Mu Jianyu and Li Xiuying drove away in silence. Neither of them had any idea what to tell the other. Li Xiuying looked away and rather watched the pa.s.sing scenery outside the window of the pa.s.senger seat while her husband focused his attention on the road while sneaking side glances to look at her. "You can just drop me at my studio. Istill have things I need to sort out," Li Xiuying broke the silence between them. She didn"t want to go back to their shared apartment as memories of his cheating washed through her whenever she was at that place.
Her husband turned the steering wheel and drove towards her studio. It would be too late to see Lin Meirong and he needed a good rest from his long day.
The studio she was talking about was actually a penthouse under her and Li Chuntao"s name. Both wanted to have a safe haven they could call their own and since Li Chuntao had been away for years, Li Xiuying had been using the place to store her paintings and sculptures for her exhibits.
"I"m so sorry for troubling you. I know you didn"t want to see me right now but…" Li XIuying"s words trailed off as she unlocked the door of the penthouse with her copy of the keycard.
There were things she wanted to ask him but wasn"t sure if he"ll be truthful and honest with her this time. Would it change anything if she told him she knew the real reason why he wanted to divorce her?
Mu Jianyu"s eyes scanned the penthouse and checked every room they pa.s.sed as his wife let him inside. It was obvious to him that the place was decorated by his wife. Her taste was really something he admired. It didn"t emanate the lavishness other rich socialites exuded.
There was something charming about the simplicity and minimalist style that he would never get tired of.
"It"s fine. I"ll see you tomorrow then." Mu Jianyu turned to leave, still leaving the talk of their divorce hanging in the air. He hated that he couldn"t ask her, hated that he wasn"t ready to let her go.
Li Xiuying could only look at his retreating form, pain resurfacing on her chest as she watched him leave her again. Just how many times does she have to see him abandon her like this?
---
"Good morning, Dr. Shen. Ready to scrub in?"
Shen Zichen found himself ignoring the flirty gaze from the nurse beside him and headed straight for the washroom alone. He didn"t like the attention he was getting from the opposite s.e.x and was getting fed up with their foolish excuses just to throw themselves at him.
He was used to it but that didn"t mean he liked the attention. In this hospital, Shen Zichen was known for his handsome looks and being a capable surgeon, so naturally, people would find him attractive.
Although as far as he knew the only women he that weren"t affected by his face were the Li twins. Li Xiuying treated him normally while Li Chuntao had once called him a conceited peac.o.c.k for bragging about the women flocking around him.
He removed his white coat and moved to the sink to wash his hands. He turned on the water and was about to put his hands under the gush of water when he stilled. The memory of what happened last night was still fresh to him. He"d received word from Li Chuntao.
After their dinner with Mu Jianyu and Li Xiuying, he had driven back home to Imperial Residences with his twin sister. It was rare for Shen Yuyan to be home and whenever she was back at the capital, they made sure to spend time with their parents and siblings.
Shen Yuyan excitedly ran to the main house to look for their mother while Shen Zichen took this rare time to ponder what he should do next. He could see that Li Xiuying was having a hard time deciding whether she should sign the divorce papers and free herself from Mu Jianyu or not.
He"d already lost his chance when Li Xiuying married but he wouldn"t take advantage of her pain. It also didn"t help that she was carrying the b.a.s.t.a.r.d"s child. She might be single soon because her husband didn"t value her and her feelings were neglected.
Shen Zichen wouldn"t be surprised if she"d develop a trust issue with men after this. She"d been hurt because she loved and cared too much for a man who didn"t love her enough.
He was deep in his thoughts that he didn"t notice he reached the greenhouse where he and his siblings made unforgettable memories together. He and his twin sister knew that they were lucky to be taken in by their parents and who even went as far as fighting in court for their custody against their biological father who abandoned them.
Just the thought alone made him hate Mu Jianyu more. What would happen to Ying"s child once she gave birth? Will Mu Jianyu disregard their child just like what he did to Ying?
"Zi Gege, you"re overthinking again." The familiar voice pulled Shen Zichen back to reality and he turned his head to the source of the voice.
He found his little sister, Shen Lingqing sitting under a tree with a white tiger curled next to her. Her round brown eyes staring back at him as if she could see past behind his stoic mask but this didn"t bother him.
"Qing Qing, why are you here?" He sat next to her while Shen Lingqing continued to pet the white tiger"s head as if she was a villainess petting her favorite cat with a bored expression on her face.
"Nothing. Just trying to clear my mind and you?" She asked back.
"I could say the same thing." He sighed, closed his eyes and leaned back against the trunk of the tree behind him.
Shen Zichen hadn"t expected that she would have the luxury to laze around like usual. His sister had just recently taken over the management of SY Holdings but was still under the supervision of their father.
At the age of twenty three, Shen Lingqing was starting to build a name for herself while continuing the legacy their father had started. She had grown into a great beauty which made their father uncomfortable at the thought of her prospective suitors now that she had reached the right age to date and to marry.
"By the way, I met Sister Chuntao before I boarded my flight home," she said out of nowhere.
He shot his eyes open and looked at her.
"You did? How? Why?"
Knowing Li Chuntao, she would be apprehensive over her twin sister"s welfare. Did she find out the predicament her sister was in?
"It"s just a coincidence. I was buying coffee from a cafe when I ran into her. We had a brief talk and she told me that she could feel that Sister Ying was hiding something from her." At this, Shen Lingqing paused and glanced at him. "She said she couldn"t force her sister to tell her the truth but expected that you wouldn"t let her be kept in the dark for too long."
It was clearly a warning on Li Chuntao"s part. She knew something was up and she would get the information she needed whether her twin sister approved it or not.
Shen Zichen pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. The Li twins weren"t making his life easier these days.