Chapter 84: The Imperfect Victim

“The law always protects the propertied class. Women are trapped in marriage because of family and age. When they want to regain their freedom, they are smeared with dirt and left with nothing. Shouldn’t the most important thing the marriage law does be to protect the sacrifices and hard work women make within marriage? I admit that when I am the case, I am unsuccessful, greedy, not a perfect victim, but if that becomes the reason I am not protected, then I ask, what is the real meaning of the marriage law?”

Thinking Jian Zhaowen was about to boast, he instead patted his wide forehead: “My headache is really bad. Lei Zheng told me before that startups would face harassment later on. It’s not like I didn’t know. But I’m used to it. It’s been like this since I was little. The only ones who really care about these things are probably those who have never been favored.”

“Still showing off.”

“You’re missing the point! I’m proving the accuracy of my algorithm.” Seeing Yu Zhimei smile without speaking, Jian Zhaowen was a little puzzled: “What?”

“Having had a boyfriend like you, I can say I have no regrets. If one day we really can’t be together, I won’t regret it either. No one can guarantee forever, but having once had a boyfriend like you, this life is not a loss.”

Jian Zhaowen flicked her chin: “What do you mean by ‘not a loss’?”

“...Don’t be crude.”

“You have something on your mind today.” Jian Zhaowen put his hand on Yu Zhimei’s shoulder and pinched her ear: “If there’s anything you’re unhappy about, tell me.”

The matter of the company moving to Beijing circled in Yu Zhimei’s mouth, but she shook her head: “Do you think this algorithm can really keep souls close together forever?”

“People who truly love each other will unconsciously move closer. The algorithm just creates an opportunity for two people to have the chance to get closer.”

“Okay, then I want to see who else besides you I have this opportunity with.”

“You fickle woman!”

Jian Zhaowen grabbed both of Yu Zhimei’s wrists and pulled her into his arms. Her phone almost slipped to the ground, and she hurriedly reached out to catch it. She heard Jian Zhaowen righteously say, both of us are so busy, we fight like wolves for this little bit of time together, don’t you dare find someone else on ‘Day and Night’ to take half of it away. Yu Zhimei looked at Jian Zhaowen’s refreshing smile. After a long time of her heart being cleansed, she softened. Beijing could wait. CEO Xing was just a boss, but love wouldn’t last forever, and there was only one Jian Zhaowen.

Penang Laksa, Lemongrass Prawns, Satay Skewers, Pho... Yu Zhimei was determined to eat these Southeast Asian dishes. The soupy dishes were easy to fill up on, but would easily leave her stomach empty again at home. Jian Zhaowen habitually looked at the content in the “Day and Night” community, and when he entered the Night Zone, he saw the headline. He frowned and pushed the phone towards Yu Zhimei, who still had a shrimp in her mouth. Her expression changed, and half the enjoyment of the meal was gone.

Before they could even sit down properly at the dessert shop, Ou Jinghe received a message from Yu Zhimei: in the Night Zone layout she sent, Gao Yuan’s mistress was accusing his legal wife, Ou Jinghe, in the community. She knew there was a woman in Shenzhen, who usually shared snippets of her life on Weibo, a third-rate university graduate who often posted photos of drinking traditional Chinese medicine to regulate her body, attending spiritual courses, and worshipping Buddha—more suitable to be the daughter-in-law of the Gao family than herself. Her travel posts also frequently showed boarding passes and shopping lists, yet she wasn’t that sophisticated. Even when going abroad, she hadn’t been willing to use Gao Yuan’s money to buy first-class tickets, and the bags she bought were all second-rate styles, either depreciating in value upon purchase or being popular outlet models. But she earnestly recounted her past romance with Gao Yuan, saying that Gao Yuan had no children and didn’t receive love from his wife, so he was very miserable. Ou Jinghe, as Gao Yuan’s wife, was portrayed as a woman who was promiscuous outside and exaggeratedly described as having undergone “face-changing” surgery, unable to have children and unwilling to divorce for the sake of assets. The comment section was also lively. Humanity’s love for gossip was timeless. The onlookers’ voices were full of ridicule and condemnation, towards this third party and towards herself. Some people even moved the screenshots to other “exposing” websites. Jian Zhaowen’s content encryption was excellent, so the text versions couldn’t be fully copied, and the IDs couldn’t be displayed. Neither the mistress’s nor her own ID in the Night Zone was exposed.

Ou Jinghe could guess that Gao Yuan was also having a headache now, but she didn’t think it was a big deal. The mistress’s attack and the legal wife’s fight were just using a borrowed knife. When it really reached public opinion, netizens would point the knife at the woman first. Gao Yuan might even benefit, forcing the troublesome third party to retreat, while his wife, after being humiliated, would still return to a complete marriage, and his assets would remain untouched. In the end, after time passed, he could find a new young girl again.

It was ridiculous. Ou Jinghe’s heart pounded, the temperature of her blood dropped lower and lower, but she only laughed at the whole room. Public opinion was used to women falling. No one cared about the love story in this, nor did anyone care about the entanglement of interests. They only saw “plastic surgery,” “sleeping around,” and “children,” each a woman’s original sin. Both Ou Jinghe and the mistress were “gold diggers” who climbed up through their bodies and looks, and after succeeding, they were still women who used their husbands’ money to go out and have fun, ungrateful, vulgar, and lacking any womanly virtue. She was glad she didn’t have social media accounts. WeChat had temporarily quieted down after she closed the “find friends” option, and she had moved out of Bihu Tiandi in time.

The lawyer called Ou Jinghe. Gao Yuan had surveillance footage of the men she secretly met at the dessert shop, videos of Ou Jinghe and a man playing around at the driving center, and the profit and loss statements of Miaolin Dessert Shop over the past five or six years, even footage of her getting into Zheng Zeyan’s Honda in the parking lot... Ou Jinghe urgently pulled the lawyer out for a meeting. He entered with a pale face. The lawyer was used to this and calmly greeted her: “You can continue to make a scene now. Both sides have made mistakes, but as long as Gao Yuan doesn’t agree to a divorce, the court will basically uphold the original judgment of the first instance.”

“We’re already living separate lives, and we still can’t divorce?”

“Do you know why the court doesn’t like to grant divorces? Especially for couples like you, the division of property is too complicated: shared real estate, companies, stocks, insurance... even the decorations in the house have to be divided. As long as one of you doesn’t agree to the divorce, this lawsuit can drag on until you agree to mediation.”

Ou Jinghe seemed to guess the next sentence: “If Gao Yuan agrees to a divorce, what conditions will he set?”

“You leave with nothing.”

Ou Jinghe took a hard drag of her cigarette and threw the lighter onto the table: “He can dream on.”

The lawyer didn’t speak. This kind of scene was common for him. Ou Jinghe laughed: “I know what you’re thinking. You think I’m an old woman, trying to take everything, and neither of us is a good person. His ex-wife was a rich and beautiful woman. Back then, when they got married, he was sure that his father-in-law’s wealthy family cared about face and wouldn’t make trouble, but he didn’t expect her to take away his clients. If he can’t have children and wants to rely on shaking his money bag to find a brainless woman, he shouldn’t get married. He wants to find a woman with good Feng Shui to bring him prosperity and have a surrogate baby, and now he wants me to leave with nothing. Does he think I’m a Pixiu?”

Photos were pushed in front of her, photos of her embracing Zheng Zeyan at Lei Zheng’s party. Although the light was dim, after brightening them, their faces were still clearly visible. The lawyer asked, “Are the people in these photos you and Mr. Zheng Zeyan?”

“Yes.”

“What were you doing?”

“Attending a friend’s party together. Are you here to ‘judge’ me too?”

“I only make money. I don’t care about your private morals. I just need to know how much unfavorable evidence you have that I need to defend. Legislation always lags behind social reality, I understand that. Sometimes reality can only be judged and executed according to the law, which is also a kind of ruthlessness.”

“The law always protects the propertied class. Women are trapped in marriage because of family and age. When they want to regain their freedom, they are smeared with dirt and left with nothing. Shouldn’t the most important thing the marriage law does be to protect the sacrifices and hard work women make within marriage? I admit that when I am the case, I am unsuccessful, greedy, not a perfect victim, but if that becomes the reason I am not protected, then I ask, what is the real meaning of the marriage law?”

“Calm down. This is a public place.”

Ou Jinghe gave a bitter laugh: “My reputation is already ruined. What do I have to care about?”

The lawyer let out a long breath: “There’s still a way. If you want to settle out of court and get money, do as I say.”

Sure enough, the lawyer had come prepared. Ou Jinghe took the documents and suddenly burst out laughing: “Ha, I only thought Gao Yuan was despicable, but I didn’t expect his cleverness to backfire.” She pondered for a moment, then raised her head and asked the lawyer, “You saw through me a long time ago?”

“I’ve seen many cases like yours.”

The phone kept vibrating not far away. She knew it was eager “greetings” from friends, and she also knew that Zheng Zeyan would knock on her door soon. But at this moment, she was tired of this old routine. She wasn’t divorced yet and was still part of this marriage, so of course she couldn’t leave for love empty-handed and in disgrace. She had to take back what belonged to her. Gao Yuan’s pain he had inflicted on her over the years needed to be accounted for at least once.

Gao Yuan’s call came, boasting of his victory. Ou Jinghe lay on the sofa and answered the phone: “What, here to brag? Proving how brilliant you are, right?”

“You asked for it.”

“Speaking of despicable, you’re more despicable. Putting the car and house in the mistress’s name but then mortgaging them. If you really run away, the girl will be the one paying the loan and still not own anything—Gao Yuan, how can you be so meticulous even when keeping a mistress? She doesn’t even dare to buy good bags, and you even instigated her to expose me. Are you going to buy her a house once you divorce me?”

“What about you? Do you think I won’t find evidence if you don’t open a hotel room? How many male compatriots have visited the third floor of your dessert shop for secret meetings?”

“Speaking of dirty, you’re much more despicable than me. I really have to thank the one-husband-one-wife system for limiting your purchases, otherwise how many people would be ruined by your marriages, only to end up with nothing and have to leave?”

“I didn’t say I was clean. We originally tacitly agreed to live separate lives, but you were the first to break the agreement and fall in love with someone else.”

“Are you some kind of pervert? If you wanted a surrogate, you could have just found someone else. Why did you have to tie me down?” Ou Jinghe held back for a long time, tears hanging in the corners of her eyes, squeezed out by her smile and sliding down her cheeks: “Because you’re infertile and wanted to commit marriage fraud, counting on me being a shrewd woman who cares about money, and your mother even said my horoscope said I’d bring you prosperity! I underwent treatment for two years, did so many IVF attempts, my abdominal adhesions were so bad I couldn’t even walk, all because your sperm motility was poor, and yet everyone blamed me. I was depressed for so long, and you still don’t feel any guilt, you only know how to play the great husband!”

“Ou Jinghe,” Gao Yuan sighed on the phone, “you’re simply a mad dog. That crazy man threw me and I fell, I was injured, do you understand? He’ll be unlucky to marry you too. Unwilling to raise children with your husband, talking about that feminist equality stuff every day. See if he still listens to your talk about gender equality when he finds out you’re a leech.”

It was time. Ou Jinghe, who never used this sentence to provoke Gao Yuan, preserving the last bit of dignity, said word by word: “Your thing doesn’t work well, my boyfriend’s does. Maybe I’ll get pregnant immediately and give birth to twins in ten months, and then buy a newspaper ad to let everyone in Shanghai know that the famous partner of a local film and television company is impotent!”

The door opened, it was Zheng Zeyan. Ou Jinghe hung up the phone and smiled brightly at the doorway. She hastily wiped away her tears and took a step back with a bit of fear, afraid to see Zheng Zeyan’s disdain. Zheng Zeyan slowly raised his hand, holding Toris’s desserts. Ou Jinghe, unsure of what expression to make, stood up: “I’ll go make coffee.”

“No need.”

Ou Jinghe’s body stiffened. Had he heard?

“I bought Osmanthus Latte and Fermented Rice Layer Cake with Jasmine. That Brown Sugar Boba Lava Cake is too big, let’s find an opportunity to invite Jian Zhaowen and them to go together.”

“...Okay.”

After Zheng Zeyan got the access code to the building’s main door, going upstairs felt like he belonged. They both had each other’s house keys, looking like an independent couple. Ou Jinghe ate the cake without tasting it, watching Zheng Zeyan walk around the room, completely out of sorts herself. The two of them lingered in the room, and Zheng Zeyan turned around: “There’s something I want to tell you.”

Her heart jumped to her throat again. Ou Jinghe felt like she had experienced a rollercoaster of emotions today: “What?”

“I... brought a toothbrush and pajamas. You don’t mind, do you?”

“...”

“And I just came back from the gym and want to take a shower. Do you want to join me?”

The old house seemed to have gained a bit of charm. The dilapidated walls and bed added a sense of decay. The smell emanating from the walls and furniture was more primal, easily winning over the neat modern design, even more stirring than Zheng Zeyan’s small, closed-off room. If the curtains were drawn, it would be even more exciting. Every time Zheng Zeyan entered the room, dappled light fell on the floor and bed, and Ou Jinghe’s moist eyes were like the moon’s enchanting reflection in the water. Once the door was closed, they couldn’t restrain themselves. Compared to their previous lovemaking, there seemed to be more tenderness now. The two could nuzzle each other for a long time in the afternoon room, a love affair that could be stretched out again and again, not rushing to the climax, leaving a long aftertaste. After their intimacy, Ou Jinghe opened the curtains. Zheng Zeyan sat casually in shorts, legs open, looking at documents, becoming much more approachable after descending into the mortal realm. Zheng Zeyan finally spoke slowly: “Marriage was so terrible, yet you persisted for so many years.”

These words finally gave Ou Jinghe an opening: “Money. Saying such unrealistic things, it’s obvious you’ve never worried about money.”

“When you chatted with me in the Night Zone before, you never mentioned that you were married.”

“A hidden difficulty.”

“Then, how much of what the mistress said can I believe?”

“I’m not a perfect victim. Anyone can insult me, and I have nothing to say.” Ou Jinghe opened her phone: “Let me show you my and Gao Yuan’s chat history over the past five years.” Ou Jinghe skillfully lit a cigarette: “It’s a pity this can’t be used as evidence in court. Proving that a marriage has broken down isn’t that easy. I also don’t want to be like Xianglin’s wife, complaining everywhere. I still have my pride. I also want to have a friendship-like relationship sometimes... like Yu Zhimei and Jian Zhaowen.”

Zheng Zeyan leaned against the headboard, his clean profile and lines like something out of an art film: “Every sentence of our chat in the Night Zone was that of soulmates.”

“Then I must ask you to never uninstall ‘Day and Night.’ My records are gone, only yours remain.”

“If you really leave with nothing, I can support you.”

“Please, I don’t want to be a leech again.”

“Finding a job isn’t that difficult.”

“That’s not the issue.” Ou Jinghe sighed: “Being in this position, without money, I have no dignity.”

“Greedy.”

Zheng Zeyan, bathed in the yellow light, embraced Ou Jinghe and kissed her ear. Her pajamas almost slipped off during the embrace. Gently pushing him away, Ou Jinghe said, “Didn’t you say you had a meeting tonight?”

Zheng Zeyan looked at his watch: “Damn it.” He grabbed his clothes and put them on one by one, hiding his sexiness under his shirt: “You know, after dating you, my body fat percentage is getting higher and higher.”

“Indulgence leads to the loss of ambition.”

“If you keep teasing me like this, I won’t be able to leave.”

“Then you don’t need to go to the meeting at all.” Ou Jinghe pushed him out the door: “Hurry up and go.”

Zheng Zeyan went downstairs. Ou Jinghe happily blew a kiss towards the door, and incidentally took a deep breath of the musty smell of the old house in the hallway—familiar, intimate, just like when she was a child. In that second, she was a little surprised that after living for over thirty years, she had smelled this scent again. In the eyes of outsiders, she was indeed cheap, willingly falling, otherwise how could she have fallen back into this bleak situation? For a moment, she felt a bit resentful, blaming the man who had just left for her insistence on divorce, but she fiercely suppressed this thought along with the cigarette butt—she was doing it for herself.

The lights in the room were turned off. She cried in the dim old house, swallowing the cold, hard bitterness along with the alcohol, the taste like hard-won happiness. She was the one who had shattered everything, and now she didn’t want to live a broken life anymore.