Divorce Application - Chapter 16
Chapter 16: The Deal Collapses
“I haven’t seen Salt,” Liu Sinan said, fluttering her almond-shaped eyes and looking at her pleadingly. “He’s not home.”
Li Jinping lowered her gaze for a few seconds and replied, “The housekeeper just told me that he happened to be going for a bath.”
She avoided further explanation, not mentioning why Salt was suddenly being bathed.
Liu Sinan dodged her gaze, and her straight back immediately slumped, like a gloomy mushroom.
Li Jinping felt it was not good to make a promise to someone and then have them come up empty-handed. “A bath only takes two hours. He’ll be back soon.”
She was still talking about the bath.
Liu Sinan knew their current relationship wasn’t suitable for saying more, but Salt was her child, and she needed to ensure her dog was living in a healthy and stable environment.
“You don’t want to raise it anymore, do you?” Liu Sinan thought for a while with her head down, then stood up and looked Li Jinping directly in the eyes.
The distance between them suddenly closed. She could smell the sandalwood on Li Jinping. She loved burning ancient incense; the lit sandalwood sawdust carried a hint of coolness, serene and calm, like a rose garden after a heavy rain.
This classic, famous incense was a world apart from the low-quality air fresheners she was so insistent on buying.
Li Jinping’s expression didn’t change much. Her voice lowered as the distance shortened. “No, I don’t.”
Li Jinping had never lied in front of her. If she said she was willing to raise Salt, it meant she wouldn’t abandon him.
The only time she hadn’t kept her word was when she said she would take care of her for a lifetime, but that only lasted seven years.
Liu Sinan lowered her head and “hmm”ed. She didn’t know how to ensure Salt’s well-being and could only repeatedly seek Li Jinping’s attention. “Salt is a little clumsy. When he wakes up in the middle of the night, he looks for people. Just lock him outside the door; don’t be annoyed by him.”
Locked outside the door, annoyed.
Every word pierced her heart.
As Li Jinping listened, her face showed a complex sense of helplessness.
“Salt is my dog, too,” Li Jinping composed herself for a moment. “What exactly are you worried about?”
Liu Sinan looked up, her gaze stubborn. “Someone is annoyed by him. He sheds a lot when the seasons change.”
The phrasing “sheds a lot when the seasons change” finally gave Li Jinping a clue. She frowned in thought, avoiding Liu Sinan’s gaze.
“Lin Xia is a professional doctor with a high degree of professionalism,” Li Jinping said.
Liu Sinan pressed on. “Why is she your private doctor now? Wasn’t she your private assistant before? Can she answer your phone and live in the house?”
This sentence revealed Liu Sinan’s concern. Li Jinping reacted slowly for a few seconds. “She has nursing qualifications and a medical license, and she’s very experienced.”
When she said this, she seemed to remember something. Li Jinping’s eyes darkened, and she stopped explaining, changing the subject. “Let’s go downstairs.”
Liu Sinan hadn’t heard anything she wanted to, and she was so full of anger that she felt irritable.
She pushed past Li Jinping and clattered down the stairs. Li Jinping came down a few steps behind her. When Lin Xia saw Li Jinping, she hurried forward. “Did you wake up?”
Li Jinping looked a little listless and nodded to her.
Lin Xia reached out to support her.
“Mr. Li,” Wu Haoxue had bribed Mi Fan with a bag of quail freeze-dried treats. She picked him up and said, “I’m going to wander around the garden. Liu Sinan has something she wants to talk to you about privately.”
Liu Sinan was suddenly put on the spot and immediately felt three pairs of eyes on her.
In her heart, she was imagining throwing Wu Haoxue from the rooftop to the first floor, but on the surface, she could only bite the bullet and nod, asking Li Jinping, “Ma’am, can we talk alone?”
Li Jinping first looked at Lin Xia, her cool gaze only passing over Liu Sinan without stopping.
Li Jinping did not shy away from Lin Xia’s presence. She gently placed her arm in Lin Xia’s, and after going downstairs, she lightly supported her waist, saying gently, “You go upstairs first.”
Lin Xia’s voice was very soft and she nodded obediently. She had a head of soft, fluffy brown short hair that bounced with her movements when she nodded, looking docile and well-behaved. “Then I’ll go up and wait for you.”
Perhaps Li Jinping didn’t notice, but Liu Sinan, standing in front of them, saw Lin Xia’s admiration for Li Jinping at a glance.
It was a kind of gentle affection that couldn’t be faked.
“Sit,” Li Jinping said, sitting on the sofa and gesturing for Liu Sinan to sit. “What is it?”
Liu Sinan sat opposite her awkwardly, not knowing where to look.
The atmosphere between them, which had just started to ease, immediately dropped to a freezing point.
Perhaps it was just Liu Sinan’s own feeling. Since the divorce, Li Jinping had no ties to her. What was wrong with starting a new relationship? But would Li Jinping really turn around and love someone else?
Li Jinping had once given her a heart full of love. Now, barely half a month after the divorce, she had a new lover?
Then all those years of infatuation had truly become a joke.
She instantly forgot the words she had prepared, like an actress who had forgotten her lines, stammering, “I, I… a variety show approached me recently. I don’t know if I should go.”
“I wanted to hear your opinion.”
When Liu Sinan said this, she actually had no confidence.
The distance Li Jinping showed her made her feel strange and helpless.
Li Jinping’s eyelid twitched, and she raised her eyebrows, confirming, “You want my opinion?”
It wasn’t surprising that she was shocked; Liu Sinan’s appearance was too rare.
It had been a long time since Liu Sinan had sat obediently opposite her and listened to what she had to say.
She called her “ma’am,” a very intimate title between them.
Only in certain moments when Liu Sinan was flustered and confused, or when she had angered her and was starting to confess, would she subconsciously use this title, carefully showing her vulnerability.
But since the divorce, she had no idea how many times she had heard Liu Sinan call her that.
“What variety show?” Li Jinping was not an unfeeling person and wouldn’t shut her out when her ex-wife came to her. She wasn’t stingy with advice after the divorce, so she nodded calmly. “Tell me about it.”
“It’s called Crossover Dance Queen. Lan Qi helped me turn it down before, but the production team called me personally. This is the best variety show I can get right now.” Liu Sinan glanced at Li Jinping’s expression and, seeing that she wasn’t impatient, described the show’s setup.
Towards the end, Liu Sinan’s voice got smaller. “Besides me, the production team also invited Feng Mingming.”
Feng Mingming was the only person Li Jinping had expressly forbidden her from associating with during their marriage.
When Li Jinping heard the name, her movements subtly froze for a moment. She poured herself a cup of tea, her face hidden in the steam. The wise eyes that could see through everything reflected a cold matte finish under the light.
Li Jinping remained rational and calm, thinking for a moment before saying, “You’re already twenty-five. The modeling industry can’t sustain you for too long. You can transition.”
As if evaluating the value and growth potential of a business project, Li Jinping’s finger rested on the white porcelain teacup lid, and her voice was cool and clear. “Diversifying is a good choice, but dancing requires physical strength and perseverance. It’s good if you participate in the show and seriously dance until the end.”
The implication was that if she lacked the physical strength or gave up halfway, it would be a huge loss.
The public’s perception of her was that her talent didn’t match her resources. Some even thought she was just a pretty face. She was fine in her comfort zone of modeling shows, but once she moved to other areas like acting or singing, regardless of whether she did well or not, there would be all kinds of gossip.
Liu Sinan listened to her obediently. Li Jinping didn’t mention Feng Mingming at all.
Li Jinping was like a peaceful and calm elder, offering mature and steady advice. “I know some dance experts. If you need it, I can recommend them to you.”
Liu Sinan bit her lip, her fingers intertwined, her mind in a jumble.
What about Feng Mingming?