Shi Lingyan pulled out his fountain pen, uncapped it, and handed it to her.
Shi Mei looked at the pen, then at the content of the Divorce Agreement, and finally reached out to take it.
The pen tip was less than half a centimeter from the paper, yet it couldn’t seem to make the descent.
It had been a long time since she had felt this way.
She was very clear that once she signed her name, the only tie between her and him would be completely severed.
Maybe they could still live under the same roof, but without that marriage certificate binding them, she would be nothing but an outsider to the Shi Family.
And as such an outsider, even if something happened to her, it would have nothing to do with the Shi Family.
In the end, he had decided to discard her.
Shi Mei paused for a long while before finally speaking, "Husband, can you promise Shi Mei one thing?"
"Can we keep our divorce a secret from everyone?"
Shi Lingyan had this in mind already, but hearing Shi Mei ask this, he couldn’t help but inquire, "Why?"
"I want to make my husband happy," Shi Mei said earnestly, "but I don’t want to leave this place."
As she spoke, her eyes reddened, "Here, I have Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Chen. I like the life here. I don’t want to go back to the Shi family. They killed Shi Mei’s parents; they made Shi Mei into an idiot. I hate them; I don’t want to go back."
Shi Mei bowed her head and carefully wrote down her name. After completing the character ’Shi,’ she looked up and asked, "Is that okay?"
Shi Lingyan’s eyes softened even more, and he gently ruffled her hair, "I promise you, your life won’t change at all."
Shi Mei blinked, "Will you still take me out for fun during the New Year?"
"That’s a family trip."
"Don’t be afraid," Shi Lingyan said softly, "We will always be a family."
Shi Mei hung her head slightly and traced the remaining character stroke by stroke.
When she was about to draw the final stroke, her heart suddenly felt empty.
Several months of marriage had ended.
Shi Mei pulled off the cap and put it back on the pen, then obediently handed it to him, saying, "All done."
Shi Lingyan took the document back and saw the neat signature, like that of an elementary school student; suddenly he felt as if something was rapidly being pulled away from his heart.
Shi Lingyan realized he felt somewhat reluctant to let go.
The feeling was faint; more so, it was the relief of having lifted a heavy burden.
Shi Lingyan responded with a soft ’hmm’ and then stood up, turned around, and prepared to leave.
Shi Mei watched his retreating figure and suddenly called out, "Husband."
In that call, there was a slow trace of reluctance.
Shi Lingyan paused in his steps but did not turn around.
Shi Mei felt a slight sting in her heart, yet her face still carried the innocent look of someone unacquainted with the world, "Will you teach me English?"
Shi Lingyan was surprised, "Why do you suddenly want to learn English?"
"Because last time Sister Bai took Shi Mei to get a medical checkup, she spoke to the doctor in English, and I thought it was so cool," Shi Mei said with a face full of admiration, "And when I went to the United States, it was only Ye Bao who spoke. Ye Bao only taught me the phonetic symbols, not how to speak. It wasn’t cool at all!"
Shi Lingyan glanced sideways, a shadow flickering in his eyes, "Bai Yuejie took you for a checkup?"
"Mhm mhm," Shi Mei kept the pleasant and naive expression on her face, "The nurse aunty told Shi Mei to lie down on the bed, and then the bed went into a small box. White light scanned over me, and then the checkup was all done!"