How About A Divorce? - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Love Letter [VIP]

Wen Yu’s words made Lin Yanqing pause. “What?”

“Are you cheating on me?”

When Wen Yu repeated the question, her heart, which had been beating rapidly due to her all-or-nothing approach, skipped a beat. Her bl00d froze for half a second, and her hands and feet instantly felt both warm and cold.

A rhetorical question meant an affirmation. Lin Yanqing had already given her the answer.

“Okay, I get it. The light is green. Let’s go,” Wen Yu said.

Lin Yanqing glanced at the green light and started the car. Wen Yu had just closed her eyes, ready to process everything on her own, when the car suddenly braked hard, shaking her out of her half-dead silence.

The car stopped on the side of the road in the emergency lane.

“Ask me again,” Lin Yanqing suddenly said.

Wen Yu: “?”

Is she trying to kill me?

Wen Yu decided to be a silent gourd and turned her head away, ignoring her.

“Wen Yu,” Lin Yanqing called her.

Wen Yu only gave Lin Yanqing a noble and cold back of her head.

“I am not cheating on you.”

The noble and cold back of her head trembled.

Lin Yanqing: “From beginning to end, I have only ever been with you, in every sense of the word.”

She unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned over, and turned Wen Yu’s face towards her. They looked at each other, and Lin Yanqing completed her sentence. “I am clean. I’m all yours.”

…

All the way home, Wen Yu didn’t say another word.

Lin Yanqing didn’t know which words had silenced her and didn’t dare to ask more. She just ran a bath for her.

“Take a bath and rest. I’ll be in the study,” she said.

Wen Yu took off her clothes and submerged her whole body in the water.

When the water covered her head, all she could hear was a faint buzzing. Wen Yu’s mind went through the events of the day. She thought of Yang Ming, and this thread pulled out a memory. The end of the thread was a piece of memory.

Eleven years ago, one day at the end of her senior year of high school.

It was a hot day, the beginning of summer. Someone suggested they go to the school swimming pool.

The water in the pool was bluer than the water in the bathtub.

The teenagers, wrapped in colorful swimsuits, splashed into the water, like dumplings being dropped in. Each one was solid.

Wen Yu sat at the edge of the pool, not moving for a long time. The water around her feet had been warmed by her body heat when Lin Yanqing finally arrived.

“Why are you so slow?” Wen Yu asked.

“Someone was looking for me.”

“Who?”

“Yang Ming.”

“What did he want?”

Wen Yu saw Yang Ming follow Lin Yanqing into the swimming pool and walk toward the crowd not far away.

“Nothing,” Lin Yanqing said. She stepped into the water from the stainless steel ladder and came to Wen Yu’s legs. “Come down.”

“I’m a little scared,” Wen Yu flinched.

Lin Yanqing took a half-step back and reached out. “What are you scared of? I’m here.”

“Come closer,” Wen Yu said.

Lin Yanqing approached as she was told. Wen Yu wrapped her legs around Lin Yanqing’s chest and waist and slid down, clinging to her.

Skin rubbed against skin. Wen Yu wrapped her arms around Lin Yanqing’s neck, and the latter propped up her butt.

Wen Yu giggled as soon as she got into the water.

“What’s so funny?”

“It tickles,” Wen Yu said, clinging to her. “Your hair just pricked my thigh.”

Lin Yanqing: “…”

What is she saying?

“The water isn’t deep here. You should get used to it first.” Lin Yanqing was about to let go, but Wen Yu grabbed her. “Don’t go! What if I drown?”

“I’ll be buried with you.” Lin Yanqing finished her sentence. She didn’t leave after all, letting Wen Yu use her as a human life preserver.

“Lin Yanqing.”

“Mhm?”

“You have abs,” Wen Yu said, touching her.

Lin Yanqing: “…”

She subconsciously tensed her abdominal muscles to make her feel more solid.

“I want to get them too.”

“After your surgery and you’ve recovered.”

“Lin Yanqing.”

“Mhm?”

“Look, the boys in our class have good bodies too,” Wen Yu said, her hand leaving Lin Yanqing’s waist as she pointed at Yang Ming and his group.

“They’re all skinny monkeys,” Lin Yanqing said with a bit of sarcasm.

“Yang Ming is not bad. He has muscles.”

“Just average,” Lin Yanqing said. “His legs are short.”

Wen Yu laughed hysterically. “You’re even picking on people now.”

“Just stating facts.”

After Lin Yanqing said that, she turned Wen Yu around. “Don’t look at them.”

“Why?” Wen Yu asked.

“Because…” Lin Yanqing lowered her eyes.

The clear voice of a young girl and the slightly tired voice of a woman blurred the line. The scene of the swimming pool faded completely. Lin Yanqing, wearing a smoke-grey suit jacket, was standing in front of a bookshelf, on the phone.

In the study, the curtains were drawn, and only a single wall lamp was on. After the word “because,” her voice paused for a long time.

“Say it. Lin Yanqing? Are you still there?” The woman on the other end of the phone pressed. “Why don’t you tell Wen Yu you like her? Don’t you have a mouth?”

Lin Yanqing was brought back to reality by Zheng Xin.

“Between you and your partner, who confessed first?” Lin Yanqing changed the subject.

“He was secretly in love with me for three years. If I wasn’t so sharp and forced him to confess, I don’t know how long he would have kept it to himself.”

“Did you ask him?”

“I asked.”

“What did he say?”

“…He said he was worried.”

“That’s the answer.”

“That’s not an answer,” Zheng Xin said, not getting fooled by Lin Yanqing. “You two are different. You’re already married.”

“It’s a marriage of convenience.”

“What’s the difference? You already have a marriage license. Even if you get rejected, you’re still on the same household registration.”

“…I don’t dare.”

Yes, she didn’t dare.

No one is confident in love. Lin Yanqing was no exception, especially with a love that began in her youth. As time passed, the vague feelings settled into her bones and bl00d, taking on the name of love, and covering up the initial courage to go all in.

She had too much now, so she was more afraid of losing it. Lin Yanqing often felt that her current situation was good. Wen Yu’s first person to see when she opened her eyes was her, and the last person she saw before she went to bed was also her. If it continued, it would be her and Wen Yu in the same coffin. It didn’t matter if she said it or not. She would leave a long mark on Wen Yu’s timeline that couldn’t be erased or wiped away.

How could that not be a form of dying embrace?

“So you’re not going to say it for the rest of your life?” Zheng Xin asked.

“I don’t know.”

In the car, Lin Yanqing said those things, and Wen Yu didn’t give any response.

She was afraid that Wen Yu would know her feelings, and she was also afraid that she wouldn’t.

This was a Sword of Damocles hanging over her head.

The cold light was bright. Fear arose from love.

“Say it,” Wen Yu’s voice sounded in her ear, and the light from the pool shimmered. “Why?”

Lin Yanqing turned her head. Wen Yu was clinging to her, her lips almost touching hers. “Lin Yanqing, are you a mute?”

Lin Yanqing: “Thanks for your concern. My vocal cords are fine.”

Wen Yu chuckled twice. “You don’t want me to look at Yang Ming. Are you jealous?”

Because of this one sentence, Lin Yanqing’s heart beat a little faster. She didn’t know if it was because of the water pressure on her chest, but she felt a little out of breath. “Do you know what jealousy is?”

“Nonsense. Last time, Chen Yu’an was walking with her arm around a girl from the next class, and I caught her. I was jealous too.”

Lin Yanqing’s heart no longer beat fast.

She calmly pulled Wen Yu’s arms away. “Stand on your own.”

“Oh! Little classmate Lin is so petty,” Wen Yu said, clinging to her with a smile again. “You’re different from Chen Yu’an.”

“How?”

“I like you,” Wen Yu said.

The four words fell, and a fierce fire suddenly ignited where their skin touched. In a short time, Lin Yanqing was burned through, revealing the fragmented steel and bones beneath her calm exterior.

The steel and bones also melted because of this one sentence.

If Wen Yu wanted to, she could reach out and touch Lin Yanqing’s heart, all of Lin Yanqing.

“Do you know what you’re saying?” Her breath was a little shaky.

Wen Yu leaned against Lin Yanqing’s ear and hummed with her eyes closed. “I do.”

“Wen Yu.”

Lin Yanqing cupped Wen Yu’s face and stared at her lips.

“I’m here,” Wen Yu said. “Do you remember when I told you about my sister?”

“Mhm.”

Lin Yanqing’s gaze didn’t move an inch. Her arms wrapped around Wen Yu, drawing her closer.

“Sometimes, I really wish you were my biological sister.”

Lin Yanqing was stunned.

“My mom is divorced. My sister went with my dad. I don’t get to see her much. I miss her a little,” Wen Yu said, her eyes still closed, completely unaware of Lin Yanqing’s change.

The heat in her limbs and bones instantly froze. Ice water poured into her heart, corroding her bones with rust spots.

Lin Yanqing remained in the same position, not getting closer, and not moving away. She was only half an inch away from Wen Yu’s lips.

“You want me to be your sister?”

“Mhm. A good sister,” Wen Yu said. She then opened her eyes and was confused for a second. “Why are you so close?”

Lin Yanqing met Wen Yu’s eyes. Her fingertips landed on Wen Yu’s eyelids. “You have an eyelash.”

Wen Yu blinked, wanting to rub her eyes, but Lin Yanqing stopped her.

“Don’t get water in your eyes.”

“Oh.” Wen Yu obediently put her face in Lin Yanqing’s hand.

“Done,” Lin Yanqing said, taking her hand away. Before she could pull away, Wen Yu reached out, wrapped her arms around her waist, and buried her head in her neck.

“I’m so tired,” Wen Yu said.

“You’ll be relaxed after the exams.”

A buoy suddenly floated up high. Someone swam over. Lin Yanqing raised her eyelids and saw Yang Ming stop not far away.

Yang Ming’s expression was complicated. He looked at the two people embracing each other and then met Lin Yanqing’s warning gaze. He noticed something was wrong. “You guys…”

“Mhm?” Wen Yu heard Yang Ming’s voice and wanted to look up, but Lin Yanqing pressed her head back down.

“Go to the next lane,” Lin Yanqing said calmly. “This lane is occupied.”

Yang Ming: “Is it?”

“Are you blind?”

“Wen Yu,” Yang Ming called out. “Do you want me to teach you how to swim?”

“She doesn’t need it,” Lin Yanqing answered.

Wen Yu’s head was held down, and she obediently acted like a quail.

She whispered, “Lin Yanqing, you’re jealous again.”

The scene ended abruptly. Wen Yu pulled herself out of the bathtub and stood up. The thick water flowed off her body, and countless colorless snakes slithered down her skin.

The sound of trickling water was in her ears. Wen Yu wiped her face and murmured, “Jealous?”

The words hid emotions, pulling her back into the vortex of that time.

The feeling was as fresh as ever—when Wen Yu said those words, there was a secret expectation in her heart.

“Expectation?” Wen Yu frowned.

She pushed her hair back and looked at herself in the mirror. She asked, “What are you expecting?”

The mirror steamed up, like the dirty glass outside the swimming pool. It was covered in a layer of dust. The sunlight was fragmented, casting a filter over her memories.

“You’re not using the word ‘jealous’ correctly,” Lin Yanqing sighed. She paused, then added in a low voice, “But you’re not wrong either.”

“Huh? What?” Wen Yu didn’t hear clearly.

She straightened up and realized that Yang Ming had already left. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know. Do you care?”