Dawn broke slowly across the horizon, casting a pale glow over the city skyline.
Lin Waning had not slept a single minute all night.
She sat quietly at her vanity, staring at her reflection. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face slightly pale, but her expression was clear and composed. There was no regret. Not for the words she had said the night before.
"I want to terminate the contract."
Those five words had shattered whatever fragile equilibrium remained between her and Shen Sihan.
A contractual marriage was meant to be rational, measured, and controlled. But once emotions crept in, that delicate balance became impossible to maintain. She could no longer afford to lose herself in this arrangement, not when her heart was no longer neutral.
She reached into a drawer and retrieved a copy of their contract, flipping to the final page. Without hesitation, she picked up a pen and signed her name below the word "Termination."
At the same time, on the other side of the door, Shen Sihan stood still, holding the access card he had forgotten to return the night before.
He hadn't left.
The entire night, he'd remained outside her apartment door, leaning against the wall in silence. Inside, he could hear nothing—no footsteps, no sobs, not even the rustling of paper. The silence was a verdict in itself.
He had thought she was simply venting, that she was upset and emotional. Lin Waning had always been composed, always rational. She wasn't someone to act out of impulse.
But when he received a legal draft from her assistant early that morning—a formal document from a lawyer regarding the termination of their marital contract—he realized with a sinking heart: she was serious.
She really wanted to leave.
At 9:00 AM sharp, Lin Waning arrived at the company's headquarters. She had requested use of a conference room and sat there alone, waiting calmly.
She hadn't told Shen Sihan, but she knew he would come.
At 9:05, the door swung open.
Shen Sihan stepped in wearing a perfectly tailored dark blue suit, his expression unreadable. He carried no briefcase, no files—only a cold, tightly composed face.
He walked to the table, eyes landing on the agreement in front of him. His brows furrowed.
"You're sure about this?" His voice was low but steady.
Lin Waning met his gaze. "I don't want to waste time in a marriage without love."
He didn't reach for the contract. Instead, he sat down slowly across from her, locking eyes with her for a long ten seconds.
"Are you blaming me?" he asked.
She let out a soft, humorless laugh. "It's not blame. It's awakening. We were both acting in a play. Unfortunately, I was the first to forget it was a performance. You, meanwhile, are still reading from the script."
Shen Sihan tapped his fingers on the table lightly. "If you were falling in love… why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"And what would that have changed?" she countered. "We had an agreement. We were business partners, not lovers."
He opened his mouth, paused—then fell silent.
"You were saying?" she prompted, her eyes glinting.
He clenched his jaw. "Nothing."
She took the pen and pushed it toward him. "Sign it."
He didn't move.
The silence between them was sharp and oppressive.
Then, without a word, Shen Sihan reached for the agreement—and tore it cleanly in half.
Lin Waning's eyes widened. "What are you doing?"
"The contract is void," he said coldly. "The marriage still stands. You don't have the authority to terminate it unilaterally."
"You're being unreasonable?"
"No," he stood up, towering over her. "I've just decided I'm not letting go."
Lin Waning froze.
He continued, voice lower now, yet filled with intensity, "You said you lost. That you developed feelings. Well, let me tell you this—I lost too."
Her heart skipped a beat.
"I thought I could keep you in a convenient place in my life. That I could control this. But every word you say, every look in your eyes, has already crossed every boundary I tried to set."
He looked away briefly, as if ashamed of the truth he was confessing. Then he looked back at her, gaze steady.
"I admit it. I've lost control. For the first time in my life, I don't want to hold my emotions back anymore."
Lin Waning stood up abruptly. Her eyes shimmered with a complicated mix of emotions. "So what—you're saying all this now to make me stay?"
"Yes," he answered without hesitation. "Because you're not a 'contractual partner' to me anymore. You're the woman I care about."
His words struck her like lightning, tearing through the guarded walls she had tried to rebuild overnight.
But she closed her eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and steadied herself.
"Feelings aren't something that can be fixed with a single confession," she said slowly. "They can't erase all the hurt, all the cold silences, all the times you walked away when I needed you to stay."
He didn't argue.
"I need time to think. Maybe…" she hesitated, "maybe we're just not right for each other."
Shen Sihan's eyes darkened, but he nodded. "I won't force you. But Lin Waning… I'm not giving up either."
With that, he turned and left, the soft click of the door echoing in the stillness.
Lin Waning stood there for a moment, then looked down at the torn pieces of the contract still scattered on the table.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she gathered them.
Everything between them had changed.
The lines they once drew so clearly had blurred beyond recognition. And this marriage, once a scripted, cold transaction, had begun to evolve into something messy, uncertain—and real.