Chapter 57
During the recording of the variety show, Xu Qiongya and Shen Tianheng went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to handle their divorce procedures.
Xu Qiongya had acted on impulse, while Shen Tianheng was in a fit of rage. Regardless of anything, he had forcefully dragged her into the car, his grip so tight that her wrist ached.
Shen Tianheng was not a man of many words, but he prided himself on being a gentleman and was quite chivalrous towards the opposite sex. For more than twenty years, he had been very considerate of her. No matter how angry he was, he would never lay a hand on her or their son.
Otherwise, this marriage would not have lasted until now.
Remembering the past, Xu Qiongya couldn’t stop crying in the car. Shen Tianheng was even more anxious, fiercely pounding the steering wheel, and then said sternly, “What are you crying for? Aren’t you the one who wants a divorce?”
A moment later, his tone softened, and he gently wiped her tears, “Don’t cry.”
When they arrived at the Civil Affairs Bureau, the couple, who had never considered the option of divorce, only then learned that there was now a thirty-day cooling-off period for divorce.
Shen Tianheng’s attitude immediately became high and mighty again. He thought to himself that the divorce cooling-off period was set up for women like Xu Qiongya.
When Xu Qiongya left with her suitcase the next day, he did not mind.
He was so conceited and arrogant, thinking that his wife was acting on impulse and would come back on her own sooner or later. And when the cooling-off period was over, they would have to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau together to confirm the divorce.
Of course, he would not agree.
When Shen Ping came home, he did not see Xu Qiongya’s shadow even when it was time to sleep.
For more than twenty years, Xu Qiongya had never stayed out all night. Even when she was having dinner with her friends and family, she would inform her family in advance and come home before nine in the evening.
So Shen Ping asked his father, “Where’s Auntie? Did she go back to her parents’ house?”
Shen Tianheng said nonchalantly, “She wants to divorce me, so she moved out.”
“…What?!” Shen Ping felt his voice trembling. “Dad, Auntie is not an impulsive person.”
Shen Tianheng snorted twice. His anger had not yet subsided.
Shen Ping’s face darkened slightly.
As the pride of the family who was gentle and polite and never caused his father any trouble, Shen Ping spoke again, his voice as if it were tempered ice, “You are.”
Shen Tianheng almost jumped up in anger, “You!”
Shen Ping’s expression was indifferent, “Auntie must have been considering it for a long time. She will really divorce you. Is it useful for you to disagree? She can sue you.”
“Then let’s get a divorce…”
The cold eyes behind Shen Ping’s glasses became blurry. Coupled with his tone, it would make people think of an emotion called sorrow. “…If Auntie is not here, Xiao Wu won’t come back either.”
Shen Tianheng was about to refute, but he was taken aback by the expression he had seen on his eldest son’s face for the first time.
Shen Ping composed himself, looked up, and looked at his father again, “It’s all because of you.”
This strong sense of strangeness made Shen Tianheng shiver.
The thirty-day divorce cooling-off period passed quickly.
However, Shen Tianheng felt that every day was like a year. He had waited for a full month, but he had not waited for his wife to come home in disgrace and submit, but only for a cold court summons.
He was the absolute authority in this family. For more than twenty years, his words had been harsh and his actions aggressive, but he had never realized that anything was wrong.
Recently, besides his wife wanting a divorce, his usually gentle eldest son had also started to contradict him. He only felt a burning anger and found it incomprehensible. It was only at this moment, holding the summons, that he belatedly remembered Shen Ping’s words.
“Auntie will really divorce you…”
“How is that possible?” Shen Tianheng murmured to himself, still unwilling to believe.
And that sentence, “…If Auntie is not here, Xiao Wu won’t come back either.”
Shen Wu didn’t come home much even when Xu Qiongya was around. The child was rebellious and disobedient. How could he be blamed for it?
He thought so in his heart, but he was inexplicably restless.
And as soon as the divorce cooling-off period was over, Xu Qiongya couldn’t wait to call her husband.
She was not a hard-hearted person and was afraid that she would soften if she dragged it on and would continue to be entangled with Shen Tianheng, and Shen Wu would also have to continue to be wronged.
“Shen Tianheng,” she called out first.
Shen Tianheng’s confidence was insufficient, but he still braced himself and said aggressively, “…Do you regret it now?”
“You’ve received the summons, right? Come to the court tomorrow for the divorce,” Xu Qiongya rolled her eyes and hung up the phone directly.
The next day, the two of them went to the court from their respective residences.
Shen Tianheng was full of anger, as if he were shrouded in a heavy dark cloud. Unlike before, this time his anger did not leak out at all.
He did not hire a lawyer and readily agreed to the divorce, at least not making the twenty-plus years of marriage too ugly.
After the procedures were completed, the former couple went back to the Shen family together.
Was it because of his tolerance and forbearance today that Xu Qiongya finally regretted it? Shen Tianheng secretly harbored a bit of hidden expectation.
But Xu Qiongya did not even raise her head and continued to pack the luggage she had not finished taking last time, as well as the passport that had been at the bottom of a drawer for a year and was about to expire.
As Shen Tianheng’s wife and the mother of two children, she had rarely traveled far for many years, and even domestic travel was rare.
Seeing this, Shen Tianheng frowned, “What are you taking your passport for? Where do you want to go?”
Xu Qiongya glared at him with no good grace, “To watch your son’s competition. Where else can I go?” Can’t this person speak nicely?
“I know,” Shen Tianheng suppressed his anger and tried his best to speak nicely. “Every time you watch his competition at home, you scream and shout. You’re still going to watch it in person?”
“That’s right. I’m scared, scared that something will happen to Wuwu,” Xu Qiongya said. “But he’ll be scared too, so I’m going to be there with him.”
Shen Tianheng was speechless for a moment.
“Shen Tianheng, I’ll move Wuwu’s household registration out of the Shen family later. You’re not allowed to scold him anymore,” Xu Qiongya said word by word in a soft and gentle voice, as if it had the force of a thousand pounds. “But you’re still his biological father. You can’t short him of his pocket money, and you can’t short him of his company shares. On New Year’s and birthdays, you also have to call him and send him your blessings.”
“Do you hear me?”
“I…”
Xu Qiongya zipped up her suitcase and left without looking back, “I’m leaving.”
“Mm,” Shen Tianheng pursed his lips hard, and belatedly softened his voice, so gentle that he was almost like a stranger, “I’ll take you… back.”
Shen Ping had been very upset recently. Shen Wu was not willing to talk to him, and even Xu Qiongya was going to divorce Shen Tianheng.
He felt that the connection between him and Shen Wu was already precarious, and he couldn’t read a single word of the investment proposal in his hand.
“President Shen,” the secretary knocked on the door. “President Meng has arrived.”
Meng Huaizhi had had his secretary make an appointment with Shen Ping’s secretary, directly skipping over the friendship between their families and making this meeting a business matter.
Shen Ping rubbed his brow, “Let him in.”
Meng Huaizhi entered the room. After Shen Ping’s secretary had left, he did not take a seat, but stood in front of the desk and got straight to the point, “I’m here to terminate the contract for Shen Wu.”
Shen Ping was unhurried. While looking at the documents in his hand, he replied nonchalantly, “He doesn’t need to terminate the contract.”
He was sitting, and Meng Huaizhi was standing, but the person who was standing was also unhurried, and even more relaxed, “You always make him unhappy, Shen Ping.”
Shen Ping stopped what he was doing and had to look up.
Meng Huaizhi looked at him indifferently, “He might be waiting for your explanation and apology, but I only hope…”
He paused and then continued, “You stay away from him. Transfer his contract to M+ Entertainment. Make a condition.”
Shen Ping was so angry that he laughed, and a crack appeared on his usually impassive face, “What if I say no?”
Meng Huaizhi said faintly, “I thought you would respect Shen Wu’s wishes.”
“Is it his own wish to go to M+ Entertainment? Impossible.”
Shen Ping’s tone was abnormally certain. Meng Huaizhi glanced at him and asked, “Why is it impossible?”
“You’ll take care of him too much. He doesn’t like that, don’t you know? It doesn’t matter in his life, but he doesn’t like his career being controlled by others,” Shen Ping had a too-perfect smile, and that smile was as uncomfortable as his tone. “You don’t understand him.”
The words he had hidden in his heart were that he knew that Shen Wu liked Meng Huaizhi.
No matter how well Shen Wu was hiding it now, the young boy who had just fallen in love was naive and immature. All his abnormalities were seen by his deep-minded brother.
Because he had fallen in love with the brother from a family friend, the age difference that had once brought him infinite doting had instead become an obstacle. He began to mind the four-year age difference, and the years he could never catch up to.
So, he would not be willing to enter Meng Huaizhi’s company, would not be willing to be under Meng Huaizhi’s watch, and enjoy the care of his brother.
“You don’t know Shen Wu’s wishes.”
Meng Huaizhi’s gaze was empty, and the voice that floated over was very light and faint. It was unclear if he was talking to Shen Ping.
Shen Ping did turn his head to the side.
He did not say anything, but he thought in his heart: Shen Wu is his younger brother, his own younger brother with whom he shares a blood connection. What secret could he have that he doesn’t know?
The corner of Meng Huaizhi’s lips curled slightly, and he said unhurriedly, “His wish is me.”
Shen Wu was working part-time in the entertainment industry. For the past few months, his only schedules were one drama and one variety show. The rest of the time, he was preparing for the season that would start at the end of March.
He and his manager, Nie Bo, also did not contact each other often. It was rare to receive a call from Nie Bo, but it was to inform him that his contract had been transferred to M+ Entertainment.
Shen Wu went to M+ Entertainment to find Meng Huaizhi in a daze.
“Your brother sold you to me,” Meng Huaizhi only gave him this one sentence, a smile that could not be hidden in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
Shen Wu: “…” He didn’t know that Meng Huaizhi was so good at joking before.
“Now M+ Entertainment will take over your acting and endorsement work. It’s not much different from before. In the future, Luo Jinyi will be in charge of you. She might arrange schedules for you when you’re free. Of course, the final decision is yours. She’s just providing suggestions and making connections, and won’t force you.”
Shen Wu was surprised.
Not only was he sold… no, not only was his contract transferred to M+ Entertainment, but Meng Huaizhi had also given him his own manager.
“Although I’m your boss now, we’re both under Luo Jinyi, so we’re also colleagues. You can just treat me as a senior from the same company in the future.”
Shen Wu: “…” He had even become Meng Huaizhi’s colleague?
But just the day before yesterday, Nie Bo had had a long and heartfelt talk with him, basically thanking him for their cooperation during this period and being very optimistic about his future development.
Nie Bo had hesitated for a moment and then passed on Shen Ping’s message, “If you’re unhappy with Teacher Meng, you can always come back and find President Shen.”
Shen Wu did not understand the deep meaning of his words, but one thing was certain, so he shook his head and said, “I won’t be unhappy with Huaizhi-ge.”
On the contrary, Meng Huaizhi had told Shen Ping, “You always make him unhappy.”
Nie Bo did not know about these twists and turns and truthfully passed on Shen Wu’s words to Shen Ping.
Just like that, Shen Wu’s acting agency contract was inexplicably transferred to M+ Entertainment. However, his scenes in Racing Heartbeat had already been filmed, and the four-episode season of Wonderful Adventure had been recorded. He was about to go to a competition, so there was no need to arrange any new work for the time being.
Meng Huaizhi had the same thought as him and took the opportunity to suggest, “You can send your entire race schedule to Luo Jinyi. Our hotel and accommodation can be arranged by her. After she has arranged it, she will confirm it with your team manager again.”
Meng Huaizhi’s concert schedule was basically intertwined with his race schedule.
The races had a new stop every other week, with three races in three days: a practice race, a qualifying race, and a main race.
During the week of rest between stops, most of the drivers would spend it locally, having parties on cruise ships, visiting bars, and watching various special performances, indulging in pleasure.
Shen Wu had originally thought that if the country of the race was not far, he would go home to rest. Since he was taking Xu Qiongya with him this time, the long and tiring competition had become a trip around the world, which was extremely exciting.
Before long, he received another call from Shen Ping.
“Xiao Wu, have you booked the hotels for the first eight stops? Where are you planning to book? I asked Manager Tan, and he said you were planning to arrange it yourself,” Shen Ping was also asking about the competition.
But Shen Wu was puzzled, “The hotel is not in a hurry. What’s wrong?”
Shen Ping said, “I’ve cleared three months of my time. I can accompany you for at least eight races. We’ll see about the rest later.”
Shen Wu unconsciously fiddled with his fingers, “…Then you can ask Sister Jinyi. Huaizhi-ge asked her to arrange it for us together.”
“Meng Huaizhi?” Shen Ping only repeated this name. He probably remembered Meng Huaizhi’s concert schedule. After a long pause, he only said, “Okay, I know.”
“Mm,” Shen Wu thought about what he had just said and still showed some concern. “You’re very busy with work. It’s not good to take a three-month break, right? You don’t have to accompany me. You can just watch the broadcast. You can’t see much at the racetrack anyway.”
After a long while, Shen Ping finally managed to squeeze out a “mm,” “I’ll see.”
