Chapter 141: Is He Worth Abandoning Your Husband and Child For?
Page 1 of 3
Shen Qingyi switched off the lamp in her hand, opened the door again, and sat down. Then she said to Uncle Hong, “Go ahead. If there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, feel free to bring it up.”
Uncle Hong had prepared the contract long ago. He took two sheets of paper from his briefcase and handed them to Lu Yan. “Take a look first. We’re not going to bother with all that empty formality. There’s no point drawing up more than a dozen pages of contracts right from the start—no one could finish reading them. I’ve written all the important points here.”
Lu Yan’s features were refined and tranquil. He read through the document carefully, then handed it to Shen Qingyi. “You take a look.”
Shen Qingyi accepted it and read it through as well.
The agreement granted permanent exclusive rights. For two years, technical development and consultation would be provided. The total payment would be made in three installments: 150,000 yuan upon signing the contract, another 100,000 yuan once the first batch went into production, and the remainder after the two years of technical development and consultation had concluded.
After reading it, Shen Qingyi looked at Lu Yan. “I don’t think there’s any problem.”
“Good.” Lu Yan’s voice was mild, and not the slightest ripple of excitement showed on his face. “Then let’s sign.”
The process was so clean and decisive that Uncle Hong, who had already prepared all kinds of negotiating tactics, failed to react for quite some time. “We’re not going to negotiate?”
Lu Yan raised his eyes to him. “What else would you like to negotiate?”
“Nothing!”
Xia Xiyun watched in amazement. Permanent exclusive rights! Given the pace of the country’s development over the past few years, in ten years, what would 400,000 yuan be worth? Nothing at all. But those exclusive rights would only grow more valuable with time. Uncle Hong could never have negotiated such terms abroad.
All she could say was that Lu Yan did not attach much importance to the patent. Otherwise, he would never have casually given it to his wife as a gift.
After they signed the contract, Uncle Hong asked Lu Yan, “Would you like the payment in cash, or should we transfer it to your account?”
“I don’t have a bankbook. Transfer it to my wife’s account.”
Lu Yan truly did not have a bankbook, because he had no savings at all.
Shen Qingyi hesitated for a moment, then turned and went back to the bedroom to copy down the bankbook number.
Once Uncle Hong had the number, he cheerfully bade the couple farewell. After they got into the car, Xia Xiyun sighed again and again. Sitting beside her, Uncle Hong asked, “What’s wrong, girl?”
“If I’d known the agreement granted permanent exclusive rights, I wouldn’t have brought you here. And they even agreed to two years of technical development and guidance. I heard that quite a few companies had previously asked him to provide technical guidance, offering substantial sums, but he always said he didn’t have the time.”
Uncle Hong was an old hand at business. “Sometimes a deal depends on timing, location, and people. Hadn’t there been rumors that a foreign company once offered him an annual salary of several hundred thousand, and he still refused?”
“You investigated his background?” Xia Xiyun had truly underestimated the nouveau riche Uncle Hong.
Uncle Hong leaned back comfortably in his seat. “How could I possibly believe everything just because you two little girls pressed your lips together and said so, especially when we’re talking about such a large patent fee?”
Page 1 of 3
Page 2 of 3
Xia Xiyun gave a soft laugh. “As expected of Uncle Hong.”
“All right. You’re close with his wife, aren’t you? Ask whether they have any other commercially valuable patents. If they do, buy them immediately.”
Xia Xiyun smiled. “Forget it. Do you really think Engineer Lu is easy to deal with? The only reason we managed to sign this agreement so smoothly was probably because he happened to be short of money at this particular moment.”
An’an had never imagined that his father had secretly prepared such a gift for his mother. He ran up to Shen Qingyi and said happily, “When I grow up, I’ll give Mommy a gift worth this much money too.”
Shen Qingyi cupped An’an’s little face and kissed him on the forehead. “All right. I’ll be waiting.”
Watching her tender expression, Lu Yan’s gaze flickered. That kiss should have been his reward, but never mind…
For the past two days, he had been waiting for his wife to confront him, yet she had continued chatting and laughing with him and An’an as usual. He began to wonder whether he had judged the situation incorrectly. Had his wife never intended to divorce him at all?
After lunch, Shen Qingyi returned with the bankbook. She spoke to the father and son, who were sitting together on the sofa watching television. “An’an, watch television by yourself for a while. Mommy has a few things to discuss with Daddy.”
When Lu Yan turned around, he immediately saw the bankbook in his wife’s hand. So she wanted to talk about the payment. He rose and followed her into the bedroom, where she closed the door behind them.
Shen Qingyi placed the bankbook into his hand. “Lu Yan, there’s something I want to discuss with you.”
Lu Yan’s heart sank. He pulled over a chair and sat down. His voice was heavy, yet startlingly clear. “Do you want a divorce?”
She had not shown the slightest joy at receiving the money. Instead, she had solemnly placed her bankbook in his palm. He understood at once.
Those words were like a boot that had hung suspended in his heart for a long time. At last, it had dropped.
Shen Qingyi stared at him in surprise. “How did you know?”
“Your mother came to see me. I refused.” His eyes grew dark and somber. “As for your father’s situation, we’ll find a way together.”
Shen Qingyi fell silent for a moment. It seemed he would not divorce her because of her father’s troubles. After thinking it over, she found another reason. “You once said that if I found someone better, you would divorce me, didn’t you?”
At those words, Lu Yan looked up in shock. His chest felt both sore and painfully tight. “So you’re not divorcing me because of your father?”
Shen Qingyi nodded. “Yes.”
Lu Yan could not believe it. He could no longer remain seated and sprang to his feet, the corners of his eyes tinged red. “You have someone else in your heart? Then what has our time together meant?”
Page 2 of 3
Page 3 of 3
Although his tone was sharp, his features were naturally clean-cut and pale, and the redness at the corners of his eyes made him appear especially fragile.
Shen Qingyi’s heart trembled. Forcing down her reluctance to hurt him, she said, “It was simply the duty of a wife.”
“Duty?” Lu Yan let out a derisive laugh.
Could every feeling he had experienced during this time have been mistaken? For the first time, he felt truly foolish.
After a long silence, he finally said hoarsely, “Then continue fulfilling the duty of a wife.”
“Lu Yan!” Shen Qingyi had believed that Lu Yan was an extraordinarily proud man with an exceptionally strong sense of self-respect. Faced with such a reason, he should never have been willing to keep her. In the heat of the moment, he ought to have agreed to the divorce.
Lu Yan gave a cold laugh. “What? Is that not allowed?”
He could no longer control his reason. The day Xiao Yang had returned and told him that his brother-in-law was no ordinary man—that he drove an imported luxury car to deliver goods to his sister and toys to his son—unease had begun to gnaw at him.
If Xia Xiyue had truly been his brother-in-law, it might have been bearable. But he was not. Worse still, this man had been plotting for years, not merely a day or two.
Whenever his wife came home, the man managed to arrive home on time as well. Hah.
“I’ll leave An’an with you.” Even as Shen Qingyi said those words, her heart ached. She had raised her son with her own hands.
Lu Yan gave a mocking snort. “How is he better than I am, that he’s worth abandoning your husband and child for?”
Shen Qingyi froze for an instant, and her heart plunged into an icy abyss. So he had suspected it all along.
Very well, then.
“During the four years you were gone, whenever An’an came down with a fever in the middle of the night, he was the one who drove him to the hospital. He taught him to speak and recognize characters, and bought him toys. He found me work. Without him, I would never have been able to raise An’an with dignity while waiting for you to return.”
Lu Yan fell abruptly silent. He stood there, stunned, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
Page 3 of 3