Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Going to the Civil Affairs Bureau

Translator: 549690339

These three words stunned both Old Cheng and Xu Chaomu, leaving them clueless.

Old Cheng was the first to speak, “President Shen, the Civil Affairs Bureau may not be open yet.”

“It’s okay, I will have Xiao Mo call the director.”

The anger on Shen Chi’s face had faded quite a bit, but Xu Chaomu didn’t understand anything.

What was he going to the Civil Affairs Bureau for?

Isn’t that where marriages and divorces are handled?

Xu Chaomu immediately became vigilant, “Why are you taking me to the Civil Affairs Bureau? Are you going to marry me?”

“Xu Chaomu, you really are beautiful.”

“Huh?”

“Dream on!”

“Damn it! Bastard!”

Xu Chaomu was so angry she itched to smack him.

Shen Chi, though, gave a laugh, his half-drunk eyes hazy as he watched her, and his large hand involuntarily reached out to touch her hair.

“Don’t touch me, tell me clearly, why are you taking me to the Civil Affairs Bureau?”

“Haven’t you always wanted to sever ties with the Shen Family? I’ll take you to get it notarized, and after that, you and the Shen Family will no longer have any relation.”

Shen Chi’s tone changed, his brows deeply furrowed, a thin layer of cold frost covering his profound eyes.

Suddenly, the air froze, not a sound to be heard.

The hand stroking her hair abruptly dropped, and it seemed she could hear him sigh.

All at once, silence enveloped the surroundings.

Xu Chaomu’s heart skipped a beat, indeed, she had said during a quarrel with him before, “Shen Chi, I know you hate me, and I hate you too. Go home, find the adoption papers, and get them notarized, then I’ll have nothing to do with the Shen Family anymore.”

At that time, he had replied to her, “Don’t you even think about it!”

Now, he probably had thought it through.

Well, it was good. He was about to marry Bai Man, and keeping her around was, after all, just a burden.

The atmosphere was a bit cold, nobody spoke.

Xu Chaomu felt a blockage in her chest, it had been eight whole years.

From this moment on, she would have nothing to do with the Shen Family.

She still remembered that afternoon, when Zhou Ran and Shen Chi stood side by side in the orphanage courtyard under the clear sunshine. He wore a white shirt and a frosty face, never one to smile.

Thinking back to that day, it felt as if it were just yesterday.

Actually, eight years had passed.

From now on, they would no longer have any relation.

Perhaps, it was for the best, to “meet and part as strangers” in the vast sea of life.

She lowered her head, her hands intertwined. Her fingers twisted together, thoughts scattered.

Her nose tingled, but she held back the tears.

A look of desolation seemed to cross Shen Chi’s face too. He sat rigidly, not speaking, his profound gaze unending.

Suddenly there was silence in the car, and even Old Cheng was startled.

“President Shen, have you really thought this through?” Old Cheng couldn’t quite believe it, fearing that Shen Chi was drunk.

“Yeah,” he replied indifferently.

“President Shen, whether you go through with the certification or not is not really important. You see, Miss Xu has been very good and obedient in the Shen Family, maybe you shouldn’t…” Old Cheng tried to plead on behalf of Xu Chaomu.

Shen Chi frowned and glanced at Xu Chaomu, “How is she good?”

Old Cheng was at a loss for words; Xu Chaomu wasn’t good, wasn’t she spoiled by you yourself?

Upon hearing this, Xu Chaomu angrily turned her head to look out the window.

With a faint voice, she said, “I told you to get the notarization done long ago, to save all these years of trouble.”

She tried to seem indifferent, but her irritation was evident as soon as she spoke.

Tears filled her eyes, and she tried hard to keep them from falling.

“Do you think I didn’t want to?” Shen Chi glanced at her again.

Xu Chaomu bit her lip and stopped talking, afraid that if she spoke, she would choke up, which would be very embarrassing.

Seeing Xu Chaomu was about to cry, Old Cheng quickly said to Shen Chi, “President Shen, how about another day? Look, the weather isn’t great today, it’s all foggy.”

He hoped Shen Chi would be more clear-headed before making a decision.

“Today,” Shen Chi looked at his watch, “Today is actually a rather nice day.”

Uh… Old Cheng choked up.

Picking a good day for such a thing?

Xu Chaomu immediately got annoyed; he didn’t care at all, so why should she?

“Uncle Cheng, today is indeed a good day, the perfect time for a good send-off. Please, drive a little faster,” she said.

Old Cheng shook his head; both President Shen and Miss Xu were stubborn, and when they argued, one was fiercer than the other.

He really didn’t know how they had made it through these eight years.

Xu Chaomu continued to look out the window; due to the temperature difference, a thin layer of condensation quickly formed on the glass.

She habitually wrote her own name: Xu Chaomu.

She remembered writing her and his names side by side in a taxi the day before yesterday.

The pain of unrequited feelings, in the end, still had to be borne by herself.

“Chaomu, you need to be okay…” Xu Chaomu murmured softly, looking at her own name, her eyes brimming with tears.

Afterwards, with no relation to the Shen Family, she must live well…

Ultimately, she returned to the starting point.

“Muttering about what?” Shen Chi moved closer, his brow furrowed.

Xu Chaomu ignored him, reaching out to wipe her name off the glass.

“Don’t move,” Shen Chi caught her hand.

The next second, he stretched out his other hand and next to her name, he wrote “Shen Chi.”

Shen Chi, Xu Chaomu.

The car fell into a long silence once more.

From the rearview mirror, Old Cheng saw the two of them, and had it not been for the conversation earlier, he really would have thought President Shen and Miss Xu shared a cordial relationship.

When he was close to her, she could smell a strong scent of alcohol on him.

Really, he wasn’t sober again.

She broke free from his grasp and reached out to erase the names on the glass.

With a single swipe, both names were wiped away.

“I’m going to sleep. Call me when we’re at the Civil Affairs Bureau, after today’s ‘good day’ has passed, it could be a long wait,” Xu Chaomu said nonchalantly.

After saying that, she shook off Shen Chi’s hand and went to sleep for real.

She liked to sleep in the car and could fall asleep as soon as she rested her head.

The Maybach had a good suspension, and no matter how she slept, it never felt bumpy.

She thought she wouldn’t be able to ride in such a car many times in the future.

Sleep once, one less time.

While Xu Chaomu was asleep, Old Cheng spoke up to persuade Shen Chi again.

“President Shen, let’s not go, shall we? Miss Xu really is quite good, although she is a bit naughty sometimes, we all like her a lot,” Old Cheng pleaded. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I’ve thought about it quite clearly.”

“But Miss Xu…”

“Shh, keep it down, she’s sleeping.”

Having no other option, Old Cheng gave up.

The car continued forward; the early morning fog descended, and the sky was heavy. The sun had not risen yet, and the horizon was still immersed in the pre-dawn calm.

After a while, as the car was about to enter the highway, Shen Chi spoke up.

“Stop on the side for a moment, I need to call Xiao Mo.”

“Alright,” Old Cheng quickly parked the car on an empty spot.

Old Cheng knew that Shen Chi didn’t want to wake Xu Chaomu; he would even step outside to make a phone call.

Clearly reluctant, yet still insisting on doing the notarization.

Shen Chi quietly opened the car door and stepped out; a fresh breeze with a touch of mist made his face more alert.

Truth be told, he had always been fairly sober.

He could get drunk, but never to the point of confusion.