Huo Danru saw the reactions on their faces and nodded in satisfaction: "I’ll stop here for now. Next, I’ll ask you two to share your thoughts. Please tell me, when do you think your marriage started to feel off? And what exactly felt off?"
Xiang Yuan, who usually had impeccable eloquence, didn’t speak first this time. Instead, she tightly pressed her lips together, avoiding Huo Danru’s gaze, and turned to look at Shi Nian.
He was —— [trying to keep it under wraps].
Shi Nian took a deep breath: "Since that’s the case, let me speak first."
Huo Danru squinted her eyes, observing the couple’s demeanor.
Evidently, according to their previous routines, it should be the husband speaking first, with the wife in a subordinate role.
No wonder, Xiang Yuan is a lawyer after all, with better rhetoric skills, and a stronger desire to protect herself with words.
But today...the wife was actually a bit braver.
However, the husband seemed somewhat displeased about this.
Huo Danru observed the couple’s behavior as objectively as possible. She didn’t speak, just nodded, signaling Shi Nian to begin.
The image of the diagram she had drawn the night she confronted Xiang Yuan surfaced in Shi Nian’s mind again. Fortunately, the chart helped her clear the fog in her mind. She then spoke softly: "We’ve been married for four years, and the problem started precisely in the second year."
"What happened that year?" Despite recording, Huo Danru still diligently noted this critical point in her notebook.
"The reason you remember so clearly must be because something significant happened that year, right?" Huo Danru asked.
Shi Nian nodded: "...That year, I insisted on going out to work. A Yuan was very much against it, and we had the biggest fight since we got married."
Shi Nian glanced at Huo Danru, then quickly lowered her head: "He shouted at me in disappointment, saying I had changed."
Huo Danru’s pen paused, then she looked up at Xiang Yuan: "Does Shi Nian’s account differ from your memory?"
Xiang Yuan frowned, then spoke: "That’s right. However, I was just speaking impulsively in the heat of the moment. The argument wasn’t as severe as she imagined."
Huo Danru then asked: "Why didn’t you agree with her going out to work?"
Xiang Yuan leaned forward, pressing his right palm down on the table: "The reason is simple, she had just arrived in M Country at that time, she didn’t understand anything, nor could she do much. Even expressing herself in English was a problem... How could she work like that? I didn’t let her go out just to protect her."
After saying this, he turned to look at Shi Nian again, reiterating: "I just wanted to protect her! Not to stop her!"
Shi Nian looked up, her eyes slowly gathering a steadfast determination: "But I don’t like or need that kind of protection. A Yuan, at the time I clearly expressed to you. I felt capable, and I believed I could handle any problems that came my way."
Xiang Yuan then pressed his lips tightly together and turned away.
Huo Danru realized that the focus of today’s first session centered on that big fight two years ago, and made a note of it.
To avoid provoking their emotions, she asked a few more innocuous questions, then said time was up, and asked them to go back first.
Xiang Yuan and Shi Nian walked toward the car. Xiang Yuan opened the car door and got in first, fastening his seatbelt, but when he noticed Shi Nian hadn’t gotten in yet, he frowned and asked, "Aren’t you getting in?"
The evening sun shone like gold on Xiang Yuan’s sapphire-blue BMW. The sunlight was dazzling, and the blue light was understated. The two starkly different beams had their own charm, refusing to yield to each other.
Shi Nian took a deep breath, holding the car door without opening it: "Sorry A Yuan, I’m not going home tonight."
Xiang Yuan then squinted his eyes, unbuckled his seatbelt, and slammed the car door open, striding over to Shi Nian with a superior air: "What are you trying to do now?"
Guan Liang firmly wanted to come over, but Xiang Yuan suddenly lifted his gaze, pointing at Guan Liang: "You stay right where you are! You’re here to protect my wife, but what I’m about to discuss with her are private matters between us as a couple, not part of your duties! If you interfere, I will immediately file a complaint!"
Xiang Yuan, being a lawyer well-versed in legal rules, had always been a victorious general in court. Thus, even though Guan Liang was an officer, he was also taken aback by Xiang Yuan’s imposing manner.
Shi Nian had to give a nod and a smile: "Mr. Guan, I’m fine, don’t worry." Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on NoveI~Fire.net
As the sun slowly vanished, the night gradually closed in. Without the brilliant sunlight reflecting, the BMW’s blue also took on a layer of gloominess. That gloominess reflected in Xiang Yuan’s eyes, causing Shi Nian to feel a slight chill.