Chi Yin held the spatula, scooped up the corn cakes, and placed them into a coarse pottery plate.
Glancing up, she saw Wei Chengan standing at the doorway and smiled, saying, "Wash your hands and come eat."
Wei Chengan nodded slightly. By the time he returned from washing his hands, she had already set the stir-fried shredded potatoes and the corn cakes on the table.
The corn cakes were fried until crispy and charred, and the shredded potatoes were long, uniform, and glistening with oil, looking quite appetizing.
Xixi couldn't wait any longer; she grabbed a corn cake and bit into it, saying indistinctly, "Mom’s cooking is the best."
Wanwan gave her a sidelong glance and said, "Even if Mom’s cooking is delicious, you’re still a picky eater. Look at how thin you are, like a little kitten. You’re not even as good at fighting as I am."
Xixi pouted. "I’m not! I eat a lot every day."
Wanwan made a face at her. "You are too, you are!"
Chi Yin put on a stern face to lecture them. "No talking while eating."
"Okay," the two children chirped in response.
Chi Yin took a bite of her corn cake. Although it was soft and chewy, it had a sour, astringent tang, and she felt the texture was still lacking.
She raised her eyes to look at the three people beside her, all of whom seemed to be eating with great satisfaction.
Chi Yin gazed out at the darkening sky outside the window and spoke to Wei Chengan, "Uncle, can you help me with something?"
Wei Chengan looked up at her. "Go ahead."
"I’m going to print out an agreement in a while, and then I’m going to my parents' place to pick up some spare clothes. If things go quickly, I'll be back in an hour; if not, by eight o'clock tonight at the latest. I won't delay your return to the village."
"I’m not going back to the village. I’ll be staying here from now on."
Chi Yin nodded. It made sense; the county town wasn't far from Xiangshui Village, but back-and-forth travel was troublesome regardless.
Wei Chengan asked, "Is there anything this house is missing? Or is there any heavy lifting you need done?"
Chi Yin glanced at Wei Chengan's rock-hard arms and answered truthfully, "The empty lot in the backyard. If you have time, please pull the weeds, use a hoe to turn the soil, and loosen it. I'll buy some vegetable seeds later to scatter in it, so we can save money on groceries."
Wei Chengan nodded upon hearing this.
After dinner, Chi Yin washed the dishes, shook the water droplets from her hands, and took off her apron, hanging it on a nail on the kitchen wall.
Seeing that it was five o'clock, she didn't dare delay and went to the photo studio to print out three copies of a divorce agreement.
Just as she turned into the alley of the Chi Family, she saw Wei Chengliang craning his neck, peering into the Chi Family courtyard.
Sure enough, a beast’s nose is always sharp.
The two were over ten meters apart when Wei Chengliang sensed Chi Yin’s presence and hurriedly turned back.
Yesterday evening, after Zhang Xiufen fainted from high blood pressure, Wei Chengliang had stayed by her side.
He had endured until the middle of the night, and only when he was too exhausted to stay awake did he return to his room to sleep, only to discover that his wife and children were gone.
He had assumed she must have taken the children to sleep at a neighbor's house, but they still hadn't returned by the next morning.
He then thought she must have taken the kids to her parents' house, and that they would return once she cooled off.
Seeing that it had turned dark and the mother and her two daughters still hadn't returned, Wei Chengliang had rushed to the county town in a panic to bring them back.
"Chi Yin!" Wei Chengliang greeted her excitedly, reaching out to grab her hand.
Chi Yin had anticipated that Wei Chengliang would be at the Chi Family home. She quickly stepped back and circled around him, stepping into the courtyard.
"Chi Yin, are you still holding a grudge against me?" Wei Chengliang’s outstretched hand met only air, and he looked at Chi Yin with deep, aggrieved affection.
Chi Yin had slapped his face yesterday and kicked him in the crotch—he had been in agony, yet he hadn't held that against her. A full day and night had passed, and still, Chi Yin refused to look at him.
This left Wei Chengliang feeling deeply frustrated.
That morning, Zhang Xiufen had told him that it was impossible for Chi Yin to have had an affair with his younger brother; his brother had joined the army just a few days after Chi Yin married into the Wei Family and hadn't returned for four years. Two people who never interacted couldn't possibly have fallen in love.
Chi Yin’s anger and the talk of divorce were, frankly, just her being blinded by groundless jealousy.
Zhang Xiufen had also said that women feared a man’s persistence more than anything; as long as a man was thick-skinned enough, there wasn't a woman he couldn't win over.
Chi Yin walked ahead, and Wei Chengliang chased after her. "Stop avoiding me. Where did you take the children last night? I was worried to death when I found you were gone. Hurry up and come home with me. If the people in the village find out you ran off with the kids, there's no telling what kind of gossip they’ll spread."
Wei Chengliang caught up and pulled at Chi Yin. Chi Yin forcefully shook off his hand, her gaze as cold as mid-winter ice. "Don't touch me!"
Seeing that Chi Yin remained immovable, Wei Chengliang couldn't help but feel a surge of impatience. He knit his brows in warning. "Chi Yin, I’ve tried to coax you, but you won't listen. If this goes on, you’ll even provoke a good-tempered man into an explosion, okay?"
Chi Yin took the divorce agreement out of her plastic bag, her tone calm as she said, "Dad, I can't live with Wei Chengliang anymore. I want a divorce."
She placed the agreement flat on the table. "This is the divorce agreement. I’ve already signed it. Xixi and Wanwan are the children I carried for ten months and gave birth to; apart from them, I don't want anything else."
This divorce agreement from Chi Yin was undoubtedly a bombshell dropped on Chi Qiang!
The profanities he had been brewing were stifled in his throat. He hurriedly grabbed the agreement, stared at the content on the paper, and rubbed his eyes hard in shock, doubting he had misread it.
Chi Yin was really divorcing?
She was actually willing to divorce??
Chi Qiang had thought the matter was over, but he hadn't expected her to put the agreement right there on the table.
The shock Wei Chengliang received upon seeing the agreement Chi Yin produced was no less than Chi Qiang’s.
He snatched the agreement from Chi Qiang’s hand, staring at the cold and ruthless words, his heart giving an unexpected, sharp tug of pain.
Knowing that Chi Yin was in a rage and wouldn't listen to his explanations, Wei Chengliang immediately shifted his target to Chi Yin’s parents. His face full of grievance, he accused, "Dad, Mom, my saving Chi Yan at the Mingsheng Textile Factory was done with a clear conscience; there was no selfish motive. To prove myself, I even applied yesterday to have Chi Yan transferred to another factory. Last night, Chi Yin was so angry she hit me and kicked me, and I didn't dare say a word of complaint, let alone fight back. Dad, Mom, I have been devoted to Chi Yin for these past four years."
Wei Chengliang turned to look at Chi Yin, a flash of pain in his eyes. "Chi Yin, have you considered how Xixi and Wanwan feel? They will lose their sense of security, they will fear being abandoned, and they will feel intense self-blame. Chi Yin, do you want the children to grow up into people-pleasers?"
Who among those present could remain unmoved by this textbook performance from Wei Chengliang?
Chi Zhenggang frowned, his tone reproachful but clearly biased toward Wei Chengliang. "Divorce is no child's play. For the sake of the children, you both need to think carefully and be certain."
Even Zhou Lanhua, who had supported Chi Yin’s divorce the day before, sighed involuntarily.
Chi Qiang, a man of the same stripe as his brother-in-law, seeing how Wei Chengliang’s every word was logical and sincere, was moved enough to pat him on the shoulder for comfort. "Brother-in-law, don't be too sad. Let me, as her brother, try to persuade her."
Then, Chi Qiang knit his brow and deliberately pulled a stern face to lecture Chi Yin. "Little sister, marital spats are always resolved in the bedroom; you absolutely must not be so muddled as to get a divorce! Xiaoliang has such a good job; you’ll never have to worry about food or drink for the rest of your life. Isn't it wonderful just being a stable housewife?"
Listening to Wei Chengliang’s impudent accusations, Chi Yin let out a cold, silent laugh.
What a master actor indeed; in just a few sentences, he had turned it around so that she was the selfish one wanting a divorce?
How could there be such a shameless person in this world!