A Heartless Omega Regrets It When I’m Dying - Chapter 22.1

Lin Wantang did not sleep all night.

Pheromone Dysfunctional Atrophy has only a 10% success rate even with surgical intervention. Moreover, the surgical costs are exorbitant; as of now, she still hasn’t raised the 1 million yuan initial deposit required before the procedure.

She was already hesitating about whether she could even proceed with the surgery. Her total savings currently amounted to only a bit over 600,000 yuan, and she didn’t know if she could collect the remaining 400,000 within the month.

Furthermore, there were too many variables regarding the surgery itself.

She had initially only been vaguely worried about whether Wen Zhiqing would interfere if she found out about the operation. But now that Wen Zhiqing was willing to provide an additional five times the investment to the production crew just to strip her of a supporting role, Lin understood that Wen Zhiqing’s hatred for her was deeper than she had anticipated.

Starting from this night, Lin Wantang began to feel an uncontrollable fear and loathing toward Wen Zhiqing. Three years was enough time for too many things to change, including Wen Zhiqing herself.

For the first time in a true sense, she realized that Wen Zhiqing was no different from most capitalists—using any means necessary to achieve her goals and never caring about an ordinary person’s work. She felt fear toward such a person, and she also felt disgust.

It wasn’t just that she no longer liked her; it was loathing and contempt.

At this point, Lin Wantang was incredibly grateful that Wen Zhiqing had always believed she was merely faking gland pain to gain sympathy and had never looked deeper into whether she was truly ill.

Wen Zhiqing could easily make her lose her job; if she knew Lin was terminally ill, she could probably just as easily cause a surgery with an already low success rate to fail completely.

But regardless, she had to undergo the surgery.

Lin Wantang took stock of her assets once more. She still had a Mercedes C-Class under her name. She had bought it during the first year of their marriage when she frequently picked up Wen Zhiqing late at night. Because it was “too low-end,” she was often the subject of ridicule and mockery from Wen Zhiqing’s friends.

Since she could no longer drive, she could sell it to gather more funds.

Lin Wantang listed the Mercedes on a second-hand trading platform. After editing the car’s information and uploading it, she suddenly remembered the gifts she had insisted on giving Wen Zhiqing every year.

Every single gift was meticulously prepared. Even the cheapest among them cost tens of thousands, yet Wen Zhiqing had never spared them a second glance.

Lin Wantang had felt dejected about this in the past, but now she understood. Wen Zhiqing loathed her to the extreme—how could she possibly like the gifts she gave?

Moreover, even though she tried to give Wen Zhiqing the most precious things she could, in Wen Zhiqing’s world, those things were always considered “low-class.”

However, as Lin Wantang thought of those gifts now, it wasn’t for the sake of nostalgia—it was for survival.

A greedy thought surfaced in her mind. Since Wen Zhiqing looked down on these gifts anyway, she could ask if she could have them back.

In fact, since Wen Zhiqing had never truly accepted them, perhaps she didn’t even need to ask.

If she sold those gifts, she could easily raise the entire cost of the surgery.

Once this idea appeared, it grew like a creeping vine. Lin Wantang knew how pathetic this “begging” thought was, but she couldn’t fully strip the notion from her mind.

She loathed herself for it, but even so, she didn’t want to just wait for death. In the face of survival, morality and dignity seemed to become the heaviest and most useless burdens.

Seeking love and seeking life—it turns out that in the end, both conclude with such a wretched and ugly finale.

Lin Wantang stood on the terrace all night, watching the sky fade from a somber deep blue to a thin grayish-white, finally edged with a faint gold by the rising morning sun.

She slowly reached out her hand, her fingertips probing into that gradually brightening light. Her cool skin touched a thin but real layer of warmth.

The warmth of the rising sun made her curl her fingers, but she did not withdraw her hand.

There are still many beautiful things in this world worth lingering for, and she is still young; she still has dreams she hasn’t realized.

She doesn’t want to die. She wants to live. She wants to live for herself, just once.

Most importantly, she has to leave Wen Zhiqing first.

Lin Wantang turned back, leaving the terrace step by step and heading toward the bedroom where Wen Zhiqing was. She knocked on the door and opened it directly. Wen Zhiqing was already awake, propping herself up and looking sideways with a dazed expression, her long hair slightly messy over her shoulders.

This daze vanished the moment Wen Zhiqing saw Lin Wantang. Lin didn’t care and asked calmly: “When are we going to handle the divorce procedures?”

“You’re in quite a hurry.”

Seeing Lin Wantang, Wen Zhiqing’s hollow mood seemed to settle slightly. Even though she knew a selfish person like Lin Wantang wouldn’t commit suicide, the resolute silhouette of Lin leaping down in that dream was still haunting her.

“Yes.”

Lin Wantang looked at the suitcase standing in the corner and let out a small sigh. “Don’t you want to get divorced as quickly as possible, too?”

“I do. I was just considering things for your sake just now,” Wen Zhiqing said, smoothing the hair by her ear. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to get any more roles after this.”

She thought for a moment and added: “As for Yishu, you probably won’t need to work so hard for money anymore, given her connections.”

The words were exactly what Lin Wantang expected. She lowered her eyes and listened quietly until Wen was finished, then only asked: “Is the divorce agreement drafted? Let’s set a time to go handle it.”

Lin Wantang didn’t understand why Wen Zhiqing insisted on thinking there was some sordid affair going on, but she no longer wanted to defend herself.

But her gaze suddenly sharpened.

Most of the time, the way Wen Zhiqing looked at her was cold and mocking. She had rarely seen Wen Zhiqing look at her like this—as if she could pierce through a person’s skin to reach the inside.

Lin Wantang thought it over and figured it was probably because Wen Zhiqing liked Qi Yishu so much. Because she misunderstood Lin’s relationship with Qi Yishu, she had become so aggressive.

She sighed, deciding to explain one last time to avoid involving Qi Yishu in the future. Qi Yishu had only helped her out of kindness; she shouldn’t have to endure Wen Zhiqing’s malice.

“There is no improper romantic relationship between Qi Yishu and me. Even after the divorce, she and I will not be together.”

Lin Wantang felt a small sense of irony in her heart; it turned out that even a rational person like Wen Zhiqing could become insecure regarding someone she truly loved.

“By the way, there’s one more thing.” Lin Wantang took a deep breath. “Previously, I bought many gifts for you, but you didn’t seem to want to accept them at the time. I want to know… can I take those things with me?”

“What gifts? I don’t remember.”

Wen Zhiqing’s tone was very impatient. She truly didn’t remember Lin Wantang giving her any gifts, but she guessed that even if Lin had, they were likely just cheap and useless junk.

Lin Wantang was momentarily taken aback. She had anticipated that Wen Zhiqing didn’t care about those gifts, but she hadn’t expected Wen wouldn’t even remember she had given them so many times.

“It’s nothing. I’ll just take them all with me.” Lin Wantang carefully observed Wen Zhiqing’s expression. “Or do you want to verify them first?”

Wen Zhiqing didn’t answer. After a pause, she said casually, “Then take them out and let’s see.”

It sounded like Wen Zhiqing wasn’t interested, which made Lin Wantang breathe a sigh of relief. She then opened the cabinet and began to inventory the gifts from the past three years.

Seeing one’s own sincerity stored in a cabinet gathering dust should be a sad thing, but at this moment, Lin Wantang only felt nervous. She knew Wen Zhiqing would loathe the gifts just as she loathed Lin herself, and wouldn’t deign to keep them.

The gift boxes were stacked neatly. Each box was hand-gilded with the initials of their names. Even just looking at the packaging, one could see the pious devotion the giver had once poured into them.

Wen Zhiqing let out a light scoff. She truly hadn’t expected Lin Wantang to prepare gifts so meticulously. But this didn’t prove Lin loved her; it only proved Lin was good at playing for favors to secure her marriage. And even if there was a shred of sincerity hidden in them, she wouldn’t like someone like Lin Wantang because of it.

Lin Wantang tilted her head to look at Wen Zhiqing. Wen’s gaze landed on the gift boxes, her eyes full of disdain. After a moment of silence, Lin opened the first box.

The lid was lifted to reveal the jade comb that had been accidentally knocked to the floor and shattered by Wen Zhiqing during a struggle. The broken pieces had been carefully pieced back together, the cracks mended with fine gold wire, forming spiderweb-like patterns of “kintsugi.”

It had been for Wen Zhiqing’s birthday during the first year of their marriage. Lin Wantang had spent a long time personally selecting a piece of fine Hetian jade, then designed the sketch, cut the shape, and polished it into an exquisite jade comb that felt warm to the touch.

But on Wen Zhiqing’s birthday, Lin didn’t even know where the banquet was being held. Wen’s friends had given her countless wrong addresses, and she had run around for the entire night.

By the time someone finally deigned to give her the correct address with a smile, the banquet was already ending.

The late-arriving Lin Wantang felt like an intruding clown. She stood there helplessly, hesitating to walk over to Wen Zhiqing. Looking around, Wen Zhiqing, who remained composed and cold in the crowd, was too dazzling, surrounded like the moon by a cluster of stars.

Wen Zhiqing at the birthday banquet was hauntingly beautiful. The ornate lights lingered on her slightly arched profile and slender neck, making all the glamorous clothes and jewels around her seem dull in comparison.

Lin Wantang saw nothing else; her eyes were full of Wen Zhiqing. She watched her with bated breath, like looking up at a bright moon in the night sky.

But at that time, Lin Wantang had stopped almost immediately. After seeing Wen Zhiqing, she had snapped to her senses instantly; her wife wouldn’t want to see her at a time like this. It was Wen’s birthday, and she didn’t want to make her unhappy at the end of the night.

In the end, she had turned and left quietly, as if she had never come to the party at all.

Lin Wantang had actually given the gift the next day, but Wen Zhiqing had coldly brushed away her hand as she opened the box. The jade comb fell, and the hard work of months broke into pieces.

Recalling it now felt like another life entirely.

Lin Wantang calmly opened the other boxes in order. The second item was a gold hairpin inlaid with pigeon-blood rubies. After the jade comb, she never prepared anything fragile again.

Every subsequent gift was the same—sturdy materials that wouldn’t easily break, reflecting her hopes for their relationship at the time.

Finally, the last box was opened. Inside lay the matching rings she had given for their last wedding anniversary.

Lin Wantang looked at these shimmering gifts like looking at the ruins of the past three years. That person who had once fervently and clumsily tried to touch the moon already existed only in distant memories.

“So, can I take them?”

Wen Zhiqing remained silent. Lin Wantang closed the gift boxes one by one, rearranged them, and asked again.

After all, they were the product of countless days and nights of preparation. Lin Wantang would never have wanted to take them back to sell unless she was at her wit’s end, but reality no longer allowed her to maintain even this small shred of pitiful dignity.

“Quite a clever thought. You get to display your ‘sincere heart’ without actually losing anything.”

Wen Zhiqing withdrew her gaze from the rose-gold rings being slowly covered, her lips curling into her habitual mocking sneer.

“Then I’ll take them, so that President Wen doesn’t have to be reminded of this unpleasant marriage in the future.”

Lin Wantang’s face was calm. Her fingertips lingered on the box for a moment before letting go. She could now easily treat Wen Zhiqing as a stranger.

Wen Zhiqing didn’t answer. Lin Wantang didn’t care and continued: “When will the divorce agreement be ready?”

“After signing, there’s a 15-day observation period, but since I haven’t marked you, we should be able to dissolve the marriage immediately.”

Wen Zhiqing had previously had no real sense of the divorce happening.

Until this morning, she had firmly believed that she had shown her ability to completely crush Qi Yishu. Qi’s connections were nothing compared to her investment. Lin Wantang would surely realize this and stay with her.

But it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Lin Wantang still wanted the divorce, and it wasn’t a whim or a tactic; it was a well-considered decision.

Wen Zhiqing didn’t care much about whether Lin stayed or left, but she hated sudden changes. Although Lin was mercenary, she hadn’t committed any major blunders in three years. Moreover, Lin had had no contact with Lin Shen or Shi Cen during this time, so she posed no threat.

Furthermore, she was used to Lin Wantang’s presence over the past three years. The 100% compatibility made her heat periods quite comfortable. If she lost Lin suddenly, she would have to re-adapt to that annoying cycle.

If being slightly better to Lin Wantang could stop her from wanting a divorce, she supposed she could do it.

Wen Zhiqing thought: This has nothing to do with love. I can just treat her like a high-performing employee who wants to resign; it’s a normal business move to keep them by raising their salary and benefits.

“Name your terms, if you want to stay,” Wen Zhiqing spoke slowly. “As long as it’s not too unreasonable, I can consider it.”