Don’t Ignite It chapter 55

Favor Of Fate

Xu Zhan had been waiting for Xia Yu at the Civil Affairs Bureau.

It had been almost half a month since they last met. Xia Yu looked Xu Zhan up and down with a smile and said, “Xu Zhan, you look good. It seems like you’ve gained a little weight.”

He used his fingers to indicate a very small amount.

Xu Zhan chuckled, “I did gain two pounds, probably because I’ve been eating late-night snacks a lot lately. Ruan Sen always drags me out.”

He used to feel a bit embarrassed mentioning Ruan Sen in front of Xia Yu, but now he was quite open about it.

Xia Yu teased, “I’m glad you’re happy.”

Xu Zhan didn’t refute it, but he observed Xia Yu and thought that Xia Yu looked pretty good too.

As they chatted, they stood in line together. There were quite a few people getting divorced, men and women standing together with cold expressions, quite different from the smiles of those getting married. During a wedding, people always believed they could make it through, but in the end, perhaps it was the mundane aspects of life that eroded the passion, or maybe they discovered that they were never truly compatible, leading to a separation.

In comparison, Xia Yu and Xu Zhan didn’t seem as tense as those getting divorced.

“When do you plan to talk to Ruan Sen about this?” Xia Yu asked.

“After the New Year, I suppose,” Xu Zhan replied firmly but with a hint of worry. “If my family doesn’t strongly object…”

He didn’t finish his sentence.

But Xia Yu knew what he meant.

They had agreed to go back home after the New Year and be honest with both families. They would first talk to their older siblings, and if they managed to convince Xu Ping and Xia Jin, then they would talk to their parents.

Thinking about it, Xia Yu also felt a chill running down his spine.

He felt that passing this hurdle with Xu Zhan would not be easy.

First, they would have to explain that they hadn’t had much affection for each other in recent years, but that was just the beginning. The most critical issue was that the people they had chosen as their partners were not the type of individuals their families would approve of.

Xia Yu frowned. “I can imagine how angry my brother will be. I dare not tell him about Lu Zhao, and you mustn’t let it slip either. Let’s take it step by step and first discuss the divorce. We can deal with the rest later.”

Xu Zhan chuckled.

But he quickly composed himself and asked softly, “How are things between you and Lu Zhao… Have you really reconciled?”

Xia Yu lowered his head.

Ever since his birthday, he had rarely mentioned Lu Zhao to Xu Zhan.

After some thought, he said straightforwardly, “Actually, Lu Zhao proposed to me.”

Xu Zhan was shocked. “What?”

“But I didn’t accept,” Xia Yu continued. “I told him about the divorce, but I don’t want to rush into another marriage, so right now, he’s my boyfriend, but we’re keeping it low-key.”

Xu Zhan frowned. “How long do you plan to keep it a secret?”

Xia Yu found this question difficult to answer.

He sighed. “Until I can’t keep it a secret anymore, I guess.”

Xu Zhan thought that it might not last very long. After his divorce from Xia Yu, both of them lacked a shield, and going out on frequent dates in the same city increased the risk of being discovered by their families manifold.

But he had no right to criticize Xia Yu.

His relationship with Ruan Sen was just as absurd as a primetime TV drama.

Moreover…

He glanced at Xia Yu’s radiant face and thought that regardless of what outsiders might think or what kind of past Lu Zhao had, Xia Yu was happiest when he was with Lu Zhao.

When he was with Xia Yu, he was happy too, but at that time, Xia Yu was calmer and gentler, like a flower that had bloomed from beginning to end on a branch. Although it was still beautiful, it didn’t have the same vitality as now.

So in the end, he didn’t say anything.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care about Xia Yu, and it wasn’t that he thought Lu Zhao was trustworthy.

It was just that he had experienced it once, and he understood that when it came to love, no one could dictate the outcome, not even oneself.

The divorce proceedings between Xia Yu and Xu Zhan went smoothly.

When they received their divorce certificates, even Xu Zhan felt a bit melancholic, but he still smiled and said to Xia Yu, “At first glance, it looks similar to a marriage certificate.”

Xia Yu held the certificate in his hand and examined it. “Yeah, it does.”

When they left the Civil Affairs Bureau together, the cold wind outside hit them immediately. Xu Zhan had driven there himself and needed to go back to the school.

He asked Xia Yu if he wanted a ride.

Xia Yu shook his head. “Lu Zhao is coming to pick me up.”

In fact, he had already seen Lu Zhao’s car parked under the trees.

“I see,” Xu Zhan said softly, but his feet didn’t move.

They stood facing each other, just like when they came to get their marriage certificate at this same Civil Affairs Bureau. There was a row of banyan trees outside, evergreen in all seasons, seemingly unchanging.

Xu Zhan raised his hand to adjust Xia Yu’s scarf, even though it wasn’t really disheveled.

“In the future, take good care of yourself,” he said softly. “Don’t eat fried chicken late at night and then complain when you get pimples. And don’t go barefoot in the yard all the time; you’ll catch a cold.”

Xia Yu replied with a simple “Hmm,” feeling a bit emotional.

“Hug me,” he said with a smile, opening his arms to Xu Zhan. “Happy divorce.”

Xu Zhan hugged him tightly.

People were coming and going, the sunlight was good, and the winter wind stung their faces a little.

“In the years we were married, I was very happy,” Xu Zhan said softly, then slowly let go of Xia Yu.

He smiled at Xia Yu.

The two of them then parted ways under the banyan tree.

Xu Zhan went to the parking lot, while Xia Yu walked towards Lu Zhao’s direction.

They were like every pair of peacefully separating partners, heading in different directions.

They were still best friends, and they would see each other again soon.

But the thread that had always connected them melted into the air on this gentle sunny winter day.

Xia Yu got into Lu Zhao’s car and remained lost in thought. He held the divorce certificate in his hand, feeling its weight.

He didn’t want to engage with Lu Zhao, just stared out of the window and said, “Let’s drive.”

Lu Zhao had seen Xia Yu and Xu Zhan part ways from inside the car, and he had also seen them embrace under the tree.

He couldn’t quite comprehend what Xu Zhan truly meant to Xia Yu. He used to think that Xia Yu and Xu Zhan might not have had a very strong emotional connection, maybe it was a business alliance, compatible personalities, mutual need – quite common in marriages. But deep emotional ties and strong friendship seemed distant.

Furthermore, Xu Zhan had cheated on Xia Yu.

But now, Xia Yu’s teary eyes were genuine, and on the day he had proposed the separation by the fountain, his distress seemed real too.

Regardless of what role Xu Zhan played in Xia Yu’s heart, he was essential to him.

During the three years he was absent, Xu Zhan had been by Xia Yu’s side.

This marriage was not meaningless, but a mark that would forever remain in Xia Yu’s heart.

He held Xia Yu’s hand.

Sunlight streamed through the car window.

He said, “Maybe in your heart, I still can’t compare to Xu Zhan right now, but I won’t let you regret getting a divorce today.”

Xia Yu chuckled.

His eyes were no longer red, and the sadness was temporary. His current feeling was more like when he moved as a child, although he could still meet his best friend in the same city, it was still sad because they could no longer look up and see each other.

He didn’t respond to Lu Zhao’s words but instead said, “Let’s go.”

He opened the window slightly to let in some fresh air.

After a while, he spoke again, “I’m not sad because of the divorce, but because Xu Zhan was not only my partner but also my closest friend. He has been with me through many things, been very understanding, like another brother to me. He’s like another family to me, always welcoming me back, so I’m reluctant to part with him. But even without him, I’ll be fine, and he will too. We’re just going through different paths in life.”

But as for what his own future would look like, he still wasn’t sure.

He closed the window and turned to look at Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao was also looking at him.

At the intersection with traffic lights, cars formed a long queue, and Lu Zhao held his hand and kissed it.

On the way back, Xia Yu fell asleep drowsily. The divorce certificate slipped from his hand and fell onto the seat with a light thud.

There was some traffic on the road, and Lu Zhao’s car was stuck at a red light for a long time.

He picked up Xia Yu’s divorce certificate, glanced at it, and then placed it back.

A few days ago, he had gone to visit his mother’s grave.

His mother had passed away last winter. As the daughter-in-law of the Lu family and the eldest daughter of the Liu family, she had lived a fiery and colorful life, full of achievements. But when she left, there was only her son by her side.

She didn’t want to see anyone, including her husband of several decades.

Lu Zhao remembered holding her hand. Her hand had become thin, dry, cold, no longer as fair and smooth as before. When he was young, he always thought his mother had strong hands, capable of deciding multi-billion-dollar deals with a pen or a cigarette in her hand.

But now she had aged.

Lu Zhao still remembered his mother sighing and saying to him, “You, you look like me but not quite. I’ve never done anything to regret in my life. I left my love behind, and I’ll never turn back. But you, what will you do… You’ll be alone in the future, and I won’t be there. Who will care about you? I know you still think about Xia Yu, but… let it go, Lu Zhao. In the world, there are many more people. Someone will come along…”

She stopped as if she had run out of strength, her cloudy eyes fixed on Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao also looked at her.

As a son, he should have given her peace of mind in her final moments.

But he couldn’t find the right promise to make.

He didn’t like lying, especially to someone as sharp and strong-willed as his mother. She didn’t need to hear lies.

He knew that on the other side of the ocean, Xia Yu had already started a new life with a husband, a happy and fulfilling family.

And he was just a pale shadow of the past, frozen on an old screen, corroded into a pile of dust by dust and air, shattered with a breeze. Someday, Xia Yu would forget him forever.

But he still couldn’t say that he would let go of Xia Yu and start anew.

He gazed at his mother’s eyes. “Everyone has their fate. I understand. I’ve tried to let go of him, but it’s too difficult.”

Liu Ruan, fell silent for a long time.

She didn’t say another word, just patted her son’s hand, as if using up all her strength, and that night, she passed away in her sleep.

……………….

Lu Zhao looked at Xia Yu’s sleeping face, the winter sunlight covering his face, even his eyelashes turned a golden-red color.

He thought that in the end, he had received the favor of fate. If his mother could see from the beyond, maybe she would find some solace in it.

Liu Ruan: This brat is quite lucky.