Underground Divorce Agency

On the wall hung a faded world map, with several cities circled in thick red marker, like the strongholds of some secret operation. Below the map, a desk was piled high with files, and several old computers hummed. This was the “Underground Divorce Agency”, located in the deepest part of the city.

Old Wang, the agency’s only employee, was facing the screen, his fingers rapidly tapping on the keyboard, producing a patter like rain on banana leaves. Old Wang wore thick glasses, and behind the lenses were a pair of tired but strangely bright eyes, a kind of detachment after seeing through the world, mixed with a hint of imperceptible irony.

Here, there were no flowers, no blessings, only cold agreements and urgent signatures. Old Wang said that above-ground divorce was too slow, too cumbersome, requiring emotional entanglement and the expenditure of time and money. Underground divorce was direct and efficient, like the city's sewage pipes, quietly resolving those "troubles" on the surface.

Today, Old Wang welcomed a special couple – Xiao Li and Xiao Fang. They were dressed in bright sportswear, as if they had just come from the gym, their faces still flushed with health, but their eyes revealed an inexplicable confusion. Xiao Li said that they had been in love for ten years and married for five, but decided to end their marriage in a debate about "whether to put tomatoes or eggs first when stir-frying tomatoes and eggs".

"Are you sure?" Old Wang pushed up his glasses, his voice flat, without any emotion.

Xiao Li and Xiao Fang nodded, their movements uniform, like a pantomime they had rehearsed countless times. They signed their names on the agreement, without tears, without arguments, only the rustling sound of the pen tip scratching across the paper, subtle yet jarring.

Old Wang took the agreement, pressed the confirm button, and a bright red "Divorced" message popped up on the computer screen, like a glaring scar. The whole process took no more than ten minutes.

"Okay, I wish you well," Old Wang said formulaically.

Xiao Li and Xiao Fang got up, and they stopped at the door.

"Um," Xiao Fang suddenly said, "Can we... still go to dinner together?"

Xiao Li nodded, "That new barbecue place, we said we'd go to last time."

Old Wang watched their figures disappear into the dim corridor and sighed. He looked down at the newly effective divorce agreement on the table, which read: Reason for divorce – "Incompatible lifestyle habits".

Old Wang put his glasses back on and began sorting through the files of the next batch of clients. He knew that similar absurd dramas were being played out here every day. People divorced for all sorts of bizarre reasons, but continued their seemingly peaceful lives after the divorce. Like the gears of a city, constantly rotating, but with no idea of their purpose.

He picked up the teacup at the corner of the table and took a sip of the tea that had long gone cold, his eyes becoming deep and ironic again. The map on the wall seemed to have another red mark, another small marker that Old Wang had made for the city's absurdity. He chuckled softly, a laugh like a leaky old pipe, echoing, echoing... in the silent office.