Shen Chi Yan had no mind for Shen Ke Qin at the moment. Shen Ke Qin, sensing this, found an excuse and slipped away quickly.
Gao Kun Lun saw Shen Chi Yan standing at the doorway, motionless, and cautiously reminded him, "Fifth Master, Madam..."
Suddenly, Shen Chi Yan's phone rang. A business partner, wondering why he hadn't arrived, was calling to inquire.
"I'll be there soon."
After hanging up, Shen Chi Yan looked indifferently at Gao Kun Lun, "You'll take Song Qi Nian home later."
"Ah..."
Gao Kun Lun was bewildered. At this point, wouldn't Fifth Master go in to find Madam?
"What? Do you have an opinion?"
"No... no."
Watching Shen Chi Yan's departing back, Gao Kun Lun pursed his lips and muttered, With Fifth Master like this, for Madam to still be by his side, it could only be because of love.
Song Qi Nian had initially thought that given Shen Chi Yan's temper, even if she hadn't left with Guan Ming Xu today, he wouldn't have let her off lightly.
Unexpectedly, Shen Chi Yan had already left.
While she breathed a sigh of relief, there was a hint of disappointment.
He must have been certain she wouldn't leave him, which is why he acted so recklessly.
Or perhaps, she hadn't left, and he was frustrated that she hadn't granted his wish to divorce him, thus he was too angry to see her.
As soon as she returned to Xiang Shan Yue, Shen Ke Qin's voice message arrived.
"Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law, are you okay? Did my brother bully you?"
"No."
"Really?"
"Mhm, I didn't even see him."
"...How is that possible? Didn't he wait for you to come out? Where did he go?"
"Gao Kun Lun said he went to a business dinner."
Shen Ke Qin was utterly dismayed. His own wife was almost snatched away, and his brother still had the mood for a business dinner.
After some thought, Shen Ke Qin said, "Sister-in-law, I'm both happy and worried that you didn't leave my brother. Happy that you're still my sister-in-law, and worried that I fear my brother might let you down. But... as long as your heart still loves my brother, we have plenty of ways to win him over!"
Shen Chi Yan sighed softly, "We've tried every method before, didn't it all prove useless?"
"Who says it was useless! Let me tell you, although my brother generously gave you and Guan Ming Xu three minutes, he stood outside the door the entire time. I could tell, he was quite afraid you would leave with Guan Ming Xu."
"...How is that possible?"
"With my twenty-plus years of understanding my brother, if he didn't care about you at all, he wouldn't care who you left with. How could he possibly wait for you to make a choice?"
"Didn't he just want to wait for me and Guan Ming Xu to leave, so he could immediately go to Grandma to discuss the divorce and marry Lin Qiu Tong?"
Of course, that possibility couldn't be ruled out!
But since Shen Ke Qin had taken on the banner of supporting his brother and sister-in-law, he naturally wouldn't say anything to make Song Qi Nian sad.
"From my observation, that's not it! Oh dear, it's getting late, don't overthink it. Leave the rest to me!"
"Mhm? What do you want to do?"
Shen Ke Qin sent Song Qi Nian an emoji that said, "Sleep soundly, everything's handled by me."
Song Qi Nian: "..."
Every time Qin Qin made a move, she ended up getting tricked once. How could she possibly relax?
Just after chatting with Qin Qin, Mu Yu Xin's WeChat message arrived.
"Baby Nian Nian, are you asleep yet?"
"Not yet."
"How are things between you and your man?"
"...Not very good!"
"What happened? Did you have a fight?"
Song Qi Nian was feeling restless and poured out everything that had happened that day to Mu Yu Xin. After listening, Mu Yu Xin excitedly said, "I think there's hope."
"What makes you say that?"
"Think about it, you've been married to Shen Chi Yan for three years, and he's only come home a handful of times. Now, he's actually given you a chance to choose and waited at the door for so long. What does that signify? It means he feels differently about you!"
Shen Ke Qin and Mu Yu Xin said the same thing, which made Song Qi Nian waver.
"Then what should I do?"
"What else can you do? Chase him!"
"Chase?"
"Mhm. Normal marriages are love first, then marriage. You two got married right after meeting, without the foundation of love. Love isn't something you get just by waiting; you have to take the initiative."
After a pause, Mu Yu Xin sent another message, "How about this, I'll send you '108 Ways to Seduce Him' later. Just follow it, and I guarantee, as long as Shen Chi Yan is a normal man, you'll definitely be able to win him over!"
Mu Yu Xin was quick. As soon as Song Qi Nian received the file, she quickly opened it. The first dozen or so were quite normal, like asking him out for a movie, sending a heart-shaped lunch, etc...
As she read on, the content became more and more blush-inducing and heart-pounding. She wasn't sure if Shen Chi Yan would be swayed, but she certainly couldn't do it.
Then she thought, she could even do the difficult task of loving Shen Chi Yan, so what were these compared to that?
Meanwhile, on the other side, after his business dinner, Shen Chi Yan didn't go straight home. Instead, he met Gong Yu Qi, He Gao Min, and Yu Si Nian at a bar.
Gong Yu Qi wasn't short of money. He acted if he wanted to act, and played if he didn't. Acting and singing were just for his amusement.
He Gao Min was also a frequent visitor of bars and clubs; this was the start of his nightlife.
Only Yu Si Nian, due to his poor health, rarely went out this late.
When Gong Yu Qi saw Yu Si Nian, he teased with a smile, "Only A Yan can get our Young Master Yu to come to a bar this late!"
Yu Si Nian shot Gong Yu Qi a cool glance, "I didn't accompany you to a bar when you were heartbroken at fifteen!"
Gong Yu Qi: "..."
He Gao Min couldn't help but laugh, "Young Master Gong only started dating at fifteen? How pure!"
Gong Yu Qi kicked He Gao Min, "Get lost! You think I'm like you? Holding girls' hands shamelessly in kindergarten."
After the three teased each other for a while, they all turned their gaze to Shen Chi Yan, who was drinking alone, and then exchanged glances.
Gong Yu Qi whispered, "Hey, do either of you know what's wrong with A Yan?"
Yu Si Nian and He Gao Min both shook their heads.
Gong Yu Qi, holding his wine glass, sat next to Shen Chi Yan and provocatively said, "Who dared to displease our Fifth Master Shen? Fifth Master Shen, come on, tell us your troubles and make us happy!"
Shen Chi Yan gave Gong Yu Qi a cold, dagger-like glare and drained his glass of red wine.
"Tsk tsk, wine that costs hundreds of thousands a bottle, and you drink it like this, what a waste!"
After a few drinks, Shen Chi Yan started to feel tipsy. He looked indifferently at the three, "I have a question for you, how do you all determine if you've fallen for someone?"
The three of them: "..."
They had expected Shen Chi Yan to call them together so late and drink with such a somber expression because something earth-shattering had happened. To think it was this.
Then they thought, wait, didn't Shen Chi Yan love Lin Qiu Tong?
How could he suddenly ask such a question?
Could it be... he had doubts about his own love?