On the day of the court session,
Luo Yingshu was dressed in a new outfit, looking clean, neat and presentable.
In contrast, Liu Xiaocheng was completely different from his usual image as a teacher. Even his acquaintances would be shocked if they saw him. In just a few days, he had fallen into a state like a tramp, looking dejected with dead - looking eyes.
Zhang Yu was pregnant and needed money for nutrition. His mother demanded good food every day and delusionally forced him to get the family house.
The three people in the family relied on his single salary to live, not to mention that there was a pregnant woman to support. It was simply impossible to make ends meet.
Liu Xiaocheng only then realized that with his meager salary, the eggs he used to have every day and the meat he could eat two or three times a month had become a luxury.
He looked at Luo Yingshu, with a haughty expression.
For a moment, he seemed to see her as she was before she married him. She was young, beautiful and from a well - off family. She was out of reach for others. People always said that he was really lucky to marry her.
Thinking of this, Liu Xiaocheng regretted it so much that he could hardly bear it.
After they walked out of the court,
Liu Xiaocheng couldn't help but take a step forward and call out to Luo Yingshu. Zhang Yu was waiting at the court gate. Seeing this, she quickly grabbed his sleeve. "Let's go home. I feel a bit nauseous after standing here for so long."
Liu Xiaocheng's body stiffened when he was grabbed. He turned to look at Zhang Yu, and a flash of disgust crossed his eyes, but finally he hid it.
"Let's go back."
...
On the day when Old Lady Liu was forced to move out, she kept shouting that "this is my son's house. Why should I move out?" But none of the people moving the things paid any attention to her. When she was thrown out together with her chair, the old lady finally became quiet.
Liu Xiaocheng and Zhang Yu secretly lived in the school dormitory for a few days.
Before long, he was fired by the school. With his reputation ruined, no school would hire a teacher like him. Liu Xiaocheng was forced to leave Ningcheng and went to teach in a small county below.
Liu Xiaocheng didn't even bother to fight for Xiaohu's custody. Most of the house and property belonged to Luo Yingshu. He had no money or house, and there was an unborn child to support. He could hardly support himself, let alone a child.
Li Chuchu thought that Luo Yingshu would move in with her parents. But unexpectedly, she moved back before long.
Luo Yingshu was dressed in brand - new clothes. Standing in the yard, she was directing the workers to carry new furniture inside. "Hurry up. Move this thing in. Be careful not to scratch it."
Most of the old furniture had been sold.
Everything was replaced with new ones.
Everyone was waiting to see Luo Yingshu's joke, but she didn't seem to care about anything.
When Luo Yingshu saw Li Chuchu, her eyes lit up. She quickly stepped forward, took Li Chuchu's arm and greeted warmly, "Hey, don't cook tonight. And Aunt Wang, could you please help me tell the neighbors next door? All of you come here for dinner. I've bought a lot of food. Let's have a lively gathering and get rid of the bad luck in the house."
Aunt Wang craned her neck and peeked into the house where the furniture hadn't been arranged properly. She advised, "Oh dear, you've just started to arrange things. You'll be busy, right? How about we forget it today? We'll help you tidy up the house."
Luo Yingshu said firmly, "No, it's today! I think that old lady is dirty. She lived in this house for so long and brought bad luck."
Other women would hide themselves away like nuns in a temple after divorce. But Luo Yingshu was not such a woman. Divorce was no big deal to her. She would even set off firecrackers to celebrate!
Just as the great man said,
Clean up the house before inviting guests!
Thinking of this, Luo Yingshu straightened her back. "Just come. I can handle it!"
Aunt Wang had known Luo Yingshu for many years and knew her character. Since she couldn't persuade her, she could only nod in agreement. "Okay, okay, okay. Just call me if you need any help. I'll come later to help you tidy up."
Li Chuchu had nothing to do, so she helped Luo Yingshu tidy up the house.
Luo Yingshu was sweeping the floor when she suddenly stopped quietly and stared at Li Chuchu's face.
Li Chuchu noticed her look and also stopped what she was doing. "What's wrong?"
Luo Yingshu pulled Li Chuchu to sit on a chair. She poured a cup of tea for her and then brought a plate of Chinese walnut cakes from the kitchen and put it on the table. Xiaohu beside them looked at the cakes greedily and reached out his hand to take one, but Luo Yingshu slapped his little hand away.
Luo Yingshu pushed the walnut cakes in front of Li Chuchu.
She said in a low voice, "The police station sent a message a few days ago, saying that there's news about my elder brother."
Li Chuchu was startled. Could it be...
Luo Yingshu said calmly, "It's the gang you caught. The police said that they were very stubborn at first. They didn't confess the whereabouts of those children for nearly half a month. Later, when they knew they were going to be executed, they all got scared. One of them confessed this information in order to get a suspended sentence. My elder brother was among the first batch they abducted."
Speaking of this,
Sadness filled Luo Yingshu's eyes.
"Now the police are looking for my elder brother's whereabouts according to the clues provided by the human traffickers. I don't know if they can find him."
Li Chuchu pursed her lips and patted her hand to comfort her. "Maybe. Since there's news, there's a glimmer of hope. Maybe it's fate that the separated relatives will meet."
Luo Yingshu pulled the corner of her mouth into a smile.
"Li Chuchu, I really owe all this to you."
"Whether it's the arrest of the human traffickers or the advice you gave me for this divorce and your support all the time, I'm grateful to you. If you can forgive... forgive my childish behavior before, I really want to be friends with you."
She said it sincerely,
Her eyes full of hesitation and self - doubt.
After going through all this, Luo Yingshu seemed to have changed a lot. The breakdown of her marriage actually made her character more complete.
Li Chuchu smiled. "I thought we already were."
She patted Luo Yingshu's shoulder boldly. "Don't worry. If I have any trouble in the future, I'll definitely come to you."
The atmosphere was instantly broken.
Luo Yingshu was stunned for a moment and then burst into laughter. "Hahaha, then just come to me! If I can't help, my parents can!"
Li Chuchu: ... I really have to compete with you people who rely on their parents.
But then she thought,
Ms. Sheng Lan seemed to have left her quite a lot. There was a large inheritance and a good job. If she were still alive, she might have protected her just like Luo Yingshu's parents protected her.
Of course, at that time, she probably wouldn't have let her marry Shen Yanshan.
Shen Yanshan: ... The mother - in - law who had passed away for many years suddenly gave him a stab.
...
In the evening,
Li Chuchu suddenly received a letter. In this era, telephones were not yet popular, and letter - writing was still quite common.
But who would write to her at this time?
Li Chuchu opened the letter and saw that the signature was Sheng Yunian.
Oh, Ms. Sheng Lan's father.
That was her grandpa.