"Madam, this is the divorce agreement. Please review it, and if there are no issues, you can sign it."
Nan Xiao looked at the agreement handed to her, and all she could think of was a buzzing in her head, making it impossible to hear anything else.
"Madam?"
Zhou Wen saw that she remained silent for a long time, so he waved his hand in front of her.
Nan Xiao returned to her senses, her face filled with confusion. "Xie Chengyu wants to divorce me?"
With only her sparkling eyes visible through the mask she was wearing, it was clear she was filled with bewilderment and sorrow. Zhou Wen was a bit sympathetic and lowered his gaze.
"Yes, Mr. Xie said that since the matriarch has passed away, there is no necessity to continue this marriage. So, he wants a divorce."
With that, Nan Xiao felt a sharp pang in her heart. But following this, there was also a sense of relief, as if a blade hanging over her head had finally fallen.
Three years ago, she, the disfigured second daughter of the Nan family, married into the Xie family to bring good fortune to the elderly Madame Xie. From then on, she became Xie Chengyu's wife.
However, within these three years, she had only met Xie Chengyu a handful of times. The first time was on their wedding day, and the other was a month ago at Madame Xie's funeral.
In these three years, Xie Chengyu never returned home. It was clear that he did not regard her as his wife. She had anticipated that they would divorce once Madame Xie passed away.
"Madam, you—"
Seeing Nan Xiao remain silent for a few minutes and then abruptly sign her name on the document without a word, Zhou Wen hurriedly reminded her, "You haven't checked the clauses in the agreement..."
"It's unnecessary."
Nan Xiao capped her pen and pushed the divorce agreement away.
She didn't care how much money Xie Chengyu offered her. When the Xie family had sought her out to act as a good luck symbol, they gave her a large sum as compensation, which was enough to see her through the rest of her life in comfort.
More importantly, she hadn't married Xie Chengyu for money.
She fell for him in high school, and her love lasted a solid eight years. She agreed to marry him three years ago, just to fulfill her own dream.
"Could you please pass a message to him for me?" She said, "I'll move out in the next couple of days, and he can come home."
It must have been hard for him, staying away from home for three years, all due to a woman he didn't even love.
Nan Xiao managed to cover her reddening eyes with a smirk. Then, hiding her self-mockery, she turned and headed upstairs.
"Yan Yan, I'm divorced."
By the window, she dialed her friend Lin Yan's number. Lin Yan sounded shocked at the news. "Why did you divorce? Was it Xie Chengyu's idea?"
"Yes."
"How could he be so cruel! He hasn't come home for three years already. Now he even dare to propose a divorce!"
Hearing her friend's accusations, Nan Xiao pressed her lips together and said, "It doesn't matter. He told me at the beginning of our marriage that he married me only to please Madam Xie, his grandmother. He never loved me."
As she said this, she grasped the window sill tightly.
Although she told herself it was time to move on, bringing up these things still made her sad.
"Ah, why are you so silly?" Lin Yan sighed.
As Nan Xiao's closest friend, she knew better than anyone how much Nan Xiao loved Xie Chengyu.
Thinking about the things Nan Xiao had done for Xie Chengyu these years, she felt that it was not worth it for Nan Xiao.
"For the past three years, you've tried so hard, enduring so much hardship to get rid of the scar on your face, all in the hope that Xie Chengyu would come back and take a glance at you. Now, you've finally succeeded, but things have turned out like this..."
"It's alright. After all, it's my own face. The recovery is also beneficial for me.”
"Indeed, just think like this! Now, you are divorced, so just focus on living a good life by yourself. Let that jerk stay wherever he feels comfortable!"
Nan Xiao was amused by Lin Yan's comment, and released her tense mood for a moment.
But as she glanced up and saw her own wedding photo hanging alone on the wall, her heart shivered again.
She took off her mask and looked at her exceptionally beautiful face in the mirror, her eyes filled with sorrow.
Throughout their marriage, Xie Chengyu didn't even know what she truly looked like.
She had spent three years as the nominal Mrs. Xie, also enduring three years of being the laughingstock among their peers. Now that it was all about to end, it was indeed a fresh start.
