Still, he proved to be an excellent listener, offering a comforting word here and there to the beautiful woman before him, keeping the atmosphere from growing awkward.

By the end of lunch, Lin Shen had a pretty clear picture of the whole story behind Shen Yun’s divorce.

In short:

Back when Shen Yun and her ex-husband, Zhou Cheng, were building their business from scratch in Modu, she was the one who won over clients. With her eloquence, social grace, and striking beauty, she easily earned the goodwill of many a sleazy, middle-aged businessman.

As a result, she handled all the client-facing work and schmoozing, while Zhou Cheng managed things internally, taking care of logistics and the finances.

But over time, this arrangement started to cause friction.

Zhou Cheng became uncomfortable with Shen Yun dining out with other men, and he grew resentful and suspicious.

But she felt deeply wronged. She was already keeping things as professional as possible, yet he still doubted her.

So, Shen Yun suggested they switch roles: Zhou Cheng would handle the networking and client acquisition, while she managed the back-end operations and finances.

And what was the result? Her ex-husband made a complete mess of everything!

His lack of tact even offended many of their long-standing partners, nearly driving the entire company into the ground!

And so, they switched back to their original roles, and things stayed that way.

From that point on, Shen Yun’s food processing business flourished, quickly growing to a massive scale.

She thought things would continue on that smooth, stable trajectory...

But who would have guessed that Zhou Cheng had been harboring ill intentions all along.

Just then, as luck would have it, Shen Yun’s younger sister, Shen Yuanyuan, returned from abroad to help out, handling various odds and ends for the business.

This meant she and Zhou Cheng were often in private contact. Coupled with Shen Yun frequently being away on business trips, the affection between the husband and wife slowly faded.

As a result, her ex-husband, Zhou Cheng, and Shen Yuanyuan gradually started an affair.

If Shen Yun hadn’t discovered discrepancies while checking the books one day—and that large sums of money had been transferred to Shen Yuanyuan—she would have never imagined that her own sister was sleeping with her husband!

Though she was dizzy with rage, Shen Yun’s years of experience navigating the cutthroat business world helped her to quickly calm down.

’First things first, you don’t air your dirty laundry in public.’

So, while carrying on with her business dealings as usual, Shen Yun secretly gathered evidence of Zhou Cheng’s affair. Then, on their wedding anniversary, she caught him and Shen Yuanyuan red-handed as they were checking into a hotel room.

In the end, Shen Yun got custody of their child, and Zhou Cheng was thrown out with nothing.

And she hadn’t been back to her hometown since.

"It’s all pretty laughable, isn’t it?"

Shen Yun gave a self-deprecating laugh, but Lin Shen shook his head earnestly and spoke in a soft, consoling voice.

"You’re the victim here. I don’t find it laughable in the slightest. In fact, my heart goes out to you."

"I can only imagine how difficult it must have been, negotiating business deals. On one hand, you had to endure the flirtatious and sleazy comments from those middle-aged men, and on the other, you had to keep a smile on your face while maintaining the perfect social distance."

"Too distant, and you seem aloof, which hurts the deal. Too close, and you look unfaithful to your husband. That must have been the hardest part to balance."

"Exactly!"

Lin Shen’s words struck the most vulnerable chord in Shen Yun’s heart, and she began to vent, her voice filled with indignation.

"Because of that, my ex-husband was always giving me the cold shoulder, acting as if I was the one who had betrayed him!"

"He never stopped to think about how much I sacrificed for our family! And in the end, he was the one who betrayed me!"

"That’s why I said you were the victim."

Lin Shen steered the conversation away from the heavy topic with a gentle smile.

"What’s past is past. A much better life is waiting for you. I’m sure you’ve moved on from that dark Chapter by now, right?"

"Yes..."

Shen Yun murmured, her captivating eyes fixed intently on Lin Shen’s handsome face.

Her heart began to race, and a deeply alluring smile graced her lips.

"It seems there are indeed better things waiting for me..."