JR Chapter 15

It seemed like there had just been a shower outside the bar. The coarse bricks of the sidewalk were wet, and some had been loosened by electric scooters. When stepped on, they squeezed out water, splashing onto people’s feet and causing discomfort.

Mo Lin focused on the bricks beneath his feet, following Jiang Yuanmu to the street corner. After stopping, he glanced around—Cheng Lulu was nowhere to be seen; she might have gone to talk to her ex-boyfriend. But the aroma of the street-side barbecue, carrying the scent of smoke and cumin, was quite tempting in the damp night.

Mo Lin couldn’t help but look over. Jiang Yuanmu, turning back, saw Mo Lin staring at the barbecue cart.

Having walked a distance, with many things on his mind, Jiang Yuanmu finally said, “What do you want to eat?”

Mo Lin looked up at Jiang Yuanmu, both appearing as calm as usual. “Corn kernels, beef skewers, zucchini.” She paused, deciding to maintain a bit of healthiness in the midst of unhealthiness, “Less oil and salt.”

“Mildly spicy?”

“Yes.”

So Jiang Yuanmu and Mo Lin stood by the barbecue stand, the bluish smoke drifting over their heads.

A skewer of barbecue was handed over. Jiang Yuanmu took out his phone to pay, but Mo Lin stopped him, “You haven’t signed the divorce papers yet, and the family fund account hasn’t been closed. This will come from the account.”

Jiang Yuanmu silently put his phone away, noticing the owner, who was brushing oil on the barbecue, glancing up at him repeatedly.

Still silent, he and Mo Lin walked to a small table and chairs to sit down.

They seemed out of place on the street, often drawing the attention of passersby.

Mo Lin started eating a skewer, and Jiang Yuanmu, watching her lips glistening with oil and tinged red, found himself unable to return to his original topic.

He had wanted to talk to Mo Lin.

But about what?

He initially planned to question Mo Lin about that hostile young man.

Why, not yet divorced, did she come to the bar with these young people?

Earlier in the day, she said, “Biologically, time is unfair to men and women,” and now, just after nightfall, had she already found “someone willing to spend the rest of their life with her”?

But after calming down, he realized these questions were inappropriate to ask.

Even ignoring that their marriage was “expired”, if they were still fully under contract, Mo Lin’s actions tonight weren’t wrong.

She had the right to love another under the contract, only obligated to inform him, the other party.

Their contract merely stipulated “informing each other”, followed by “amicable negotiation”, and finally “written termination.”

He had reviewed this years-old contract repeatedly in the past two days, now familiar enough to recite it by heart.

Jiang Yuanmu realized the topics he wanted to discuss lacked justification and standing.

The very words he had used to mock that young man could equally be applied to himself.

Jiang Yuanmu felt a headache coming on…

“Mr. Jiang.” Among the bustling streets filled with people and traffic, Mo Lin’s thin lips initiated the conversation, “You said you wanted to talk. Have you… made up your mind?”

Yes, when he left Mo Lin’s store today, she mentioned wanting a child, insisting on a divorce and dismissing the idea of renewing their contract. Jiang Yuanmu said he’d think it over.

But what had he thought about?

What had he clarified?

He knew he’d had a headache all afternoon, and it had slightly exploded in the evening.

Jiang Yuanmu rubbed his temples.

“Divorce…”

Mo Lin’s eyes brightened with the surrounding lights.

“…is not an option.”

Jiang Yuanmu’s mouth spoke these words before his muddled brain could process them.

Mo Lin’s gaze darkened again. She opened her mouth, but Jiang Yuanmu spoke first.

“The company… is having some issues.”

Mo Lin was surprised by this. Seeing Jiang Yuanmu looking particularly troubled, she grew puzzled, “What kind of issues? Are they serious?”

“Yes…” Jiang Yuanmu, still in his steady voice, slowly said, “A divorce would… tarnish my reputation.”

Mo Lin slowly ate a kernel of corn, never having seen Jiang Yuanmu so distressed. Her emotions grew complex, making the corn seem less tasty, a bit hard, difficult to chew.

Unbeknownst to Mo Lin, across from their barbecue stand, Ji Ming had come out of the bar. He leaned against the bar’s sign, smoking, watching Jiang Yuanmu, and clicking his tongue with each exhale.

Mo Lin put down her corn, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t pry into your company’s issues, but since it concerns my interests, I need to understand what issue affects our contract.”

“Yes.” Jiang Yuanmu was silent for a moment, lowering his hand from his forehead, pinching his chin in thought, then looking at Mo Lin, “A contracted influencer at the company has a boyfriend.”

Mo Lin listened, nodding to absorb the information.

“At a company gathering, she drank too much. I took her home, and her fans took photos.”

Mo Lin continued nodding.

“I publicly stated I was married, so…”

Mo Lin understood, “This influencer at your company must be facing difficulties now.”

“Yes.” Jiang Yuanmu agreed, “The company is also in a difficult situation. A divorce now would harm both the company’s and my reputation.”

“Right…” Mo Lin understood, “A divorce now would make it even harder to explain.”

Jiang Yuanmu nodded but then inexplicably sighed.

Mo Lin knew Jiang Yuanmu rarely sighed like this, indicating the matter was causing him significant trouble. After careful consideration, she spoke, “You should have told me about this earlier.”

“Yes…” Jiang Yuanmu wanted to say he should have mentioned it earlier, but after a pause, he simply said, “It was an internal company matter, and I didn’t want to burden you with extra concerns.”

“We’ve worked well together over the years, and such incidents are among the unexpected events outlined in our contract. We should handle this together. I can delay the divorce. Online criticism will eventually die down. After some time, we can divorce without attracting so much attention.”

Mo Lin proposed a solution.

Jiang Yuanmu quickly agreed, “Yes, let’s renew the contract, five years.”

“…” Mo Lin almost blurted out, “Such matters calm down in at most three months.”

“Considering the company, let’s be cautious.” Jiang Yuanmu said seriously, “Three years.”

Mo Lin shook her head, firmly standing her ground, “I’m willing to handle the unexpected incident with you, but three months is the most I can do. I need to prepare for pregnancy, Mr. Jiang. Sorry, I can’t support you indefinitely.”

Pregnancy preparation.

It was truly an unfamiliar term.

Jiang Yuanmu looked at Mo Lin across the small table, the streetlights flickering in his eyes, but they didn’t affect the determination in her gaze.

Wanting a child was something Mo Lin had decided on, and at this moment, Jiang Yuanmu deeply understood this.

“Alright, let’s renew the contract for three months.”

Mo Lin nodded, sealing the terms of this temporary renewal. She glanced at the untouched barbecue in front of Jiang Yuanmu, “You haven’t eaten anything, so I won’t charge the barbecue to the family fund account.”

Before she finished speaking, Jiang Yuanmu had already taken a bite of corn. After swallowing, he said to Mo Lin, “I drove here. I’ll take you back later.”

“You didn’t drink?”

“Not a drop.”

“Sister-in-law.” Ji Ming, having dispelled his smoky scent, came forward with a cheerful greeting, “Long time no see.”

Mo Lin politely nodded. As she was about to stand and exchange a few words, Ji Ming quickly motioned for her to sit down, “I just need to borrow President Jiang for a bit to discuss something.”

To Mo Lin, there was no reason to refuse.

However, Jiang Yuanmu glanced at Ji Ming with a slightly cold look, seemingly a bit displeased.

Ji Ming, unfazed, pulled Jiang Yuanmu up.

“Take your time eating,” Jiang Yuanmu said before leaving, “Wait for me.”

Mo Lin was a bit stunned but nodded. She couldn’t help feeling that Jiang Yuanmu was acting strangely today.

In the past, during such times… they never waited for each other, as there was never a need for someone to insist on taking the other home. Everyone had their own matters.

“President Jiang.” Pulling Jiang Yuanmu to a corner, Ji Ming started asking in a sarcastic tone, “Which influencer from the company was it? How did you get photographed with her? How come I haven’t heard anything about it? The whole company knows about your divorce, but no one knows you were photographed?”

Jiang Yuanmu straightened his sleeves, not replying.

“Aren’t I usually the one organizing company dinners? At which dinner did you get photographed without me knowing? Something so damaging to the company’s and your reputation, and I haven’t heard a peep? Don’t I need to handle the PR for this?”

Listening to Ji Ming’s string of questions, Jiang Yuanmu finally answered, “You just need to understand the situation.”

Hearing him admit it, Ji Ming laughed, “You don’t want a divorce so much that you’d resort to such schemes?”

Not wanting a divorce?

In fact, he had planned to part amicably.

Just as Mo Lin had suggested.

But…

“I saw it when I walked into your office today. There were divorce papers on your desk, right?” Ji Ming continued to expose Jiang Yuanmu, “You even picked up a pen. Weren’t you going to sign?”

“I signed a little.”

Just a dot.

No more than that.