Wei slowly moved past her as if he couldn't hear anything. He looked lifeless, as if his very soul had disappeared.
Fu panicked and approached him. "B-Boss. Don't worry. I will talk to Madam. Whatever it is, I will definitely convince her. Don't feel so down, Boss. We-we will definitely sort this out! Just-"
Wei walked past him too and, without saying a word to anybody, went away.
"Boss!" Fu Renshu couldn't stop him.
Jiang Yubi broke down. "Weizhe, d-did you see him? He looked so heartbroken…"
Jiang Weizhe clenched his fists. He opened the door and stepped inside. He saw Lihua resting on the bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze.
Mrs. Zhang rushed in. "Lihua!"
Lihua trembled and broke out of her stupor. She recognized the voice that had countlessly scolded her for being a ditzy head but also lovingly pampered her. She dazedly looked up, and her eyes slightly widened upon seeing Mrs. Zhang.
"A-Aunt Zhang…" tears plopped from her eyes.
Mrs. Zhang pulled her into her arms and let out her soft sobs. "So long...it has been so long, dear. I-I am so sorry for not being able to find you. Your uncle and I tried our best…But...but the stupid cops said that you Song Lihua doesn't exist. I cannot tell you how angry I was. How dare they say that you don't exist?" Her shoulders trembled. "I am really sorry. We were so worried. You suddenly disappeared," she gasped. "I used to get bad dreams so many times...But thank God that you are safe. It's a relief to see you again."
Mrs. Zhang's warm words and her familiar voice made Lihua break down.
"Aunt…"
"Ssh. You don't need to say anything," she patted her head. "Don't think about anything. Your Aunt is here now to take you away. I will cook a feast for you tonight! All your favorite dishes. Your Uncle will be so thrilled too. He has been missing you the most, even more than Bobo. So, let's go back, o-okay?"
Lihua buried her face in his neck and hugged her hard. "...E-En. I am tired…"
She withdrew and glanced at all the Jiang family members.
Jiang Lanying took a step towards her and stammered. "Li-Lixue…"
"Lihua," she blankly said, "My name is Song Lihua. I am not...Lixue. I was never Lixue."
Jiang Yubi's hands trembled as she softly placed it over her head. "Lihua. I...I don't know what to…"
"It's okay, Mom. You don't have to say anything. None of you do," her dimmed gaze looked desolate. "Because there is nothing left to say anymore."
Jiang Weizhe clenched his fist. "We just saw Wei outside."
Lihua said nothing.
Even though he knew what might have happened, he was still fearful of hearing it. "What did you say?"
There was a stretch of a long silence.
A sad, empty smile laced her lips. "Dad. I feel so lucky to have such a beautiful family. I married Wei, and then I met all of you. Everyone was so wonderful to me."
A tear streamed down her cheek. "When we celebrated Mom's return, when Old Madam became Grandma for us and when our family was truly reunited, I felt the happiest and luckiest woman in this world. From having no parents before, I got a family that I always dreamt of. I cherish you all so much... I have gotten so used to living with you that I cannot imagine not being with you anymore."
"But everything changed...With one truth, my whole world came crumbling down. I really want this to be just a dream. An awful dream that I will wake up from soon enough. But I will not. And with truth, everything that I held dear to me was taken away in an instant."
She sadly laughed. "I had everything until yesterday. But now I have nothing. I don't have my sister. And...I don't have my husband."
The Jiangs slightly stiffened.
"So now I don't have the Jiang family either because...I have asked Wei for divorce."
---
Wei stood outside, staring at the blue sky. His surroundings were full of life, with the birds chirping and the leaves rustling. The mellow sunlight was refreshing.
But only Wei knew how colorless everything looked before him. There was a hollow feeling inside him that felt all too familiar to him.
It was the sense of emptiness he always had before he met Lihua. He saw the life he had left behind slowly creeping towards him once again.
Wei took out a small box from his pocket. He opened it and expressionlessly stared at the diamond ring.
It was supposed to be the happiest moment of his life last night when he slipped the ring in Lihua's finger. Celebrating six months of togetherness and wishing for it to stay forever…
Spending their happy days together.
Becoming parents.
Raising their children together.
See their kids getting happily married just like them.
Holding their little grandchildren in their arms.
And in the end, leave the world together when they would get old and wrinkly.
This was the life Wei imagined surrounded by his family's laughter.
He trembled, and his knees collapsed on the ground.
'Let's divorce Wei.'
Divorce…
Wei shook hard. The ring fell from his fingers, and he hugged himself. Her words rang in his ears again and again that pricked as if a thousand knives had stabbed it.
He saw the ground go wet and blurry, and that's when he realized that it was his tears trickling down his cheeks.
"Lihua…"
His breath grew heavy and haywire. His heart was furiously thudding in his chest. His trembling fingers clutched his chest, and then he finally cried a painful scream.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"Lihua..." he broke down as if a dam had fallen apart, forcing the water to gush out with all its might. He covered his ears and lowered his head to his knees as the unbearable pain in his heart was finally let out.
"Lihua...Don't leave me Lihua…Please don't leave me alone...."