Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Su Tang Apologizes

Everyone froze the moment she said it.

Time seemed to stand still as all eyes turned to Zhang Cui.

She didn’t look at Wang, or anyone else. Tear tracks stained her face, and her eyes were red and swollen.

Zhang Cui raised a hand and wiped fiercely at the tears on her face.

The gesture carried a fierce resolve, as if she had nothing left to lose.

“Wang Jianfeng.”

Zhang Cui didn’t call him Wang, nor did she call him her husband. Instead, she used his full name, addressing him so formally for the first time.

“I’ve choked down this half-cooked meal of a marriage for twelve years.”

She gave a cold laugh, patting Su Tang’s hand reassuringly before turning her gaze to Wang Jianfeng.

Everyone in the camp knew that her marriage to Wang was an arranged one, and they also knew that Wang treated her with only superficial politeness.

But what could be done? Zhang Cui and Wang had been betrothed as children.

They came from the same village and were engaged when they were very young. As soon as they came of age, their families arranged for them to be married.

If Wang was unwilling, why didn’t he say so sooner? Why did he have to go through with the marriage just to make Zhang Cui’s life miserable?

Especially after coming to the Northwest, he found Zhang Cui coarse and unbearable, and grew even more dissatisfied with their marriage.

Compared to Zheng Jinxin, or the other beautiful young women in the camp, Zhang Cui, who was only in her thirties, looked as if she were in her forties or fifties.

He looked down on Zhang Cui, yet he shamelessly enjoyed the care she gave him.

He didn’t love her, yet he could have children with her.

This attitude of wanting to have his cake and eat it too was what Su Tang found most unfair to Zhang Cui.

Listening to Zhang Cui’s speech, everyone was a little moved.

In truth, many marriages were arranged during that era. Most people just lived their lives that way and got through it.

Even if someone had other feelings, they wouldn’t be as blatant and undisguised about it as Wang was.

If he truly didn’t have those kinds of thoughts, why did he fly into a humiliated rage the moment Su Tang pointed it out?

“What did you say? Zhang Cui, what did you just say?”

Wang Jianfeng clearly hadn’t expected Zhang Cui to bring up divorce.

When he finally processed it, he immediately pointed a finger in Zhang Cui’s face and began to curse.

Lu Xiao stood up and blocked Wang Jianfeng’s hand.

“She said she wants a divorce. Didn’t you hear her clearly?”

Only after Lu Xiao repeated the words did Wang Jianfeng seem to snap out of his stupor, stumbling back two steps.

“A d-divorce…”

“Zhang Cui, you want to divorce me? Mai Sui is still so young, and you’re saying you want a divorce?”

He tried to use their child to bring Zhang Cui to her senses, his voice laced with disbelief.

The last trace of hesitation in Zhang Cui’s eyes was extinguished the moment Wang Jianfeng brought up their child as a bargaining chip again.

She tugged at the corners of her mouth, revealing a smile that was uglier than tears.

“Wang Jianfeng, you have the gall to bring up Mai Sui?”

“In all your years as a father, what have you given her besides your last name? Was it you, constantly complaining that her mother and I are too rustic and unpresentable? Or was it you, flirting with women everywhere, setting such a great example for Mai Sui?”

“What nonsense are you spouting!”

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Wang Jianfeng’s face turned livid, and the finger he pointed at Zhang Cui was trembling.

“I… I was just socializing normally! When did I ever flirt with other women? Stop with your baseless accusations!”

“Baseless accusations?”

Zhang Cui took a step forward, no longer shrinking away, and met Wang Jianfeng’s eyes directly.

“Wang Jianfeng, search your conscience! If Tang hadn’t exposed you today, would you still think your act was flawless? Did you really think I, Zhang Cui, was supposed to play deaf and dumb for the rest of my life, waiting on you hand and foot while watching you chase after other women?”

“People have hearts of flesh and blood, Wang Jianfeng, but you… you’re a black-hearted bastard!”

She took a deep breath, her tone resolute. “This divorce is happening! Mai Sui is better off with me, a hundred times better than with a father like you!”

“Don’t even think about it!”

’A divorce? If word of this gets out, where will I, Wang Jianfeng, hide my face?’

’What will happen to my position as Logistics Chief?’

He whipped his head toward Su Tang, his eyes full of venom. “This is all your fault! Su Tang! You meddling homewrecker! If you hadn’t stuck your nose where it doesn’t belong…”

“Wang Jianfeng.”

Lu Xiao’s voice wasn’t loud, but it instantly silenced Wang Jianfeng’s shouting.

At some point, he had moved to stand completely in front of Su Tang, his tall frame radiating an invisible pressure.

“Watch your tongue. If you speak insolently to my wife again, you’ll face the consequences.”

Wang Jianfeng shivered under Lu Xiao’s icy gaze. The rest of his words caught in his throat, and the suppressed outburst made his chest ache.

He didn’t dare provoke Lu Xiao, so he could only turn his vitriol back on Zhang Cui, his words dripping with threats.

“Zhang Cui, where will you go without me? Back to that mountain ditch you came from? Are you going to be a disgrace to your parents? I’m telling you, if we divorce, you won’t get a single penny from me! And don’t even think about taking Mai Sui!”

He thought this would frighten her into backing down.

But Zhang Cui just watched him quietly, her gaze like she was looking at a stranger, or watching a clumsy performance.

After so many years with Wang Jianfeng, this was the first time Zhang Cui realized just how despicable the man in front of her truly was.

“Money? Wang Jianfeng, in all these years, how much money have you ever brought home? You know damn well who you’ve been spending it on, don’t you?”

Zhang Cui’s voice was unusually calm, tinged with exhaustion.

“As for Mai Sui, I will never give her to you. A disgrace? Hah. Continuing to live with you, *that* would be the real disgrace! A disgrace to all my ancestors!”

After speaking, she didn’t spare Wang Jianfeng another glance. Instead, she took Su Tang’s hand, her voice a little lighter. “Tang, come on. Go with me to ask how one writes a divorce petition.”

“Okay,” Su Tang replied immediately, gripping Zhang Cui’s cold hand tightly in her own.

The two of them turned and left without another word.

Wang Jianfeng was completely dumbfounded. He stood rooted to the spot like a wooden post, watching as Zhang Cui walked away without a single look back.

A fear that slowly welled up inside him began to consume Wang Jianfeng.

’I should rush over and stop her. I should use crueler words to save what little face I have left…’

“Chief Wang.”

Lu Xiao reached out and pressed down on Wang Jianfeng’s shoulder, preventing him from giving chase.

Wang Jianfeng couldn’t move, but his fists were clenched tight.

After Su Tang and Zhang Cui walked out, Su Tang looked at Zhang Cui, hesitating to speak.

“Tang, if you have something to say, just say it. You know I’m an impatient person.”

Only now did Zhang Cui resemble the person Su Tang knew—that fiery, decisive woman.

Su Tang let go of Sister-in-law Zhang Cui’s hand and, bowing deeply, offered a solemn apology.

“I’m sorry, Sister-in-law. This is all my fault. If I hadn’t gone to find Wang Jianfeng, you and…”

Before she could finish, Zhang Cui cut her off.

“Tang, you shouldn’t be apologizing to me. I should be thanking you.”

Zhang Cui took a deep breath, looked up at the sun in the sky, and said slowly, “’I used to always think, so what if he doesn’t like me? Aren’t all married couples just partners getting through life together?’”

“’Besides, Mai Sui is still little. We can’t let her grow up without a father, you know?’”

As she said this, even Zhang Cui herself found it laughable.

Her constant compromises and tolerance were seen as nothing but weakness in Wang Jianfeng’s eyes.

’I was so incredibly foolish,’ Zhang Cui thought.

“Sister-in-law, no matter what, I was the one who started this. I… I’m truly sorry.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep