Sweetie, don't look at him, kiss me.

Lin Qingmian snapped out of her daze and answered into her microphone, "Coming right away."

After saying that, she immediately turned off her microphone, and while controlling the character on her phone, she said calmly, "We are just in a marriage of convenience. You don't need to explain your relationship to me, and I'm not interested."

"However, if you really want to get back together with her, we should find a time to get the divorce certificate. It'll be better for everyone."

She spoke casually, but the little girl in the game made positioning mistakes and used her skills haphazardly.

Ji Linzhou, however, did not understand these things.

He only saw that as she spoke these words, her fingers were still flying across the screen, and her voice and tone were indifferent and detached.

It was as casual of him to bring up divorce as it was to decide what to eat for dinner.

The man frowned as he watched her playing games with her eyes downcast, and a strange sense of annoyance welled up inside him.

"My friend saved you again!"

Over the phone, Ji Xingqing's teasing voice rang out in the quiet living room: "Mianmian, aren't you touched? Wouldn't you like to repay her with your body?"

Lin Qingmian could clearly feel that when Ji Xingqing said the words "to repay with one's body", the atmosphere in the living room became even heavier, and the temperature around them gradually dropped.

For some unknown reason, she was feeling a bit defiant, so she pressed the in-game microphone: "I actually kind of want to."

The next second, the man snatched the phone from her hand with his large, bony hand.

Lin Qingmian was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously tried to snatch it, but Ji Linzhou took it even further away.

The man narrowed his eyes, his voice cold and gloomy: "I haven't agreed to a divorce yet."

Lin Qingmian frowned, about to remind him that the voice call wasn't off, when Ji Xingqing's questioning voice came from the phone: "Mianmian, is there a man on your end?"

The familiar voice instantly calmed Ji Linzhou down, and his arm holding the phone stiffened slightly.

Lin Qingmian seized the opportunity to snatch the phone back: "No, you misheard, it's a television."

At the same time, the game screen turned black and white, and two huge words appeared: "Failure".

"We were so close to winning."

Ji Xingqing sighed, "Let's start another game."

"No."

Lin Qingmian glanced at Ji Linzhou's gloomy face and frowned: "It's getting late, I need to rest."

After saying that, she left the game without waiting for Ji Xingqing and her friends' reactions.

The woman tossed her phone onto the sofa and looked up at Ji Linzhou: "What's wrong with you?"

If Ji Xingqing recognized his voice...

She didn't dare to think about the consequences.

"You're the one who's gone mad."

Ji Linzhou glanced at her coldly, his voice devoid of warmth: "I warned you a year ago that I would not get a divorce."

Lin Qingmian's hands, hanging at her sides, clenched slightly.

He did say something like that a year ago, at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

That day, the man stood with his hands in his pockets, looking down at her, his voice cold and hard as if he were conducting business: "I like a life of routine, I'm used to fulfilling contracts, and I hate changing orders all the time."

"Relationships and marriage are not the focus of my life. Therefore, unless there are special circumstances after marriage, I will not choose to divorce. Please think it over carefully."

She paused, then looked up at him: "Your ex-fiancée has returned to the country, and your relationship with her has progressed. Doesn't that count as a special circumstance that allows for divorce?"

"Not really."

After coldly uttering those two words, the man turned around and strode towards the bedroom.

The bedroom door slammed shut.

Lin Qingmian stood in the living room, looking at the tightly closed door, her feelings complicated.

She was the one who waited for him all night only to be stood up by him; she was the one who lost her promotion match because he interrupted her game.

Why was he able to ignore people so confidently and leave by closing the door on his own initiative?

The woman bit her lip, suppressing the grievances and frustration in her heart.

Just then, her phone rang; it was Ji Xingqing calling.

Lin Qingmian hesitated for a moment, then accepted.

She was afraid that Ji Xingqing had actually recognized Ji Linzhou's voice just now.

"Mianmian..."

As soon as the call connected, Ji Xingqing lowered her voice: "Just now in the game, Ji... my friend was there, so I didn't feel comfortable asking you."

"Do you... have a boyfriend and live with someone?"

It was already past 11 p.m., and there was a man's voice next to Lin Qingmian. No one could help but think things through.

She had just put in a lot of effort to calm Ji Xingye down and make him believe that Lin Qingmian's voice was indeed the one from the TV.

"no."

Lin Qingmian sniffed, trying to make her voice sound calm: "I really just accidentally turned on the TV."

"I don't want to explain this kind of boring stuff anymore."

Seeing that she was in a bad mood, Ji Xingqing sighed softly: "Mianmian, actually I saw the videos and messages online. I was afraid that you would be upset, so as soon as I saw you log into the game, I asked you to play with me."

"I thought this would make you a little happier..."

Lin Qingmian's heart skipped a beat before she understood why Ji Xingqing had been so enthusiastic and clingy tonight.

It turns out, he was afraid she would be upset because of what happened online today.

A warm feeling welled up inside her, and the woman smiled, saying, "I'm no longer upset about what happened online."

"Right now I'm just..."

She paused for a moment, then casually made up an excuse: "I'm just a little unhappy because I was bothered by that guy on TV and lost the qualifying round."

"Is it because they lost the qualifying match?"

Ji Xingqing breathed a sigh of relief: "That's easy. In a few days, I'll have my friend help us rank up."

"Um."

Lin Qingmian smiled and said, "It's getting late, you should get some rest."

After saying that, she hung up the phone, packed her things, and went to the guest room.

In the master bedroom, Ji Linzhou sat on the edge of the bed, listening to the sound of the door to the guest room next door being opened. A trace of annoyance appeared on his usually cold and stern face.

At that moment, Bai Chengxin sent a message to his phone: "Sir, the overseas branch has reported that the new plan is progressing smoothly and the incident has been basically resolved."

The man frowned and replied to Bai Cheng with a single word: "Okay."

After sending the message, he hesitated for a moment and then sent another message.

Midnight.

Bai Cheng got up from his chair, stretched, and was just about to go rest when he received a new message from his boss.

He clicked on it cautiously, thinking it was some kind of work arrangement again.

The result, however, was—

What is the qualifying round?