Reborn in the 80s: Divorced and Spoiled by the Military Man - Chapter 156

Chapter 156: We’ll Only Step In This Once

Lu Zhixing hesitated.

Zhou Xinyue had indeed been behaving well lately. She doted on Xiaowei, and whenever she came home from work, she brought the child little treats, as if she had never been the one who abused him.

Sometimes, even he couldn’t help wondering if there had been some misunderstanding about the abuse.

But the moment he thought of Xie Yunshu’s words, his heart hardened again. A few days ago, he had met with Li Shenggen and received their promise that they would definitely get Yunshu to remarry him. Because of that, hope had sparked in him once more.

He knew Xie Yunshu valued her family, so she would surely listen to them. Before, it was because of Zhou Xinyue that he had upset her and made her determined to divorce him. This time, he had to draw a clear line between himself and Zhou Xinyue.

During this period, he had paid off his debts bit by bit, and he had also taken an advance of five hundred yuan from the Hospital Director to give to Zhou Xinyue. He had decided to use money to repay the Zhou Family’s kindness. When he and Yunshu remarried, he would give her a grand wedding all over again. When they married a year ago, Cheng Yuxiang had objected, so everything had been kept simple. Thinking back on it now, he felt he had wronged her.

He would put everything back on its original track. Zhou Xinyue was only an accident. Yunshu would still be his wife. He knew Yunshu cared a great deal about Xiaowei, so he decided to keep Xiaowei and raise him himself. That way, he could tell Yunshu that from beginning to end, the one he pitied and cared about was the child, not Zhou Xinyue!

Didn’t Zhou Xinyue always use the child to make him pity her and waver? Fine, then he would bring the child back. From now on, he would completely cut ties with Zhou Xinyue! If Yunshu was willing, he could have Xiaowei call her Mom. If she was unwilling, he would send the child to the Lu Family Old Residence for his parents to raise. He and Yunshu would have children of their own.

Zhou Xinyue was still looking at him with tears in her eyes, but the hand holding Xiaowei’s was digging into him with a death grip. She crouched down like a mother about to lose her child, hugged Xiaowei, and sobbed softly. “Sweetheart, you’ll have a new mother in the future. Stay with me for a few more days, all right?”

During this period, she truly had not hit Xiaowei. She had even brought him treats. But the fear she had once carved into him had sunk deep into his bones. His arm hurt from her pinching, yet Xiaowei did not dare make a sound.

He did not want to be with Zhou Xinyue.

Zhou Xinyue held him and whispered in his ear, “Be good and do as you’re told. When you come back, go find Xie Yunshu and make her your mother. If you don’t listen, you’ll have to be my child for the rest of your life.”

After all, he was only five years old, and Zhou Xinyue had abused him for so long. Both mentally and physically, he did not dare resist her words. He could only say in terror, “I’ll listen.”

His back was to Lu Zhixing, and his entire body was trembling with fear, but Lu Zhixing only thought he was just as reluctant to part with Zhou Xinyue. Yet if he did not keep Xiaowei, Zhou Xinyue would keep bringing Xiaowei to find him from time to time, and then he still would not be able to turn a blind eye to poor Xiaowei.

Letting Xiaowei stay was the best solution. It would ensure that Zhou Xinyue could never lay a hand on Xiaowei again, and it would also make Xiaowei the catalyst for his relationship with Yunshu.

Li Shenggen’s family of three had been locked up, but Li Fenlan knew nothing about it.

The canteen was busy every day. Li Fenlan was in charge of collecting the money, and the job gave her an immense sense of accomplishment and interest. In the past, when they returned home, the person who sat on the bed counting money had been Xie Yunshu. Now, that person had become Li Fenlan.

By the time she came back from the canteen that evening, it was already past eight. At this hour, Mingcheng and Yunshu were still not out of school. With light steps, she parted ways with Auntie Zhao, slung her bag over her arm, and went upstairs. But at the door, she saw her younger sister.

“Taohong? It’s so late. What are you doing here?” Li Fenlan glanced behind her, a little puzzled. “You came by yourself?”

Li Taohong had been waiting outside for a long time. The moment she saw her eldest sister, she quickly straightened up. On her timid face, which bore some resemblance to Li Fenlan’s, there was a hint of hesitation. “Eldest Sister, I need to talk to you about something.”

In truth, Li Taohong had it much easier than Li Fenlan. Her parents-in-law were both still alive, and they did everything they could to help their son’s family. Although Zhao Baoliang had come down with that illness and could only work as a gatekeeper, his wages and benefits were still decent. At home, they only had Fangfang, one little girl, so there wasn’t much burden.

And though Li Taohong herself didn’t have a formal job, her parents-in-law had pulled some strings and found her work sweeping the streets for the neighborhood office. She could earn more than twenty yuan a month from it. Perhaps the only downside was that, just like Li Fenlan, Li Taohong was completely under her maiden family’s thumb. On top of that, she hadn’t given birth to a son, so compared to her eldest sister Li Fenlan, she was even more obedient to her family back home.

Last time, after Xie Yunshu had a huge fight with her maternal family, Li Taohong had been anxious for a long while. But when she thought of her own parents, she had gritted her teeth and not gone back in the end.

But today, Li Dayong’s wife, Yingzi, had brought Xiaoshuang to her door. The moment she arrived, she knelt down and begged Li Taohong to help.

The money they had made from contracting the canteen these past two days was an amount Li Fenlan would never even have dared imagine. She was in an excellent mood, so she hurriedly let Li Taohong in, her tone carrying a smile. “What could be so urgent that you had to come find me this late at night?”

Li Taohong thought of Yingzi’s words. “Second Sister, I don’t dare go beg Eldest Sister about this. You know Yunshu’s temper. Now you’re the only one who can help me! Last time, they were in the wrong, but they’re still your own parents! Now there are only the three of us at home, a widow and orphans. How are we supposed to live?”

Li Dayong and the others had gone to the place where Yunshu had contracted the canteen to cause trouble, and that was why they had been locked up. How was she supposed to open her mouth and ask her eldest sister to speak up for their parents?

Seeing her younger sister fall silent, Li Fenlan’s smile faded, and she grew worried. “Taohong, did something happen at your home?”

Li Taohong shook her head, then gritted her teeth and asked, “Sis, Yunshu isn’t home?”

Li Fenlan frowned. “You’re looking for Yunshu? She went to night school. She should be back soon at this hour.”

Li Taohong sounded her out. “Eldest Sister, has Yunshu said anything to you these past two days about Dad and Mom? After the way things blew up last time…”

“You know Yunshu’s temper. Once she makes up her mind, not even ten oxen could drag her back.” Li Fenlan didn’t think much of it. She had been in a good mood lately and hadn’t wanted to think about that mess with her maiden family. She even tried to advise her sister. “Anyway, they have their good son and good grandsons. From now on, let’s not go back anymore either. Living our own lives well is better than anything.”

Li Taohong had never expected that after not seeing her for a month, her eldest sister would have changed so much. She truly wasn’t going to concern herself with their parents anymore. But Yingzi had come to beg her. Could she really just ignore it?

Seeing the conflicted look on Li Taohong’s face, Li Fenlan found it even stranger. “Taohong, what on earth happened? Does this have something to do with Dad and Mom?”

Li Taohong took a deep breath. In the end, she gritted her teeth and said, “Eldest Sister, Dad and Mom went to Yunshu’s Construction Site to cause trouble, and now they’ve been arrested. Say something to Yunshu. Ask her to help plead for leniency and get them released! They did wrong, but they’re still our own parents. We can’t just ignore them…”

Who knew how many people would point at the two sisters’ backs and call them unfilial after this?

“Eldest Sister, we’ll just help this once. After this, we won’t get involved anymore!” As Li Taohong spoke, she clenched her teeth again, as if warning herself. “We really won’t get involved anymore after this.”

Li Fenlan’s expression froze. She stared at her younger sister in disbelief. “What did you say?”