Volume One, Chapter 8: Fulfilled Desires, Never Regret

After the reunion, Jiang Li entered a brief period of intense busyness. To prepare for the upcoming competition, she practically lived at the chess academy every day—playing matches, reviewing games, and solving problems, utterly absorbed in her work.

Xie Ya came to see her twice. The people at the academy said, “President Jiang doesn’t meet anyone before the competition, but she asked us to give you this.” She accepted a package containing a black suit jacket—it belonged to Lin Xunan.

Xie Ya rolled her eyes, placed her lunch box on the front desk, and turned to leave. “Tell President Jiang: chess must be played, but life must be lived. Don’t let her starve!”

The receptionist smiled helplessly. Since President Jiang’s return, the atmosphere at the academy had changed drastically. Previously, everyone only began intensive training a week before a competition, but as the honorary president, Jiang Li was always prepared to face any challenge to uphold the academy’s reputation.

This was her first competition since her return, and she had been training relentlessly for over half a month, barely sleeping or eating properly. Her dedication infected everyone at the academy; those competing and those not were all practicing furiously late into the night.

As the competition drew near, Jiang Li suddenly felt an inexplicable anxiety. “Is it because I haven’t competed for so long that I’m this nervous?” She wasn’t sure what this feeling was—like forgetting something important, or the unease of an unfinished task.

Logically, this small competition shouldn’t have been stressful for her. Moreover, sixty percent of the participants were high-ranking amateurs; professional players made up less than half. Yet, this indescribable unease lingered for days.

One day, Jiang Li was chatting with Cui Tao and a few senior brothers while holding her lunch box.

“Did you guys see President Lu’s press conference?”

“Which President Lu?”

“Come on, Lu Jinye—Lu Baisheng’s son.”

“I saw it! Oh my goodness, he said he’s going to carve a section of the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival to celebrate the motherland’s birthday!”

Hearing Lu Jinye’s name snapped Jiang Li out of her chess reverie.

“It’s not the whole piece, just a tenth of it.”

“That’s still impressive, and he’s donating it to the country free of charge!”

“Wow, if it were auctioned, it’d start at least at ten million!”

“Ten million? Who do you think you’re kidding? President Lu is carving it himself; it’d start at no less than a hundred million!”

“Damn, rich people’s units of money aren’t even in the same league as mine.”

“Sigh, why am I playing Go? I should become a national-level master sculptor and make some real money.”

They laughed and joked, and Cui Tao let them be.

Suddenly, the eldest senior brother patted Jiang Li’s shoulder and leaned in with a mischievous grin, “Junior sister, be honest. At your peak, you were making tens of millions a year, right?”

Before Jiang Li could answer, Cui Tao knocked his head with his chopsticks.

“Just eat your meal, stop babbling nonsense.”

The eldest brother rubbed his head, grinning sheepishly. “Don’t be so biased, old man.”

Jiang Li smiled softly; she felt most at ease with them—doing what she loved, chatting about trivial things, without worrying about offending or pleasing anyone.

She took her last bite, then suddenly froze as realization struck—the source of her anxiety these past days.

Her divorce from Shen Yechu.

She threw down her lunch box and hurried to the locker to retrieve her phone.

There were nearly fifty missed calls—over thirty from Xie Ya, the rest from Shen Yechu.

She glanced at the time. The day before yesterday was the appointment to finalize the divorce, but she had completely forgotten.

Hurriedly, she called Shen Yechu back, but it rang endlessly with no answer.

It was just past noon, so Jiang Li decided to bring her things and go find him.

She told Cui Tao briefly, then took a taxi straight to Shen Yechu’s office.

Because she had delivered afternoon tea there many times before, the receptionist treated her warmly and led her directly to Shen Yechu’s office.

It was actually Jiang Li’s first time inside. The decor reflected Shen Yechu’s cultivated public persona: a landscape painting on the wall, a large porcelain vase by the desk.

Even on the tatami by the floor-to-ceiling window, a Go board was set up.

Jiang Li sneered. Shen Yechu never played Go; these were mere affectations to polish his image as a refined and talented man.

She leaned in for a closer look and almost laughed aloud.

Shen Yechu had arranged the stones on the board to replicate the game between Fan Xiping and Shi Xiangxia from the classic “Ten Games at Danghu.”

But just like him, the setup was all surface and no depth.

With a cold expression, Jiang Li picked up a white stone from the board. “This should be a ‘cut,’ not a ‘connect.’”

The stone clicked crisply as she placed it on a critical black cut point.

At that moment, the door opened, and Shen Yechu appeared, no longer gentle but radiating hostility. “Don’t move.”

Jiang Li withdrew her hand. “I wonder how many people have seen this board, President Shen.”

Shen Yechu said nothing and walked straight to his seat.

Jiang Li wasn’t angry; she smiled faintly and shrugged. “Just a reminder, President Shen—this kind of basic mistake really damages your image.”

Seeing her casual demeanor, Shen Yechu felt a surge of irritation.

Yet, maintaining his long-held facade, he spoke with some courtesy.

“You’ve been unreachable these past few days.”

Jiang Li nodded. “That’s my fault—I haven’t had my phone with me.”

Shen Yechu fixed her with a gaze that seemed to assess the truth of her words.

“So I came to find you. If you’re free this afternoon, the civil affairs bureau opens at two.”

“Have you made up your mind?”

Jiang Li was momentarily stunned, then replied sharply, “Wasn’t it you who proposed the divorce? What do you mean ‘have I made up my mind’?”

Coldness filled Shen Yechu’s eyes. “You’re giving up five million and the house?”

Jiang Li toyed with a stone in her hand, shaking her head as she looked at him. “I already said—it’s filthy.”

A wave of anger surged sharply in Shen Yechu’s chest. Jiang Li’s deliberate detachment, her icy tone, even the unfamiliar title “President Shen” all made him profoundly uncomfortable.

She used to call him “Yechu” affectionately, her eyes always filled with hope and joy when looking at him.

Now, she kept emphasizing she was filthy.

She refused both money and property, only wanting to end the marriage and free herself as soon as possible.

Shen Yechu’s face darkened. He dialed an internal line for his assistant. “Go get my marriage certificate and bring it to the civil affairs bureau.”

Before the assistant could ask where it was, Shen Yechu had already hung up.

Jiang Li glanced at the time and said, “Let’s go, President Shen. It’s just the right time.”

With the assistant gone, Shen Yechu drove them.

The two sat silently in the car. Jiang Li sighed inwardly—the person she had once hurriedly chosen to entrust her life to had vanished like a bubble, dissolving into nothingness.

Worse, that bubble had floated into her mouth, making her sick.

When they arrived at the civil affairs bureau, the assistant was already waiting, accompanied by a conspicuous figure—Bai Nannan.

Shen Yechu frowned and approached her quietly. “What are you doing here?”

Pouting, she whined, “I came to accompany you. Such a big matter—I have to be here to feel at ease.”

Shen Yechu couldn’t refuse and let her come inside.

The staff processed everything quickly. Without property division issues, they just stamped the papers and handed over the divorce certificate, concluding the procedure.

Upon leaving, Jiang Li glanced at the rare sunshine and felt a pang of melancholy.

Such beautiful weather, yet used for a divorce.

“Miss Jiang, don’t be sad. Though Yechu can no longer be yours, I believe you will find your perfect true match someday.”

Hearing this, Shen Yechu’s eyes dimmed, and a chill flashed as he glanced at Bai Nannan.

Jiang Li’s look, cast toward Bai Nannan, was unmistakably filled with disgust.

“Thank you. Then I’ll also give you my blessing,” Jiang Li said, watching Bai Nannan link arms with Shen Yechu, her smile not reaching her eyes. “May Miss Bai get everything she wishes for and never regret it.”