A Guide to Divorce for Middle-Aged Lesbian Couples - Chapter 3

It wasn’t until an hour and a half later that Movie Queen Su felt a hint of satisfaction before escorting her prisoner to another execution ground.

An entire wall of cabinets opened simultaneously as Su Sixian pressed a button. Everything from various fabrics and styles of clothing to jewelry and accessories was available. In the shoe cabinet directly below, at least a hundred pairs of shoes were neatly arranged for selection. The scene was truly spectacular.

Because of her leg ailment, Shen Xingchuan rarely wore complicated things like skirts. Her wardrobe was mostly filled with shirts of various styles and colors. It was undeniable that with her broad shoulders, thin back, long legs, and slender waist, she looked much better in formal wear than in those ethereal, flowing dresses.

Su Sixian held several shirts up against Shen Xingchuan’s body, nodding with satisfaction: “Let’s go with this one!”

This piece was something she had custom-made last year while attending a show in Paris. She had dragged Shen Xingchuan—who had just finished a contract negotiation with some partner and rarely had half a day of free time—into a century-old manual garment workshop to make this unique couple’s outfit.

Shen Xingchuan was the type of person who would neatly hang up a week’s worth of clothes on Sunday to avoid wasting time on coordination in the morning.

However, this shirt happened to have French double cuffs, requiring the effort of putting on cufflinks before she could head out. Naturally, it had only been worn once during the initial fitting and had never been touched since.

Looking at the box full of pearly, glittering cufflinks, Shen Xingchuan chose the one that looked the most low-profile.

“Is this one okay?”

It was a pair of butterfly-style gold-inlaid jade cufflinks. About the size of a large thumbnail, the thin sheets of suet-fat jade were carved with the veins of butterfly wings, and the whale-back posts below were cleverly crafted into the shape of tree branches, making it look like the moment a butterfly rests on a twig.

“Good taste. I like these very much too.” Su Sixian hadn’t expected her to pick those. She took one from the box and helped her put it on.

The Bentley pulled up slowly in front of the villa. Bona and Annie, dressed in their usual business attire, stood by the car to greet Shen Xingchuan: “Good morning, President Shen.”

“Good morning to you both.” Shen Xingchuan smiled slightly at them, only to see the two look up and shout in unison: “Good morning, Madam.”

Shen Xingchuan turned back to look, only to see the autumn morning sun spilling over Su Sixian, who was standing on the second-floor bedroom balcony.

Her jet-black hair cascading over her shoulders seemed plated with a golden glow; paired with that exquisite, fair face, she looked like a foreign princess stepping out of a fairy tale.

She pulled her light gray fringed shawl tighter over her silk pajamas, holding a cup of coffee. She nodded and smiled shallowly at them, looking exceptionally elegant and ethereal.

As the three sat in the car, Shen Xingchuan noticed Annie looking at her through the rearview mirror with a meaningful look in her eyes. Seeing she had been caught, Annie explained quite openly.

“It’s rare to see you wear a French-cuffed shirt. Madam must have coordinated it for you.”

Shen Xingchuan’s fingertips brushed over the white jade butterfly, her eyes inadvertently softening: “Yes.”

Annie let out a light laugh: “Cufflinks are generally hard to put on by yourself. At times like this, one often needs a partner who is willing to wake up early to help you put them on—someone who cares about your fashion and elegance, and isn’t worried about you going out to hook up with others.”

Shen Xingchuan didn’t know what to say, so she could only smile. Through the car window, she watched Su Sixian, still holding her coffee and looking into the distance on the balcony, gradually vanish from her field of vision.

She truly couldn’t see through her. After interacting for these few days, two out of every three sentences she said were lies, and the other was a line plucked from who-knows-what drama.

However, she could also feel a subtle connection between them where the physical is paramount, but feelings are not yet full.

Then again, in twelve years, you’d become familiar even with a dog you raised, let alone the one night of marriage, a hundred days of grace bond. A family alliance—could they even divorce?

The Whisper building, so tall you couldn’t see the top, stood on this land like a sharp sword.

Bona and Annie maintained a distance of half a step behind the leading Shen Xingchuan at all times, fulfilling their mission like two great guardians of the left and right.

Annie swiped her tablet, briefly introducing today’s itinerary to Shen Xingchuan: “Today is mainly for you to familiarize yourself with the daily rhythm of the company. There are also some processes not involving meeting discussions that require your approval.”

Shen Xingchuan nodded, but her gaze was drawn to the tablet in Annie’s hand: “Is this a single screen?”

“It’s like an enlarged version of a mobile phone. It can be used to handle some work.”

Looking at the new, thin phone, Shen Xingchuan couldn’t help but marvel at the technological advancement of twenty years later: “Phones nowadays actually don’t have buttons anymore.”

Annie said thoughtfully: “If you need one, we can prepare a phone with buttons for you. However, we still recommend that you familiarize yourself with modern electronic products as soon as possible.”

“Thank you. I will adapt as soon as possible.”

Just as the three of them stepped through the company’s revolving door, they heard a heart-wrenching scream coming from the employee elevators: “An-An! Mama loves you!”

A group of female employees wearing ID badges squeezed into the elevator corridor, revealing eerie smiles full of youthful longing toward the youth standing inside the elevator.

The male employees, meanwhile, were squeezed into the outermost layer of poor souls by this heatwave, unable to even see the elevator doors.

The youth looked to be in his early twenties, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, revealing two small tiger teeth when he smiled. He was dressed very refreshingly and cleanly. One could see the muscles hidden beneath his clothes. He was the type that appealed to both the young and the old.

“Ahhh! An-An smiled at me!”

“Ahem! Ahem!” The colleague next to her pulled at her clothes, letting out two suggestive coughs.

“I’m telling you, inviting my An-An to endorse ‘Immortal Bone’ was definitely the best decision those bald, foot-picking guys in the gaming department ever made.”

The young girl clearly didn’t get the hint. Instead, she asked even more recklessly the question every office worker wants to ask: “What is the point of going to work!”

“For what?” A cold voice drifted over, and the originally noisy elevator area suddenly fell silent.

The girl, currently busy clenching her small fists and standing on tiptoe to watch the elevator close, answered without looking back: “To look at handsome guys!”

As soon as she spoke, she finally sensed a crisis in the deathly silence around her. Turning around stiffly, she saw President Shen—who usually stayed in her immortal cultivation state in the 61st-floor office—had actually descended to the mortal realm and was standing right in front of her.

The Paris custom-made shirt was tucked neatly and smoothly into her suit trousers, outlining beautiful body lines. The calfskin Chelsea boots on her feet, which looked outrageously expensive at a glance, probably cost her entire year’s salary.

The crystal-clear fingers of her left hand rubbed against her cane; those indifferent and ethereal eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses seemed to silently announce to everyone at all times: “This immortal’s time is precious, I don’t waste it on stupid people.”

“Good morning, President Shen.” The girl took a sharp breath and gave Shen Xingchuan a ninety-degree bow.

“The relationship between him and you is…?” Shen Xingchuan’s brow furrowed slightly, her tone thick with confusion.

“Huh?” The girl slowly raised her head, unable for a moment to figure out the meaning behind the Great Immortal’s—no, the Big Boss’s—words.

Annie blinked and hurried to whisper in her ear: “Fan culture slang of modern society.”

Shen Xingchuan nodded. Recalling the girl’s lament about work just now, she decided to give the employees some encouragement. Her lips curled into a visible arc, and her gaze softened as she scanned the crowd.

“Everyone, thank you for your hard work.”

As soon as she spoke, everyone seemed hit by a freezing spell, lowering their heads one after another, not daring to have any eye contact with Shen Xingchuan.

“Wait! What did the Big Boss mean just now? Is she criticizing us for clocking in exactly on time?”

“The Big Boss is clearly smiling, but why do I feel like I’m about to hear ‘You’re fired’ in the next second!”

“Workmates! The key point is how to answer!”

Everyone exchanged glances, unifying their answer amidst the flying sparks.

It was unclear who started it, but everyone looked up at Shen Xingchuan at the same time, their eyes determined, shouting the slogan in perfect unison.

“It’s not hard. We serve the company!”

Bona and Annie were stunned by this sudden burst of blood-boiling solidarity, as if the crowd were about to pick up guns and head to the battlefield in the next second. They looked at each other, reading the meaning in each other’s eyes.

They had to sneak into the security department and delete all the surveillance footage from the first floor regarding what just happened. If the Big Boss asked in the future, they would stick to the same story—that her memory was faulty—to avoid being silenced and blacklisted.

To prevent the situation from worsening, Bona flashed to the side of the executive elevator and pressed the up button. Ding! The elevator doors opened quickly.

“President Shen, the elevator is here.”

Shen Xingchuan walked into the executive elevator under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

The moment the elevator closed, the crowd instantly thawed, crowding into the elevators like sardines.

“Who was that person just now?” Shen Xingchuan felt the person looked somewhat familiar for some reason.

“Xie Huaian. A recently popular rising star. Debuted through an idol survival show, played the second male lead in two web dramas, has a good reputation.”

Annie pulled up the person’s profile and handed it to Shen Xingchuan. Looking at the photo on the iPad, Shen Xingchuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. This brat was the man who had met Su Sixian at the hotel late that night.

“What does ‘rising star’ mean?”

“It’s a term for celebrities with high online discussion and viewership ratings.”

“Survival show? Like Super Boy?”

“Yes.” Annie couldn’t help but recall the embarrassing green years of her elementary school days calling in for celebrities. Her eyes were full of the tears of the era!

“Why is he here…?”

“The gaming department invited him and Ms. Fu Yanmian to co-endorse our soon-to-be-launched online game ‘Immortal Bone.’ Today, the gaming department will sign the contract with his talent agency. The specific endorsement press release will be issued by our planning department tonight.”

Annie swiped a few times on the iPad and pulled up the contract document. Seeing the three big words “Shen Xingchuan” brightly signed on the approval document, the CEO fell into a state of intense self-doubt.

She found it hard to imagine how her future self, twenty years later, managed to be so strict with her own greenery during twelve years of marriage.

Seeing that Shen Xingchuan looked very interested, Annie said from the side: “You can attend and observe our signing process.”

Shen Xingchuan nodded.

Of course she had to go.

She was already wearing a green hat, so she might as well see the style and design.