Jiang Lan pressed her lips together, her gaze fixed on him for a long moment before, as if she’d finally made up her mind, she let go of the hem of his shirt. She brushed past him and went downstairs. In the living room, she bent down and pulled open a drawer in the coffee table. Lu Jingchi followed her over. Inside, a divorce agreement lay waiting. It had been there for a long time, but Lu Jingchi had never noticed. He’d never even opened that drawer. His gaze snapped to Jiang Lan, his eyes filled with shock and confusion. Jiang Lan looked at him, her expression serious, her eyes saying everything she couldn't. *Let's get a divorce.* Lu Jingchi suddenly laughed, a bitter, angry sound. “Are you throwing a tantrum?” Jiang Lan shook her head, her hands forming the words in sign language: *I’m not throwing a tantrum. I meant to give you this a long time ago.* She’d meant to, but she never had the courage. What spurred her on this time? Was it losing her friend? Or had the fever muddled her thoughts? She wasn’t sure. But now that she’d done it, a wave of relief washed over her. It was like a thorn, lodged deep in her heart, had finally been pulled free. “You're doing this because of that Si Ning?” he demanded, needing to be sure. Jiang Lan: *It’s not because of her. It’s because I want to divorce you.* The determination in her eyes told him she was serious. Lu Jingchi stared at her for a long time before suddenly sinking onto the sofa. “Fine. You want a divorce? You can leave with nothing. Pay back every dollar I've ever spent on you, and I'll sign.” Jiang Lan turned and ran back upstairs. Watching her go, the dark cloud on Lu Jingchi’s face lifted slightly. A moment later, she returned and held out a bank card to him. The brief relief on his face shattered. He looked up, and fury blazed in his deep-set eyes. His voice was deceptively calm. “What’s this?” Jiang Lan placed the card on the table and signed: *It’s all the money you gave me.* “Did you misunderstand me? I said *all* the money spent on you, from the day we met, not just the allowance I gave you,” he said, his voice low, tight with suppressed fury. Jiang Lan: *I can pay it back over time.* Lu Jingchi laughed. “You're mute. You won't even be able to survive out there on your own. How do you plan on paying me back?” Ignoring him, Jiang Lan stubbornly pushed the divorce agreement in front of him again, her face set with a resolve he’d never seen before. Jiang Lan: *Once we’re divorced, you can marry Xia Yan. You two can finally…* Her hands paused, as if frozen, before stiffly signing the last two words—*be together.* “Enough!” He snatched the papers and threw them at her. They scattered, fluttering to the floor around her, her hands frozen in mid-air. Lu Jingchi stood up, looming over her. The edges of the paper had left faint red scratches on her pale face, stark against her disheveled hair. He pulled his gaze away, his tone hardening. “We'll talk about divorce when you've paid me back.” With that, he turned and stalked out of the villa. Back in his car, he fumbled for a cigarette and lit it, the deep drag doing little to soothe the rage simmering in his chest. The little mute had grown a spine. How dare she bring up divorce? He was supposed to be the one to end things, not her. How dare she beat him to it? Lu Jingchi had never been this angry with Jiang Lan. He wasn't even sure what, exactly, he was so angry about. Inside, Jiang Lan stood frozen, not crying, not making a sound. Only when she heard the sound of the car driving away did she slowly crouch down, gathering the scattered divorce papers from the floor. Why? The one time she finally mustered the courage to set herself free, he refused to let her go… Her head was spinning. She took more fever medicine, but this time, sleep wouldn't come. Lu Jingchi was gone again, leaving her alone in the cavernous villa. Jiang Lan curled up on the sofa in the dark, hugging her knees and staring into nothing. Around ten o'clock, her phone rang. It was Fang Qi, one of Lu Jingchi’s best friends. He knew Jiang Lan couldn't speak, so he got straight to the point. “Sister-in-law, you need to get down to Mofang. Lu is losing his mind!” The line went dead. Over the background noise, she thought she’d heard Si Ning’s voice. She slid off the sofa, changed her clothes, and walked out the door.