The 99th Divorce

Having thought it through, Li Jinnan suddenly felt as if he had a grasp on the situation. He let out a long breath of smoke with a heart full of pity. He tapped his cigarette.

Luo Zhan raised his eyebrows and asked with a tinge of accusation, “It’s about time you controlled your smoking addiction. You’re both from the same family. Your Second Brother doesn’t even smoke, so why is your addiction so severe?”

“The both of you are of the same age,” Li Jinnan said. “My Second Brother has sons and a daughter, and a perfect family. Why are you still single?”

At this rebuttal, Luo Zhan had nothing else to say in reply. Huffing in annoyance, he snatched the USB drive out of the computer and tossed it to Li Jinnan, saying, “It’s done! You can go back now.”

Li Jinnan picked the USB stick, patted Luo Zhan on the shoulder, and said off-handedly, “Thanks. Bye.”

Luo Zhan looked up. “F*ck. Can’t you put a little more sincerity in your thanks?”

Li Jinnan did not even look back. He simply stepped out and closed the door behind him.

“F*ck!”

What kind of friends have I picked? Li Sicheng acted this way. Ou Ming acted this way. Now, even Li Jinnan is acting this way! What sort of trend is this? This is overboard! Is it because I’m easy to bully? No! Impossible! It is they who were overbearing!

Luo Zhan turned back to his computer to continue working. The more he thought about it, the more disgruntled he became. He picked his phone up and opened his social media, posting the words, “I’m bad at picking friends!”

The moment he clicked post, the comment was liked. It was Yu Lili. She added a comment too: [Hahahahaha! Were you cheated by Qianci’s husband again? Did you just come to the realization that my husband is a really good friend?]

What the hell!

Ou Ming and Li Sicheng were cut from the same cloth. They were birds of the same feather. Neither was better than the other.

Just as he was about to reply, he saw that Su Qianci had clicked liked it as well. She had replied to Yu Lili: [I was about to say that he was probably cheated by your husband! You’re the villain making a report here! Ha!]

Sister-in-law Ou: [Your husband is worse. My husband is a good man!]

Second Sister-in-law: [Go away! My husband is behaving himself well at home. He didn’t do anything at all. Stop accusing him wrongfully!]

Sister-in-law Ou: [My husband is behaving himself in the Capital too! He hasn’t done anything. Who could it be then?]

Su Qianci and Yu Lili stopped engaging each other in their online exchange. Both of them directed their next question to Luo Zhan: [Who was it?]

Luo Zhan had been enjoying their banter. When he saw that he was suddenly roped in, he panicked. Just as he was about to reply that it was the Li Jinnan, Yu Lili posted another reply: [Were you talking about Lu Yihan?]

Su Qianci: [That’s hard to say. That fellow isn’t exactly good either. Hahaha!]

Luo Zhan burst out laughing. Lu Yihan had become the scapegoat. He finally replied with a few words: [All the guesses are wrong!]

Just as he had made his reply public, he received another reaction.

Lu Yihan: [???]

Sister-in-law Ou to Lu Yihan: [Out with it! Did you do something to Luo Zhan?]

Second Sister-in-law to Lu Yihan: [You must have done something bad again. Be honest!]

Lu Yihan: [Whom did I offend?]

When Luo Zhan saw the notification that Lu Yihan had replied, his eyes couldn’t resist but linger on that screen for a moment longer.

It’s been a long time, Lu Yihan.

His other colleagues began to click the “like” button, one after the other. Some who were interested in the gossip asked him what had happened. But, Luo Zhan wasn’t in the mood to reply anymore.

He tossed his phone away and turned to get back to work. Just as Luo Zhan set his phone down, he heard it chime.

Lu Yihan: [Are you free tomorrow? Let’s go out and have some fun.]

Luo Zhan looked at the notification and thought that he was mistaken. He picked his phone up, opened the message, and read it a few times before being sure.

It was indeed Lu Yihan!