto An Yi. “Wife, he’s yelling at me.”
Lawyer: Hey!!!!
I’m explaining the law to you and you’re responding like a shameless hooligan.
Huo Beixing was tall and broad; he nearly knocked An Yi over to the ground.
Patting his back, An Yi gently said to him, “That’s not what the lawyer meant.”
Huo Beixing acted as though he hadn’t heard him. “Wife, I really don’t want to divorce you. I really like you. It’s because I like you that I don’t want to divorce, not because I’m throwing a tantrum the way he says.”
Lawyer: !
When did I ever say you were throwing a tantrum?!
He’s slandering me!
He’s slandering me!!!
Seeing An Yi’s wavering expression, the lawyer quickly stepped forward. “Mr. An, divorce is your own subjective choice.”
He had seen too many people who, at the moment of divorce, were guilted by emotions into not going through with it. Their lives afterward only became more painful.
At that moment the lawyer wanted nothing more than to grab An Yi by the shoulders and shake him awake, telling him not to be fooled!
“Mr. An!”
The lawyer raised his voice, and Huo Beixing instantly shrank back as though frightened.
Looking conflicted, An Yi said, “Mr. Wang, let’s stop here for today. I’ll contact you again later. Isn’t there still another step in the procedure afterward? When the time comes, we can handle it all at once.”
An Yi expressed his apology to the lawyer.
The lawyer was deeply indignant as he left, shooting Huo Beixing one last look.
The other man was hugging An Yi and smiling at him.
So very pleased with himself.
