There was a moment of silence. "She… did what?" Jiang Xin asked. "Why would she…" she trailed off.

  "Why do you think?" Chen Yue yelled. "Do something about this!" she pleaded.

  Jiang Xin blinked on the other side before a small smile spread across her lips. "Sister… if you have time, come to our house. I don't understand business matters. If you could explain everything that happened to my husband, he might be able to help you with the matter." She let the words fade, leaving Chen Yue to her thoughts.

  "Yes, yes!" Chen Yue responded. "I… I will come over in a bit. Just… just give me some time, okay?" she asked. She looked around the room bewildered.

  The food on the stove had burned already. She had already told the household staff to go home. There was nothing to eat that day. She felt a sob rip through her throat as she peered into the fridge. They had enough groceries and exotic foods in the fridge to cook with.

  She picked up some things to create heavy porridge. She stared off into space for so long that it was very late when she was done. It was already time for dinner.

  She sighed and poured herself a bowl of porridge and another portion for Bai Yu.

  She called him to come down but he didn't respond. After a few minutes, she trudged up the stairs to the bedroom. She looked in. The lights were switched off, no sign of life. Confused, she went to the office. He was not there either. Finally, she grew scared. Bai Ye Qing had already left the home, did her husband leave for somewhere without telling her, too?

  She pulled out the phone and dialed his number. For the first two times she called, Bai Yu didn't respond.

  At last, he called her back.

  "What is it?" he answered gruffly.

  "Where did you go?" she asked. "Dinner is ready. Come back home and eat." There was silence.

  He hummed in acknowledgment before cutting the phone. She had taken the first spoonful of porridge when she heard his footsteps coming down the stairs. She looked up with surprise.

  "Where did you come from? I looked for you on the second floor," she said.

  He looked at her dispassionately. "I moved my things to the guest room," he told her. "I know that the bedroom bed is good for your back, so sleep there. I don't have such problems, I will sleep in the guest bedroom for now." He tucked his head and started to eat.

  "You won't even share a room with me any longer?" she asked, frightened. "What do you want to do?"

  "Nothing. I think we should live separately for now." He took a sip. "You've wasted your life on me and raising the children. You can live as you want now. I won't restrict you financially. You can do what you want. Don't be aggrieved at the end of your life." His silence was heart wrenching.

  The first thing he had wanted to do after retiring was take her to the pilgrimage she had been talking about for a decade. He hadn't had time to take her before, so she had deferred it, now that he would have time…


  He shook the thought away. It was better for them to live peacefully. Separately. Neither could stand the other any longer. What was the point in harboring false hopes in his heart?

  They could buy tickets to different cruises and sail the world.

  "Do you want to divorce me?" she asked, her voice wavering.

  "I am not at the age to divorce," he said blandly. "Most of your family is not going to take you back and living somewhere else is difficult. Let's just live separately in the same house."

  She felt another bout of anger boil inside her. "You won't divorce me because I can take half of your assets, isn't that right?" she asked.

  He raised his hand to scrub his face. "I don't feel well. Can you please stop talking about this? If you want to spend all my money, go ahead. I don't want to go through a divorce."

  Chen Yue placed her cutlery down. She had no appetite.

  She picked herself up from the seat and went to change. Once done, she walked by him. He looked up, saw her move out, and had an inkling of the suffering Yun Qian Meng would go through.

  For a second, he wondered if he should call her to warn her. But then he thought otherwise. He was ashamed to talk to her. His son and wife had made her life miserable in the past few months. The girl had been gracious most of the time until she felt threatened.

  He couldn't fault her for her behavior. He couldn't even fault her for her business-smart attitude.

  He remembered the words she had told him repeatedly. The look of absolute hatred in Bai Ye Qing's eyes flashed through his memory and he suddenly understood something.

  Once he was sure that she was gone, he picked up his phone and called his lawyer.

  "When do you want the changes to your will done, Mr. Bai?" the lawyer asked.

  Bai Yu didn't have to think about the answer for long. "I want it executed immediately. Send me an emailed version of it. If you can come over briefly for my sign and execute the copy within a day or two, I would be pleased."

  The lawyer was silent for a second. "Mr. Bai, is there something I need to know about? Why are you changing your will so suddenly?" he asked.

  "It's a precaution. But if something does happen to me, you know who to point towards. I will entrust you with the execution of the will." With a few more details spoken about, Bai Ye Qing finally hung up the phone.

  Time to go back to the guest bedroom.

  It was going to be a long night.