Su Limin was worried that someone might see it too, so he caused a huge scene at home before finally getting rid of the talisman paper.
The matter with the talisman paper was settled, but the medicinal soups continued every day. Then, one time, she could not hold it in after drinking the medicine and vomited it all up. Her mother-in-law slapped her twice, scolding her for being ungrateful and for wasting medicine that had cost so much money.
That was when she finally exploded. In the end, she forced Su Limin to come with her to the hospital for an examination behind his mother’s back. The results left Su Limin devastated. The doctor said there was something wrong with him and that he might never be able to have children. After that, Su Limin treated her much better.
She had already resigned herself to her fate. But unexpectedly, she and Zhang Chenghui got together—and after being with him for just over a month, she became pregnant.
Then, a few days ago, while Su Limin was working the night shift, he suddenly ran home. The moment he entered the room, he dragged her out of bed and began beating her mercilessly.
The assault left her dazed. She had no idea what was happening.
Then a stack of photographs was thrown into her face. When she saw them clearly, she realized they were pictures of her and Zhang Chenghui. Her head began to buzz, and she could no longer hear anything around her.
When she gradually regained consciousness, she heard her mother-in-law and Su Limin talking.
“The child cannot be kept,” his mother said. “If she gives birth, we’ll have to live with that humiliation for the rest of our lives.”
Su Limin said nothing.
His mother continued, “Make her get rid of the child. We can take one of Su Xue’s children and raise it as our own. If you promise to let her take over your job in the future, her mother will definitely agree.”
When she saw that Su Limin still remained silent, his mother grew anxious. “What are you hesitating for? If necessary, let your older brother handle it. Even if the child is born, it will still be a son of the Su family.”
Lying on the brick bed, Shao Tingting trembled from head to toe.
She was determined to keep the child. She wanted a divorce. Her attachment to this baby was something no one else could understand.
But she had never expected Su Limin to refuse the divorce no matter what. He said that if she insisted on divorcing him, she would have to hand her job over to Su Xue.
Otherwise, he would make sure to “take good care of her” during confinement and would definitely ensure that the child grew up safely.
Shao Tingting understood that he was speaking sarcastically. He was threatening her. Giving birth was a matter of life and death for a woman, and if he tried to sabotage things during labor, there would be no way for her to defend herself. Even if she managed to give birth safely, the child would certainly suffer if she remained in the Su family.
All she wanted now was to give birth to the child safely. Everything else could wait. So she agreed that as long as he consented to the divorce, she would give up her job—but he had to pay her three hundred yuan, because she needed money to live.
If he refused, she would fight him to the bitter end and expose his infertility, making sure everyone knew he was useless.
Su Limin flew into a rage when he heard her words and beat her again. In the end, however, he agreed to her terms.
They had just completed the divorce formalities and were now there to process the transfer of her job. She would receive the three hundred yuan only after the transfer was complete.
Nearby, Xiao Mandong almost laughed out loud when she heard Shao Tingting telling Section Chief Tang that she wanted to transfer her job. How could she be so naïve? She was only a temporary worker, had committed an offense involving an illicit relationship, and still expected to keep her job? Being fired was already lenient. If this had happened in 1983, she might even have been executed by firing squad.
“What did you say, Section Chief Tang? How can you fire me? What right do you have?” Shao Tingting’s shrill voice interrupted their conversation.
“Shao Tingting, you engaged in an illicit relationship, causing an extremely bad influence on the hospital. Your dismissal was decided by the hospital as a whole. It wasn’t my decision alone,” Tang Guanshan said.
Tang Guanshan had not expected Shao Tingting to have the nerve to show her face in public. Even a grown man like him had blushed when he saw those photographs. How could this woman still have the nerve to go out?
An older woman standing nearby curled her lip and muttered under her breath, “Transfer her job? Even regular job transfers have to be done secretly, let alone when it’s a temporary worker who’s committed an offense like this. What is she thinking?”
Su Limin had already been afraid to leave the house these past few days. He felt as though everyone was pointing at him and whispering behind his back. Even though no one was saying anything about him at that moment, his instincts told him that everyone was laughing at him. Now he had not even managed to secure the job.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He suddenly charged forward, raised his hand, and slapped Shao Tingting hard across the face.
She lost her balance and slammed into the corner of Tang Guanshan’s desk. She could not even cry out before cold sweat broke out across her body. Her abdomen hurt terribly, with a heavy, downward pressure. Clutching her stomach, she slowly crouched down and felt fluid flowing from her body.
“Call... call a doctor,” she managed to say.
The people nearby stood frozen for several seconds before finally reacting and running to get a doctor.
Before long, Shao Tingting was carried away.
Xiao Mandong looked at the small pool of blood on the floor. She could tell that the child probably would not survive.
Xiao Mandong withdrew her gaze. When she turned around, she found herself facing a pair of deep-set eyes.
Gu Jianghan was standing behind her. She had no idea when he had arrived.
“What brings you here?” Xiao Mandong asked calmly, though her heart had begun beating several times faster.
Gu Jianghan shrugged.
“Let’s go.”
Xiao Mandong paused. “Where?”
He pointed at his wristwatch. “Didn’t you say last time that you wanted to thank me for saving your life? Naturally, that means you’re buying me a meal.”
The familiar tone made Xiao Mandong smile.
“Fine. Let’s eat.”
Gu Jianghan nodded. After they had walked a few steps, he said, “Grandma wants to meet you. When are you free?”
Xiao Mandong thought for a moment. “Next week. I’m a little busy these next few days.”
She did not explain what she was busy with. The weather was getting colder, and she needed to deliver some meat, eggs, rice, and flour to her family. She also had to go to the black market to buy coal briquettes. As for Cui Lijuan, she needed to tell Xiaoli about her as well.
Only then did she remember that she needed to tell Gu Jianghan about it too, so he would not waste time looking for her.
She was just about to speak when Gu Jianghan spoke first.
“By the way, I found Xiaoli’s mother.”
Xiao Mandong stopped and looked up at him.
“You... found her? That quickly?”
She had not expected this man to work so efficiently. Her own encounter with Cui Lijuan had been pure coincidence, so she was curious about what exactly this man did for a living.
Gu Jianghan nodded. “Cui Lijuan is the wife of Tang Guanshan, the head of your hospital’s General Affairs Section. She works in the hospital cafeteria...”
In such a short time, he had managed to investigate her in such detail—even finding out exactly when she had gotten married. Xiao Mandong could not help admiring his abilities.
The two of them chatted as they walked and soon arrived at the state-run restaurant.
When Gu Jianghan pushed open the door, there were not many people inside. He was just about to walk toward the ordering window when Xiao Mandong reached out to stop him.
“You said I was treating you.”
Gu Jianghan did not argue. He found a seat beside the window and sat down.
Xiao Mandong went to the window and ordered two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. She even specifically reminded the server, “Don’t add scallions.”
She remembered that Gu Jianghan had not eaten scallions when he was little.
The food was served quickly. Xiao Mandong picked up her chopsticks and ate a few bites before she could not help looking at him.
He ate quietly. Every now and then, he would look up and meet her eyes, only to glance away again.
The two of them chatted intermittently. He was quite amusing and could always find a new topic to keep the conversation from going cold.
Xiao Mandong felt very comfortable whenever she was with him.
When they were almost finished eating, Gu Jianghan suddenly put down his chopsticks. His tone was unusually solemn.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
