Divorce Application - Chapter 28.2

Chapter 28.2

Lan Qi’s call came in a few seconds later.

“Are you two okay?” Lan Qi asked anxiously before Liu Sinan could even speak.

You two? Who else was there besides her?

Liu Sinan grunted in response. “I’m fine.”

Lan Qi paused. What she said next seemed difficult, but there was no hesitation. “Sinan, do you know how Lan Ling is? She should be with Ms. Li. Can you help me and plead with Ms. Li?”

There was a hanging lamp above Liu Sinan’s head. She was standing under it, her face shrouded in shadow. She had an unreadable, gloomy aura about her.

But her voice was no different from usual. “I can, but I need to understand why I’m pleading for her.”

Lan Qi was in a state of anxiety, worry, and confusion. Lan Ling’s sudden mental episode, almost hurting Liu Sinan, and then Li Jinping’s personal intervention, all of this had left her mentally exhausted and terrified.

In this emotional state, it was hard for her to notice anything unusual about Liu Sinan. “Lan Ling was never close to anyone in the family since she was a child. She was also slower than other kids at learning things. When she was three, we took her for an examination and found that her brain waves were very irregular. The doctor said her brain hadn’t developed properly and suggested we go abroad for treatment.”

Lan Qi didn’t know what Liu Sinan wanted to hear. She knew Lan Ling had done something wrong and hoped Liu Sinan could understand the background and not hold it against someone who had been sick since childhood.

After all, the person Liu Sinan presented herself as to her had never been one to hold a grudge against a child.

But she didn’t know that the version of herself Liu Sinan was willing to present was never the only one.

“I can understand that a congenital defect like that can have a huge impact on a person. I didn’t get hurt, so I won’t hold her accountable,” Liu Sinan said, taking a bath towel out of the cabinet, her face expressionless as she spoke comforting words. “But on the other hand, Lan Ling invited me out today to persuade me to leave Li Jinping. It sounds like she has a history with Li Jinping, so Li Jinping probably won’t do anything to her.”

“How could Ms. Li be close to her?” Lan Qi was very conflicted. “I really don’t know how she and Ms. Li met, but in Ms. Li’s heart, no one is more important than you. I’m really worried that after Lan Ling did something so stupid, Ms. Li will…”

Liu Sinan opened the bathroom door and started running water in the bathtub.

She looked at her reflection, water dripping from her hair. Her face was pale, and her eyes were cold. She interrupted her softly, “I’ll talk to Ms. Li, but she might not listen. After all, we’ve gone our separate ways. I’m not willing to go to her, and she’s not willing to always solve my problems.”

Lan Qi was not picky and was very grateful. “Thank you, boss. Your word will definitely be more effective than anyone else’s.”

After hanging up, a cold smile appeared on Liu Sinan’s lips.

She was the one who was targeted for no reason. She was the one who had a nail file used as a blade against her neck. She was the one who was kicked out with a divorce agreement. She was the one who was still trying to save the marriage only to be told that the other person had already found someone new.

Each event was like a slap in the face.

A normal person facing such a sudden blow might become depressed or might bounce back. But Liu Sinan was different. She was a deeply pessimistic and world-weary person.

Before she met Li Jinping, her family had fallen apart, and she was adrift in a foreign country, handling her parents’ funerals on her own and struggling to survive at the bottom of society. On the outside, she just looked a little more disheveled and a little dimmer.

But inside, she was a rotting rock covered in moss.

The fresh bl00d that had splattered when her mother committed suicide in front of her was a vivid crimson. Her father’s stiff body, his eyes wide open in death.

The footsteps behind her when she walked alone at night, the knife pressed against her lower back, the empty wallet, the shattered forehead, the gunshots in the distance… They were like a lingering sickness, a shadow that never left her.

These things seemed to have settled into the river of time and become the past when Li Jinping reached out her hand, when Li Jinping led her forward step by step, and after she returned to the country.

But moss is still moss. Even if it’s covered with a green shade and small colorful flowers, a gust of autumn wind will still expose the ugly, mottled scars underneath.

No one would like a person like that.

Liu Sinan sent a message to Li Jinping.

nan: Let Lan Ling go home.

Then she clicked on the contact and added her to her blacklist.

And then she blocked all of Li Jinping’s contact methods.

The hot water in the bathtub was running. Liu Sinan closed her eyes and sank herself into the hot water.

Like sinking into a bottomless abyss.

Falling down, down, down.

…

Two days later was the rehearsal for “Dancing Queen.” The injury on Liu Sinan’s wrist had healed a lot, and the bandage didn’t affect her normal activities.

“I can participate as normal.” Liu Sinan held her phone in one hand and a bowl of nourishing soup that Aunt Sun had made for her in the other. A makeup artist had come in the morning to apply some light makeup, with a small pink smudge at the corner of her eyes, making her almond-shaped eyes look incredibly delicate and charming.

The selfie she posted last time had received a good response. Her fans were mainly divided into two categories: one was her career fans, who, aside from her various additional personas, affirmed her professional abilities. This type of fan accounted for more than half. The number of fans wasn’t huge, but she could still be considered a super A-lister. After all, she had walked international runways. Her highly impressive professional abilities in China were, in the diverse world of foreign fashion shows, just above average. If you weren’t the best, you seemed mediocre.

The second category was her beauty fans. Their activity level was so high it put her career fans to shame. A fashion show she walked wouldn’t get much of a response, but a photo from a red carpet, a selfie, or a work-related photo would get tens of thousands of comments in an instant.

Lan Qi had told her to take more photos without filters when she had time, to save them up and release them slowly to keep her updates consistent. Today, she had put on makeup, intending to take some photos later.

Lan Qi was flipping through a file on the other end of the phone, going over the precautions again. “This rehearsal has a lot of audience members, so there’s a risk of videos being leaked. Also, Zhao Qiran, as an investor in the show, will be a special guest judge in the later episodes.”

The name Zhao Qiran brought back some unpleasant memories for her. Liu Sinan silently sipped her coffee and said calmly, “I know.”

“Zhao Qiran,” Lan Qi hesitated for a moment. “There’s something I don’t know if I should say.”

Liu Sinan said concisely, “Say it.”

Lan Qi was a little worried. “She seems to have already talked to the show’s crew. There might be people on the show who will make things difficult for you.”

“The worst-case scenario is that I’ll be hated by the entire internet,” Liu Sinan smiled indifferently. “But how would I know without trying?”

Lan Qi was conflicted. “No matter what, be careful on the show. After the rehearsal, they’ll arrange for group housing for more than a month of continuous filming. You must be careful of the people around you.”

Liu Sinan put her cup down on the table and said softly, “I know.”

Aunt Sun brought over a plate of golden-fried eggs for Liu Sinan and said naggingly, “Xiao Xue said you love eggs. Eat some more to nourish your body.”

After she said that, she turned to walk to the kitchen. There was still more food to bring out. As she walked, she grumbled to herself, “I’ve been giving her supplements for a week, and she hasn’t gained any weight. Has my cooking gotten worse? It shouldn’t have…”

Wu Haoxue had slept late last night and was slowly getting up to eat. She took a fried egg from the plate in front of Liu Sinan, put it in a slice of bread, and took a bite, mumbling, “I have a train ticket for today. I’ll probably be home for a week. When I get back, I’ll come find you at the show.”

Liu Sinan hadn’t wanted to eat, but Aunt Sun’s nagging had made her feel a little guilty. She hadn’t experienced an older person nagging her about her clothes, food, and taking care of her body in a long time.

Liu Sinan turned and complained to the kitchen. “Aunt Sun, Wu Haoxue ate my fried egg!”

Wu Haoxue looked confused, looking at the fried egg and then at Liu Sinan. It took her a moment to say, “The f*ck?”

How did this elementary school-level tattling make a comeback?

Aunt Sun’s loud voice came from the kitchen, full of energy. Just from the sound, you could imagine Aunt Sun waving a spatula. “Xiao Xue, give the egg back!”

“I’ve already bitten half of it, how can I give it back?” Wu Haoxue was annoyed. She held up the bread and egg with a missing corner and offered it to Liu Sinan. “Want some?”

Liu Sinan, with quick hands, grabbed a long, thin object nearby, quickly twisted it open, and squeezed a dollop of green stuff onto the bread. The whole process took less than two seconds.

“Are you f*cking crazy?!” Wu Haoxue’s hand holding the bread didn’t move. After she processed what happened, she was silent for two seconds, then yelled, “That’s wasabi, not salad dressing!”

“Ah, of course I know that. Sorry, I did it on purpose,” Liu Sinan’s mood had improved a lot. She slowly picked up the plate in front of her, placed it in front of a flustered Aunt Sun who was holding a spatula and had just come out of the kitchen, and caught the freshly fried egg she was holding. She glanced at it. “Wow, a double yolk.”

Wu Haoxue endured the pain and took a big bite. She wasn’t against wasabi, she just wasn’t used to eating so much at once.

The taste of the wasabi rushed into her nose and the top of her head, immediately waking her up from her sleepy daze. Wu Haoxue said, with tears in her eyes, “Is Qiqi going to the show with you?”

Liu Sinan used her fork to separate the “left yolk” and “right yolk” of the double-yolk egg. She also picked a slightly withered flower from the vase in front of her and threw it away. “Yes, she’s quick-witted and works efficiently. I feel more at ease with her.”

“What about Lan Qi?” Wu Haoxue opened a jar of jam, used a knife and fork to scoop out a large amount, and spread it on her bread, shaping it into a heart. “Isn’t she going with you?”

“She needs to hold down the fort at the studio,” Liu Sinan frowned at the “heart” in her hand and reached out. “Give it to me.”

Wu Haoxue, confused, handed her the slice of bread, thinking she wanted to share. “You don’t have hands? Can’t you spread it yourself?”

Just as she finished speaking, she saw Liu Sinan raise her knife and fork and cut down the symmetrical axis of the “heart.”

The cut was perfect, and the heart was split into two halves.

Wu Haoxue suddenly felt a chill in her hands. “What… what’s wrong with you?”

Liu Sinan didn’t pay her any mind. After cutting it, it looked much more pleasing to her. She picked up a piece of bread and chewed it slowly.

Wu Haoxue looked at the messy “double” yolk egg on the table, the lonely flower in the vase, and the bread that had been cut in half. She was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly understood something.

She yelled at Liu Sinan, “You’re insane!”

Aunt Sun put a pot of soup made with caterpillar fungus and various other meats in front of the two of them and said to Wu Haoxue with a hint of reproach, “Xiao Xue, how can you say that about someone else? Do you think you can bully Xiao Nan?”

Wu Haoxue was so angry her fingers were trembling. She pointed at the egg and the flower. “I’m bullying her? Aunt Sun, look! She has to split every pair! In the morning, she took my bread, tore my tomato heart, threw away the flowers, and cut up your fried egg! She can’t stand to see people in pairs! If I found a partner, would she kick me out of the house right now?! She’s sick!”

Aunt Sun looked at her with even more reproach, and her tone even had a hint of worry. “Xiao Xue, have you been too tired lately? Are you a little stressed?”

Liu Sinan, with her head down, was silently laughing her head off. The little person in her heart was roaring with laughter.

Wu Haoxue pointed at Liu Sinan, then quickly at Aunt Sun. Her expression went through several changes before finally settling on one of depression. She didn’t want to say another word.

After the meal, Liu Sinan felt refreshed. She drove Wu Haoxue and Aunt Sun to the high-speed train station. When she got back, Qiqi was already waiting at the door.

“Ms. Liu,” Qiqi said, wearing a purple denim overall dress, her face beaming. “I’m here to help you pack. Our flight is tomorrow morning, so we can rest for a day in City A before the rehearsal the day after.”

Liu Sinan smiled at her, opened the door, and let her in. As she took out a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet, she said, “I don’t have much. The show has also arranged for housing, so it shouldn’t take too long to pack. But what about you and the other staff? Have you packed everything?”

“All set,” Qiqi said with a laugh. “We’re all rugged. Four of us from the studio are going, and we only have four boxes of face masks among us. But even with me and the other two girls, we can’t even put together one box of face masks.”

“Hmm?” Liu Sinan turned around, surprised. “City A is very dry in the fall. You can use my face masks. I have a lot that I can’t use up.”

Qiqi quickly waved her hands. “Oh, no need. We have water and lotion and stuff.”

Liu Sinan nodded, then went back to packing for a while before suddenly turning around. “What did you just say? The three of you girls don’t use face masks? Then where did the four boxes of face masks come from?”

“Joey brought them,” Qiqi said, jumping up to show Liu Sinan how tall he was. “He’s the tallest one in our studio, the one who can do makeup, tattoos, carry heavy bags, and operate a camera.”

Liu Sinan thought for a moment. Qiqi’s description was so spot-on and easy to understand that she quickly found the employee’s information in her memory. She then looked a little resigned. “Oh… a grown man is more delicate than you girls.”

Qiqi scratched her head and laughed. “I guess so. We’re just ordinary people with ordinary faces. No matter what we do, it’ll still be like this.”

Liu Sinan looked at her. “…Alright.”

After thinking for a moment, she added, “Everyone has their own way of making themselves beautiful. I think you’re all very cute. Maybe with a little tidying up, you can be even cuter?”

Qiqi was stunned for a few seconds, her eyes slowly widening before bursting with excitement.

Liu Sinan had already gone to the bedroom to pack her clothes. Qiqi quickly took out her phone and started a group chat, spamming everyone.

Kiwifruit: OMG, Ms. Liu said we’re cute @BarbieKingKong @KillTheCactus

BarbieKingKong: ?

KillTheCactus: ??

Joey-Chen: Why not me?

Kiwifruit: OMG, Ms. Liu said we’d be cuter if we got a little dressed up @BarbieKingKong @KillTheCactus

BarbieKingKong: Really?! sparkling eyes.jpg

Joey-Chen: Do I need to get dressed up?

KillTheCactus: @Joey-Chen, help me pick out what to wear tomorrow

BarbieKingKong: @Joey-Chen, help me get a haircut

Kiwifruit: @Joey-Chen, help me with my makeup!

Joey-Chen: …Offline, don’t @me

Liu Sinan genuinely didn’t have a lot of stuff, but to maintain a good appearance, she still tried her best to pack everything she needed, filling two suitcases.

Her flight tomorrow wasn’t too early, but factoring in traffic to the airport, Liu Sinan had to go to bed early. Plus, the dance she was performing for her first show wasn’t suitable for heavy makeup, so it would test her skin’s condition. She couldn’t stay up late, or have dark circles and redness…

Liu Sinan opened a drawer, looked at a small pill bottle for a while, and took out two small white pills before drinking them.

She slept soundly.

When Qiqi called out to her, she couldn’t even remember who she was, where she was, what she was supposed to do, or if she was even alive anymore.

Liu Sinan was in a sleepy daze for a while before her eyes refocused. She saw Qiqi and thought she was late. She quickly threw off the covers and got out of bed. “What time is it?”

Qiqi quickly stopped her. “It’s only seven. Our flight is at ten, so we still have more than an hour to get ready. No rush.”

After she said that, she handed her the phone with a lit-up screen. It showed a call from Lan Qi. “It’s Sister Lan Qi’s call.”

Lan Qi was probably just checking on her. Liu Sinan yawned and took the phone. “Good morning.”

“Did you sleep well last night?” Lan Qi’s side was a bit noisy. She probably wasn’t at the office. “How’s your state? Are you nervous?”

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous at all, but she wasn’t that nervous either.

After all, she had walked countless international runways. A stage like this wouldn’t affect her performance.

It was just that dancing wasn’t her specialty, so it felt a little unfamiliar and didn’t have the same confidence as walking a runway.

“It’s alright,” Liu Sinan said. “A few more run-throughs before the rehearsal will be enough.”

Lan Qi hummed in agreement, then said, “Feng Mingming’s agent contacted me and said Feng Mingming wanted your contact information.”

Contact information meant either WeChat or a phone number. Liu Sinan minimized the call with Lan Qi, opened her WeChat contacts, and scrolled for a while until she found Feng Mingming.

“She has my WeChat,” Liu Sinan said, confused. “Why would she ask you for my contact information?”

“She does?” Lan Qi was also confused. “I thought you two hadn’t been in touch much afterward.”

Lan Qi probably knew that Li Jinping didn’t like Feng Mingming and that Liu Sinan had cut ties with her. Since they would be on the same show, and their acquaintance couldn’t be hidden from the audience, it would be bad to pretend not to know each other or have a bad relationship.

“Never mind, then. From what they said, they didn’t have any particular motive, they just wanted to get to know each other beforehand.” Lan Qi said.

Liu Sinan nodded. They talked about the competition for a while and then hung up.

Her relationship with Feng Mingming back then was indeed quite good. Feng Mingming was actually a very smart person with high emotional intelligence and a pleasant way of speaking. Liu Sinan didn’t feel awkward when she was with her.

Compared to those socialites who wrote their disdain and dislike on their faces, Feng Mingming, who might have a few tricks up her sleeve but wasn’t obvious or harmful, was more acceptable to Liu Sinan.

It was just that after Li Jinping told her not to associate with Feng Mingming, she probably did something on her end as well. Before Liu Sinan could say anything, Feng Mingming had called her unilaterally and said they shouldn’t contact each other anymore.

Now, a few days later, they would be on the same show, so they would have to interact.

Liu Sinan thought for a moment, opened Feng Mingming’s chat box, and sent a “ding-dong.jpg” emoji.

The moment she sent it, a red exclamation mark appeared in front of it.

The other party is no longer your friend.

She deleted me.

Liu Sinan was a little speechless.

No wonder she asked for my contact information.

Liu Sinan couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it. She turned off her phone, got up to wash up in the bathroom, and told Qiqi to move her suitcases to the entryway. After getting herself ready, she put on her full set of protective gear, wrapping herself up so that her eyes were barely visible, and left the house.

On the way, Liu Sinan suddenly thought that since Feng Mingming had unilaterally deleted her as a friend, if she wanted to add her back, she could have just searched for her and added her.

But she had taken the long way around and asked Lan Qi, which meant she thought Liu Sinan had also deleted her and would have to send a friend request to add her back.

This subtle awkwardness and the self-serving mind games made Liu Sinan frown.