Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Wang Jianfeng Threatens Suicide

Su Tang was ostensibly apologizing, but every word was a veiled jab at Zheng Jinxin.

“Did you think I couldn’t see what you were up to? I’ve seen it since day one.”

“Zheng Jinxin, I couldn’t be bothered with you before because I didn’t want to start trouble. But if you really think I’m a pushover, I’ll show you that you’re messing with steel.”

With that, Su Tang pushed past Zheng Jinxin and went inside.

Zheng Jinxin was speechless anyway, and Su Tang couldn’t be bothered to argue with her any further.

Only a stunned Zheng Jinxin was left at the hospital entrance.

She had been the one to start trouble with Su Tang, but in the end, she was the one who got a tongue-lashing.

It was an insult Zheng Jinxin simply couldn’t swallow.

Too bad Su Tang had no intention of dealing with her anymore.

She still had a mountain of work to do.

After having breakfast while holding Mai Sui, Zhang Cui cleaned Su Tang’s house from top to bottom.

Only then did she take the divorce application and prepare to head to Mr. Zhao’s office.

The sky was overcast today, looking like it might rain. Worried about delays, Zhang Cui walked quickly.

Just as she rounded the gate, she saw a crowd packed three-deep under the crooked old elm tree.

If you listened closely, you could hear a rising and falling chorus of discussion, all of it blaming Zhang Cui.

“Oh, what a sin…”

“One day as a couple means a hundred days of grace. How can Zhang Cui be so cruel?”

“Exactly! The child is so young. What will she do without a father?”

In the center of the crowd, Wang Jianfeng was playing the part of the most zealous actor on a stage.

His old four-pocket suit, the one he usually wore to keep up appearances, was now wrinkled and wide open. Its collar was yanked apart, revealing a yellowed undershirt beneath.

His hair was a mess like a bird’s nest, and his face was so streaked with tears and snot you could barely recognize him.

He held a glass bottle high, its mouth pointed toward his own. His arm trembled like a leaf, and his voice was a sharp, piercing wail that could have shattered the heavens.

“Cui’er! My Cui’er! Come back! Look at me! Without you, what’s the point of living?! I’ll drink it right now! Better to just die and be done with it!”

As he howled, he secretly watched for Zhang Cui out of the corner of his eye, a calculating glint in his gaze.

Wang Jianfeng knew Zhang Cui had to leave the house, so he had deliberately waited for her on this path she was sure to take.

A few of the older women from the family compound were half-heartedly trying to stop him, repeating the same few phrases over and over: “Chief Wang, you can’t! You mustn’t!”

“Cui’er is here! Cui’er! Say something, quick! Do you really want someone to die? What will happen to your child?”

“One day as a couple means a hundred days of grace!”

’Grace?’

That single word ignited the foul resentment Zhang Cui had held in for twelve years.

She pushed aside the people in front of her and rushed up to Wang Jianfeng in just a few steps.

“Wang Jianfeng!”

A corner of Zhang Cui’s mouth twisted into an icy smile. “Quite the performance, isn’t it? Who are you trying to scare with a bottle of pesticide?”

Before she had even finished speaking, her right hand viciously struck the wrist of the hand he was using to cover the bottle’s mouth.

Wang Jianfeng’s hand jerked violently and flew off the bottle’s opening.

The bottle, bearing a “Dichlorvos” label, was now open for all to see.

Zhang Cui lifted her chin, her eyes filled with contempt. “Drink! If you’ve got the guts, then down it right now! Don’t leave a single drop! If you really drink it and die, I, Zhang Cui, will wear mourning clothes for you and respect you as a man of your word! So drink!”

A dead silence fell over the crowd.

There was only the sound of Wang Jianfeng’s ragged breathing and the panicked, deathly pale look on his face.

His arm, holding the bottle, was frozen in mid-air. He couldn’t drink, and he couldn’t put it down. His trembling grew even more violent, like a leaf in a storm.

“Why aren’t you drinking? Didn’t you say you couldn’t live without me? Well, let me tell you, this divorce is happening.”

“Wang Jianfeng, I know exactly what you’re made of better than you do yourself. You’re a good-for-nothing! A coward! A complete bastard!”

These words from Zhang Cui made Wang Jianfeng’s face turn even paler.

“Zhang Cui! You…!”

Just then, a small, tender voice piped up.

“Sugar water! Uncle Wang is drinking sugar water! I just tasted it, it’s really sweet!”

Some unknown child’s words made the crowd erupt.

“Oh my god! Look, look! At the bottom of the bottle… there’s really a bee printed on it! It’s a honey jar!”

“Damn him! Using sugar water and pretending it’s pesticide? Who… who is this show for?!”

“Pah! He looks respectable but he’s just trash! What a piece of work!”

All eyes turned to Wang Jianfeng, filled with contempt.

Wang Jianfeng was so ashamed he wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

He thought Zhang Cui would soften for their daughter’s sake. He believed that if he just made a scene and acted pitiful, she would change her mind.

But he forgot that Zhang Cui had only been soft-hearted before because he was her man.

Now that she no longer considered him her man, why would she be soft-hearted?

Zhang Cui couldn’t even be bothered to glance at him again.

“Wang Jianfeng, just grant the divorce cleanly. A hundred years from now, I’ll still have Mai Sui’er smash a bowl at your grave to honor you as her father.”

“If you keep harassing me, we can take this to the bitter end, and we’ll be strangers until the day we die!”

Having said her piece, Zhang Cui held Mai Sui and walked away.

’I never thought saying what was on my mind could feel so liberating.’

’The word for “patience” is said to have a knife over the heart. That knife has finally fallen and severed all my cowardice.’

Wang Jianfeng watched Zhang Cui’s departing figure, then hung his head in utter defeat, like a stray dog that had lost its home.

When Su Tang came home from work that afternoon, she was a little stunned to hear what had happened.

“Sister-in-law, you really said that?”

“Is there any doubt? Sis, let me tell you, saying all that made me feel so much better.”

Zhang Cui fed Mai Sui a spoonful of rice porridge and said with a sigh, “Why did I only ever know how to swallow my anger and suffer in silence before?”

“Sister-in-law, since you’re so determined, I have some good news for you.”

Lu Xiao, who was beside them, glanced at Su Tang before speaking to Zhang Cui.

“What good news?”

Zhang Cui put down her chopsticks, her eyes filled with anticipation.

Lu Xiao took the opportunity to take Su Tang’s hand under the table and said slowly, “I spoke with the organization about having you help out in the cafeteria.”

“Didn’t Hu Jianjun just leave? Plus, two of the master cooks in the cafeteria are getting on in years and can’t work anymore.”

“They’re short-staffed and have reported it several times without finding anyone. So, you came to my mind.”

Lu Xiao had been thinking about this ever since Zhang Cui said she wanted a divorce yesterday.

However, he always followed the principle of not saying anything until it was a done deal.

After morning exercises today, Lu Xiao made a special trip to the logistics department about this matter.

“Re… Really? That’s wonderful, that’s just wonderful…”

Zhang Cui’s face was full of joy, but then she realized something and grew a little worried.

“But Wang Jianfeng is in logistics. I…”

’There’s no guarantee Wang Jianfeng won’t use this opportunity to make things difficult for me.’

Lu Xiao raised an eyebrow slightly, glancing at Su Tang out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing his smug look, Su Tang knew he hadn’t told them everything.

“Lu Xiao, if you don’t spit it out, you’re going to worry Sister-in-law to death.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep