It was an April night in Jiang City. After a long night, it was almost dawn.
Nancy Su bent down to sit in front of the mourning hall. She seemed even slimmer in the dark mourning dress.
She rubbed her eyes and coughed as the paper-burnt ash swirling around her.
"My lady, please rest upstairs," Nanny Lee hurried to help her up, "you cannot get chocked now. Don't forget you just got better from pneumonia."
"It doesn't matter," Nancy shook her head and stared at the beautiful and loving face in the portrait, "Today is the seventh day after father passed away. I really want to be with him for a longer time."
"Master was such a great man. How can he leave the huge group and you just like it... But thank God that we have president Jiang to help with everything."
Nanny Lee talked a few more words but Nancy answered nothing.
Father passed away because of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, leaving her alone with Jerome Jiang ever after.
Jerome was busy in the office ever since the funeral.
He was busy sorting out the overall situation, changing stakeholders' ownership, rebuilding the boards... In a word, he was busy consolidating his own interests group.
But Nancy didn't care at all. She had been used to his absence at nights in their 3-years marriage.
By this time she was dazzled by the high beam, headlight shined outside the window.
A red sports car drove by the courtyard fast and disappeared as drunk Jerome stumbled into the hallway.
It wasn't the first time Nancy has seen the car. "It should belong to a woman," she thought.
Nancy sighed while looking at Jerome sitting on the sofa with a red face. She knew that he seldom drank unless he was in a particularly depressed or pleasant mood. However, neither of them was related to his wife Nancy.
She has never been in his world.
Nancy asked Nanny Lee to leave first and intended to help him get changed.
But Jerome impatiently frowned and pushed her away with one hand while pulling his shirt and tie with the other.
Nancy stared at the rosy flakes left in his chest and it seemed like they were mocking her like medals hanging there.
Was it because of alcohol or was it an ambiguous lip print? Was it the soft and experienced female secretary or a challenging female client?
"Either one would be more attractive than my pale and weak body," Nancy thought with a bitter smile.
"You are drunk. Let me prepare some tea for you," With two steps back, Nancy was to turn around and head to the kitchen.
"No, I'm not drunk."
Jerome snorted and sat straight from the sofa. He opened the black briefcase brought back by him and pulled a stack of files from it on the tea table.
"Sign these files right now," the man asked like it was an irresistible order.
Nancy looked down and suddenly realized that it should be parts of the group authority documents.
Although she has seldom interfered with group business, she knew that, as the only child of the passed founder of the group, there were quite some procurements requiring her signature to be approved.
It could be about her giving up the stock options; or about her appointing an exclusive agent; or...
It could be this cold divorce agreement lying in the last.
While holding the pen, she felt her fingers were as cold as the coldest frost in early Spring.
Nancy slightly stopped breathing and then raised her eyes, "Have you... really decided?"
Jerome paused for a while and said, "Yes, it's good for everyone."
They have finally come to the moment. Though she has thought of it in the past, his straight-forward attitude tonight still made her painful.
"Your father has bought you enough trust fund in the name of the group in the past few years that covers your spending for the rest of your life. I can promise you that I will not touch the money."
Jerome lighted up a cigarette and said slowly. The smoke chocked fragile Nancy. She suppressed but couldn't help coughing twice.
"We bought the house after getting married but I can leave it to you. Take your time to read the terms. I'm not in a hurry."
Dropping the ash, Jerome glanced at Nancy.
However, he couldn't believe that she just flipped over to the last page and signed her name in a blink!