Wang Yuanyuan came out of the doctor’s office, clutching the urine sample bottle tightly in her hand. After cautiously peeking around to make sure no one was watching, she slipped into the restroom.
Xiao Mandong stood at the corner of the corridor and watched her go in. Only then did she approach a nurse she knew.
“Xiao Li, I need a urine sample bottle.”
“Sure, Sister Xiao. Go ahead and take one yourself.” The young nurse asked no questions and continued with her work.
Xiao Mandong took a sample bottle and entered the restroom as well.
A few minutes later, Wang Yuanyuan submitted the sample at the testing window and hurried away.
Only then did Xiao Mandong step forward and hand the small bottle she was carrying to the colleague inside the window.
“That woman just now took the wrong bottle. This one is hers. Throw away the other sample.”
“Of course, Doctor Xiao.” The young man did not ask any questions. He simply tossed the sample that had been submitted earlier into the waste bucket.
Wang Yuanyuan ran out of the hospital in one breath, her heart still pounding.
She found a spot beside a wall and crouched down, burying her face in her knees as she gasped for air.
It’ll be fine. Everything will be fine.
She prayed silently. She didn’t even dare imagine what she would do if she really was pregnant.
She had been on the verge of losing her mind lately. Sun Wenbin had suddenly disappeared without even leaving an address. When she went to ask the company commander, he told her that Sun Wenbin had already completed the procedures to return to the city and would not be coming back.
The night before, they had still been whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ears. The next day, he had abandoned her and returned to the city alone. How could she possibly accept that?
Wang Yuanyuan had fallen seriously ill because of it. She had no idea what to do. That lecherous man had recently started loitering around the entrance to the village again, frightening her so badly that she had not dared leave the village for quite some time.
Worse still, ever since she had fallen ill, the sight of food made her nauseous, and she had also been unusually sleepy. A terrifying suspicion had begun to form in her mind.
Today, she had bundled herself up tightly and come to the hospital for an examination. For some inexplicable reason, she had even registered under Xiao Mandong’s name.
Worried that she might run into Xiao Mandong at the hospital, she had rushed to submit the sample to the laboratory and then fled. She planned to return two hours later to collect the results.
By then, Xiao Mandong had already returned to the internal medicine department. She wanted to check on Zhao Tiezhu’s condition. But just as she reached the door of his hospital room, she heard Cai Shufen shouting furiously.
“Zhao Tiezhu, what do you mean? You actually want to divorce me? Dream on!”
How could she possibly agree to a divorce? She would rather Zhao Tiezhu die and leave her a widow. That way, she could keep the brick house and inherit the family property. What would she get from a divorce?
A divorced woman was considered damaged goods. Her family still had younger siblings who had yet to marry, and there was no way they would let her return home. They would certainly find some widower and marry her off to him. How could she live like that?
She absolutely would not agree to the divorce. Never.
Zhao Tiezhu’s voice was calm, as though he were discussing something utterly ordinary.
“After I’m discharged, I’ll go to your parents’ home and make everything clear. You can take the child with you. If you don’t want the child, you can leave them here. But I’m determined to divorce you.”
Zhao Tiezhu kept his eyes closed. He did not want to look at that vicious woman for even one second longer.
Cai Shufen clenched her back teeth. “Zhao Tiezhu, is your daughter the only one in your heart? Don’t Huzi and I matter to you at all?”
Zhao Tiezhu said nothing more. He simply lay there. After a long while, Cai Shufen seemed to have figured something out.
Her voice softened, taking on a tearful edge.
“What happened today wasn’t entirely my fault either. If Xi Ran had just told me that the vegetable pancake was sent by Zhou Xiaomei, how could I possibly have hit her? I thought she was going astray. I really was trying to teach her a lesson. I raised Xi Ran myself—how could I not love her? Girls are going to marry someday, so of course I have to be stricter with her. Otherwise, she’ll suffer when she goes to her husband’s family. I meant well, but you’ve treated my kindness like the liver of a donkey.”
Cai Shufen had never imagined that Zhao Tiezhu could be so coldhearted—he was even willing to give up his own son.
Since force was useless, she could only try softness. Today’s incident had blown up far too badly, and deep down, she was somewhat afraid.
Zhao Tiezhu let out a cold laugh. “Cai Shufen, do you believe what you’re saying yourself? When Huzi stole eggs from the neighbors and got caught in their chicken coop, why didn’t you teach him a lesson? Because he’s your own flesh and blood, and you couldn’t bear to?”
“To tell you the truth, I’ve wanted to divorce you for a long time. I only endured because someone told me that the ones who would suffer if we divorced were the two children. I thought that even if you looked down on Xi Ran, at worst you’d simply ignore her. I never imagined you’d actually try to starve her to death.”
Zhao Tiezhu drew a deep breath, forcing the heaviness from his chest. “Your heart is too poisonous. Truly. I’m not willing to gamble my daughter’s life on whether you have a conscience.”
This time, he had truly made up his mind. He would not spend another day with this woman. He would raise his daughter on his own. If Cai Shufen wanted to take their son, he had no objection. If she didn’t want the child, he was his father, and he would raise him properly himself. Either way, he was determined to get a divorce.
Cai Shufen froze. She had never expected Zhao Tiezhu to be so ruthless that he would even give up his own son.
“Zhao Tiezhu, if I take the child with me, I’ll change his surname. The Zhao family’s bloodline will end with you. Aren’t you afraid your parents will crawl out of their graves and come looking for you, their unfilial son?”
Zhao Tiezhu’s calmness made Cai Shufen even more panicked. If they divorced and she took the child, what would she use to support him? But if she left him behind, how could she bear it? He was her own flesh and blood.
“Heh.” Zhao Tiezhu laughed mockingly. “Cai Shufen, you really think too highly of our family. I’m just a dirt-poor farmer—why would I care about carrying on the family line? Besides, my uncle has four sons, and every one of them has boys. Would it really matter if our family were missing one? You can take all the money we’ve saved over the years. As for the things I bought for the house, take whatever you want.”
With that, Zhao Tiezhu pulled the quilt over his head. He didn’t want to say another word to her.
Seeing that Zhao Tiezhu was impervious to both persuasion and threats, Cai Shufen could no longer suppress her fury. She tore the quilt off him like a madwoman, her voice shrill.
“Fine, you really are something, Zhao Tiezhu. If you want a divorce, that’s not impossible. First, you have to give me the house. My son and I have nowhere else to live. And then there’s that thousand yuan—you must give it to me. I’ll save it for my son’s schooling and wedding. You can take your daughter and get out.”
Zhao Tiezhu, who had kept his eyes closed the entire time, suddenly opened them. They were bloodshot.
“Cai Shufen, you’re the most shameless woman I’ve ever met. I finally understand why you were still unmarried at twenty-eight. With a woman like you, whoever married you would be cursed for eight lifetimes.”
“Let me make this clear: the house was left by Xi Ran’s mother. The village committee office has the proof of her contribution, along with the signatures of the villagers. I told you all of this before we got married. If you want the house, you can wait until your next life.”
“As for that thousand yuan, it’s the dowry and school money my wife left for my daughter. You have no right to it.”
Cai Shufen’s face flushed crimson. Her chest heaved violently with rage, and tears rolled down her cheeks despite herself.
