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divorce

“I think the main problem is the insurmountable gap in education level.” Qi Xiaoyan looked at the staff member handling the divorce in front of her, her tone as serious as if she were discussing an academic issue: “She teaches elementary school, and I teach university.”

Yang Wei's eyes twitched, and she chuckled at him, "We're all teachers who educate and nurture people. Does being a university student mean you have to be aloof and arrogant? Don't you university students ever attend primary school?"

Qi Xiaoyan said without changing his expression, "To add one more point, I am a professor, the highest level among teachers."

"Yes, you, a math professor, are actually a fan of Song Jin!"

"Then what was your mindset in putting Mo Zhen's poster next to your wedding photos?"

"At least he doesn't talk to me about Goldbach every day!" Yang Wei suddenly turned to look at the staff member, her eyes burning with rage. "Can you believe it? The topic he talks to me about most every day is Goldbach! Do you even know who Goldbach is?!"

"Uh..." The staff member pursed his dry lips and tried to force a smile. "I guess he's a mathematician."

"No! It's the plague!" Yang Wei's tone of deep hatred made the staff worry for a moment about this new plague that they had never heard of before.

Qi Xiaoyan said with a regretful expression, "As you can see, she doesn't understand the charm of mathematics at all."

Yang Wei gritted her teeth: "As you can see, he doesn't understand my charm at all!"

Staff: "..."

He just wanted to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Qi Xiaoyan suddenly stared intently at him, mimicking Yang Wei's tone, and asked, "Can you believe it? She actually watches Japanese dramas! Doesn't she know how many historical issues exist between China and Japan?!"

"Then when you were masturbating to Aoi Sora, did you not consider the feelings of those with historical issues?" Yang Wei retorted fiercely.

Qi Xiaoyan regained her composure and said calmly, "Believe me, there are many things you can learn from Ms. Cang."

Yang Wei's eyebrows shot up: "Are you saying my technique is bad?"

Qi Xiaoyan chuckled: "Technique? Don't flatter yourself, okay? Every time I use even a little force, all you do is scream."

Staff: "..."

As the topic veered further into unspeakable territory, the staff member used their own body to prevent the situation from escalating: "Teachers, I am not yet 18 years old."

Yang Wei: "..."

Qi Xiaoyan: "..."

Twenty minutes later, after the young couple who had been arguing non-stop since they came in left, the office area finally returned to quiet.

"Tsk tsk, what a pity." A female colleague sighed regretfully, "A perfect couple, a golden pair, and now they're saying goodbye."

An older colleague flicked water droplets from his finger onto the cactus, exuding an air of otherworldly wisdom: "I bet a spicy snack that these two aren't done yet."

The staff member in charge of processing their paperwork silently sat back down, opened a webpage, and typed "Goldbach" into the search bar.

The webpage redirects.

Goldbach, a German mathematician, proposed the famous Goldbach Conjecture...

His anxiety finally subsided.

Yang Wei and Qi Xiaoyan walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, each holding a purple-red divorce certificate. As Yang Wei stuffed the divorce certificate into her bag, Qi Xiaoyan said beside her, "I'll be staying at the school for now. I'll move my things out while you're not home."

Yang Wei wrinkled her nose but didn't say anything. Before she turned around, she heard Qi Xiaoyan call her from behind.

"Is there anything else?"

Qi smiled and said, "Actually, I prefer Euler to Goldbach."

"...Goodbye!" Yang Wei walked away without looking back.

Qi Xiaoyan watched her figure disappear completely around the corner before walking towards the parking lot.

It was early spring, and pale pink peach blossoms were blooming on the roadside trees. Yang Wei looked up at the golden sunlight filtering through the branches and squinted slightly.

A black Audi sped past her, the cool air seeming to instantly penetrate her clothes. Yang Wei wrapped her beige trench coat tighter and made a face at the car's rear.

Qi Xiaoyan saw Yang Wei sticking out her tongue in the rearview mirror and subtly curled her lips into a smile.

Yang Wei walked to the intersection, took out her phone to check the time: 3:35. She hailed a taxi and went directly to Star Plaza.

Soft music played in the coffee shop. Yang Wei followed a waiter wearing a checkered apron to a round table by the window.

"Attorney Sheng, have you finished handling the overseas cases?" Yang Wei ordered a coffee and sat down opposite Sheng Lei.

Sheng Lei, Yang Wei's junior high school classmate and best friend, is a lawyer at Tianfang Law Firm specializing in divorce litigation.

She glanced at Yang Wei, tossed her short, black hair, and said, "I heard you were getting a divorce, so I rushed back to be your defense lawyer."

Yang Wei pursed her lips but didn't reply. Sheng Lei scrutinized her for a moment, then blinked and said, "I'm sure I just saw that navy blue wool dress you're wearing in last month's TOMATO magazine. Are elementary school teachers' salaries this high now?"

Yang Wei pouted again: "Qi Xiaoyan bought it."

Sheng Lei smiled and nodded: "To be honest, someone like your Qi Xiaoyan, who is high in intelligence, high in income, and high in looks, would make a lot of women ecstatic if you divorced him." She paused, then changed the subject, "But you're not bad either. Since you came in, that college student-looking guy at the door has peeked at you nine times, that man in a suit upstairs has peeked at you eleven times, and that waiter who led you in has passed by our table seven times."

Yang Wei: "..."

"But they don't know you're remarried."

Yang Wei: "..."

"Are you really going to divorce Qi Xiaoyan?" Sheng Lei looked at Yang Wei with a regretful expression. "You've been with him for a year, and you've gone from a kid who hasn't even given up her first love to a divorced person."

Yang Wei: "..."

She should have broken off all ties with Sheng Lei the day she passed the bar exam.

She silently took the divorce certificate out of her bag and placed it on the table: "I've already divorced him."

Sheng Lei stared at the purplish-red booklet for three seconds before she reacted: "Well, Yang Wei, you've grown wings now, you've even learned to act first and ask questions later? Do your aunt and uncle know?"

Yang Wei shook her head, feeling guilty, and said, "I haven't told them yet."

"So how did you sign the divorce agreement? How was the property divided? He didn't kick you out of the house, did he?" It's no wonder Sheng Lei was worried. The house they lived in belonged to Qi Xiaoyan and was considered premarital property. Yang Wei moved in with just her own belongings and didn't even pay a penny for the renovations.

Yang Wei pursed her lips and stuffed the divorce certificate back into her bag: "He gave me the house and moved to the school himself."

Sheng Lei: "..."

If every man were like him, she would be out of a job.

Although she was deeply hurt, she still said to Yang Wei, "It's only right. Many women contribute far more to their families than to a house in a marriage. Think about it, these days, hiring a nanny costs several hundred yuan an hour."

Yang Wei looked at her in surprise: "Didn't you tell me that the new marriage law no longer recognizes this?"

Sheng Lei said firmly, "I can't let him sleep with you for a year for nothing."

Yang Wei was taken aback for a moment, then said shyly, "Actually, Qi Xiaoyan put in more effort in this matter; I usually just lay there and enjoyed it."

Sheng Lei: "..."

Damn, she can still show off her love like this even after getting divorced. No wonder she's Yang Wei.

Looking at her fluctuating expressions, Yang Wei finally felt a sense of balance. Actually, she hadn't really considered taking Qi Xiaoyan's house. Her parents were both in City A; she could simply move back home. However, she would inevitably face gossip from some neighbors, and her father would probably get angry and buy her another house.

Although she could find a place to live, her marriage to Qi Xiaoyan had been so sudden. She didn't want to go back home in disgrace just a year later because of a divorce, causing her whole family to worry about her. So when Qi Xiaoyan offered to give her the house, she hesitated for a moment before shamelessly accepting it.

It's better than letting some other woman benefit from it.

However, Sheng Lei quickly mocked this idea: "You've already given your husband away to another woman, why would you care about a house?"

Yang Wei: "..."

Sheng Lei, who had won a round, was in a good mood: "Let's go have dinner first, and then go to karaoke to celebrate your miraculous recovery from the grave of marriage."

Yang Wei: "..."

"Since you're divorced, I'll treat you to dinner tonight."

Yang Wei really wanted to go, but she reluctantly declined, saying, "I have to go to work early tomorrow morning."

Sheng Lei sighed, "Then forget it. We'll just eat and be good girls when we get home tonight. I happen to have a case to work on, and it's a bit tricky."

Yang Wei looked at her in surprise: "Didn't you say that because your surname is Sheng, victory will always belong to you?"

Sheng Lei said, "This time is different."

"How are they different?"

"The opposing defense lawyer's surname is Ying."

Yang Wei: "..."

The two went to the most expensive restaurant, ordered a table full of dishes and a bottle of wine. Sheng Lei drank two glasses, and the alcohol took effect. She started cursing Qi Xiaoyan: "Qi Xiaoyan is a real bastard! Uncle Yang had already applied for your school, but because you married him, you even gave up the opportunity to study abroad! What are you doing in China if you're an art student? Teaching art in elementary school, haha!"

Yang Wei glared at her and retorted, "At that time, I hadn't decided to go abroad yet, and my dad secretly applied for the school without telling me. Besides... what gives you the right to look down on elementary school art teachers! Do you know how high the requirements are for art teachers now? They practically expect us to know everything from astronomy to geography!"

Sheng Lei ignored Yang Wei's roar and continued to berate Qi Xiaoyan: "Before you married him, you had never even had a boyfriend. He never pursued you, never proposed to you, and didn't even take you on a honeymoon before kicking you to the curb!"

Yang Wei lowered her eyelids and picked up a glass of wine from the table, taking a sip.

Her marriage to Qi Xiaoyan was an accident, an accident... an accident caused by drunken indiscretion.

First meeting

Yang Wei first met Qi Xiaoyan at the gate of Imperial University.

It was early spring, and Qi Xiaoyan was wearing only a simple white shirt, standing in front of the teaching building, lost in thought. His hair was rather long, covering his ears and the back of his neck, and had some natural curls; according to the standards for high school boys' hairstyles, it was a typical forbidden hairstyle.

He stood in the sunlight, lost in thought. Behind him, a group of students were noisily lining up on the steps, seemingly oblivious to his presence.

Yang Wei recognized him almost immediately – this was Professor Qi, the male god that Yu Shishi had worshipped on her altar for four whole years.

Yu Shishi is her cousin, and she graduated this year just like her.

Yu Shishi's hometown is not in City A. Her father found her an internship there. She will be going back to her internship after taking her graduation photos today. Yang Wei came here specifically to help her with the hard work.

As soon as Yu Shishi saw Yang Wei, she couldn't wait to introduce Professor Qi to her: "See? See! That's Professor Qi, isn't he handsome!"

Yang Wei nodded in agreement, which was evident from the successive stream of girls who came down to confess their feelings to him—although they didn't look too happy when they left.

Yu Shishi nudged Yang Wei with her elbow and whispered, "Could you ask him to have lunch with me?"

Yang Wei: "..."

"Cousin, this is the only request I've ever made in my life." Yu Shishi clasped her hands together and looked at her pitifully. "You're not a student at our school, so his refusal won't be too harsh."