The 99th Divorce

Ye Qianqian was in a bad mood because of the incessant teasing. She had inwardly prepared herself to only receive a consolation prize. When she heard the emcee declare the words “second prize,” she felt her energy immediately recharge.

She reached out and snatched the piece of paper. Upon ascertaining the words on it were real, she screamed out, “Oh my god!”

Everyone around her made various noises of disbelief.

“What the hell? Is it for real?”

“Ha ha ha ha! Has she finally won after so many years?”

“Seriously, I’ve never come across anyone with such bad luck before!”

“Shh… Her life is tough enough without having you state it aloud!”

…

Ye Qianqian was crazy with happiness and excitement as she looked at the piece of paper. She burst out in guffaws and exclaimed, “Mother of god! I finally won! I finally won! I finally f*cking won! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

The emcee looked very happy for her and teasingly said, “Wow, someone finally won. I wonder who that is!”

The audience burst out in raucous laughter.

Ye Qianqian exclaimed in annoyance, “Go away! Stop raining on my parade!”

The emcee sidled up to her and said, “Five days and six nights in Venice! It’s not appropriate for a singleton like you to go alone! Why don’t you take me with you?”

“Me me me! I’ll go too!”

“Don’t forget about me, Ye Qianqian! Please don’t forget about Xia Yuhe by the Daming Lake[1]!

Ye Qianqian looked at all of them derisively. When she saw the words printed on the paper yet again, happiness filled her heard. She keeled over in laughter.

“No way! Not a chance! I’m not taking anyone with me! I’m going to roam the world on my own!” As she spoke, she took hold of the emcee’s microphone and asked, “Who’s up next? There’s still a notebook computer to be won! Come on and get it!”

When she was done, she shoved the microphone back into the emcee’s hands and hopped her way down the stage.

Yu Lili watched as her friend giddily made her way down. She laughed along with her and said, “Your luck probably consolidated itself over the past few years to give you this surprise.”

“Ha ha ha!” Ye Qianqian was happy beyond belief and replied, “Exactly so! That’s what I think too! Oh my god, it’s happening next month! I only have 12 days to prepare for it! I’m so excited! What am I going to do?”

Just as Yu Lili was about to say something to reassure her, Ye Qianqian looked back at the piece of paper and burst out in laughter again. She exclaimed, “Muah ha ha ha! This b*tch is off to Venice!”

Yu Lili was speechless.

Ou Ming smiled and said, “Come on, let’s go for supper.”

“What? Now?” Ye Qianqian was immediately brought back to reality. “Give me a moment. I need to redeem my prize first.”

Yu Lili watched as Ye Qianqian ran off. A thought suddenly occurred to her. She turned to Ou Ming and asked, “Is the second prize a holiday for two?”

He glanced at her and replied, “Yeah.”

“Um… Then won’t it be such a waste for her to go on it alone?” Yu Lili looked on and shook her head. “What a pity for the singleton.”

Ye Qianqian heard Yu Lili’s words the moment she returned and yelled back, “Well done you! Talking behind my back!”

She didn’t really mind it. She turned her attention back to keeping the prize voucher in her handbag. She sidled up to them and lowered her voice. “The both of you didn’t deliberately arrange for me to win, did you?”

“You have a very active imagination. I don’t have that much time on my hands!” Yu Lili looked at her in faux disdain. “If I had made the arrangements, I would have made sure it was a holiday for one!”

Ye Qianqian was reassured by Yu Lili’s words and replied, “It’s fine. I can go on my own. I’ve always wanted to experience a spontaneous backpacking trip on my own, but I couldn’t because I didn’t have the money to! Heh heh! This works out nicely. No one can stand in the way of Lady Luck! Ha ha ha!”

–

[1] A well-known quote from the popular TV series “My Fair Princess.”