"Sign here and make your mark, and I'll have the money sent to you later. You can finalize the house tomorrow."
He said he was lending her the money, but at bank interest rates, not for free.
This made Xiang Wan feel a lot better.
Besides, she was the one borrowing the money.
It was all clearly written down on paper, so she wouldn't be cheated by him. There seemed to be no reason to refuse.
Back at the studio, within minutes, she received a text message alert.
Two million had arrived.
Tang Haichao sent her a WeChat message, asking if she had received the money.
"Received it. I'll finalize the house tomorrow. I'll treat you to a meal once I get the property deed."
"Hey, it's no big deal. In the future, if you need your house renovated, give me the business. And if friends need renovations, introduce them to me. That way, we can help each other out."
Xiang Wan agreed, saying she would definitely keep his request in mind.
While she was chatting with Tang Haichao on WeChat, a friend who had invited her to the beauty salon also sent a message.
"It's been a while since I went to the beauty salon for maintenance. They're having a promotion with a big discount. Are you free today? Shall I treat you?"
Xiang Wan didn't have time.
Moreover, the moment she thought of Lu Mingzhe's prominent photo hanging in that place, she never wanted to go there again.
"I'm busy lately. You should invite someone else."
Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, her friend didn't say much more, just responded with an "Oh" and went back to her work.
At two in the afternoon, Lu Mingzhe called Chen Jiaojiao.
He wanted to take advantage of work hours to ask her to go through the procedures.
Chen Jiaojiao was quite surprised when she received the call.
Although she knew it wouldn't be anything good, she still put on a brave face.
"What's up? Why are you calling me at this hour?"
Lu Mingzhe got straight to the point.
"Are you mentally prepared for what I told you yesterday?"
Chen Jiaojiao's heart skipped a beat. She guessed what was about to happen, but she couldn't believe it.
"What did you tell me yesterday?"
"Chen Jiaojiao, it's pointless to pretend you don't remember. You clearly agreed to it before."
"You said so many things yesterday, how could I possibly know which one you're referring to? Just say what you want to say."
"Fine, then I'll say it directly. Right now, bring your household registration book, your marriage certificate, and drive your car. Let's meet at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau. We're going to process the divorce."
Hmph, it seemed his relationship with that woman had reached a critical point.
To want a divorce so readily, he was truly heartless.
A surge of immense unwillingness washed over Chen Jiaojiao, and she deliberately made things difficult for him.
"You were the one who proposed marriage, and now you're the one proposing divorce. Getting married so easily, divorcing so easily, Lu Mingzhe, you're really something."
Lu Mingzhe could hear the implication in her words.
"What's wrong? Do you want to go back on your word? Do you have objections to your previous promises?"
"Of course I have objections. We've only been married a few days! Your parents haven't even recovered from the joy of our wedding..."
"That's our family's business, you don't need to worry about it. Besides, I'll be bringing a new daughter-in-law back to them soon, so what's there to recover from?"
It was a good thing they were on the phone.
If they were face-to-face, Chen Jiaojiao would definitely have slapped him across the face without hesitation.
"Look how impatient you are. What's the matter? Are you pregnant? Are you eager to get the child registered on the household registry..."
"Stop talking nonsense with me, just tell me if you're going today!"
He's even getting aggressive now?
Chen Jiaojiao suddenly felt wronged and on the verge of tears.
"You were the one who forced me to marry you in the first place, and now you're forcing me to divorce? If it weren't for you, would I have had to come to Nancheng alone?"
"My father passed away only a few days ago! I'm all alone and helpless, are you even human?"
What she said was true.
At the time, he didn't know what had gotten into him, but he insisted on marrying her.
Now that the situation had become so awkward, Lu Mingzhe was filled with regret.
After a pause, he took a step back.
"It's not that I absolutely cannot wait. If you really feel that divorcing at this time will affect your mood, then we can postpone it for a few more days."
"You name a date. Let you take the lead. Whenever you say, it's that day. Is that fair?"
To be willing to concede to this extent just to divorce her, he was really something!
Chen Jiaojiao's self-esteem was shattered.
At this point, she had seen through him.
Lu Mingzhe was infatuated with that woman, and there was no benefit in confronting him directly.
The only way was to use a delaying tactic.
"My father passed away only three days ago. We have to wait until after the forty-ninth day memorial service. Calculate the date yourself, and come find me after the forty-ninth day."
After saying that, she hung up the phone.
The forty-ninth day memorial service was thirty-five days after death. Adding the three days from today, it meant he should find her again in a month.
Fine. She could wait.
After all, they were a couple. It was best to part amicably. She would wait for him for another month.
After work, Lu Mingzhe called Xiang Wan, asking if she wanted him to pick her up.
Sensing that he was in a good mood, thinking there was good news, Xiang Wan asked him to come.
They met downstairs. Lu Mingzhe first kissed her hand, then asked if she was busy today and if she had missed him.
"Is there some good news? You came so early, do you have good news to share with me?"
"Seeing you is the greatest good news. Isn't that something to be happy about?"
Lu Mingzhe seemed to have forgotten all about the divorce he had mentioned yesterday.
Xiang Wan almost couldn't help but remind him.
But her pride wouldn't allow it.
To constantly use pregnancy as a reason to force a divorce was truly something only someone like A San would do.
"Get lost. You're becoming more glib."
Feeling a hint of disappointment, she pulled her hand out of his.
Lu Mingzhe smiled and started the car.
"I'm not going back for dinner today. I've booked a restaurant, let's go out to eat."
"No. Haven't I had enough of gutter oil for two meals today? I want to go home."
"Just this once, it's fine. This place I found is quite famous, let's try it."
Regardless of whether Xiang Wan was happy or not, he drove directly to the private dining restaurant.
The environment was excellent, quiet amidst the hustle and bustle, and very elegant.
But Xiang Wan's hopes were dashed, and she felt a hidden resentment, unable to be happy no matter what.
Lu Mingzhe pushed her inside.
After entering the private room and ordering, Xiang Wan took out her phone.
"I'll send Xiang Yang a WeChat message and tell him to eat by himself. He might still be waiting for me foolishly at home."
As soon as she finished speaking, the door to the private room was pushed open.
A handsome boy pushed a beautiful trolley.
On it were a large bouquet of bright red roses and a beautiful cake.
"Miss, your order has arrived."
His voice was filled with laughter. Who else could it be but Xiang Yang?
Xiang Wan was stunned. "...Why are you here too?"
It wasn't anyone's birthday today, so why all this cake and so many flowers?
Lu Mingzhe didn't answer her. He got up, took her hand, and pushed open the door to the inner room.
It turned out there was another world inside.
The room was filled with colorful balloons, candles, fresh flowers, and rose petals scattered all over the floor...
Lu Mingzhe pulled her to the center of the room, knelt on one knee, and took out a ring.
"I asked Xiang Yang to be a witness."
"I've been thinking about this for a long time. Although today isn't a special day, I wanted to secure you as soon as possible, so I chose today."