After Divorce, Hidden Marriage Husband Became Addicted to Me-Chapter 597 - 376: _2

And she also wanted to leave this place.

But Xu Yunjie would not let her go.

Shen Qinglin did not want to be a woman who must hide in the shadows, and she did not love Xu Yunjie—her feelings for him were merely those of friendship.

She also did not tell Xu Yunjie that she was Shu Jingli.

She knew Xu Yunjie had always been searching for her whereabouts.

She was the marketing department manager of the Xu Family corporation until she was later transferred to work in Jiang City.

This job lasted for five years.

After five years, she left Xu’s corporation and established her own company, Newes Jewelry.

Her first collaboration upon returning to North City was with Xu Yunjie, at a time when Xu Yunjie’s wife had just passed away. It was a sudden illness that struck without warning. Xu Yunjie had not had a deeply affectionate relationship with his wife, but her death still left him in a period of emotional depression.

She and Xu Yunjie would not have had this marriage originally.

Shen Qinglin had never thought of marrying Xu Yunjie, and Xu Yunjie had never considered marrying her.

After his wife’s departure, Xu Yunjie had no intention of marrying again.

He was only in love with Shu Jingli. The promise to marry his wife was only due to a family alliance. He treated his wife well after the marriage, never kept a mistress, and remained faithful. Over those five years, he did not go to Jiang City to find Shen Qinglin, only meeting her in a hurry during the few times he was on business trips to the branch office, and that was only a mere acquaintance.

This time, when the two met again, Shen Qinglin approached it with the intention of discussing a partnership.

Xu Yunjie agreed to cooperate but also put forth many demands, all of which Shen Qinglin could agree to, she did.

Their relationship was either that of friends or of superiors and subordinates. There might have been some ambiguity, but it stopped at ambiguity.

What broke this layer of ambiguity was a bout of drunkenness.

Both of them were drunk.

When they awoke, the old lady of the Xu Family had arrived, seeing them unkempt, she demanded that they get married.

Shen Qinglin refused. She believed that as adults, they should take responsibility for their own bodies. She didn’t want to play coy; if they slept together, so be it—they had both met their physical needs and she felt physical contentment. She didn’t need Xu Yunjie to take responsibility.

The best outcome for the two of them would be to maintain a peaceful cooperative relationship from then on.

But later on, Shen Qinglin still married Xu Yunjie.

This was because Xu Yunjie had taken a liking to an actress, a female model. This model looked somewhat similar to Shu Jingli. Even Shen Qinglin herself, upon seeing the girl who was called Anni, felt that the female model indeed resembled how she looked before her cosmetic surgery. Xu Yunjie’s affection for the model was his attempt to find shades of Shu Jingli in her.

The matriarch of the Xu Family did not permit Xu Yunjie to be with Anni, so she approached Shen Qinglin, promising to help expand Newes, and in return, Shen Qinglin agreed.

After the marriage, she and Xu Yunjie treated each other with mutual respect, I suppose.

But there were also unhappy times.

And Shen Qinglin had an agreement with Xu Yunjie.

Shen Qinglin was quite good to Xu Yunjie’s son, Xu Yiran. The boy’s mother passed away early, and it had always been Shen Qinglin who looked after him. She invested a lot in him, including the love she had for her own daughter.

Now, the sky was gradually darkening.

It was piercingly cold outside.

Shen Qinglin raised her hand to tidy up her hair, and the two of them headed into the living room.

Taking the elevator to the fourth floor.

The second room on the left side was Shen Qinglin’s bedroom.

"Tang Xi, that’s the end of my story. Mom knows that you harbor resentment towards me in your heart, and I can accept all the consequences. As long as I can find you again, that would be enough." She turned on the light, and everything in the neat and tidy bedroom was as it always had been.

"Everything of Mom’s is yours. And those who have hurt you, Mom won’t let them off either!" She said, gripping Tang Xi’s hand, "Child, Mom has something to give you!"

If Shen Qinglin remembered correctly, that thing was still here.

Behind the headboard of her bed, there was a secret compartment.

She moved the bed with some difficulty.

Tang Xi went over to help her.

And then they saw the secret compartment behind the headboard.

Shen Qinglin’s eyes lit up for a moment; she opened the secret compartment and took out a box.

Inside the compartment was a photo and a silver-carved pendant.

Tang Xi noticed that this pendant was of the same type as the ones she left for Tang Jingyun.

Similar craftsmanship, design, and pattern.

"This is a photo of Lu Yanlin and me together. Back then, my father made the servants take away all the photos of Lu Yanlin and throw them out; he wouldn’t allow his existence in my world. I secretly kept one photo. This pendant made of antique silver, it matches the bracelet and ring I left for you; they are from the same collection, a couple set. Lu Yanlin bought them for me during a trip. I have kept my set, but it’s a pity—he... he is no longer here." As she said this, Shen Qinglin’s eyes reddened, but her lips carried a tender smile. She carefully pressed the pendant against her cheek.

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