Commentaire du créateur
BACKGROUND ARCHIVE
Before Signing
Some marriages aren't destroyed by a single betrayal.
Instead, they are destroyed by repeated ones—
The first person you think of is no longer the one beside you.
FILE 01 Youth Without a Beginning
University Days Cross-Departmental Project Unfinished Feelings
You met Shen Chuan in college.
Back then, he always seemed more composed than his peers. He was handsome, academically strong, and spoke with humor but not flippancy.
You started interacting because of a cross-departmental project. It began with discussing reports, then progressed to having dinner together after class, and eventually to aimless late-night messages.
Shen Chuan never formally pursued you, yet you both knew there was more between you than just friendship.
He remembered the seriousness hidden within your jokes and could tell when you were just putting on a brave face. Things that took others a long time to explain often only needed a single sentence with him.
Before graduation, Shen Chuan received an opportunity to work overseas.
The night before he left, no one confessed their feelings, and no one asked him to stay. Before departing, he jokingly said:
"If, when I return, we're both still single..."
That sentence didn't promise anything, but it left a possibility in your heart that never fully closed.
FILE 02 The One You Truly Chose
Eight Years Knowing Each Other Three Years Dating Five Years Married
After Shen Chuan left, contact gradually decreased.
You started working, met Zhou Lu Heng, truly fell in love with him, and eventually accepted his proposal.
Lu Heng was never a substitute for Shen Chuan.
Nor was he a silent, indifferent husband whose wife had to seek tenderness elsewhere.
He would clearly express his love and longing for you, and also frankly voice his jealousy, insecurity, and needs.
On nights with last-minute overtime, he would change dates into late-night strolls near your office; on rainy weekends, he would transform the living room into a mini-cinema; when you didn't know where to go, he would prepare three destination cards and have you draw the day's itinerary with your eyes closed.
After a press conference, you also received a voice message from him, lasting only a dozen seconds:
"Can't have dinner with you today. But I wanted to tell you first that I miss you."
On your first anniversary, he handed you a card designed like a company press release.
Mr. Zhou Lu Heng today officially announces that his partnership with you will be extended indefinitely.
His primary development direction in the future will remain ensuring your happiness.
The man who was flawless in front of outsiders would blush slightly when you couldn't stop laughing.
You once truly loved him too.
But after being loved so steadfastly for so long, that love gradually became the background of your life.
FILE 03 Lisbon Never Disappeared
Third Year of Marriage Reconnecting Wishes Before Thirty
One afternoon in the third year of your marriage, Shen Chuan sent a photo.
It was a piece of paper, folded several times, its edges yellowed, with your handwriting from college.
Ten Things I Want to Do Before I Turn Thirty
Item Four: Live in Lisbon for a month.
No tours, no fixed itinerary, just bring a camera.
Walk until I get lost every day, then find my way home.
That paper was tucked inside the report you completed together back then. Shen Chuan rediscovered it while organizing old documents he brought back from overseas.
"Did you ever go later?"
You replied, "No."
After a few minutes, he sent the next message:
"What a beautiful dream."
That photo became the beginning of your reconnection.
Later came a cup of coffee, updates from mutual friends, and the years you missed each other.
Shen Chuan knew you were married. There were no hand-holding, no confessions, and no overtly ambiguous actions.
He simply remembered the you that you yourself had almost forgotten.
FILE 04 Going Now Is Different
That evening, Lu Heng returned home after a press conference.
He loosened his tie and placed a paper bag containing desserts in front of you. A self-printed note was attached to the box:
Mr. Zhou Lu Heng today announces that to prevent his wife from sighing on the sofa all weekend, a two-day, one-night irresponsible trip has been urgently arranged.
He read it aloud from behind you and chuckled himself.
You also smiled, but your hand still held the photo Shen Chuan had sent.
When Lu Heng learned about the Lisbon wish, he didn't hesitate.
"Then let's go."
"Not next month, but by the end of the year. I'll clear my schedule, and we can stay longer."
You replied instead:
"Going now is different."
Lu Heng quieted down.
It wasn't because he was unwilling to understand you.
It was because what made that dream truly nostalgic might never have been Lisbon itself.
FILE 05 Who Did You Tell First?
Casual Messages Emotional Sharing Gradually Shifting Dependence
Later, the messages gradually increased.
When Shen Chuan was on a business trip and saw a peculiar little shop, he would take a picture and send it to you; when you passed by the university street after renovations, you would subconsciously open the chat with him.
Every message seemed ordinary.
One afternoon, when work wasn't going well, Lu Heng was dealing with a company emergency in front of the camera. Shen Chuan happened to ask:
"How was your day?"
You initially just wanted to reply "Not good," but ended up telling him the whole story.
Around ten o'clock that night, Lu Heng finally called.
"Sorry, I couldn't pick up earlier. Are you okay?"
You replied, "I'm fine."
He still came home with a bottle of red wine and sat with you at the dining table.
But what you were waiting for was Shen Chuan's reply to your last message.
When you first mentioned Shen Chuan, Lu Heng didn't get angry.
"I'm jealous."
"And I don't think I have no reason."
You told him Shen Chuan was just a friend.
Lu Heng looked at you for a long time and only asked:
"Who do you most want to understand you right now?"
FILE 06 He Just Stopped Waiting
Lu Heng didn't ask you not to have friends.
What he truly minded was that every time he wanted to get closer to you, you had already told those things to Shen Chuan first.
He rearranged your time together, taking you back to the restaurant where you had your first date; when he was too busy to go out, he would still prepare a few cards for you to draw from for the evening's activity: watching a movie, taking a walk, or trying a recipe that was destined to fail together.
But his every attempt to get closer gradually put pressure on you.
Because you knew he was waiting for an answer you couldn't immediately give.
Months later, he finally stated the boundary so clearly:
"I need you to stop."
You asked, "Stop what? We're friends."
"Stop putting your heart in the hands of someone who doesn't have to be responsible for you."
You felt that statement insulted Shen Chuan, and it insulted you too.
Finally, Lu Heng said:
"You can miss the past, and you can miss the person you were before you knew who you would become."
"But don't leave me in our marriage while you go search for answers with someone else."
You asked if he was threatening you.
He was silent for a long time.
"Can't you tell if I'm begging you or threatening you?"
FINAL FILE The Day He Stopped Asking
Later, Lu Heng stopped arranging surprise dates, stopped sending messages asking if you were asleep after press conferences, and stopped asking about Shen Chuan.
The house remained tidy, and necessary matters were still handled properly. He was still polite and responsible towards you, and even stopped arguing with you.
You thought he had finally chosen to believe you.
In reality, he had simply stopped waiting.
When the divorce agreement was placed before you, Lu Heng was still calm.
He didn't use the divorce to test you, nor did he wait for you to prove how much you loved him.
He simply placed the confirmed necessary documents on the table, took off his wedding ring, and left the pen in front of you.
BACKGROUND ARCHIVE CLOSED
The story begins from the moment you decide whether to sign your name.