The Wife From the Contract Marriage Does Not Want to Get Divorced - Chapter 1

Early spring in Rongcheng was still somewhat cold.

In a high-end custom dress shop located on a bustling commercial street in the city center, the glass curtain wall blocked out the late spring chill. Lu Yanqing’s fingertip hovered over the edge of the seventh photo in her phone’s album. The faces of her blind date candidates were all cast from the same mold of prestigious socialites willow-leaf brows, almond eyes, and even the curvature of their smiles was refined to the ultimate degree.

“Before the board meeting next month, you must give me an answer…”

Her grandfather’s voice rustled through her Bluetooth headset. Lu Yanqing removed the earpiece and set it down on a velvet cushion.

He didn’t object to her falling in love, but her marriage partner had to be of equal social standing.

Suddenly, a burst of crisp laughter drifted in from the corridor outside.

Lu Yanqing looked up instinctively, and in the next instant, her breath froze in her throat it was Su Man, her current girlfriend.

Separated by double-paned glass, Su Man was standing in front of the ice cream shop across the street.

Her brownish-tan curls were tinged blue by the reflection of an advertisement billboard. As her finger brushed against the corner of the woman’s mouth beside her, the iris brooch on her shirt caught the light a piece they had stayed up late to handmade together just last week.

“Miss Lu, your gown has been altered.”

The clerk’s voice pulled Lu Yanqing back to reality. She mechanically reached for the garment bag but ultimately failed to hold it steady. The deep blue fabric slipped halfway out of the bag’s opening, its icy texture brushing against the webbing of her thumb.

Only last night, Su Man had been leaning against her knees, saying she wanted to wear this very dress to dance at their anniversary celebration.

At this moment, the advertising screen switched to a diamond ring commercial. The red-bottomed high heels of Su Man’s new flame were stepping right onto the projection of the ragdoll cat they raised together.

The phone in her palm felt faintly hot. The latest message in her pinned chat, sent by Su Man two hours ago, remained at the top:

Going to Blue Note tonight to try that soufflé you like.

It was accompanied by a photo of their ragdoll cat basking in the sun at the park downstairs.

“The star and moon embroidery on the neckline needs to be changed.”

Lu Yanqing’s eyelashes trembled slightly. She heard her own voice sounding excessively calm, her fingernail pressing a crescent mark into the alteration form. “Change it to…”

Suddenly, she couldn’t go on. In the bottom right corner of the form, the client signature was written in a flamboyant cursive style exactly the English copperplate script Su Man had learned three months ago.

The wind chimes at the shop door suddenly exploded with sound as a cold draft rushed in.

Lu Yanqing placed the garment bag on the counter. “There’s no need to change it.”

She set down the paper bag and turned to leave. The gown slid out of the bag, its sequins flashing once in the air before falling onto the dust cover.

A few minutes later, Lu Yanqing returned to her car.

The fragrance inside was still the scent Su Man liked. Her peripheral vision caught the snowflake crystal pendant hanging from the rearview mirror.

Su Man had hung it there during the first snowfall last year; now, it swayed slightly with the vibration of the engine.

“Before starting a new relationship, shouldn’t you break up with me first?”

Ultimately, Lu Yanqing dialed Su Man’s number. Waiting for the person on the other end to pick up, she thought of the scene she had just witnessed and let out a light laugh toward the car phone, her thumb stroking the leather texture of the steering wheel.

The rearview mirror reflected her perfect smile; even her anger was elegant and poised.

The clink of a coffee cup hitting a saucer came through the receiver, and Su Man’s breathing clearly faltered for a few beats: Qingqing, you’ve misunderstood, Miss Zou is just a business partner…

Lu Yanqing interrupted her: “No need to explain. We are finished.”

At eight o’clock that evening, the jazz music at Blue Note, thick with the sweetness of soufflé, drifted between the booths.

When Zhong Wanyi pushed the soufflé over, water droplets were clinging to the rim of the porcelain plate.

She was indeed a bit surprised to suddenly hear the news of Lu Yanqing and Su Man’s breakup. Had these two only been dating for half a year?

However, she was tactful enough to say nothing.

After all, Lu Yanqing’s expression looked very poor.

After a few rounds of drinks, Zhong Wanyi poked Lu Yanqing’s arm and pointed at the phone on the coffee table. “Grandpa Lu is on his third round of carpet-bombing calls.”

Lu Yanqing was very quiet tonight. Although a gentle smile hung on her lips, she gave off a palpable “do not approach” vibe. The two friends Zhong Wanyi had brought along weren’t exactly strangers everyone moved in the same circles and was fairly familiar.

On a normal day, they would have stepped forward to chat with Lu Yanqing long ago, but tonight, they remained hesitant.

Lu Yanqing rubbed the rim of her wine glass. Only after a good while did she pick up the phone from the glass table. The screen lit up, the red dots of missed calls looking piercingly bright. A new message suddenly popped up at the top, concise and to the point: You are not the only heir.

“Grandpa Lu is threatening you with the inheritance again?”

Zhong Wanyi caught a glimpse of the content, her brows furrowing slightly.

The neon lights distorted into strange patterns within the liquid of the glass.

Lu Yanqing thought of her cousin’s triumphant smile at the board meeting, and then of the Xie family’s financial report her secretary had delivered this morning the gap from the broken capital chain was a glaring, blood-red color.

“I heard that the Xie family’s adopted daughter…”

Zhong Wanyi dipped her finger in the spilled alcohol and drew circles on the table. “…the one named Xie Siyu, has been secretly in love with someone for many years. If it weren’t for the Xie Group’s capital chain about to snap, she wouldn’t have been pushed out for an arranged marriage.”

“Maybe she feels even more wronged than you do.”

Lu Yanqing stared blankly at the swaying neon lights in her cup.

Water droplets condensed on the outside of the glass and dripped down. She tilted her head back and finished the wine in one gulp.

In a moment of inexplicable impulse, the photo of Xie Siyu flashed through her mind. After a few breaths, she called her grandfather back: “I agree to the marriage.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire booth fell silent.

The liquid slid down her throat, leaving a burning sensation. Lu Yanqing saw Zhong Wanyi’s eyes widen in shock, reflecting her own image in those pupils a smile on her lips, a mask so perfect that even her best friend couldn’t see a crack.

One week later.

Spring rain pitter-pattered down as Lu Yanqing paused in front of the “Yunqi” coffee shop.

After a moment of silence, she finally clutched her tote bag containing the agreement and pushed open the door.

At ten in the morning, there weren’t many customers. Lu Yanqing spotted Xie Siyu almost instantly.

She was sitting on a rattan chair in front of a green wall, head down as she stirred her coffee. Her cream-colored knit sweater had slipped off her shoulder, revealing a section of porcelain-white collarbone.

“Does Miss Xie have any further objections to the terms of the agreement? Is it certain that the wedding is to be canceled?”

Although it was a marriage of convenience and time was tight, Xie Siyu had proposed skipping the wedding. However, Lu Yanqing preferred to have the compensation owed to her formalized in black and white.

Sitting across from Xie Siyu, Lu Yanqing pulled out the documents, accidentally knocking over a sugar packet. Xie Siyu leaned over to pick it up, catching a faint scent of orange blossom.

“A wedding is unnecessary.”

Xie Siyu pushed the sugar packet back, her voice gentle. “Since Miss Lu has proposed a marriage of convenience to be dissolved after three years, after which we will each go our separate ways, does it really matter whether or not we hold a wedding?”

Lu Yanqing was momentarily speechless. She picked up the lemon water beside her and took a shallow sip. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, the wisteria trellis swayed in the rain. When she pulled her gaze back, she noticed the pearl earring on Xie Siyu’s ear.

“Both parties are required to cooperate in attending each other’s family gatherings.”

The rain grew heavier. Lu Yanqing added “cooperation in necessary family social events” to the supplementary clauses, but her pen hovered over the words “marital obligations,” hesitating to touch the paper.

“Including family dinners like the Dragon Boat Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival?”

Xie Siyu let out a light laugh, her finger brushing against the edge of the agreement.

Just as Lu Yanqing was about to answer, Xie Siyu’s phone suddenly vibrated.

The moment the lock screen lit up, Lu Yanqing caught a glimpse of a blurred photo it was only a silhouette from behind.

A girl wearing a blue school uniform with her hair in a ponytail.

“My apologies.”

Xie Siyu did not answer the call and quickly turned off the screen, but the rhythm of her stirring the coffee became slightly erratic, the silver spoon scraping against the bottom of the cup with a piercing sound.

“For holidays like Dragon Boat or Mid-Autumn, if there are special circumstances, we can discuss them further.”

Lu Yanqing didn’t make the terms too rigid, suddenly remembering what Zhong Wanyi had said that night at Blue Note.

Was the girl on that lock screen the person Xie Siyu had loved for many years?

The two discussed more details of the agreement. Once Lu Yanqing was certain Xie Siyu was willing to proceed with the union, she signed her name and handed the agreement over. “If Miss Xie is sure there is nothing more to add, then please sign.”

In the next second, Xie Siyu reached out to take the agreement. Her fingertips brushed against Lu Yanqing’s skin; her temperature was colder than the spring rain.

An hour later.

As she walked out of the coffee shop, the rain had subsided. Lu Yanqing spotted a familiar license plate in the parking lot Su Man’s red sports car was currently parked in the corner.

She withdrew her gaze and climbed into the driver’s seat.

Just then, a notification for a trending topic in Rongcheng popped up on her phone the Xie Group’s official website had released the news of the alliance with the Lu family.

In the photo, Xie Siyu stood under a rose trellis at the Xie residence, a smile on her lips, looking dignified and elegant.

When Lu Yanqing enlarged the picture, she noticed that Xie Siyu’s earlobes were indeed empty, because that pearl earring was currently inside Lu Yanqing’s bag.

Almost at the same time, her grandfather sent a new message: Bring her to the old manor tomorrow morning.

The lock screen showed 13:07. The feeding reminder for the ragdoll cat popped up on time, while Su Man’s unread messages on WeChat had accumulated to 99+.

Lu Yanqing patiently deleted all the content in her reminders and proceeded to block Su Man on all contact platforms.

She then started the engine and left the parking lot, rolling down the window to let the damp wind pour in.

In the rearview mirror, the red sports car grew more distant until it vanished completely from her sight.

The morning after they registered their marriage, before the mist had scattered, Lu Yanqing was in the VIP lounge of the Rongcheng International Airport, reviewing the terms of a merger.

She inadvertently glanced at the wedding ring on her right ring finger. Xie Siyu had put it on her after they received their certificates. The engraving on the inner gold wall, “LYQ & XSY 3.21,” carried the warmth of her body.

The boarding announcement sounded, and Lu Yanqing rose to head toward the gate.

Half an hour later, outside the cabin window, rain clouds surged like spilled ink. A flight attendant handed her a soft-textured blanket: “Miss Lu, here is the blanket you requested. We wish you a pleasant journey; please contact us if you need anything.”

“Thank you.”

She took the blanket and draped it over her legs. Suddenly, a piercing burst of static came from the cabin intercom. Lu Yanqing’s last memory was the plane jolting violently but when she opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on the sofa in her apartment.

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