After the Divorce, the Ice-Cold CEO Regretted It - Chapter 1:

Chapter 1: Divorcing the Perfect Female CEO

“Lin Fan, right? This is from Qiao Wanyan. Sign it.”

Inside the reception room of Qiao Group, He Junhui, Chairman of Junhui Group, casually tossed the divorce agreement onto the table in front of Lin Fan.

Lin Fan stood there holding a pot of soup, stunned, his mind blank for a moment.

The man before him—dressed head to toe in luxury brands, his face pale and his attitude arrogant—was none other than He Junhui, the very man rumored to be entangled with his wife, Qiao Wanyan.

Lin Fan frowned, his voice low, “You? What right do you have to represent my wife in talking to me about divorce?”

He Junhui raised his chin proudly and said, “Because my father is a director of the Dingyuan Chamber of Commerce, and I am Chairman He of Junhui Group. The 10 billion yuan investment for Qiao Wanyan’s Phoenix City project? I secured that for her. Her future development depends on me. With all that, isn’t it enough?”

He glanced at Lin Fan with open contempt and sneered, “And you? Living off a woman, clutching a pot of soup, wagging your tail like a dog to please her. Just looking at you makes me laugh. Haha.”

Lin Fan’s expression darkened instantly, his voice turning cold, “Watch your mouth.”

He Junhui let out a dismissive snort, “A useless trash like you can’t even earn 3,000 yuan a month. I’m worth billions. Being polite to you is already more than you deserve.”

He leaned slightly closer, his tone dripping with mockery, “Qiao Wanyan is breathtakingly beautiful and the CEO of Qiao Group. You are the stain on her life.”

He tapped the agreement impatiently, “Enough nonsense. Sign it.”

“A stain?”

Lin Fan’s eyelids twitched violently as he stared at the document, his voice trembling faintly, “Are these your words… or hers?”

Three years ago, when Qiao Wanyan’s company had been on the brink of collapse, it was he who had stepped in and saved her.

And now, even for a divorce, she had sent a man rumored to be her lover to handle it for her.

Worse still, he had become a “stain” in her eyes.

A chill spread through his chest, laced with anger and disbelief.

He Junhui shot him a fierce glare and said coldly, “My words are her words. Open your eyes and see clearly.”

He immediately pulled out his phone, opened the trending news, and threw it onto the table.

“Take a look. ‘Top-tier female CEO Qiao Wanyan teams up with Chairman He Junhui of Junhui Group to launch the Phoenix City project, securing a 10 billion yuan investment from the Dingyuan Chamber of Commerce.’”

He smirked, his voice smug, “Her beauty and intelligence are obvious to everyone. She’s now facing a 10 billion yuan opportunity. A woman like her will only stand beside a man at the peak of the business world. You… are not worthy.”

Lin Fan’s chest heaved. His fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms until they bled.

He forced his voice down, each word heavy, “I am her husband. You are just her business partner.”

He Junhui burst into laughter, then lit a slim cigar and blew a stream of smoke straight into Lin Fan’s face.

“Are you blind? The divorce agreement is right in front of you, and you still call yourself her husband?”

He chuckled mockingly, “I’ve heard you sleep in a small clinic every night. At best, you’re just a free servant of the Qiao family. Did you even look at yourself in the mirror? Husband? Hehe.”

His tone turned impatient, “I don’t have time to waste on you. Name your price and sign the agreement.”

Lin Fan pressed hard against the bridge of his nose, his brows tightly furrowed, yet the tension would not ease.

A petty man like He Junhui wasn’t worth his anger.

All he wanted to know… was how Qiao Wanyan viewed the feelings he had poured into these past three years.

His expression turned dark as he said, “Divorce is fine. Let her come and tell me herself.”

He Junhui clicked his tongue, annoyed, “It’s just a damn divorce. Why make it so complicated? Who do you think you are?”

“Just a damn divorce?”

At those words, Lin Fan’s anger finally erupted. He slammed his fist onto the table and said, “If it’s just that trivial, then she should come and say it herself!”

He Junhui’s eyes narrowed sharply, a cold glint flashing within, “Kid, you clearly don’t know what I’m capable of. When the time comes, I won’t give you a single cent. Breaking your arms and legs and forcing you to divorce her would be nothing more than a word from me.”

Lin Fan clenched his fists, veins bulging, his voice fierce, “Then try it!”

At that moment, the door opened.

A stunning woman in a tight brown skirt walked in. Her figure was alluring, adorned with fine jewelry. Her face was as beautiful as a fairy’s, yet carried a chilling coldness.

She spoke sharply, “Lin Fan, that’s enough!”

Then she turned to He Junhui, her tone softening slightly, “Chairman He, thank you for your trouble. Could you please step out for a moment? Let me speak with him.”

He Junhui deliberately stubbed his cigarette against the soup pot on Lin Fan’s table before turning back with a gentle smile. He nodded and walked out of the reception room.

Lin Fan looked at Qiao Wanyan—her skin fair as snow, her posture graceful—and felt an indescribable pain well up in his chest.

For three years, they had treated each other with respect… yet in the end, it had still come to divorce.

“So, you were standing outside all along,” Lin Fan said quietly.

Qiao Wanyan sat elegantly on the sofa, her beautiful eyes fixed on him, still as cold as ever.

“What needed to be said, Chairman He has already said for me. I can give you 10 million yuan, and I’ll also transfer my grandfather’s clinic to you. If you have any other requests, you can bring them up.”

Her tone was like that of a business negotiation.

Lin Fan felt as if his heart were bleeding.

He looked at her deeply and asked, “So just because He Junhui helped you secure a 10 billion yuan investment, you chose to divorce me… and even let him bring the divorce papers to humiliate me?”

Qiao Wanyan avoided his gaze and said calmly, “I can only say that you and I are from two different worlds. Don’t force me to say things that will hurt you. It’s meaningless.”

Lin Fan’s eyes instantly turned red.

He tilted his head back, trying to stop the tears from falling.

Were there still words more hurtful than this that she hadn’t said?

These three years of affection had always been the knot he couldn’t untie.

He gave up arguing. He only wanted the final answer in his heart.

“I just want to know… in your eyes, is money really more important than feelings?”

Qiao Wanyan touched the watch on her wrist—worth 500,000 yuan—then glanced at his sportswear that cost less than 200 yuan.

Her expression turned disappointed, as if she hated his lack of ambition, “The lives we pursue run on completely different tracks.”

“What I want is the halo of someone at the top, dignity, and the respect of others.”

“But you… all you ever ask is what I like to eat, tell me to wear more clothes, not to stay up late, and to be careful when I go out.”

“In your narrow world, you think you can survive without status or identity.”

“And you’ve always stayed in that small clinic, never daring to step into society and interact with people.”

She looked at him coldly, “Don’t you think this kind of stagnant ‘affection’ is laughable?”

Narrow… evasive… unambitious… merely surviving… laughable.

Each word struck like a blade.

Lin Fan let out a self-mocking laugh, “Yes. All of that… is my laughable affection.”

“I only know to help you when you’re in trouble, comfort you when you cry, take care of the daily needs of this home, worry about your food, clothing, and safety… and make sure that when you come back, you see me and feel at ease. That’s my most laughable affection.”

He paused, his voice turning firm, “But I must tell you one thing—money can be earned again if it’s gone. But once feelings are gone, even 100 horses can’t bring them back.”

Qiao Wanyan’s cold eyes showed not a trace of guilt.

She lifted her chin slightly and said, “What’s the point of saying this now? Can we go back?”

“I asked you to come work at the company more than ten times, and you refused every time.”

“The gap between our social standings grows wider every day. It’s an insurmountable chasm.”

“What I want, you can’t give. But I, at the very least, can give you more money than you could ever spend.”

She looked at him steadily, “Don’t you think I’ve already been generous enough to you?”

Lin Fan laughed in despair.

From beginning to end, Qiao Wanyan had never cherished his feelings.

To her, money was still everything.

He asked his final question, “The real reason we can’t go back… is He Junhui, right?”

Qiao Wanyan’s expression shifted slightly.

Recently, He Junhui had helped her secure the Dingyuan Chamber of Commerce’s investment. They had been close, and rumors had spread everywhere. She hadn’t expected Lin Fan to hear about it.

But now that things had come to this point, any explanation seemed meaningless.

“It could be him, or it could be someone else. If you had even one-tenth of what he has, would we still need to divorce?”

“Haha…”

Three years of silent devotion… and he could be replaced so easily, not even worth a tenth of another man.

The light in Lin Fan’s eyes dimmed.

The last fragile thread holding their relationship together finally snapped.

He smiled faintly, without a trace of regret, “I understand. Then let’s part on good terms. I had thought tomorrow—our wedding anniversary—I could give you a surprise. Seems that won’t be necessary.”

With that, he picked up the pen and signed the divorce agreement.

“I, Lin Fan, accept the divorce unconditionally. As for everything else, there’s no need. I wish you happiness.”

After finishing, he turned and walked out of the reception room, calm and resolute.

Qiao Wanyan stared at the open door.

For a moment, her heart felt strangely empty.

Her eyes reddened slightly.

It was as if something she could neither see nor grasp had quietly slipped away in that instant…