Said Not to Fall in Love - Chapter 12
Chapter 12
The outside pressure didn’t disappear overnight.
The Nan’an Project was reviewed through two more rounds.
The Gu Family failed to replace me, but they dragged every single procedure out until the last possible day.
Zhou Yubai’s independent financing was delayed all the way into autumn too.
He lost two clients and took on fewer new cases for three months.
I was held accountable at board meetings, warned, and ordered to recuse myself from all reviews related to Zhou Yubai.
By the time summer passed, we could each hold meetings at the same dining table.
I revised drawings; he read contracts.
Whoever finished first would go to the kitchen and cook noodles.
When the weather cooled in autumn, he would hang my coat by the door.
When he stayed up late, I would replace his coffee with hot milk.
One winter night, the power went out, and we wrapped ourselves in the same blanket in the living room while we waited for property management.
Neither of us ever mentioned “contractual obligations” again.
By February of the following year, the Nan’an Project finally received its official resolution.
Zhou Yubai’s firm also secured its independent financing.
For the time being, neither the Zhou Family nor the Wen Family could find a reason to interfere anymore.
By all rights, this was a good thing.
But between Zhou Yubai and me, silence began to settle in instead.
Because the reason our agreement existed was about to disappear.
One month left until it expired.
When I saw that date on the calendar, my finger lingered there for a long time.
That night, Zhou Yubai came home very late.
I sat at the dining table, the divorce agreement placed in front of me.
It was the version prepared back when we got married.
As long as we signed it, the process would move quickly.
I heard the door open.
Zhou Yubai stopped in the middle of changing his shoes.
He had seen the document on the table.
The air chilled in an instant.
I tried to keep my voice calm.
“Everything outside has been resolved.”
He said, “Mm.”
“Shouldn’t we talk about what happens when the agreement expires?”
Zhou Yubai walked over.
He didn’t sit down.
He only stood beside the table, looking at the agreement.
“What do you want to talk about?”
I looked up at him.
“We agreed from the beginning that after a year, we’d divorce peacefully.”
“There’s still one month left.”
“We can prepare in advance.”
He said, “Are you in that much of a hurry?”
A sharp sting pierced my chest.
“I’m not in a hurry. I’m honoring the agreement.”
Zhou Yubai gave a faint laugh.
It was very soft.
“Wen Yi, do you still think this is only about honoring an agreement?”
My throat tightened.
Of course I didn’t.
I would check my phone when he came home late.
When I passed a men’s clothing store, I would think of his shirt size.
When someone called me Mrs. Zhou, it no longer felt absurd.
But I didn’t dare admit it.
Because admitting it would mean I had lost first.
I had been the first to turn a transaction into something real.
I pushed the document toward him.
“An agreement is an agreement.”
Zhou Yubai lowered his eyes and looked at me.
“Fine.”
He said,
“Then we’ll follow the agreement.”
He picked up the document.
My fingertips trembled.
But he didn’t sign it.
He only closed the document and placed it back on the table.
“We’ll talk about it on the day it expires.”
With that, he turned and went back to his room.
That night, the master bedroom door stayed closed.
So did the guest room door.
We slept in our own rooms, just like when we had first moved in together.
But I couldn’t fall asleep all night.
Because I knew.
The most torturous thing wasn’t that he didn’t love me.
It was that maybe he had fallen for me too.
But neither of us dared to admit it first.
