Chapter 48: In Fact, He Had Regretted It Long Ago

Director Hu had a serious expression, yet unexpectedly, he did not stop the woman's accusations.

Clearly, tucked inside the book was one month's wages belonging to this man named Ding Zichuan. It should have been recently brought home, but for some reason, it had been tucked into a book and ended up being sold to a waste collection station.

But at this moment, Ding Zichuan held that very book in his hands.

However, his grip was tight, and his eyes were fixed intensely on the woman accusing him.

He seemed to want to do something, but he refrained.

Simply because this woman had already divorced him.

They both had their own respective families now.

This was what Sister Qiao, standing beside Lu Qiaoge, whispered to her.

Lu Qiaoge watched the accusing woman with bright, sparkling eyes.

She had arrived so timely—had she seen the notice posted at the main gate, guessed that Ding Zichuan had lost his money, and was just waiting for him to come and claim it?

The woman continued her accusation: "Because of those thirty-six yuan and eighty-nine cents, we divorced. When we discussed the reason during the divorce, you still insisted that I had taken all your wages, completely disregarding the survival of our family. You threw all kinds of filth on me. I lived with you for over ten years, and I never received a single ounce of kindness from you.

I remember many people believed you back then. Many people supported you, thinking you were the victim, saying you were right to divorce me—that if you married a woman like me, sooner or later I would funnel all the good things from the Ding family to my mother's house. Now I am asking you, Ding Zichuan, what good things does my mother's family have that belong to your Ding family?"

Wiping away her tears, the woman sneered, "It is true that you handed me every cent of your monthly wages, but every month-end, you would say to me, 'Where is the money? You spent it all. Where did you spend it?' In your mind, was it your belief that no matter how much you gave me, I was supposed to have a surplus left over for you at the end of the month?

In your mind, not spending a single cent was the only correct way. As long as you felt the amount was wrong, you would claim I gave the money to my mother. Do you know? Every time I thought of those words, I was so filled with hatred that I couldn't sleep. I truly do not regret leaving you for a single second.

The reason I came to find you today is that regarding those thirty-six yuan and eighty-nine cents, you must apologize to me face-to-face. You wronged me, and you must also apologize to my mother. Tell those people who supported and sympathized with you that my Wu family has nothing of yours, and my mother never took a single advantage from your family. You must also tell everyone that I, Wu Xiaoxia, have done nothing wrong to you. Otherwise, I..."

Lu Qiaoge couldn't help but give the woman a thumbs-up.

Getting a divorce was the right move; a narrow-minded man like that would have stifled her to death if she had spent her whole life with him.

However, Wu Xiaoxia clearly didn't know what to do next. She looked toward Director Hu, and in doing so, accidentally saw a very beautiful young girl giving her a thumbs-up and an encouraging smile.

This must be a new cadre at the neighborhood office; otherwise, she wouldn't be standing beside Deputy Director Huang.

Wu Xiaoxia mustered her courage once more and said to Director Hu, "Director Hu, if he cannot do the above, I will go to the police station to report him."

Ding Zichuan pointed at Wu Xiaoxia and barked angrily, "Don't push your luck! Finding proof that it wasn't you is enough. You want an apology? In your dreams!"

Director Hu rebuked him, "Ding Zichuan, what kind of talk is that? Because of this matter, you didn't just cause your family to break apart; you also made life miserable for the Wu family. Although a year has passed, the harm to the parties involved has not faded. I remember many people advised you to give Wu Xiaoxia some trust back then, but you still insisted on your version of events with such certainty. And what was the result?

There is one more thing. You also came to the neighborhood office back then and said in front of me that you personally handed the wages and food stamps to Wu Xiaoxia. But then, why are they inside this book?"

Ding Zichuan's expression shifted erratically, his brow furrowed deeply as if he were unwilling to recall the memory.

Wu Xiaoxia said, "I definitely didn't put them there. Besides, this book is his; he never lets me touch his books. As for who sold it to the waste station, I naturally wouldn't know after the divorce."

Ding Zichuan said indignantly, "Well, it wasn't me who put them in there, was it?"

Lu Qiaoge couldn't help but retort, "Why couldn't it be you?"

Ding Zichuan glared at Lu Qiaoge. "If I put them there, I would certainly remember."

"Is your memory that good?"

Ding Zichuan replied, "Of course it is. I'm not eighty years old yet."

Lu Qiaoge continued, "Then do you remember what happened on the day you got your wages back? For example, what year, month, day, and day of the week was it? What was the weather like? Who did you run into on the way home with the wages? What time did you get home? What was the first thing you did after arriving? Did anyone visit your house? Who arrived home first, you or Comrade Wu? And after you got home, did you touch this book?"

Ding Zichuan: "..."

A year had passed; how could he possibly remember?

Director Hu said sternly, "Didn't you say you have a good memory? Try to recall carefully. Why would these wages be tucked inside a book you usually read?"

Everyone was looking at Ding Zichuan.

Including Wu Xiaoxia, whose eyes were rimmed with red.

Suddenly, it felt as if Ding Zichuan's brain had exploded. His face turned pale; being prompted like this, he actually did remember.

At that time, a neighbor had knocked on the door while he was holding the wages. He was standing in front of the bookshelf, so he had simply stuffed them into a book on a whim...

He lowered his head in frustration, his trembling hands clutching the book as if he were holding a hot potato.

Life had not been good for him since the divorce.

Because Wu Xiaoxia had fought so hard for the divorce, and because the two families had been at each other's throats, he had agreed in a fit of anger. He hadn't even kept the two children; at the time, he thought that as long as he had a woman, she could bear him children, but that wasn't the case.

His current wife... she was a shrew, completely different from the gentle, kind, and resourceful Xiaoxia.

If he dared to raise a hand to her, she would dare to hack at him with a kitchen knife.

If he scolded her for being extravagant, she would use the foulest language in the world to call him incompetent, a failure, and even insult his entire family.

Not to mention being filial to parents; even if he gave his mother one yuan, she would run to his mother's house and cause a massive scene.

In truth, he had regretted it long ago.

Now, he regretted it even more.

But there is no medicine for regret in this world.

Suddenly, Ding Zichuan slammed the book hard onto the ground and roared through choked sobs with bloodshot eyes, "Who is so damn spiteful? If they saw it was money, wouldn't it be better to just keep it for themselves?"

Deputy Director Huang was even moved to laughter by his audacity. "Ding Zichuan, you are a comrade who has worked for many years. How can you say such things?"

Someone curled their lip, thinking: *Serves him right. If you hadn't come to claim it, this wouldn't have happened.*

Five minutes later, Ding Zichuan apologized to Wu Xiaoxia in public.

Wu Xiaoxia calmly thanked all the cadres of the neighborhood office.

She then left the office following a man who had been standing by the door. He had several scars on his face and looked quite unattractive, but he possessed a righteous and resolute temperament.

Lu Qiaoge saw the gentle smile Wu Xiaoxia directed at the man.

She also saw the man's silent yet protective gaze.

Sister Qiao lowered her voice and said to Ren Xiaocui, "That is the man Wu Xiaoxia remarried. I heard he's a retired soldier who was injured on the battlefield; he can't have children and was disfigured. Sigh..."

Ren Xiaocui also sighed, "When Ding Zichuan and Wu Xiaoxia first married, everyone said they were a match made in heaven. But the result..."

Sister Qiao smiled. "But she is living very well now!"

***

(End of Chapter)