Chapter 1: Divorce — I believe it’s impossible to overcome the huge gap between education levels.
“I believe that it’s impossible to overcome the huge gap between education levels.” Qi Xiao Yan focused on the divorce management staff member. His manner of speaking was cautious, resembling that of a discussion on academic issues. “She teaches at an elementary school, whereas I teach at an university.”
Yang Wei’s eyes twitched. Gently laughing at his face, she replied, “Both of us are teachers, but the university is more noble, more elegant? Has your university students never studied at an elementary school?”
Qi Xiao Yan’s face didn’t change color. He said, “Add another point. I am a professor, a teacher of the highest rank.”
“Right, you are the ‘Mathematics Beast’ that is actually a fan of Song Jin!”
“Then what were you thinking when you placed your Mo Zhen poster right beside our marriage photo?”
“At least he won’t talk about Goldbach to me everyday!” Yang Wei suddenly turned her head to look at the staff member, her eyes burning with flames of rage. “Do you believe it?! Every day, the only thing he would talk to me about is Goldbach! Do you even know who Goldbach is?!”
“Eh…” The staff member pursed his chapped lips and tried to smile. “I assume he is a mathematician.”
“Wrong! He is a disease!” Yang Wei’s tone brimmed with implacable hatred, causing the staff member to be concerned for a split second, as he had not yet heard of this new type of disease.
Regret appeared on Qi Xiao Yan’s face as he said, “As you can see, she simply doesn’t understand the charm of mathematics.”
Yang Wei gnashed her teeth. “As you can see, he simply doesn’t understand my charm!”
Staff Member: “…”
He only wanted to wipe away the perspiration dotting his forehead.
Qi Xiao Yan suddenly fixedly stared at the staff member, adopting the same tone that Yang Wei had just used when he asked, “Do you believe it? She even watches Japanese works! Doesn’t she know the numerous conflicts in the history between China and Japan?!”
“Then why didn’t you consider the feelings of questions left behind by history when you were rubbing your hand against Teacher Cang!” Yang Wei intensely retorted.”
Qi Xiao Yan regained his calm and collected appearance as he spoke, unruffled, “Believe me, Teacher Cang has several areas worthy for you to study from.”
Yang Wei’s eyebrows rose. “So is this you despising my technique because it’s bad?”
Qi Xiao Yan chuckled. “Technique? Don’t go plastering your face with gold, okay? Every time I start moving even a little bit, you wail loudly.”
Staff Member: “…”
Watching as the subject increasingly developed in an indescribable direction, the staff member used his own body to prevent the situation from deteriorating even more. “Teachers, I am not eighteen yet.”
Yang Wei: “…”
Qi Xiao Yan: “…”
Twenty minutes later, after the incessantly quarreling young married couple left, the office area finally became calm again.
“Tsk tsk, it’s truly a pity.” A female colleague sighed. “An ideal couple, a golden boy and jade maiden,1parting ways like this.”
A senior colleague to the side was watering a ball cactus and, with the air of a well-lived and well-traveled person, said, “I bet a làtiáo2 that these two still aren’t done with each other.”
The staff member in charge of handling the divorce process for the couple sat silently in his seat, before opening a web page search bar and inputting the name ‘Goldbach.’
The webpage loaded.
Goldbach was a German mathematician and had previously proposed the well-known Goldbach’s conjecture, a number theory…
His suspended heart finally righted itself.
Yang Wei and Qi Xiao Yan left the civil administration office, a violet-red book in each of their hands. When Yang Wei stuffed the divorce certificate into her purse, beside her, Qi Xiao Yan said, “I will temporarily live at the school for the time being. I will wait for when you are not at home to take away my things.”
Yang Wei wrinkled her nose and didn’t speak. She turned around when she heard Qi Xiao Yan shout at her from behind again.
“What else do you want?”
Qi Xiao Yan said, “In fact, compared to Goldbach, I like Euler more.”
“…Goodbye!” Yang Wei’s head didn’t turn back again as she walked away.
Qi Xiao Yan watched on as her figure completely disappeared around the corner, walking toward the parking area.
As it was early spring, both sides of the street had a row of trees releasing light pink peach blossoms. Yang Wei raised her head to see the golden sunshine spill through the gaps between branches, slightly blinding her eyes.
A black Audi hurtled past her, the slightly cool air seemingly dragging her clothes forward with it. Yang Wei wrapped her cream-colored windbreaker around her, grimacing at the back of the car that just sped past her.
Qi Xiao Yan caught sight of Yang Wei sticking her tongue out in his rearview mirror. Imperceptibly, his lips curled upward.
Yang Wei walked through the intersection and fished out her cell phone to look at the time. 3:35PM. She flagged down a taxi and directed it toward Starlight Plaza.
The coffee shop played relaxing music in the background. Prompted by a server wearing a checkered apron, Yang Wei followed him and walked to a round table by the window.
“Great Lawyer Sheng, have you finished handling your overseas judicial case?” Yang Wei said as she raised her cup of coffee. Sheng Lei sat across from her.
Sheng Lei was Yang Wei’s middle school classmate and her best friend. She was also a lawyer of Sky Square Law Firm, which specialized in divorce lawsuits.
She looked at Yang Wei, pushing a strand of short black hair behind her ear. “I heard that you wanted a divorce, so I rushed back to act as your representative lawyer.”
Yang Wei’s lips curled into a frown and remained silent. Sheng Lei examined her and blinked. She said, “The navy blue wool dress you’re wearing inside, I’m sure I just saw it in last month’s 《TOMATO》 magazine. When did an elementary school teacher’s salary become so high?”
Yang Wei’s lips slanted down again. “Qi Xiao Yan bought it.”
Sheng Lei laughed lightly before nodding. “Truth to tell, for a person like your husband Qi Xiao Yan—who has a high IQ, high income, and good looks, a person with top marks in all three categories—you leaving him will make a large crowd of women crazily happy.” She paused before changing the topic. “Although, you’re also not bad. Since you entered the coffee shop, that university student by the door had already checked you out nine times, that male in the suit upstairs glanced at you eleven times, and that little brother who led you in and attended upon you the moment you entered the door had already passed by our table seven times.”
Yang Wei: “…”
“Only, they don’t know you’re divorced.”
Yang Wei: “…”
“Do you really want to divorce Qi Xiao Yan?” Sheng Lei looked at Yang Wei, her face full of pity. “You have been together with him for a year, directly going from first love to childless before degenerating into a divorced couple.”
Yang Wei: “…”
That day when Sheng Lei had passed her university exam and earned her law license, she should have broken up with Qi Xiao Yan.
She silently withdrew the divorce certificate from her purse and opened it, arranging it on the table. “I have already divorced him.”
Sheng Lei stared at that violet-red book blankly for two seconds before she reacted. “Congratulations, Yang Wei! You are now ready to spread your wings and fly. Have you mastered presenting your trophy after decapitation?3 Does uncle or aunt know?”
Yang Wei shook her head, guiltily saying, “I still haven’t told them.”
“Then why did you two sign the divorce agreement? How were the assets divided? He shouldn’t have already drive you out of the house, right?” Sheng Lei couldn’t be blamed for being worried. The original owner of the house was Qi Xiao Yan, so it would be classified as pre-marital property. Yang Wei was thus screwed, as the reparations wouldn’t give her even a single yuan.
Yang Wei pursed her lips and returned the divorce certificate to her purse. “He gave me the house and is temporarily living at the university.”
Sheng Lei: “…”
If every male was like him, then she would be out of her job.
Although her mind had suffered a critical blow, she still said to Yang Wei, “And he should’ve. Many women in a marriage with kids invest in far more than just a house. Think about it, now that she needs a nanny, an hour could well go up to several hundred dollars.”
Yang Wei stared at her in shock. “Didn’t you tell me that the new marriage law hasn’t been recognized yet?”
Shen Lei boldly stated, “Even then, we can’t let him have slept with you for one year without any benefits.”
Yang Wei stared at her blankly before shyly explaining, “Truthfully, in this matter, Qi Xiao Yan’s strength is comparatively large. Usually, I only need to lie down and enjoy.”
Sheng Lei: “…”
This lunatic divorced her husband, yet she can still make such a public display of affection; she really deserved to be called Yang Wei.4
Yang Wei watched as Sheng Lei’s complexion shifted brilliantly between a range of colors and finally felt her heart calm. In fact, she also didn’t think she would obtain Qi Xiao Yan’s house.
Her parents both lived in A City. If worst came to worst, she would’ve returned home to live with them. But inevitably, when she became subject to the neighbor’s pointing fingers, her father would probably make buy her a house in a fit of pique.
Even though the dispute about the house was settled, at that time, she and Qi Xiao Yan had tied the knot too suddenly. She did not want to separate after a year, as the divorce would send her running back with her tail between her legs, causing her entire family to worry on her behalf. Therefore, when Qi Xiao Yan proposed that the house be given to her, she had only hesitated for a moment before accepting with a thick face.
Overall, she had gotten let off lighter than other women.
Only, this way of thinking was scorned at by Sheng Lei very quickly. “You even cheaply gave your husband to other women, yet you still only care about a house?”
Yang Wei: “…”
Sheng Lei changed the topic of their conversation, improving her mood. “Let’s go out to eat dinner first and then sing karaoke to celebrate your sudden rise from the tomb that is marriage.”
Yang Wei: “…”
“Since you lost your marriage, tonight will be my treat.”
Even though Yang Wei very much wanted to go, she still reluctantly declined. “I still need to go to work early tomorrow morning.”
Sheng Lei sighed. “Then forget about it. We can just eat and return to our homes in the evening like obedient children. It just so happens that I also have a case to prepare for; it’s somewhat tricky.”
Yang Wei looked at her in astonishment. “Didn’t you say since your last name is Sheng, victory will always be yours?” 5
Sheng Li said, “This time, it’s different.”
“How’s it different?”
“The other representative lawyer’s last name is Ying.”6
Yang Wei: “…”
The two of them found the most expensive restaurant and ordered a table-worth of dishes, as well as a bottle of wine. After drinking two cups of wine, the wine rushed to Sheng Lei’s head. She began to curse Qi Xiao Yan. “Qi Xiao Yan really isn’t human. When Uncle Yang already sent the applications to all the good schools for you, because you married him, you even gave up all your chances to go abroad to study! You say you studied the fine arts, so what are you doing staying in the country instead of going abroad to pursue your studies? Teaching art in elementary! Hehe!”
Yang Wei glared at her, retorting, “At that time, I still hadn’t decided to go abroad. I had also secretly applied to those schools and kept my dad in the dark. Furthermore… why are you looking down on elementary school art teachers! Do you know that right now, art teachers are the most requested! Simply because we know everything from astronomy to geography!”
Sheng Lei didn’t understand Yang Wei’s rage and continued cursing Qi Xiao Yan. “Before you married him, you’ve never even had a boyfriend. He had never even chased you, never proposed to you; he hadn’t even taken you on a honeymoon, just kicking you out directly!”
Yang Wei’s eyelids drooped. She picked a cup of wine from the table and downed it.
Her marriage with Qi Xiao Yan was an accident. An…accident of a drunken nature.
Chapter 1: Divorce — I believe it’s impossible to overcome the huge gap between education levels.
“I believe that it’s impossible to overcome the huge gap between education levels.” Qi Xiao Yan focused on the divorce management staff member. His manner of speaking was cautious, resembling that of a discussion on academic issues. “She teaches at an elementary school, whereas I teach at an university.”
Yang Wei’s eyes twitched. Gently laughing at his face, she replied, “Both of us are teachers, but the university is more noble, more elegant? Has your university students never studied at an elementary school?”
Qi Xiao Yan’s face didn’t change color. He said, “Add another point. I am a professor, a teacher of the highest rank.”
“Right, you are the ‘Mathematics Beast’ that is actually a fan of Song Jin!”
“Then what were you thinking when you placed your Mo Zhen poster right beside our marriage photo?”
“At least he won’t talk about Goldbach to me everyday!” Yang Wei suddenly turned her head to look at the staff member, her eyes burning with flames of rage. “Do you believe it?! Every day, the only thing he would talk to me about is Goldbach! Do you even know who Goldbach is?!”
“Eh…” The staff member pursed his chapped lips and tried to smile. “I assume he is a mathematician.”
“Wrong! He is a disease!” Yang Wei’s tone brimmed with implacable hatred, causing the staff member to be concerned for a split second, as he had not yet heard of this new type of disease.
Regret appeared on Qi Xiao Yan’s face as he said, “As you can see, she simply doesn’t understand the charm of mathematics.”
Yang Wei gnashed her teeth. “As you can see, he simply doesn’t understand my charm!”
Staff Member: “…”
He only wanted to wipe away the perspiration dotting his forehead.
Qi Xiao Yan suddenly fixedly stared at the staff member, adopting the same tone that Yang Wei had just used when he asked, “Do you believe it? She even watches Japanese works! Doesn’t she know the numerous conflicts in the history between China and Japan?!”
“Then why didn’t you consider the feelings of questions left behind by history when you were rubbing your hand against Teacher Cang!” Yang Wei intensely retorted.”
Qi Xiao Yan regained his calm and collected appearance as he spoke, unruffled, “Believe me, Teacher Cang has several areas worthy for you to study from.”
Yang Wei’s eyebrows rose. “So is this you despising my technique because it’s bad?”
Qi Xiao Yan chuckled. “Technique? Don’t go plastering your face with gold, okay? Every time I start moving even a little bit, you wail loudly.”
Staff Member: “…”
Watching as the subject increasingly developed in an indescribable direction, the staff member used his own body to prevent the situation from deteriorating even more. “Teachers, I am not eighteen yet.”
Yang Wei: “…”
Qi Xiao Yan: “…”
Twenty minutes later, after the incessantly quarreling young married couple left, the office area finally became calm again.
“Tsk tsk, it’s truly a pity.” A female colleague sighed. “An ideal couple, a golden boy and jade maiden,1parting ways like this.”
A senior colleague to the side was watering a ball cactus and, with the air of a well-lived and well-traveled person, said, “I bet a làtiáo2 that these two still aren’t done with each other.”
The staff member in charge of handling the divorce process for the couple sat silently in his seat, before opening a web page search bar and inputting the name ‘Goldbach.’
The webpage loaded.
Goldbach was a German mathematician and had previously proposed the well-known Goldbach’s conjecture, a number theory…
His suspended heart finally righted itself.
Yang Wei and Qi Xiao Yan left the civil administration office, a violet-red book in each of their hands. When Yang Wei stuffed the divorce certificate into her purse, beside her, Qi Xiao Yan said, “I will temporarily live at the school for the time being. I will wait for when you are not at home to take away my things.”
Yang Wei wrinkled her nose and didn’t speak. She turned around when she heard Qi Xiao Yan shout at her from behind again.
“What else do you want?”
Qi Xiao Yan said, “In fact, compared to Goldbach, I like Euler more.”
“…Goodbye!” Yang Wei’s head didn’t turn back again as she walked away.
Qi Xiao Yan watched on as her figure completely disappeared around the corner, walking toward the parking area.
As it was early spring, both sides of the street had a row of trees releasing light pink peach blossoms. Yang Wei raised her head to see the golden sunshine spill through the gaps between branches, slightly blinding her eyes.
A black Audi hurtled past her, the slightly cool air seemingly dragging her clothes forward with it. Yang Wei wrapped her cream-colored windbreaker around her, grimacing at the back of the car that just sped past her.
Qi Xiao Yan caught sight of Yang Wei sticking her tongue out in his rearview mirror. Imperceptibly, his lips curled upward.
Yang Wei walked through the intersection and fished out her cell phone to look at the time. 3:35PM. She flagged down a taxi and directed it toward Starlight Plaza.
The coffee shop played relaxing music in the background. Prompted by a server wearing a checkered apron, Yang Wei followed him and walked to a round table by the window.
“Great Lawyer Sheng, have you finished handling your overseas judicial case?” Yang Wei said as she raised her cup of coffee. Sheng Lei sat across from her.
Sheng Lei was Yang Wei’s middle school classmate and her best friend. She was also a lawyer of Sky Square Law Firm, which specialized in divorce lawsuits.
She looked at Yang Wei, pushing a strand of short black hair behind her ear. “I heard that you wanted a divorce, so I rushed back to act as your representative lawyer.”
Yang Wei’s lips curled into a frown and remained silent. Sheng Lei examined her and blinked. She said, “The navy blue wool dress you’re wearing inside, I’m sure I just saw it in last month’s 《TOMATO》 magazine. When did an elementary school teacher’s salary become so high?”
Yang Wei’s lips slanted down again. “Qi Xiao Yan bought it.”
Sheng Lei laughed lightly before nodding. “Truth to tell, for a person like your husband Qi Xiao Yan—who has a high IQ, high income, and good looks, a person with top marks in all three categories—you leaving him will make a large crowd of women crazily happy.” She paused before changing the topic. “Although, you’re also not bad. Since you entered the coffee shop, that university student by the door had already checked you out nine times, that male in the suit upstairs glanced at you eleven times, and that little brother who led you in and attended upon you the moment you entered the door had already passed by our table seven times.”
Yang Wei: “…”
“Only, they don’t know you’re divorced.”
Yang Wei: “…”
“Do you really want to divorce Qi Xiao Yan?” Sheng Lei looked at Yang Wei, her face full of pity. “You have been together with him for a year, directly going from first love to childless before degenerating into a divorced couple.”
Yang Wei: “…”
That day when Sheng Lei had passed her university exam and earned her law license, she should have broken up with Qi Xiao Yan.
She silently withdrew the divorce certificate from her purse and opened it, arranging it on the table. “I have already divorced him.”
Sheng Lei stared at that violet-red book blankly for two seconds before she reacted. “Congratulations, Yang Wei! You are now ready to spread your wings and fly. Have you mastered presenting your trophy after decapitation?3 Does uncle or aunt know?”
Yang Wei shook her head, guiltily saying, “I still haven’t told them.”
“Then why did you two sign the divorce agreement? How were the assets divided? He shouldn’t have already drive you out of the house, right?” Sheng Lei couldn’t be blamed for being worried. The original owner of the house was Qi Xiao Yan, so it would be classified as pre-marital property. Yang Wei was thus screwed, as the reparations wouldn’t give her even a single yuan.
Yang Wei pursed her lips and returned the divorce certificate to her purse. “He gave me the house and is temporarily living at the university.”
Sheng Lei: “…”
If every male was like him, then she would be out of her job.
Although her mind had suffered a critical blow, she still said to Yang Wei, “And he should’ve. Many women in a marriage with kids invest in far more than just a house. Think about it, now that she needs a nanny, an hour could well go up to several hundred dollars.”
Yang Wei stared at her in shock. “Didn’t you tell me that the new marriage law hasn’t been recognized yet?”
Shen Lei boldly stated, “Even then, we can’t let him have slept with you for one year without any benefits.”
Yang Wei stared at her blankly before shyly explaining, “Truthfully, in this matter, Qi Xiao Yan’s strength is comparatively large. Usually, I only need to lie down and enjoy.”
Sheng Lei: “…”
This lunatic divorced her husband, yet she can still make such a public display of affection; she really deserved to be called Yang Wei.4
Yang Wei watched as Sheng Lei’s complexion shifted brilliantly between a range of colors and finally felt her heart calm. In fact, she also didn’t think she would obtain Qi Xiao Yan’s house.
Her parents both lived in A City. If worst came to worst, she would’ve returned home to live with them. But inevitably, when she became subject to the neighbor’s pointing fingers, her father would probably make buy her a house in a fit of pique.
Even though the dispute about the house was settled, at that time, she and Qi Xiao Yan had tied the knot too suddenly. She did not want to separate after a year, as the divorce would send her running back with her tail between her legs, causing her entire family to worry on her behalf. Therefore, when Qi Xiao Yan proposed that the house be given to her, she had only hesitated for a moment before accepting with a thick face.
Overall, she had gotten let off lighter than other women.
Only, this way of thinking was scorned at by Sheng Lei very quickly. “You even cheaply gave your husband to other women, yet you still only care about a house?”
Yang Wei: “…”
Sheng Lei changed the topic of their conversation, improving her mood. “Let’s go out to eat dinner first and then sing karaoke to celebrate your sudden rise from the tomb that is marriage.”
Yang Wei: “…”
“Since you lost your marriage, tonight will be my treat.”
Even though Yang Wei very much wanted to go, she still reluctantly declined. “I still need to go to work early tomorrow morning.”
Sheng Lei sighed. “Then forget about it. We can just eat and return to our homes in the evening like obedient children. It just so happens that I also have a case to prepare for; it’s somewhat tricky.”
Yang Wei looked at her in astonishment. “Didn’t you say since your last name is Sheng, victory will always be yours?” 5
Sheng Li said, “This time, it’s different.”
“How’s it different?”
“The other representative lawyer’s last name is Ying.”6
Yang Wei: “…”
The two of them found the most expensive restaurant and ordered a table-worth of dishes, as well as a bottle of wine. After drinking two cups of wine, the wine rushed to Sheng Lei’s head. She began to curse Qi Xiao Yan. “Qi Xiao Yan really isn’t human. When Uncle Yang already sent the applications to all the good schools for you, because you married him, you even gave up all your chances to go abroad to study! You say you studied the fine arts, so what are you doing staying in the country instead of going abroad to pursue your studies? Teaching art in elementary! Hehe!”
Yang Wei glared at her, retorting, “At that time, I still hadn’t decided to go abroad. I had also secretly applied to those schools and kept my dad in the dark. Furthermore… why are you looking down on elementary school art teachers! Do you know that right now, art teachers are the most requested! Simply because we know everything from astronomy to geography!”
Sheng Lei didn’t understand Yang Wei’s rage and continued cursing Qi Xiao Yan. “Before you married him, you’ve never even had a boyfriend. He had never even chased you, never proposed to you; he hadn’t even taken you on a honeymoon, just kicking you out directly!”
Yang Wei’s eyelids drooped. She picked a cup of wine from the table and downed it.
Her marriage with Qi Xiao Yan was an accident. An…accident of a drunken nature.
