Chapter 6 — When He Chose Her

It remained on his ring finger, the band worn to a brilliant shine, as if it had been polished over and over again through countless sleepless nights. He stood there, hesitant, not immediately closing the distance between us.

"Xan Xan."

When he called my name, his voice was thick and raspy, as if he had been suppressing the words for a very long time before finally letting them escape. I looked at him, but I offered no reply. He took a single step forward, then abruptly froze.

"I have been looking for you for such a long time."

"I know."

He faltered, seemingly surprised by my sudden, chilling composure. Zhu Tu reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of documents.

"The divorce agreement. I am not signing it."

"Then wait for the court summons instead."

His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, as if my words had physically struck him. A moment later, he let out a short, hollow laugh—very light, but devoid of any genuine relief.

"Xan Xan, I was wrong."

He took another step forward, and this time, he did not stop.

"I kept wearing the ring because I was terrified to take it off. I was afraid that the moment it left my finger, there would truly be nothing left of us."

He looked at me, his eyes bloodshot. "I know you will not look back, but I still wanted to try one last time." I gazed at him for a long silence before finally opening my lips. "Zhu Tu."

"We are finished."

He shook his head, his voice heavy with a desperate, stubborn refusal to accept the truth. "You are finished, perhaps. But I am not." I bowed my head and offered a faint, joyless smile. "So, you came here today expecting me to start over?" He did not answer, but the raw intensity in his eyes provided the answer for him.

"Zhu Tu, we cannot go back."

His face drained of color, his features sagging as if the very life force were being siphoned out of him. In that heartbeat, I was flooded with a thousand tiny, stinging memories. I remembered the night I suffered a high fever, only for him to claim he was busy entertaining clients. I remembered standing at the door of his law firm, waiting for him until the lights dimmed, only to be left behind once more. I remembered the sight of a wedding ring on someone else's hand, and his utter failure to offer any explanation. I pushed the documents back toward him.

"Sign it. It is better for you, and it is better for me."

"It is too late for us."

Just then, a frantic cry erupted from the hallway outside.

"Fire! The kitchen downstairs is on fire!"

The smell of smoke surged upward with terrifying speed, and the crowd in the building erupted into chaos. Before I could even react, Zhu Tu lunged forward, gripping my wrist with a firm, familiar strength. "Go!" His movements were ingrained, exactly as they had been years ago. I pulled back slightly. "I can walk on my own." He did not let go, his voice urgent and unyielding. "This is not the time for your stubbornness." In that moment, I felt a wave of disorientation, as if I had been pulled back years into the past, when he had grabbed me in exactly the same way to pull me from danger. The flames were not yet massive, but the smoke was thick and suffocating; he shielded me with his body, practically shoving me toward the exit. As we reached the stairwell, a heavy light fixture suddenly plummeted from the ceiling. He did not hesitate, throwing his body over mine and pulling me into his arms. With a sickening crash, the heavy debris slammed into his back. I heard him groan, but his first instinct was still to look down at me.

"Are you hurt?"

In that moment, I was rendered speechless. I felt like a traveler who had walked the wrong path for an eternity and finally, finally stopped moving. Rescuers arrived quickly; the fire was brought under control, and we were led down to the street. He sat on the stone steps, his back bleeding, yet he refused to let the medics treat him first.

"Xan Xan, I have settled everything regarding the shares of the law firm."

"I have transferred all of my holdings to you."

"The firm is your life's work; I am no longer fit to stand within it."

With red-rimmed eyes, he asked me, "Are you truly not going to turn back?"

I watched him for a long time, then whispered, "No." He closed his eyes, as if he had finally heard the answer he feared. As if he had finally, truly lost everything.

After Zhu Tu’s wounds healed, he signed the divorce agreement without any further delay. The day the documents were delivered, he stood tall, as if determined to maintain some semblance of dignity. But I saw it. His ring finger was bare. The wedding band he had worn for years was gone, leaving only a faint, pale indentation on his knuckle—the mark of something forced away after a lifetime of belonging. He told me that his shares, the properties, and the dividends had all been signed over to me. I stared at the papers, unable to sign them immediately. My fingertips hovered over the edge of the parchment.

"Are you sure?"

He remained silent for a heartbeat, then nodded.

"These things should have belonged to you all along."

"I owe you far more than just this."

I said nothing more, simply bowing my head to sign my name. The moment the pen touched the paper, the page trembled. It felt as though something had finally been switched off. He did not watch me write. He stood still for a long time—so long I thought he would depart in silence. But then, he spoke.

"I will not disturb you again."

His voice was a whisper, as if he were afraid of breaking the stillness. I looked up at him. He smiled, but it wasn't the smile of a man attempting to maintain control. It was thin, weary, and hollow—the look of a man who, having realized there was nothing left to save, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He added, "This is the only thing I can do for you now."

I returned to my work. Meetings, court cases, legal briefs. My life was filled to the brim, bit by bit, until there was no room left for anything else. Occasionally, my assistant would mention in passing, "Mr. Zhu has resigned."