Only a single bedside lamp remained lit in the room. Under the warm orange glow, a captivating halo seemed to wash over the man's cold, handsome face.
Tang Wu lifted her long eyelashes, her gaze falling on his sexy Adam's apple and sharply defined jawline. For a moment, she was utterly bewitched.
Without his glasses, he lacked his usual gentle and refined demeanor, replaced instead by a dangerous, aggressive edge.
The fresh, clean scent of his body wash wrapped tightly around her like a massive net.
The god-like perfection of the man before her made her heart race uncontrollably.
No one knew that she had been secretly in love with him for eight years.
Back in her youth, she had even given him a love letter.
She had asked him to meet her at the park, waiting from broad daylight until the dead of night.
It had even rained heavily that evening.
But he never showed up.
It wasn't until the next day that she found out the reason he missed their date: he had gotten together with a senior girl.
From then on, she tried her best to erase him from her heart.
For several years in between, she deliberately avoided asking for any news about him.
Later, at an alumni reunion, she learned that he had broken up with the senior and had declared himself a non-marrier.
Marrying him was something she had dreamed of during her youthful days.
However, life after marriage wasn't as beautiful as she had imagined.
In his eyes, she was probably less than invisible!
Fulfilling his duties as a husband?
How could he even say that out loud!
A cold, glamorous smile appeared on Tang Wu's face. She extended her slender fingers and pushed against the man's chest. "Mr. Si, we are about to get divorced. There's no need to fulfill any marital duties."
Si Yanli looked down at the woman beneath him.
This was the first time he had truly taken a good look at Tang Wu.
Without heavy makeup, her fair skin and beautiful features made her look like a delicate, dewy red rose—thorny yet stunningly gorgeous.
Her skin was as white as jade, her slender body soft and seemingly boneless, radiating a faint, alluring fragrance.
She was indeed a feast for the eyes.
A dangerous look crossed Si Yanli's cold, ascetic face. "Weren't you the one going around telling everyone I was impotent?"
Tang Wu watched the dark, flickering flames rise in the man's eyes and let out a soft laugh. "What, are you trying to clear your name?"
Si Yanli didn't speak. He reached out and turned off the only lit wall lamp in the room.
Plunged into darkness, their senses grew incredibly sharp.
Before Tang Wu could react, the sound of tearing fabric echoed as her silk nightgown was ripped apart.
"Si Yanli, are you crazy? That's a brand new nightgown I've only worn once."
"I'll buy you a new one some other day."
His large hands grabbed the wrists she was using to push against his chest and pinned them above her head.
The fresh, pleasant scent of the man flooded Tang Wu's nose. Her mind felt as if it had taken a punch, turning hazy and confused.
Her struggles soon morphed into something resembling a half-hearted rejection.
Tang Wu didn't know when she finally fell asleep, probably when the sky was just beginning to lighten.
To clear his name, the man had tossed her around for several rounds.
Aching all over, Tang Wu slept like the dead.
She didn't wake up until the afternoon of the next day.
Opening her eyes, she activated the electric curtains and stared at the blinding sunlight outside, feeling dazed for a moment.
Recalling the scenes from last night, her face burned hot.
How could she have half-yielded and actually let him prove himself?
Compared to their wedding night, he had indeed improved a lot last night.
Who knew if he had practiced with other women while abroad?
Tang Wu glanced beside her. It was completely empty. She had no idea when the man had gotten up and left.
Tang Wu tried to get out of bed, but her waist ached terribly.
She looked at the left side of her waist and noticed a bruise.
Her skin was fair and tender; even a slight pinch would leave a mark.
It must have been from the man gripping her too tightly.
Tang Wu picked up her phone and snapped a picture of the bruise on her waist.
She had meant to send it to her best friend Xia Zhiwan, but a new message popped up—
By the time she realized something was wrong, it was too late to unsend it.
Damn it!
She had actually sent the picture of her waist to Si Yanli.
Right as she sent the photo to his WeChat, Si Yanli sent her a five-second voice message.
Tang Wu's face flushed with a burning heat. She didn't even dare to listen to the voice message the man had sent, hastily blocking his WeChat account.
...
The Translation Institute.
Si Yanli sat at his desk and pulled out the divorce agreement he had signed a while ago from his briefcase.
In fact, the moment Tang Wu emailed him the divorce agreement, he had printed it out and signed it.
He had originally planned to give it to her last night.
But plans couldn't keep up with changes.
Under the double provocation of Tang Wu calling him impotent and the old man calling him Eunuch Yan, he had lost control.
Thinking of the woman's watery, alluring peach-blossom eyes and her delicate, luscious red lips from last night, a trace of complexity appeared on his usually cold, noble, and ascetic handsome face.
"Vice President, Mr. Michel is here."
Si Yanli had now been promoted to Vice President of the Translation Institute.
He nodded at his assistant, straightened his suit, and got up to walk outside.
Not long after Si Yanli left, the female assistant Lin Su entered his office.
After placing some documents on the desk, Lin Su caught sight of a divorce agreement out of the corner of her eye.
Seeing Si Yanli's signature at the end, a glimmer of joy flashed in Lin Su's eyes. She took out her phone, snapped a few pictures, and sent them to her cousin Jiang Wei.
In Ye City's socialite circle, Jiang Wei and Tang Wu had always been mortal enemies.
Tang Wu, with her fair skin, beautiful features, and tall figure, was known in the socialite circle as the human flower of wealth and honor.
Jiang Wei had always disliked Tang Wu and constantly looked for ways to pick on her.
Although Tang Wu and Si Yanli's flash marriage was not publicly announced, it was no secret in high society.
Over the past two years of Tang Wu sleeping in an empty bed, Jiang Wei had used this excuse to mock her in their circles relentlessly.
When Jiang Wei received the divorce agreement from Lin Su, she was absolutely thrilled.
A few days ago, the Harbor City fashion circle had only invited Tang Wu to a fashion show and left her out, causing her to be ridiculed by Tang Wu.
Tang Wu was not favored in the Tang family; she was merely a sacrificial pawn for an arranged marriage.
Wasn't her current popularity in the fashion circle all thanks to the connections given to her by her sister-in-law from the Si family?
If Tang Wu was abandoned by Si Yanli, she would become nothing but a discarded wife!
...
After deleting Si Yanli from WeChat, Tang Wu buried her face in her pillow, her small hands curling into fists as she pounded the cushion.
She tried to comfort herself, thinking that since she had blocked him, even if he saw the photo she sent, he wouldn't be able to reply.
Ding dong!
Just then, a WeChat notification chimed.
Tang Wu's heart gave a violent lurch.
Oh no, oh no!
With that picture of her waist she sent him, would he mistakenly think she was trying to seduce him?
Ding dong, ding dong!
The WeChat notifications chimed several more times in a row.
Taking a deep breath, Tang Wu picked up her phone and took a look.
It wasn't from Si Yanli; rather, it was a few screenshots sent by her best friend, Xia Zhiwan.
Seeing the contents of the screenshots, all the blood in Tang Wu's body seemed to freeze into ice!
