"How are you eating like you haven't eaten in days!" After finishing the meal and coaxing Qingqing to sleep, Xia Yuhe brewed another bowl of hawthorn water for Sheng Xia.
"Hehe," Sheng Xia chuckled foolishly.
"Why are you scolding her? Our girl just loves my cooking!" Sheng Haifeng could never bear to see his daughter criticized and immediately jumped in to defend her.
"The two of you are the only real family here, aren't you!" Xia Yuhe rolled her eyes.
Before the birth, they had agreed that she would play the bad cop and her husband the good cop. But the moment he laid eyes on their sweet, soft little girl, he fell completely in love, willing to fetch the stars from the sky if she asked, leaving her with no choice but to play the bad cop all by herself.
"She's naturally family..." Sheng Haifeng muttered under his breath. Seeing Xia Yuhe glare at him, terrified that he would end up sleeping in the kitchen tonight, he quickly added, "And you're family too."
"Hmph!" Xia Yuhe couldn't be bothered to argue with him. She sat down beside Sheng Xia, took her hand, and asked gently, "Are you really done with Xiaojun?"
Now came the serious discussion, and Sheng Haifeng put away his joking expression, turning solemn.
Back then, they hadn't really approved of Xu Aijun, but Sheng Xia had set her heart on him, so they hadn't said anything further.
Over the years, both elderly parents could see that their youngest daughter hadn't lived as freely as she had in her parents' home, and their hearts ached for her.
Yet which married daughter could live exactly as she had before marriage? They could only watch in silence, making sure that whenever she came home, she was treated just as she had been before marrying.
They just hadn't expected that it would come to an end anyway.
"Yes!" Sheng Xia nodded, then recounted everything that had happened that afternoon.
"That bastard Xu Aijun! When he married you, he swore to high heaven that he would treat you well for the rest of his life. How many years has it been, and his heart has turned black with his philandering outside?
Why should we just let a divorce like this go? Tomorrow, your father and I will go to the school with you. If we don't make him lose his job and become too disgraced to ever show his face in public again, I'll spell my surname backward!"
As soon as Sheng Xia finished speaking, Xia Yuhe flew into a rage, brandishing a kitchen knife. If Xu Aijun had been standing in front of her right then, she probably would have hacked him to pieces.
"Alright, calm down and listen to our youngest daughter!" Terrified that Xia Yuhe might accidentally hurt herself, Sheng Haifeng hurried forward, took the knife away, and pulled her down to sit.
"Sheng Xia, whatever you want to do, your mom and dad will support you." Sheng Haifeng's words were simple yet resolute, just as they had been every time before, standing forever unconditionally behind their daughter.
"Mm." Sheng Xia's eyes stung once more, reminding her of her father's frail health before her rebirth, when he had to take handfuls of medicine every day, and her mother, who had suffered from dementia and lost all awareness.
It wasn't that she didn't understand that aging was inevitable, but while she could accept her own aging, her heart always ached at the sight of her parents growing old.
It was wonderful. She had seen her young parents once again, and this time she was determined to prevent them from suffering the same fate as in her previous life.
"He is Qingqing's father after all; I don't want to drive him to total ruin!" Of course, Sheng Xia couldn't tell them that she wanted to see what kind of mess Wang Chaoying and Xu Aijun would make of themselves once she was out of the picture, so she gave a reason they would find more acceptable.
And it wasn't entirely a cover; after all, even though her youngest daughter would face hair thinning in the future, she would become a scientist who contributed to the country.
Compared to a man who had been dead in her memories for over twenty years, ensuring her youngest daughter wouldn't be burdened by a father who couldn't pass a political background check was far more important.
"Tomorrow your father and I are going with you. And Qingqing's custody—we must get it for you!" Terrified that her daughter would get the short end of the stick, Xia Yuhe immediately spoke up.
They say you'd rather follow a beggar mother than an official father, and a stepmother brings a stepfather. Qingqing had been raised hand in hand by the two of them; they could never let her go to be raised by others.
"Don't worry, I've already talked it over with Xu Aijun." Sheng Xia reassured her parents that she wouldn't let herself be cheated.
With everything settled, and seeing that it was getting late, the family of three went to sleep.
Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast and temporarily leaving their granddaughter Qingqing with a neighbor to look after, the three of them rode their bicycles to the city's Civil Affairs Bureau.
When they arrived, Xu Aijun was already there. Wang Chaoying was notably absent, probably afraid of being seen and ruining her reputation.
In just a single night, Xu Aijun looked thoroughly haggard. Upon seeing Sheng Xia, he tried to say something: "Sheng Xia..."
"Here is the written agreement based on the terms we discussed yesterday. Take a look, and if there are no problems, sign it!" Sheng Xia couldn't be bothered with small talk and cut him off.
She still had four street-vending makeup tasks to complete today; she had no time to waste here.
"Okay!" Seeing that Sheng Xia had made up her mind, the last glimmer of hope in Xu Aijun's eyes was completely extinguished. He took the paper, didn't even look at it, and immediately signed his name.
There was no cooling-off period back then, and the two quickly received their divorce certificates.
"If you want to see Qingqing, call the village in advance, and I'll make arrangements. Come by yourself, and don't bring anyone else." At the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Sheng Xia put away her divorce certificate and turned to instruct Xu Aijun beside her.
Her divorce from Xu Aijun was an adult grievance and had nothing to do with the child; she wouldn't stop Xu Aijun from seeing his child.
However, it had to be Xu Aijun alone. She would never allow anyone else, especially Wang Chaoying, to see Qingqing.
"I know." Xu Aijun understood what she meant, nodded in agreement, and then looked into Sheng Xia's eyes. "I'm sorry. I know I hurt you. I won't remarry. I hope you can see my sincerity and give me another chance."
During all these years of marriage with Sheng Xia, he knew very well what kind of woman his wife was. He had agreed to the divorce not because he truly wanted to give up, but because he knew that continuing to pester her would only breed Sheng Xia's resentment.
Taking a step back to advance was the only way to preserve the remaining goodwill between them and leave himself a sliver of hope for survival.
He couldn't live without Sheng Xia; he believed that as long as she saw his determination, she would surely come back!
"Mom, Dad, let's go!" Unfortunately, the only response he received was Sheng Xia's unyielding, retreating back.
Give him a snowball's chance in hell! She wasn't him; she wasn't sick, and she had no interest in spending another lifetime beating someone with a bamboo stick.
"Mom, Dad, you go on ahead. I have something to take care of." Shortly after leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau, as they passed the State-run Restaurant, Sheng Xia got off her bicycle.
"What business could you possibly have? Are you going to report Xu Aijun?" Xia Yuhe still felt that letting Xu Aijun off so easily was letting him off the hook too cheaply. Hearing that Sheng Xia had matters to attend to, her eyes immediately filled with hope.
Sheng Xia didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "No, it's just some personal business of my own. I'll head back as soon as I'm done!"
"Alright!" Though disappointed, Xia Yuhe didn't press further. Her daughter was already a mother with her own ideas, and as parents, all they needed to do was offer support when needed.
Watching her parents ride away into the distance, Sheng Xia walked over to the small alley beside the State-run Restaurant. Making sure there was nobody around, she took out the makeup case she had placed in the system backpack the day before.
From the outside, it looked like an ordinary wooden box, about a meter high, half a meter square, with a handle on one side and small wheels at the bottom.