Chapter 2: Thinking of Divorce?

Tang Yuan was the first to lean against the bedside, picking up her tablet to analyze the assets currently in her possession.

Shen Zhou took a set of pajamas from the wardrobe and went to take a shower.

The sound of running water filled the bathroom. She lowered her lashes, contemplating how much money she could claim if she divorced Shen Zhou.

He did not love her; their marriage was merely a result of the alliance between the Tang and Shen families.

Or rather, the alliance with her nominal elder brother.

She was the adopted daughter of the Tang family.

As her fingers swiped across the screen, a wave of steam suddenly enveloped her, and his chin rested on her shoulder as he quietly glanced at the information on her tablet.

“Thinking about divorce?” he asked casually, his finger swiping back a page. “Have you thought through the consequences of divorcing me?”

The consequence was clear: she would receive nothing.

She had wasted two years by his side, faithfully playing the role of a full-time housewife, and she could not afford to lose both love and wealth.

Shen Zhou held her in a dominant yet aristocratic manner. “Have I been too busy with work lately to care for you, leaving you lonely?”

She turned off the tablet and lay down, facing away from him.

“Just browsing casually.”

Divorce was indeed difficult—first and foremost, they could never get past the Tang family.

Shen Zhou lifted the covers and pulled her waist back towards him.

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“When you married me, you said it didn’t matter whether I loved you—you just wanted to see me every day,” Shen Zhou reminded her.

Tang Yuan stiffened, a sourness blooming in her heart.

Only two years had passed, yet hearing such grand declarations again felt bitterly ironic.

Shen Zhou was cold and unfeeling; born into privilege, he had long grown tired of women’s affections and never valued such things.

Perhaps he was too accustomed to a life of nobility; for a woman like Tang Yuan, raised in a powerful family, he found her rigid and dull.

Tang Yuan was beautiful—had she not been, the Tang family would never have adopted her.

Her purpose in being raised was to serve as a pawn in arranged marriages, a beautiful trap the Tang family displayed to the outside world.

Tang Yuan closed her eyes, unwilling to listen to these cutting words any longer, but perhaps Shen Zhou had found some excitement outside tonight, as he was unusually talkative.

“Yuan Yuan, a delicate flower left unwatered will wither. If you’re truly lonely, find another man to cherish you.”

The last trace of color drained from Tang Yuan’s face.

Shen Zhou was truly heartless; knowing she had loved him for so many years, he still maintained a calculatingly cold demeanor.

In this relationship, she had lost utterly. If she were to scream and make a scene, she would only appear as a clown.

Seeing her close her eyes and remain silent, Shen Zhou raised an eyebrow.

He had not spared harsh words these past two years, and she had been like a wooden plank, never retorting.

Their bed had become dull; he disliked women who conformed so rigidly.

He lay down, closing his eyes.

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Tang Yuan waited until his breathing grew lighter before slowly rising. She looked at the man before her, sometimes truly wishing she could just stab him and be done with it.

But to waste half a lifetime on someone like him was not worth it.

She picked up her tablet again. Shen Zhou was currently unwilling to divorce. The Tang and Shen families were closely allied, and a marital rift would damage both their companies.

After much thought, she decided to go back to work first; surely a solution would present itself.

Just as she was about to lie down again, she heard his phone ring. Out of habit, she thought it was hers.

Opening it, she found a private photo so indecent it was unbearable to see.

Her pupils contracted sharply, and only then did she realize it was Shen Zhou’s phone.

She returned the phone to its place. So this was the kind of woman Shen Zhou preferred—innocent in appearance, yet bold and uninhibited in private, disregarding all rules.

Just as she was about to lie down again, she saw a slender, knuckled hand snatch the phone.

His voice was hoarse. “Were you touching my phone?”

“Picked up the wrong one, didn’t have time to look.”

“Hm.”

He got up to reply to a message, then left the room to make a call.