Tang Wu was equally surprised.
She never dreamed that Si Yanli would appear here.
"Are you sure he's here to pick me up?"
Xia Zhiwan glared at Tang Wu, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "What else? Don't tell me you suspect I'm trying to steal your husband?"
Xia Zhiwan was a neighbor from Tang Wu's grandmother's hometown. They had grown up together and were as close as biological sisters.
Tang Wu naturally wouldn't suspect her of that.
She closed her laptop and stood up from the sofa. "Tell him I'm not here."
Xia Zhiwan lowered her voice, "Don't you want to divorce him as soon as possible? He might be here to deliver the divorce agreement. Now is a good time to negotiate. His family is so rich; if you get a bigger share, your and your grandmother's future will be secured."
Tang Wu shook her head.
She had never thought of taking Si Yanli's property.
After the marriage alliance, the Tang family had already gained a lot of benefits from the Si family.
She wasn't that greedy.
"Grandma hasn't been found yet, so I can't divorce him for the time being. Cover for me."
After Tang Wu went into the bedroom, Xia Zhiwan opened the apartment door.
Looking at the refined, elegant, aloof, and noble man outside, Xia Zhiwan was no longer as articulate as she was in front of Tang Wu. She stammered a bit, "Mr. Si, Wu... Wu isn't here with me."
Si Yanli glanced at the shoe rack in the entryway. "The high heels she wore today are here. Tell her to come out and see me. She shouldn't avoid things."
Although Si Yanli looked gentle and polite on the outside, his narrow eyes beneath his glasses revealed a breathless sense of dominance and pressure.
Xia Zhiwan had no choice but to go into the bedroom and call Tang Wu out.
"His aura is too strong. I didn't even dare to look him in the eye, and I couldn't lie in front of him."
Tang Wu reached out and poked Xia Zhiwan's forehead. "Aren't you usually quite a chatterbox in front of me?"
"Is that the same? But to be honest, your husband looks even better in person than on video!"
Xia Zhiwan pushed Tang Wu out of the bedroom.
Si Yanli stood at the apartment door waiting for a few minutes before he saw Tang Wu slowly walk out.
He reached out, wanting to take the laptop bag and luggage from her hands, but Tang Wu refused. "It's not heavy. I can carry it myself."
On the way back, both were incredibly silent.
It wasn't until they reached Yujing Mansion that Si Yanli broke the silence. "Let's talk."
After a moment of silence, Tang Wu nodded.
Si Yanli poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Tang Wu. "I wasn't the one who took a photo of the divorce agreement and made it public. It was my female assistant, Lin Su. I have already fired her."
Tang Wu's lips curled into a faint, mocking smile. "I also thought that wasn't your style."
She remembered that Lin Su and Jiang Wei were cousins.
If she guessed correctly, Lin Su probably also had a secret crush on Si Yanli and was just hoping he would divorce sooner!
Tang Wu reached out her hand toward Si Yanli. Before she had time to say anything, her fingertips were grasped by the man's slender, large hand.
The moment her fingertips were held by him, Tang Wu felt a tingling sensation, as if she had been electrocuted.
She immediately withdrew her hand, a trace of embarrassment and annoyance appearing on her proud and bright little face. "I wasn't asking you to hold my hand. I was asking you to give me the signed divorce agreement!"
Si Yanli frowned as he looked at Tang Wu. He had never really examined her closely before, and only now did he realize she was like a proud peacock, bright and beautiful.
"Torn up," the man's voice was indifferent.
Tang Wu's delicate eyebrows furrowed. "Si Yanli, I grew up with my grandmother. In order to force me into this marriage alliance with you, Tang Botao hid my grandmother away. Can you help me find her? If we find my grandmother, I can give you all the money I would have spent on a private investigator. Most importantly, we won't even need to sign a divorce agreement; we can just go straight to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get our divorce certificate. I promise I won't pester you anymore!"
Now, with the help of the Si family, the Tang family had already survived their financial crisis.
Once her grandmother was found, they probably wouldn't force her into a marriage alliance anymore.
Even if they tried to force her, she would no longer agree.
Si Yanli took off the gold-rimmed glasses from the bridge of his nose. Without the lenses blocking them, his long, narrow eyes looked deep and unfathomable. "Are you already that impatient to get a divorce?"
Tang Wu pressed her lips together tightly. "We don't have any feelings for each other, do we?"
Si Yanli's long, distinct fingers tapped lightly on his knee. He looked at her calmly and collectedly, like a completely emotionless negotiator. "Many couples in marriage alliances like ours don't have feelings for each other. They can respect each other like guests for their mutual benefit and grow old together, as long as they don't set their expectations of each other too high."
"Do you absolutely have to get this divorce?"
Looking at the man's aloof and indifferent face, Tang Wu's heart tightened uncontrollably.
If she had never secretly been in love with him, she could have respected him like a guest and even made do for the rest of her life for the sake of family interests.
But she had fallen for him, and she couldn't face spending the rest of her life with a husband who could never develop feelings for her!
Being neglected by him and sleeping in an empty room for two years had already been agonizing enough, let alone decades!
Tang Wu closed her eyes and asked the question she had always wanted to ask deep down: "If the person your grandfather asked you to marry had been another woman, would you have agreed just the same?"
Si Yanli stopped tapping his knee. His eyes were gentle, but his voice was cold. "I don't want to lie to you, but the truth is exactly as you said."
The taut string in Tang Wu's mind suddenly snapped.
All the blood in her body seemed to freeze into ice.
Perhaps in this world, only Lin Qianxue could make him feel something.
She couldn't help but recall the night he fulfilled his duties as a husband. When she was at her most passionate, he managed to stay completely sober, without the slightest trace of heat or loss of control in his eyes.
In this marriage, she was the only one sinking and struggling.
But she couldn't blame him.
After all, feelings cannot be forced. In this marriage, he was also forced.
"Thank you for being honest with me. As soon as I find my grandmother, I will divorce you. I've already hired a private investigator, but they said my grandmother was sent abroad."
Si Yanli put his gold-rimmed glasses back on, returning to his refined and gentle appearance. "Send me your grandmother's information and ID number."
Si Yanli took out his phone and opened her WeChat. "You blocked me."
Tang Wu felt a bit embarrassed.
Yesterday, upon seeing the divorce agreement exposed, her blood had boiled, and without thinking, she had blocked him on impulse.
Seeing that he was willing to help find her grandmother, Tang Wu removed him from her blacklist.
"I will help you find your grandmother within three months. You have three months to think it over. If you change your mind and decide you don't want a divorce, you can tell me at any time. I stand by what I said: as long as you are willing, I can fulfill the duties of a husband."
Tang Wu had interviewed many celebrities, but this was her first time seeing a man who separated marriage and emotions so clearly.
His words seemed affectionate, but they revealed heartlessness at every turn.
He could fulfill the duties of a good husband, but the one thing he couldn't give her was love.
He could even sleep with her to fulfill his husbandly duties, but it was purely physical, without any emotional involvement.
Tang Wu's red lips curved into a smile. "I won't go back on my word. For the next three months, I want us to remain as strangers, just like we were during the interview at your office today. We no longer need to fulfill our marital duties. If you decide to stay here, I will move out."
Si Yanli stood up from the sofa. "There is no need for you to move out. Even after the divorce, I will transfer the ownership of this house to you."
He didn't linger in their marital home. Like a mere passerby, he came in a hurry and left just as quickly.
Watching his retreating figure, Tang Wu felt a sudden, sharp sting in her nose as tears threatened to fall.
