Chi Yin shoved Chi Qiang’s hand away with a forceful swipe and pushed through the crowd toward the courtyard.
Wei Chengliang finally snapped out of his daze and scrambled to follow. "Chi Yin! Are you serious about this divorce?"
Chi Yin stopped and met his gaze directly. A cold sneer played on her lips. "Do I look like someone who still loves you?"
She stared at him as if he were a heinous villain, which left Wei Chengliang secretly stunned.
Seeing Chi Yin walk away, Wei Chengliang stumbled after her with unsteady steps. "Chi Yin! You need to explain yourself right now! On what grounds are you divorcing me?"
"Xiaoliang!" Zhou Lanhua emerged from the courtyard gate and stepped between him and Chi Yin. She glared at him, her heart aching with frustration, and said through gritted teeth, "She wants a divorce—isn't that exactly what you brought upon yourself by having no sense of boundaries with Yan'er? If you hadn't been hugging and carrying on after saving her, I would be the first one to scold Chi Yin if she caused a scene!"
"Because of you, the entire Yanhe County is gossiping today about our poor upbringing. Where is Teacher Chi, a man who has been a teacher his whole life, supposed to hide his face?" Zhou Lanhua snorted coldly, grabbed Chi Yin, and turned around. "Let's go!"
Chi Qiang hurriedly tagged along. "Mom, Brother-in-law didn't mean anything by it. You really should talk Chi Yin out of this divorce..."
Without looking back, Zhou Lanhua threw a remark over her shoulder: "Take Yan'er and go live somewhere else. Don't come back home for the next few days."
Although Zhou Lanhua was a simple village woman who rarely spoke, her authority in the house was no less than that of the veteran teacher, Chi Zhenggang.
Chi Qiang understood perfectly: his mother was ordering him to get out with Chi Yan, and they weren't to set foot back inside until they had finished causing trouble.
Finally, things outside the Chi residence quieted down.
Chi Yin’s room was small. A single wooden bed sat against the window, covered by a neatly folded quilt full of patches. Beside the bed stood a chipped wooden nightstand.
She felt under the cabinet for the paper bills she had saved by scrimping and scraping. She picked out several five-jiao notes until she had five yuan, then stuffed the rest back under the cabinet.
Chi Yin tucked the money into her pocket, straightened her washed-out old shirt, and opened the door, only to see Zhou Lanhua waiting for her in the living room.
Zhou Lanhua’s gaze met hers. The dim, yellow light of the kerosene lamp made Zhou Lanhua look even more haggard than usual.
Chi Yin hesitated for a moment before asking, "Mom, I hit Yan'er and caused such a scene at the gate. Aren't you angry with me?"
Zhou Lanhua said softly, "You’ve been sensible since you were a child. Mom knows you wouldn’t make trouble for no reason."
In truth, Zhou Lanhua found her eldest daughter a bit hard to read lately. She used to think of her as honest and weak, constantly being stepped on by Chi Qiang and Chi Yan. But seeing her punch and berate people outside today, she felt the girl was actually brave and daring—playing the fool to catch the tiger.
"Mom." Chi Yin’s eyes grew hot. That single word carried all the boundless sorrow from the depths of her soul.
Zhou Lanhua couldn't hold back her own tears either. She wrapped her arms around Chi Yin. "Don't be afraid, Mom is here."
Zhou Lanhua stroked Chi Yin’s cheek. "If you want the divorce, then get it. Even though I’m getting on in years, I can certainly manage to help raise Xixi and Wanwan until they're ten."
Those few words caused Chi Yin’s tears to break through the dam.
When she was little, whenever Chi Yan cried, Chi Qiang would slap Chi Yin in the face without even asking why. Whenever Chi Zhenggang used his salary to buy white sugar or brown sugar, Chi Qiang would immediately hide it for Chi Yan to hoard and eat alone. Only Zhou Lanhua had noticed Chi Yin hiding in the corner, swallowing her saliva as she watched Chi Yan eat. She had been the one to pity and comfort her.
In her previous life, Chi Yin married Wei Chengliang right after high school and worked herself to the bone for his family, entirely forgetting her mother’s hardships.
The mother and daughter wept in each other's arms for a long while before Chi Yin’s emotions finally settled. "Xixi and Wanwan are still small; they shouldn't be exposed to these upsetting matters. Once I’ve finalized the divorce, if I truly need help with the children, I will come to you."
To put Zhou Lanhua’s mind at ease, Chi Yin even lied: "I have quite a bit of money saved. The kids and I won't go hungry out there."
Zhou Lanhua nodded and handed Chi Yin a flashlight she had prepared in advance.
However, Chi Qiang had sharp ears; as he entered the house, he vaguely caught the tail end of what Chi Yin had said.
Chi Qiang stepped in front of her. "Yin'er, you really shouldn't get a divorce! You've stayed in the village too long; you have no idea how hard it is to find a job these days! Wei Chengliang is good-looking and a supervisor at the Mingsheng Textile Factory—he’s a real catch!"
Chi Yin didn't say a word. She sidestepped Chi Qiang and headed out.
As she stepped out of the gate, the wind carried Chi Qiang’s voice: "Mom, it’s not that we don't want to go, it's just that I really don't have the money for a hostel, and Yan'er doesn't have any money either..."
A cold smirk tugged at the corners of Chi Yin's mouth.
She had long known that Chi Qiang and Chi Yan were people who couldn't hold onto money—one was a gambler, the other a spendthrift. Expecting them to move out of the house and make space for her and her twin daughters was a pipe dream.
She quickened her pace, grateful that she had learned to save money over the past two years, which finally gave her the ability to take her children away from this mess.
However, as she reached the mouth of the alley, she saw Wei Chengliang waiting.
Chi Yin didn't even lift her eyelids; she walked around him and headed straight toward Xiangshui Village.
Wei Chengliang hurriedly blocked her path. "Chi Yin, you must explain yourself today! I don't recall ever doing anything to wrong you. On what grounds are you demanding a divorce?!"
Seeing that Chi Yin wouldn't even acknowledge him, Wei Chengliang lost control, his voice suddenly rising. "Fine! You want a divorce? I don't agree! I want to see how you manage that! Chi Yin, let me tell you, I'm sticking with you. No matter what you think about me and Chi Yan, I will die before I let you divorce me!"
Wei Chengliang spread his arms to block her path, and Chi Yin finally stopped.
She looked up, her gaze like two daggers piercing straight into Wei Chengliang, her tone as cold as ice. "I am absolutely determined to get this divorce! You want to know why? Fine. The sight of you makes me sick. I’ve had someone else in my heart for a long time!"
Wei Chengliang hadn't taken in her earlier words, but he heard every syllable of that last sentence.
His heart skipped a beat. He stared at her, eyes wide with disbelief.
No wonder she was making such a fuss over this—it turned out she had some wild man in her heart...
Looking at Chi Yin’s resolute back and the cold, unfeeling look in her eyes, Wei Chengliang felt as if his heart were being pierced by thousands of needles.
Had he not been good to her?
Every time she fell ill, wasn't it he who bought her medicine?
Chi Qiang’s job was only secured because he had pulled every string he could; when Chi Qiang fought, caused trouble, or gambled, it was he who had swallowed his pride and apologized to the factory leaders to keep it quiet!
And all the matters of her family—big or small—hadn't he put his heart and soul into them?
And now, Chi Yin said she didn't love him, so she didn't? Was everything he had given over these years wasted?
The thought that she no longer loved him and had someone else made the needle-like pain in his chest drive him to madness.
Like a firecracker set alight, he lunged forward and grabbed her arm. "You are not going anywhere! Tell me who he is! How is he better than me? How could he possibly love you more than I do?!"
Chi Yin turned her head, saw the red-rimmed eyes of Wei Chengliang, and a mocking smile curled on her lips.
Wei Chengliang’s acting skills were wasted if he didn't win an Oscar!
In her previous life, after Wei Chengliang fed paraquat to their twin daughters, he had scooped one in each arm and sprinted out of the village, losing his shoes in the process, only to collapse on the ground and wail, even banging his head against the earth!
Watching that scene, anyone would have thought it was a tragic accident and would have been heartbroken for him.
Only Wei Chengliang knew that he hadn't felt a shred of pain—on the contrary, he had felt a secret, sinister glee!
Thinking of this, the anger in Chi Yin’s heart burned to its peak, and the hatred from her previous life surged forth.
She leaned in, staring straight into his eyes, and said, word by word, "Him? He is your brother, Wei Cheng-an."