Day 29 of the Divorce Cooling-off Period, My Husband Lost His Memory - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

We got our divorce certificates on the thirty-seventh day.

Zhou Yue had more or less recovered physically, and most of his memories had come back.

Outside the Civil Affairs Bureau, he stood in a black overcoat, holding two little booklets.

We went in with red ones and came out with green ones.

I used to think I would cry.

But when I actually had it in my hands, I felt surprisingly calm.

Zhou Yue looked at me and asked, “Do you want me to drive you?”

I shook my head.

“No need.”

He handed me a small box.

“Take this with you.”

I opened it and glanced inside.

It was the old wedding ring.

I closed the box and handed it back.

“Keep it.”

His fingers stiffened for a moment.

I said, “Not every old thing has to be given to me.”

Zhou Yue lowered his head and looked at the box.

“Okay.”

We stood by the sidewalk. The wind was a little cold.

Suddenly, he said, “I remembered the last thing that happened before the car accident.”

I looked up.

“What was it?”

“I called you.”

I took out my phone and checked the call log.

That night, the night of the accident, there really had been a missed call.

I had been in the shower at the time. When I came out and saw that it was him, I didn’t call back.

Zhou Yue said, “I wanted to tell you that after we got the divorce certificate the next day, you wouldn’t have to be afraid of the Zhou Family anymore.”

“I also wanted to say I was sorry.”

He paused.

“But what I wanted to say most was: don’t look back.”

My chest tightened, just a little.

He looked at me, his eyes quietly red.

“Back then, I already knew that every time you looked back, you would end up hurting one more time because of me.”

I said nothing.

He gave a small smile.

“Good thing you didn’t answer.”

It was a strange thing to say.

But I understood.

If I had answered that call that day and heard that something had happened to him, maybe my heart would have softened again. Maybe I would have gone right back into that cycle.

I asked, “And what about now?”

Zhou Yue put the divorce certificate into his pocket.

“Now, I still hope you don’t look back.”

He spoke very slowly.

“At least, don’t look back because of me.”

I looked at him.

This was the sentence I had waited a long time to hear.

Not I love you.

Not give me another chance.

But: you can leave.

The light at the intersection turned green.

I picked up my bag and walked forward.

Halfway across, Zhou Yue called out behind me.

“Lin Zhi.”

I turned back.

He stood at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, the wind tugging his overcoat into a gentle sway.

“The bridal shop has reopened.”

I frowned.

He quickly added, “I’m not asking you to go with me.”

“I just wanted to say that if you ever want to wear one in the future, don’t refuse to because of me.”

I looked at him, then suddenly smiled.

“Zhou Yue, a wedding dress isn’t a task every woman has to complete.”

He froze, then nodded.

“Yeah.”

I said, “But I will take those photos.”

For a split second, his eyes lit up, but he quickly pushed it back down.

“Okay.”

I turned and crossed the road.

This time, I didn’t look back.

That afternoon, I went back to the old apartment.

The key after the lock change slid in for the first time with a soft sound.

The place had already been cleaned. The stomach medicine on the table, the scarf on the sofa, the note by the kitchen door telling me to drink less iced stuff-they were all still there.

Zhou Yue hadn’t thrown them away for me.

That made me feel much better.

In the past, he had loved making decisions for me too much.

Forgiving on my behalf. Enduring on my behalf. Swallowing down ugly words for me.

Now, with these old things left exactly where they had been, it felt more like they were waiting for me to deal with them myself.

I folded the scarf first and put it into a cardboard box.

I had bought it during the first winter. It hadn’t been expensive, and it had pilled badly.

Zhou’s Mother had once looked down on it for being shabby, saying the daughter-in-law of the Zhou Family couldn’t go out wearing something like that.

That day, I went back to my room and secretly cut off the tag. The next day, I still wore it to work.

When Zhou Yue saw it, all he said was, “That’s just how my mom talks.”

Back then, that sentence had still been enough to hurt me.

Now that I thought about it, he hadn’t even managed to say, “Wear it if you like it.”

I put the scarf at the bottom of the box.

Then came the note.

I peeled it off and held it in my hand, staring at it for a long time.

Drink less iced stuff.

The handwriting was very familiar.

The concern had been real too.

But if real concern always came too small and too late, it was like a blanket that could only cover the back of your hand.

The places that were cold would still be cold.

I tucked the note inside my divorce certificate instead of throwing it away.

Not because I was attached to it.

But to remind myself that sometimes, a person’s good and bad could both be crammed into the same person.

Seeing one good thing and forgetting all the pain was a mistake I had made before.

Finally, I opened the wardrobe in the master bedroom.

A white shirt hung inside.

Zhou Yue’s.

One button was missing from the cuff.

I remembered that on the night before his car accident, he must have been wearing this shirt when he rushed out with the envelope of evidence in his arms.

I didn’t touch it.

I called the real estate agent and said the apartment could be listed.

The agent asked, “Are you sure you want to sell? Units in this complex hold their value really well.”

I stood in the empty living room and watched the setting sun shine through the window, making the floor glow.

“I’m sure.”

“Set the price at market value. There’s no rush.”

After hanging up, I put the key into my bag.

Before closing the door, I looked back once.

This had once been the home I had desperately wanted to protect.

But a home shouldn’t depend on one person to hold it together.

I closed the door.

This time, the sound of the lock was soft.

And clean.