For a moment, they looked into each other’s eyes. Then Mu Jianyu quickly avoided and withdrew his gaze. He hated that she was still able to evoke some feelings from him whenever he was with her. 

Without paying any more attention to him, Li Xiuying turned off her computer and tidied up her desk before taking her handbag. She was ready to leave. The man in front of her cannot be kept anymore. It was time for her to give up and let him go.

With one hand on the doorknob, Li Xiuying didn’t even bother to face him. She didn’t want him to see how broken she was, how she became a woman she barely recognized because of him. Wiping off all the emotions from her face, she was ready to leave him for good. 

 She was about to leave her office when his voice reached her ears. 

“The divorce papers…. Have you signed it?” He reminded her. His tone was dead serious as if he couldn’t wait for their divorce to finalize. 

“Why so eager to divorce me?” Li Xiuying said with a low laugh. She laughed at herself in her heart. Why, of course, he couldn’t wait to run to wherever his mistress was. Silently, a tear slid down from the corner of her eyes and over the smile on her lips. She hoped that this would be the last time she would see him because it still damn hurts to know that he wasn’t the same person she came to love. 

‘If I never fell in love with him, would I be happier?’ she wondered. 

Li Xiuying felt the knife before she saw it. She looked into the eyes of the wielder. It was her husband from so long ago. The eyes that were once filled with so much love were now replaced with bitterness and hate. The only thing that showed any resemblance to the old person that she loved was the shell the bitter soul inhabited. The person she loved was gone.

“Now that you don’t need the Li Corporation, this marriage has no value to you anymore?” Her body slightly trembled as she laughed at him. 

“Ying…” 

“If I sign, then what? Will the grudges you feel for me and my family be settled? Jianyu, you better make sure you will not regret this later. I wouldn’t be able to help you if a problem arises.” 

Mu Jianyu frowned, not understanding what she meant. 

“I am sure,” 

“The man you were, the one I married, would have kicked your ass all over this God damn room for talking to me like that.” She chuckled and shook her head. “You were someone. You were that man, the one who had the principles and the backbone who never allowed anyone to hurt me but now, you’re the first one to do so.”

When Mu Jianyu didn’t say anything, Li Xiuying continued. 

“Then wait for this weekend. I’ll sign the papers and will let Hou Chen file it at the registry affairs.” Were Li Xiuying’s parting words before she stepped out of her office with her head down. Her eyes were so misty that she couldn’t see anything at all as tears fell from her eyes. 

She heard footsteps coming her way and saw Song Zexi staring at her with a worried look in her eyes. 

“Let’s go. We need to prepare for tonight’s event,” Li Xiuying said as she wiped her tears dry and walked away with her bodyguards following behind her. 

—

The Li Corporation’s anniversary party was star-studded. Famous celebrities and business moguls and socialites and even the five famous families of the capital graced the red carpet but none of the reporters had seen Li Xiuying yet. Mu Jianyu had arrived earlier alone without his wife and had greeted the media stationed outside the banquet hall. 

The reception at the party would start at eight. Half an hour before it started, Li Xiuying arrived at the hotel where it will be held with Shen Zichen by her side. Instead of her husband, it was her childhood friend who would accompany her tonight much to the shock of the media and others. 

Cameras flashed frantically as the media saw the two of them stepped out from the same car with Shen Zichen escorting the CEO of Li Corporation. 

“Oh my, I haven’t seen them together for years. It’s a pity they didn’t end up being together,” A senior reporter sighed with disappointment. 

“Don’t lose hope yet!” His junior exclaimed beside him, “I got an exclusive scoop that Lady Li’s marriage with Mu Jianyu is already on the rocks and divorce is pending. His sudden resignation also proved that they aren’t on good terms.” 

“Oh? Is this why we’re seeing Lady Li and Young Master Shen being together again? They’re a good match, in my honest opinion. I’m sure the ShenLu couple wouldn’t mind welcoming Miss Ying as their daughter-in-law,”

“Ohh, it would become the wedding of the decade if they truly end up together. This will also unite both Li and the Shen families. Not only would it be great for business but it would also strengthen their influence in the society,” another reporter who heard their conversation commented.

Mu Jianyu, who accidentally overheard the conversation, halted in his steps. His face darkened with hostility against the young master of the Shen’s. It was always like this whenever it came to Li Xiuying and Shen Zichen.. They always made him feel unwanted, someone who derailed what was inevitable between the two childhood friends.