Volume One, Chapter Five: Not Affection, But Liberation

Roger did not expect that on his way downstairs, he would run into the company president’s wife.

What was the president’s wife doing here?

Roger recalled the suffocating three-hour black meeting from that morning. He nodded slightly, a look of understanding dawning on his face.

He quickened his pace, heading toward the reception desk.

“Hello, Assistant Luo!” the young receptionist greeted him with a nod.

Assistant Luo?

The right-hand man by Lu Jinchuan’s side—Roger?

Ji Shu followed the receptionist’s lead, addressing him, “Hello, Assistant Luo. I’m looking for…”

“Looking for President Lu, right? Please follow me,” Roger said, opening the way with a polite bow and a respectful tone.

Ji Shu followed him to the exclusive elevator reserved for the president.

“Madam Lu, you can save my contact information. Next time you come to Seega, just send me a message and I’ll send someone to pick you up. Since you don’t come here often, the staff didn’t recognize you. I’ll send a notice downstairs shortly,” Roger offered.

Ji Shu immediately interrupted, shaking her hand gently in front of her chest. “Just call me Ji Shu. Assistant Luo, please don’t send that notice.”

The exclusive elevator from the twenty-eighth floor would take a moment to arrive. Ji Shu handed Roger the file containing the divorce agreement.

“Assistant Luo, I won’t go upstairs. Please take this document to President Lu and have him sign it.”

Roger took the file with both hands, his expression serious. “Understood. This must be a very important document for you to deliver it personally. You two have such a strong relationship. Don’t worry, I will make sure it reaches President Lu.”

Ji Shu said plainly, “It’s a divorce agreement.”

“Ding.”

The elevator arrived.

Roger felt as if his career had reached its end.

In the end, Ji Shu stepped into the elevator.

Roger stood quietly in the farthest corner, hands folded over his stomach, his eyes fixed intensely on the elevator’s floor numbers.

Yet the divorce agreement, which had been in his hands moments ago, was now back with Ji Shu.

“Ding.”

The elevator reached the twenty-eighth floor.

Roger led her to the president’s office, and people passing by kept turning their heads.

Ji Shu saw their whispered gossip and couldn’t help but purse her lips slightly.

This was why she had hesitated to come up earlier.

She had no idea how the rumors had spread by now.

---

This is the reason why she had been reluctant to come upstairs earlier.

Now, she could only wonder how the story had evolved.

Roger brought her to the largest office inside and knocked three times lightly.

A faint voice inside said, “Come in.”

Roger opened the door for her. Ji Shu stepped inside, and the door closed immediately behind her.

She glanced around the room.

Lu Jinchuan’s office was decorated in silver-gray and cream tones, creating an atmosphere both refined and calm.

The office furniture was sleek and simple in design. The guest area featured vintage leather sofas resting on a handmade woven rug.

Ji Shu remembered Lu Jinchuan as bold and flamboyant, and everything around him reflected that.

Her gaze fixed on Lu Jinchuan: his suit jacket hung on a nearby coat rack, while he wore a simple white shirt beneath a dark, single-breasted vest, paired with a blue-and-brown plaid tie.

A black armband circled his right upper arm, accentuating the elegant lines of his arm.

Perhaps due to reviewing documents, he wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, radiating a sharp, commanding aura.

As the door opened, his eyes lifted and swept over her.

Their gazes met, and a playful smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Lu Jinchuan set down the papers, leaned back lazily, and said with a teasing tone, “You just scolded me yesterday, and today you come knocking on my door? Surely you’re not here to ask why I didn’t come home last night?”

He stood and walked to the guest area, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, patting the seat beside him twice.

Ji Shu pretended not to notice and sat opposite him.

“A night out is nothing compared to three years away. This is the divorce agreement. Look it over, and if there’s no problem, sign it. Then we can go to the civil affairs bureau and complete the process.”

Ji Shu pushed the file forward.

The smile on Lu Jinchuan’s lips faded bit by bit as he looked meaningfully at the documents before him. “You’re really in a hurry. Didn’t you say there were still a month and fifteen days left? Why the rush?”

Ji Shu replied, “It’s actually one month and fourteen days now.”

Lu Jinchuan asked, “Are you counting down every day, breaking your fingers to mark the days until divorce?”

Ji Shu answered calmly, “You were the one who gave me this agreement three years ago, and you also proposed that our engagement would end in divorce after three years.”

Lu Jinchuan paused, a lazy smile tugging at his mouth. “That was then. We’ve made it through three years. What’s a few more days?”

Ji Shu’s heart tightened. She looked up into his eyes. “If a few days don’t matter, then let’s end it sooner. It’ll be a relief for both of us.”

Lu Jinchuan loosened his tie, took a few steps forward, and a shadow fell over her from above.

He looked at her deeply, something hidden in the depths of his eyes. Before she could study it, it was concealed once more.

His gaze was indifferent but carried an icy coldness. “Relief? Have these three years been a burden to you? The house? The car? The clothes? The bags?”

Ji Shu disliked the situation, the forced feeling of looking up at him. She furrowed her brows slightly and pressed her lips tightly together.

Lu Jinchuan observed her reaction carefully, his eyes narrowing slightly, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

“Ji Shu, is it the things you dislike, or the person who gave them to you? If it had been Ji Chuanze, would you still call this relief?”

“What does Ji Chuanze have to do with this? Don’t change the subject.”

Lu Jinchuan chuckled softly, sitting cross-legged beside her, his voice laced with mockery. “Ji Chuanze? I’m older than you, and yet you’ve never once called me ‘brother.’”

Ji Shu shifted aside, pushing the agreement away, refusing to speak further.

Lu Jinchuan glanced at her sideways and casually pushed the file back in front of her, his expression returning to calm. “We can’t sign this agreement today.”

Ji Shu couldn’t help but retort, “Why not?”

Lu Jinchuan turned slightly, his gaze icy and sharp, and in a low voice said, “I haven’t had a lawyer review it yet.”

Ji Shu took the divorce agreement from the file and flipped through it page by page in front of him, stopping at the section on property division.

She swallowed her anger and exhaled deeply. “This is the same agreement you gave me three years ago.”

She added, “After the divorce, I’ll move out of Jade Residence. The car, clothes, and bags were bought with my own money. If you mind, I can deduct the rent and utilities for three years.”

Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds; neither spoke.

Lu Jinchuan withdrew his gaze from Ji Shu, the curve of his mouth colder than ice and snow, constantly emanating a chilling indifference.

“You’ve planned this division so clearly—how long have you been plotting?”

“This is none of your business. If there are no issues, just sign it.”

Half a meter apart, they stood their ground.

Opposed, unyielding.

“They say this is the agreement from three years ago, but there must be new amendments. Whether there are problems, we’ll only know after a lawyer reviews it.” Lu Jinchuan stood and walked to his desk, dialing an internal phone line. “Send Roger in.”

Ji Shu asked, “How long will that take?”

Lu Jinchuan hung up the phone, the smile completely gone from his face. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he struggled to control his emotions.