Free Web NovelChapter 137: Chapter 137: Relentless Pressure
Yu Le’s expression turned serious as he lowered his voice. "When I brought your wife in today, before we even stepped inside, I heard some of the others talking. Their words weren’t very pleasant, and they even brought up Sister-in-law Cui."
He paused. "They’re always comparing the two of them. Your wife is probably going to feel uncomfortable. You need to be aware of this and find a way to make them stop."
"I heard it too," Tang Yuanxiao added.
"This isn’t a small matter. You have to resolve it, or your wife will hold a grudge. If she gets jealous, she’ll make things difficult for you."
Once the serious business was over, Yu Le’s expression became animated again.
Tang Yuanxiao shot him a look. "Su Li won’t get jealous."
’It would be great if Su Li could get jealous,’ he thought. ’At least it would mean he was in her heart.’
Su Li had no feelings whatsoever about Cui Yun... Forget jealousy, she didn’t even give her a second thought.
Tang Yuanxiao’s reply was the honest truth, and he also wanted to use the opportunity to give Yu Le a heads-up. Unfortunately, Yu Le was on a completely different wavelength.
"Oho, so defensive already! Yes, yes, your wife is so magnanimous, your wife doesn’t get jealous. Just look at you."
Yu Le nudged Tang Yuanxiao with his elbow. "I get it, you’re into your wife. But you should take it easy."
A suggestive smile spread across his face. "Your wife’s here now, so the long drought is over. But pace yourself, man."
After saying this in a teasing tone, he walked away with a sly chuckle.
Leaving Tang Yuanxiao behind, a vein throbbing on his forehead. "..."
’That guy!’
Tang Yuanxiao watched Yu Le walk away, feeling a mix of exasperation, amusement, and a touch of bitterness.
Turning to look at his front door, Tang Yuanxiao’s steps grew heavy as he started walking again.
When Yu Le was there, he’d found him a bit annoying for being so chatty, rattling on and on, saying things he should and shouldn’t, and revealing all his secrets.
But now that Yu Le was gone, he kind of missed him.
’Now it’s just the two of us. Su Li is probably going to start her relentless nagging again!’
Tang Yuanxiao was right. As soon as Yu Le left, the whole house fell silent.
Little Tang Mo was quietly doodling by himself, while Su Li and Tang Yuanxiao spoke to each other on the side.
"You didn’t tell Yu Le about our situation?"
Tang Yuanxiao nodded.
’Divorce isn’t exactly good news, not something you go around announcing to everyone.’
Yu Le was Tang Yuanxiao’s friend. It was up to Tang Yuanxiao to decide whether to tell his friends about these things, and Su Li wasn’t going to interfere.
"No wonder." She nodded, then asked, "Have you thought it over?"
Tang Yuanxiao: "..."
’He hadn’t thought it over, and he never would!’
"Is there a specific format for the application? How about I draft one for you first?"
Writing a divorce application was all too easy for Su Li.
Tang Yuanxiao: "...No need."
"It’s fine, it’s no trouble. It’ll only take a few minutes. You can use it as a reference, or just copy it if you think it’s okay. We can submit it early tomorrow morning."
Without giving Tang Yuanxiao a chance to refuse, Su Li got up to write it.
Tang Yuanxiao knew how to write, so he had to do it himself. Su Li couldn’t write it for him. Otherwise, she would have been more than happy to do so and just have him add his fingerprint.
In just a few minutes, Su Li finished writing the application and handed it to Tang Yuanxiao.
"Take a look, see if there are any issues. If not... just copy it. Once you’re done, I’ll sign it." freewebnovel.cσ๓
Tang Yuanxiao paused for a long moment before taking it, the veins on his hand standing out.
As the sky darkened, Little Tang Mo stopped his doodling and toddled over to show Su Li his latest masterpiece.
"You got paint on your face again." Su Li had bought Little Tang Mo a simple set of colored pens, and he often turned himself into a little painted cat.
"Hee hee... It’s okay." Little Tang Mo gave his face a quick wipe and handed the drawing to Su Li, then immediately ran to knock on a door.
"Daddy..." Tang Yuanxiao had taken the draft application Su Li wrote into the room. The door wasn’t shut tight, just pulled to.
As Little Tang Mo knocked and called out, Tang Yuanxiao, who had been staring blankly at his desk, answered, "Hey."
He put the application form in a drawer, then opened the door and picked Little Tang Mo up.
"Daddy, I drew Daddy and Mommy, and me."
Little Tang Mo said, looking for praise.
"Is that right? Momo knows how to draw now. You’re so clever." Tang Yuanxiao wiped the pen marks from Little Tang Mo’s face with his thumb.
He sat down with Little Tang Mo in his arms, and when he looked up, he saw Su Li’s somewhat stiff expression.
Tang Yuanxiao’s gaze fell on the drawing on the table, and he understood why her face was so stiff.
Because what Little Tang Mo had drawn was none other than their family of three.
Little Tang Mo’s drawing was average and a bit abstract, the composition the most common kind: two adults holding a child’s hands.
A big red sun, with three people standing on green, green grass.
The tall, large figure colored green was Tang Yuanxiao. The short one in the middle with a wide grin was Little Tang Mo himself. And next to him, the one with a floral dress and long hair... was Su Li.
"Daddy, Mommy, and Me." Even the title of the drawing was utterly commonplace.
Su Li looked at Little Tang Mo’s satisfied smile as he waited for her praise, feeling helpless and resigned.
’Mommy and Daddy are both with him. The day he’s always dreamed of has come true. The little guy must be overjoyed today.’
’He has no idea that his mommy and daddy are already in the process of getting a divorce.’
"Mommy..." Little Tang Mo snuggled into Su Li’s arms, looking up at her with an expectant face.
"It’s a wonderful drawing." Su Li was completely defenseless against Little Tang Mo’s eyes. Just as she always did, she instinctively stroked his head and gave him a kiss on the forehead as praise.
That one kiss was like a powerful, fast-acting medicine, instantly filling Little Tang Mo with satisfaction and bringing him to life.
He expertly returned the kiss on Su Li’s cheek, then giggled and started bouncing on the spot to show his happiness.
"Teacher... hehe... Mommy..."
As he chattered away, Tang Yuanxiao watched how lively he was, also completely surprised.
Beyond the surprise, his eyes were filled with a complex mix of emotions.
He took in the entire interaction between Su Li and Little Tang Mo, feeling not only envy and relief but also helplessness.
Originally, the relationship between the stepmother and the child should have been the biggest problem in his marriage. But that problem never materialized. They got along harmoniously, their bond as strong as if they were related by blood.
Anyone could see how good Su Li was to Little Tang Mo.
And yet, this same Su Li, who was so good to Little Tang Mo, was dead set on divorcing him.
Suddenly, Tang Yuanxiao felt that his life... was quite a failure.
All these years away from home, his child wasn’t close to him, his wife wanted to divorce him, and he was helpless when it came to his mother.
"Wow!" Little Tang Mo’s cry of delight brought Tang Yuanxiao back to his senses.
Only then did he realize that Su Li had turned on the light.
Xinghua Village didn’t have electricity, but Fengcheng County and the Imperial City did have lights.
Little Tang Mo, who had never known what an electric light was, had been so excited he had shouted and jumped for joy the first time he saw one. Now, as Su Li turned on the light again, he was still just as fascinated and thrilled.
"Go play with your daddy," Su Li said, stroking his head.
’Little Tang Mo will be with Tang Yuanxiao from now on. I hope he can get used to him as soon as possible, so he won’t always be looking for me later.’
’After these next two days, she would be separated from him. She wanted to use this last bit of time to make him as happy as possible and to help him get more familiar with Tang Yuanxiao.’
Little Tang Mo listened to her. He had wanted to talk to Tang Yuanxiao anyway, so he obediently went over to him.
