Ever since she married Lu Linshen, Ye Ran had never imagined that there would come a day when she would be the one to initiate the thought of leaving.
She hid in the stairwell, hugging her knees, unsure of how long she had been sitting there. It wasn't until her phone vibrated that she was snapped back to reality. It was a call from her professor.
Suppressing her emotions, she quickly answered.
"Ye Ran, do you have time right now? Come over to my place. There is a special heart surgery scheduled using the proposal you put forward last time. It might be helpful for your mother's future heart transplant. Come to the site and learn from it."
The professor's words pulled her back to reality. Her mother’s illness and the child growing inside her did not allow her to fall into despair over a relationship. She needed money, and even more so, she needed a stable job.
"Okay, I’ll be there right away."
The surgery lasted over two hours. Once it concluded, the professor proudly reintroduced Ye Ran to everyone. In that moment, Ye Ran felt as if she had returned to those days when she was filled with passion for saving lives.
She followed the professor to his office.
"Professor, I want to come back."
The words left the professor stunned, his brow immediately furrowing.
"Are you not planning to keep the child?"
As a medical practitioner, he held a reverence for life that others could not grasp. In his eyes, abortion was akin to murder.
Ye Ran shook her head. "Professor, you’ve misunderstood. Of course I am keeping the child. It’s just... I intend to leave the Lu Family."
The professor stared at her for a moment. He had seemed to sense something when she came in alone for her check-up earlier; besides, there was always a stark class divide between the wealthy and ordinary families. He understood even without things being spelled out. The professor simply let out a long, heavy sigh.
"If you’ve made up your mind, then do it. You must decide your own path in life. Once you’ve been hired, I can help you apply for staff subsidies to cover your mother's medical expenses."
The fatherly warmth brought tears to Ye Ran’s eyes, and she bowed to him.
Although she had the professor’s recommendation, her hiring still had to go through the formal process. By the time she finished, it was already dark. She did not want to return to Liyuan, so she planned to ask a nurse for a folding bed to make do for the night. Once Lu Linshen left for work tomorrow, she would return to pack her things.Just as she stepped out of the elevator and into the hospital ward's corridor, she caught sight of a tall, imposing figure standing right outside her mother's room.
His black shirt, casually rolled up at the sleeves, revealed the smooth lines of his forearms.
He seemed to have been waiting for a long time. With a trace of irritation, he raised a hand to loosen his tie, undoing the top two buttons and revealing a glimpse of his refined, alluring collarbone and captivating Adam's apple.
Even a simple action like this, when done by this man, carried an air of aloof, restrained temptation.
Ye Ran stopped in her tracks, thoroughly surprised.
Why was he still at the hospital?
At that moment, Lu Linshen raised his eyes. The moment their gazes met, he took a stride toward her.
"Why weren't you answering your phone?"
His voice was still quite indifferent, his brow slightly furrowed.
Only then did Ye Ran remember that her phone had been turned off during the surgery, and afterwards, preoccupied with settling into her new job, she hadn't bothered to turn it back on.
Not daring to power it on right in front of Lu Linshen, she merely took it out and waved the dark screen gently at him. "The battery died."
Lu Linshen stopped right in front of her. Standing at one meter eighty-six, he carried an intensely oppressive aura.
As he lowered his gaze to look at her, a murky, unreadable light lurked within his dark eyes.
"Grandfather couldn't get through to you. He got very upset and ended up calling me."
His stern reprimand was laced with impatience.
Ye Ran gave a bitter internal smile.
She had actually foolishly thought Lu Linshen might be worried about her.
"I'll charge it in a moment and call Grandfather back."
No matter what kind of relationship she had with Lu Linshen, Grandfather Lu had always treated her exceptionally well.
The man let out a cold hum.
"If we waited for you, Grandfather's illness would have relapsed from sheer anger. The family doctor has already given him acupuncture, and he has fallen asleep. Next time something comes up, give advance notice. It's your basic responsibility—don't make others clean up your messes."
Lu Linshen's primary mission in marrying her was to keep the Old Master happy.
There was nothing wrong with his use of the phrase "basic responsibility."
Ye Ran mocked herself inwardly.
Years of unrequited love, three years of marriage—as far as she was concerned, this man didn't have an ounce of affection for her to speak of.The man was already walking toward the elevator Ye Ran had just stepped out of. After taking two steps and seeing that she wasn't following, he raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Still have something else?"
Ye Ran didn't move.
From the first time she ever saw this man, her entire life until now had been filled with him.
To tear him away now felt as painful as digging out her heart and scraping her bones.
"I'll stay and look after him tonight."
"Are the caregivers we pay one hundred thousand a month just for show?"
Lu Linshen's voice was cold and sharp as he narrowed his eyes at her.
"Or do you want more money?"
The remark was dripping with obvious sarcasm.
A wave of intense pain pierced Ye Ran's heart, and she no longer bothered trying to whitewash the reality with lies. She simply turned her head to meet his gaze head-on.
"Lu Linshen, let's get a divorce."
The lights in the hospital corridor cast a glow over the man. Even when he was frowning, he remained so breathtakingly sexy that it made her heart flutter against her will.
"Do you even know what you're saying?"
His calm tone carried a hint of chilling indifference.
Once the words were out, Ye Ran actually felt less weighed down. The heavy stone pressing against her chest seemed to lighten considerably.
"I asked the family physician. Grandfather's illness is recovering very smoothly; there's no need for us to keep up the pretense as a married couple just to keep him happy anymore—"
"Pretending to be a married couple?"
Lu Linshen turned back, reached out, grabbed her waist, and yanked her fiercely into his arms.
"Was sleeping with me also part of the pretense? You really put a lot into this role, didn't you?"
His flippant mockery made Ye Ran's heart twist in a chaotic mess of pain. Unable to break free, she raised her head angrily and stared straight into those dark, fathomless eyes.
"If it wasn't a pretense, then what was it? Lu Linshen, what on earth are our relationship?"
As husband and wife?
Husband and wife shouldn't be like this.
They could be respectful strangers, they could bicker endlessly, they could burn with fiery passion, or they could treat each other like sworn enemies.
But they shouldn't be like them—entangled in bed, icy cold outside of it.
She could play the role of his wife on paper, but she refused to be his tool for venting sexual desire.
Like some prostitute who could be summoned at a moment's notice and discarded at will.
Becoming a laughingstock in everyone's eyes.
She had told herself not to hurt, but her eyes still turned red.
Lu Linshen looked down at the woman before him, radiating an aura of absolute danger.
Today, she was being far from obedient.
"I have never violated the terms of the agreement."
What on earth was this woman making a fuss about?
Even when they slept together, he hadn't treated her unfairly.
Not just anyone could get a supplementary credit card with a limit of hundreds of millions.
Ye Ran's pupils trembled violently.
Suddenly, it all felt so utterly ridiculous.
The secret marriage agreement wasn't just about keeping their marriage hidden; there was also a clause stating that neither side would get emotionally involved.
Lu Linshen hadn't broken that rule at all.
He didn't love her.
"But I did."
A fragile smile bloomed on her face, while tears spilled unbidden from her eyes.
"So, the agreement can be canceled."
Unwilling to entangle herself with him any longer, she used all her strength to push the man away.
The man, however, had lost his patience.
"Whether it's canceled or not is not for you to decide."
With that, he forcefully scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the elevator.
The sudden sensation of weightlessness made Ye Ran's already dizzy head spin even faster, and her stomach began to churn violently. Fearing she might throw up right then and there, she panicked and grabbed onto Lu Linshen's collar.
"Lu Linshen, I'm not feeling well, let me go."
Only then did Lu Linshen notice that something was seriously wrong with her complexion.
"Such a hassle! We're going to the emergency room."
"No!"
Ye Ran was startled.
She couldn't go to the emergency room; otherwise, Lu Linshen would undoubtedly find out about the pregnancy.
He cared so much about birth control; there was no way he would ever accept this child.
Besides, she had already decided to get a divorce; she wouldn't let herself get dragged down in a messy entanglement because of a baby.
The man's expression darkened, leaving no room for argument.
"Sick and you won't see a doctor? Your face is as pale as a ghost—you're not even in the mood in bed!"
With that, he strode straight toward the elevator.
Quick as lightning, Ye Ran lunged out and grabbed the elevator door.
"I just have low blood sugar. If you carry me to the emergency room like this, people will laugh themselves to death."
She spoke too fast, and her already distressed stomach instantly rebelled against the rising wave of sourness. With a retch, she threw up all over his sleeve.
The atmosphere froze into absolute silence.
Lu Linshen narrowed his eyes and stared at her.
"Ye Ran! Since when does low blood sugar make you vomit?"