On the 56 <sup>th</sup> floor of the Heng’an Building, Shao Yanxi is not working.
He’s smoking.
One cig, and another. The room is filling up with smog.
Though he seems to be unaffected.
As he is too busy thinking about how ridiculous it is, that he has transmigrated into his past.
But he doesn’t want to stay alive anymore. It’s all meaningless.
He had no family, no friends, nothing but money. When he finally married the person he loved, and thought he finally had a home, and no longer had to face a lonely, unlit house every single time he went home off work, the person ran away in the middle of the wedding.
He became a joke.
After all that, he has to relive his life again?
Although he isn’t sure why Liu Yu’an did not abandon him this time when he heard Yue Zhun was injured, it doesn’t matter anymore.
After dying once, he realised he wasn’t actually in love with Liu Yu’an as much as he thought.
He… was merely too lonely.
And Liu Yu’an was right there when he was at his most vulnerable – it developed into a mistaken feeling of love.
None of that matters anymore now though.
While thinking, the smoke alarm goes off, and the ringing pulls him back to reality.
Shao Yanxi “…”
He scrubs the cig in the ashtray and opens up the exhaust fan, then takes a seat in his leather chair.
He glances over at the phone. 19:38. He told Han Buoyang to take the Form of Divorce to be signed by Liu Yu’an earlier, and he should be there now.
Thinking so, Shao Yanxi sends a message to Liu Yu’an on his phone.
Meanwhile, at Liu Yu’an’s home, he looks the message over before putting his phone back in.
Then, he takes the Form and chuckles as he looks the content over before throwing it casually over to the top of the shoe rack, and tells Han Buoyang, “you said Yanxi wanted a divorce? Mr. Han, that’s a cruel joke to tell someone on the day of their wedding ceremony, not to mention how much Yanxi loves me.”
He says it without a sign of hesitation, so much so that even Han Buoyang is suspecting whether he heard wrong and his boss didn’t actually ask him to go deal with a divorce.
Liu Yu’an doesn’t care how he might respond and quickly grabs his coat and puts on his shoe. He takes his keys and phone and walks out, “I’ll go pick up Yanxi. Mr. Han, you should go as well. I’ll go see what he wants.”
After this, he shuts the door and heads for the elevator.
Han Buoyang “…”
Han Buoyang told him by phone that Liu Yu’an was coming for him, so, Shao Yanxi wasn’t much surprised when Liu Yu’an was knocking on his office door.
After he opens it up, he sees Liu Yu’an who used to be all arrogant and prideful in front of him looking at him gently and asking, “Yanxi, are you finished yet? I’ve come to pick you up off work.”
Shao Yanxi “…”
He moves aside, and asks directly, “why did you not sign it?”
Along the way Liu Yu’an thought a lot about the reason why he suddenly asked for a divorce.
Most likely, Shao Yanxi, who originally caused the world to collapse in the first place, has deviated from the plot again and concluded something else from the fact that the original ‘Liu Yu’an’ liked and was romantically pursuing Yue Zhun.
——Most fundamentally, it meant that Shao Yanxi could conclude that he does not actually like him.
So, what he has to do now is to convince Shao Yanxi that he, in fact, does. He plans to do so by twisting that fact into him going after Yue Zhun to try to make him feel jealous and see how much he meant to him.
Though, of course, one step at a time.
Liu Yu’an’s smile is gone now. He asks him, gritting his teeth, “can I know why? Did I do something wrong? Why are you asking for a divorce the first day of our marriage?”
“You don’t even like me, do you?” Shao Yanxi says, emotionlessly.
And he was right.
Liu Yu’an, though, says, “is it because I never once told you I like you that made you think that? Then Shao Yanxi, listen carefully, I, Liu Yu’an, am. in. love. with. you. From the past to the present, I’ve always, always liked you. Only you.”
Shao Yanxi is unconvinced.
Liu Yu’an says, “you’ve learned about Yue Zhun, didn’t you?”
Hearing Yue Zhun’s name makes Shao Yanxi bite his lips so much that it ends up a flat line.
Liu Yu’an tells him, “I can explain,” then, he very shamelessly puts the blame back onto Shao Yanxi, “Yanxi, do you know why I went after him?”
As expected, no answer came.
Liu Yu’an wasn’t expecting one either, and says, staring straight into his eyes, “Yanxi, are you seriously unaware at all how coldly you treat me? So coldly, that I do not even know whether you married me because you like me or if it is simply another marriage with benefits to you.
I am only 24. I wish for love. Passionate love. I wished that you liked me as much as I did, but it really hurts if I think that you are marrying me only because of the mutual benefits.
That is why… I got into this ridiculous fever and betrayed you behind your back and went after someone else. I didn’t try to hide it at all just to see how you would react. I wanted to see whether you were marrying for me the person or me, the bunch of social labels that made up me. I… I wanted you to be jealous, to care about me some more… Yanxi. I’m sorry. I’ve been a dumbass, a bastard. It was wrong of me to do that, but I really liked you. Ever since the beginning.”
After that grand speech, Liu Yu’an had one thing to say about himself – what a scumbag.
It’s the scummiest thing a human scum would ever say.
A human scum being busted right after having an affair and is still scummily denying.
Shao Yanxi only responds after a period of silence, “… I do not marry for benefits.”
Hearing that makes Liu Yu’an feel slightly guilty, but he has to continue his scum charade, “yes, you never do need to, because you’re the Yanxi that I love. I should have realised you had enough power to always pursue a true love. But I was locked in a mental fervour. I couldn’t think straight… I’m sorry Yanxi. I did all those things that hurt you. I’m worse than scum. I’m sorry.”
Shao Yanxi “…”
“But Yanxi, I don’t want to leave you. It really hurts just thinking about divorcing you,” Liu Yu’an says, looking back up at him, and tries to appeal via shameless cuteness, “let’s not divorce, ok? I really, really, like you. I know you liked desserts so I actually went and studied how to make some. I can make sweets for you, ok?”
Naturally, he hasnt ever taken such studies.
He happens to have transmigrated into one world as a pâtissier though.
Shao Yanxi’s pupils rapidly contract in shock hearing about the desserts.
He did like sweet confectionery.
But barely anybody knew. Liu Yu’an, he…
Shao Yanxi is starting to question himself for the first time since his rebirth.
Which Liu Yu’an was the real one?
The Liu Yu’an that abandoned him at his own wedding and made him a joke, a fool in front of the entire world.
Or the Liu Yu’an that knew he liked sweets and secretly studied how to make them for him.
Which one is it?
Of course, if Shao Yanxi did investigate he’d immediately find out he never studied such thing, so Liu Yu’an quickly tries to divert his attention.
“I happen to have no work scheduled recently, so I’ll be bringing you lunch from tomorrow on and pick you up from work at evenings, ok? Then we can eat out after that.
“Oh, and what about pets? If you like them we can keep a dog or a cat, and we can even take them out for walkies after dinner.”
“When you’re off work on the weekends we can go play outside. I know you haven’t had much time to enjoy yourself in the city, right? I’ll go along wherever you want to go, whether it’s the city or somewhere else, wherever you want.”
Liu Yu’an remembers from the book that Shao Yanxi has been lying in wait to topple his father up until he was 24, after which he became so busy with work that he never had time to enjoy himself.
Shao Yanxi opens his mouth, but does not speak.
Liu Yu’an walks over and embraces him, “please don’t divorce me, Yanxi. I don’t want to divorce and leave you. I have been in love so long, to finally get married. There is no way I can accept a divorce. I will never agree, not even if you offer me the world for it. You’re mine now. You can’t leave me behind to look for someone else.”
“I’m not trying to look for someone else,” though I don’t want to be with you either. Shao Yanxi pushes him off him.
“I knew it! You love me too, don’t you,” Liu Yu’an very shamelessly assumes as if he wasn’t just pushed away, “then Yanxi, we’re not divorcing, and let’s never talk about this depressing topic ever again, ok?”
He further pushes him, recalling the fact that as Shao Yanxi is rich and handsome, he is often bothered by unwanted attention, and says, “really, being married with me now; there won’t be any more eyesores bothering you knowing that, right?”
True, those unwanted attention does bother him… While thinking that, Shao Yanxi’s stomach starts drumming.
Liu Yu’an chuckles, and says, “I didn’t have much earlier with how busy it was too. I know a good private place, let’s go together.”
He drags Shao Yanxi downstairs.
Then, he opens up that racecar the original ‘Liu Yu’an’ painted coquettishly purple and red and stuffs Shao Yanxi inside.