Chapter 12 — The Wedding That Became a Goodbye

Attorney Shen, Lan spoke up, Is this a twist of fate, or did you meticulously orchestrate it yourself?

Shen Du raised his eyes, his gaze casting past the cover of the document folder, carrying the warmth of a half-smile. Heng Tai Law Firm has always served as the legal advisor for this enterprise, and I am merely handling the due diligence routine for this project. Yet, if Miss Lan perceives it as destiny, I certainly shall not deny it. Lan affixed her signature to the contract and slid it across the table toward him. Shall we grab some hot pot together tonight then?

Agreed.

The hot pot restaurant remained unchanged, occupying their familiar corner booth. The proprietress immediately recognized Lan, shouting out the moment she stepped through the doorway, Miss Lan has arrived! I have already set aside two portions of tripe for you! Shen Du slipped off his suit jacket, draped it across the back of his chair, and rolled his white shirtsleeves up to his forearms, revealing his firm, muscular wrists. His technique for boiling the hot pot ingredients was textbook perfection, dipping them seven times and scooping them out on the eighth, never missing a beat.

Have you practiced this particular skill? Lan asked, her curiosity piqued.

I spent my university years living in Chongqing, Shen Du replied, transferring a perfectly cooked piece of tripe into Lan's bowl. Over four years there, I mastered nothing else of note, save for the art of cooking meat in boiling broth.

Did you manage to build up your alcohol tolerance while living in Chongqing as well?

To a reasonable degree.

Spirits or beer?

I can handle either one.

Lan's eyes lit up as she turned toward the owner. Bring us two bottles of Jiang Xiaobai! Shen Du offered no objection whatsoever. After three rounds of drinks, Lan's cheeks were flushed with a rosy hue, and she grew noticeably more talkative. She recounted how she had once stolen her father's car keys as a child and crashed right through a courtyard wall, how she had sprinted breathlessly around the stadium during her university days in a desperate attempt to catch the eye of a senior student, and even the exact reasoning behind why she had appended the phrase without any upper limit to their Romance Agreement.

Because I understood a fundamental truth from a very young age, Lan said, lifting her wine glass, her gaze slightly hazy. People inevitably change. The most unreliable element in any relationship is the phrase I swear. True love requires no oaths, and whenever vows are spoken, it ultimately stems from an underlying lack of security within one's heart.

Shen Du sat in quiet attentiveness, neither interrupting nor offering superfluous agreement.

And what about you? Lan asked suddenly, fixing her intense stare upon him. Master Attorney Shen, has anyone ever betrayed you?

Shen Du lapsed into a brief silence for several seconds before replying. Yes.

Who was it?

Someone whom I once believed I would spend the remainder of my life alongside, he answered, his tone remarkably serene, though his hand tightening around the wine glass betrayed him slightly. In the end, she chose to walk an easier path.

Lan chose not to pry any further into the details. She simply raised her glass and gently tapped it against his. Then let this toast be to those of us who have known betrayal; may we henceforth receive only deep, abiding love and never be forsaken again. A faint smile touched Shen Du's lips as he tilted his head back and emptied his glass in a single swallow. Steam rose in billowing waves from the bubbling broth, blurring the features of them both. Beneath the warm lighting, Lan's eyes shone with a brilliant radiance, as though they held an entire canopy of stars.

Three months later, the twenty million yuan from Lu Huai Chu had been transferred in full. Lan utilized the funds to establish a high-end, standard-model building materials showroom located in the eastern district. On the morning of the grand opening, floral baskets of congratulations lined the pavement from the storefront all the way across the street. Among them stood a single arrangement bearing a small card with the message: Wishing Boss Lan overflowing prosperity with her new venture. I owe you ten hot pot dinners, payable in installments at your leisure. Signed, Shen Du. A soft smile touched Lan's lips as she placed the card into her drawer, resting it right beside the original copy of the Romance Agreement. She stood before the floor-to-ceiling glass window of her shop, watching the bustling stream of traffic rush by outside, while the warm sunlight pierced through the glass, casting a luminous and radiant glow across her face. Her telephone began to ring, signaling an incoming call from Chu Miao.