Chapter 16: Chapter 16 Deciding to Go Separate Ways Unilaterally

Cheng Zhiwei looked at Zhou Lin speechlessly, feeling both annoyed and amused.

To him, she had always been this kind of person.

So be it.

She went straight to the end of the divorce agreement and under the property division section, it was starkly written that she voluntarily chose to leave without taking anything, wanting not a single cent of their combined assets.

"Is this acceptable? If you’re still not satisfied or afraid it will affect the Zhou Family, we can keep the divorce confidential for the time being, but this period cannot exceed six months," said Cheng Zhiwei, her gaze coldly on Zhou Lin.

She had considered everything. With this, he should be satisfied, right?

Zhou Lin lit a cigarette, exhaled a puff of white smoke, and the mockery and sarcasm became like a rebounding hammer with excellent elasticity. He thought he was smashing Cheng Zhiwei, but the recoil hit Zhou Lin himself.

He said nothing, so Cheng Zhiwei just quietly waited.

She believed Zhou Lin would make the right choice because, after all, once they were divorced, whether he wanted to find Bai Zhuzhu, that substitute, or openly bring that person by his side, he would be free to do so.

By the time a cigarette had burned out, the smoke was hazy. Cheng Zhiwei didn’t like the smell of smoke, but she endured it for the sake of the divorce.

"I don’t agree," Zhou Lin’s voice was hoarse and taut, brooking no argument.

Cheng Zhiwei was stunned, and her brows furrowed, her confusion clearly climbing up her pale cheeks. She stared at Zhou Lin, scrutinizing every inch of his expression to make sure he wasn’t joking.

"Why?" asked Cheng Zhiwei. She needed a reason.

She had already gone to the extent of leaving without a penny; why wouldn’t Zhou Lin agree?

What else did he want?

Her heart twitched slightly, and it felt as if it was being repeatedly gashed by dense, knife-like pain.

Zhou Lin regained his usual confident demeanor, his face showing both mockery and indifference, "I said before, this isn’t a marriage you can just enter or leave whenever you want, you don’t have the right, Cheng Zhiwei."

Cheng Zhiwei stood up straight, took two steps back, the light casting in her eyes, highlighting the countless strands of alienation and fatigue. Her long hair cascaded down, framing her palm-sized face, making it seem even more delicate.

"Zhou Lin, must we torment each other like this?"

Zhou Lin stood up, his eyes falling on her face, the dark pupils shimmering with intense loathing, "Cheng Zhiwei, such acts have grown wearisome when repeated too many times."

Even if Cheng Zhiwei chose to leave without taking anything, he still suspected she had ulterior motives.

Cheng Zhiwei’s fingers curled tightly into her palm until the pain came, then she slowly said, "Can’t you trust me even once?"

To go to such lengths for a divorce, and still be suspected of having ulterior motives, was truly exhausting.

Zhou Lin suddenly reached out and grabbed Cheng Zhiwei’s chin, not gently at all, forcing her to look up.

He leaned down close to Cheng Zhiwei, the two of them almost touching noses, their breaths mingling together. Yet, despite the seemingly intimate proximity, it was ice cold.

"I trusted you once, but how did you treat me," Zhou Lin’s brows and eyes curved with a mocking and scornful smile that was heart-wrenchingly painful, "You tricked me into going to the hotel, into sleeping with you, provoking her, breaking her leg, hmm?"

That incident remained an impenetrable gulf lying between them.

Cheng Zhiwei’s chin hurt terribly, but she did not want to bow her head to Zhou Lin, stubbornly meeting his gaze, her soft demeanor turning firm, "I have told you before, I never sent you messages to meet at the hotel. Zhou Lin, we grew up together, don’t you know what kind of person I am?"

Zhou Lin sneered, "You like me, there’s nothing you wouldn’t do."

A single sentence, like being pierced by a thousand arrows.

Liking him had become a sin.

None of the past hurts could compare to this one; the pain turned Cheng Zhiwei’s face deathly pale, and all the blood in her body felt cold.

She pushed Zhou Lin away forcefully, gasping for air, "If you don’t sign, I’ll file for divorce."

Zhou Lin hooked up the corners of his mouth, "File for divorce? You can try."

Connections are a good thing, and Zhou Lin wasn’t scared.

All of Cheng Zhiwei’s struggling only ended up tormenting herself.

If she dared, he was willing to play along with her.

If it had been the Cheng Zhiwei of the past, she would have caved in by now, but the Cheng Zhiwei of today had already had her love torn to shreds, and thus had nothing left to fear, "I think, if I go and explain things to Mom, she will support me."

Zhou Lin’s face changed color, anger instantly flushing up into his face, exploding to the top.

Indeed, this woman had evil in her bones; his mother treated her better than she did her own son, and yet she was thinking of provoking his mother.

Damn vicious.

"Cheng Zhiwei, do you have no conscience? Her health is not good, you dare to provoke her."

Cheng Zhiwei looked up at Zhou Lin; his tall figure cast a shadow under the light, all of it falling upon Cheng Zhiwei like a quagmire. She laughed in self-mockery, "Didn’t you already know that I am such a person?"

Zhou Lin clenched his fists, peering down at her with arrogant disdain, he warned with tension in his voice, "If anything happens to her, I will reduce you to ashes."

Having said that, he turned and left; staying here another second felt suffocating.

Just as he was about to step out the door, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Zhou Lin, you refuse to divorce—is it because you like me?" Cheng Zhiwei’s voice was very soft, very slow.

Zhou Lin paused, turning his head slightly, the cold sneer on his emotionless profile chilling, "Cheng Zhiwei, even if every other woman in the world died, I would not like you."

"Then why won’t you agree to a divorce?" Cheng Zhiwei yelled out this sentence, somewhat on the verge of collapse.

Originally, she had married him full of joy, only to be met with three years of neglect and humiliation. Now, when she wanted to leap out of this quagmire, Zhou Lin was pushing her down, not allowing her to reach the shore.

"You have no right to ask me." Zhou Lin slammed the door and left.

All of Cheng Zhiwei’s strength seemed to be drained; she covered her face and slumped onto the sofa, her tears falling in big drops. She didn’t want to cry, but the sourness in her eyes uncontrollably surged, wave after wave assaulting her fragile nerves.

The commotion between the two was not small, and Lin Yu heard. She wanted to go upstairs and check, but was hesitant because of the earlier incident with the milk, not daring to act recklessly, and was stopped by Wang Mei.

Matters between husband and wife could often become irremediable with just one more person’s involvement.

In the days that followed, Zhou Lin didn’t come home at all.

Lin Yu tentatively asked Cheng Zhiwei; Cheng Zhiwei said it was just some trivial matters, told Lin Yu not to worry, and though she spoke of telling Lin Yu about preparing for a divorce, how could she really do that? Lin Yu was so kind to her; she couldn’t bear to make Lin Yu anxious.

And after crying it out once, she saw things more clearly; she placed the divorce agreement into the drawer, thinking that one day Zhou Lin would be willing to sign it.

Zhou Lin didn’t want to divorce, and she was no longer willing to compromise in this marriage.

If Zhou Lin wouldn’t sign, she would behave as if he had, except that it wasn’t public.

She unilaterally decided to lead their separate lives.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read