Free Web NovelChapter 166: Chapter 166: Finally
Tang Yuanxiao spotted Su Li from afar. He watched her speaking with Little Tang Mo, her expression tender.
Tang Yuanxiao’s steps faltered. He swallowed the lump in his throat before starting to walk again.
His footsteps were heavy, yet firm.
"You’re here." Su Li saw Tang Yuanxiao, too.
"Mhm," Tang Yuanxiao nodded.
"Let’s go." Su Li was the first to walk inside.
Asking questions, filling out forms, signing papers—the process was both slow and strangely fast.
By the time they emerged from the Civil Affairs Bureau, their marriage certificate had been exchanged for a divorce certificate.
Staring at the familiar divorce certificate, Su Li was overcome with emotion.
Her heart was a jumble of feelings she couldn’t name.
Su Li was silent for a long time.
Tang Yuanxiao was even more at a loss for words. Little Tang Mo, who had been waiting beside them, sensed the tense atmosphere and kept quiet as well.
"I’m heading back now." Finally, Su Li was the one who broke the silence.
Tang Yuanxiao just looked at Su Li, saying nothing.
Su Li turned to Little Tang Mo. "Little Mo, I have to go now. Do you remember what we agreed on?"
Little Tang Mo nodded, his small face clouded over.
"Be good and listen to your father, and study hard when school starts, okay?"
’So we finally divorced before school officially started.’ A bitter smile touched Su Li’s lips.
Just as she’d expected, the reality of divorce was bitter.
Just a lingering sense of loss.
"I know." Little Tang Mo hugged Su Li. "Mom, I’ll be good. I’ll come see you on Saturday."
"Good boy." Su Li hugged him back.
Su Li stood and faced Tang Yuanxiao to say goodbye.
"I’m leaving, Tang Yuanxiao. Goodbye."
’Goodbye, Tang Yuanxiao.’
’Tang Yuanxiao, goodbye.’
’With the obsession in her heart finally laid to rest, Su Li could now face Tang Yuanxiao—no longer her husband—with a sense of peace.’
’Shedding the impressions and complex prejudices from my past life, breaking free from its shackles... it’s better for both of us.’
’Much better.’
Without waiting for Tang Yuanxiao’s response, Su Li turned and walked away.
She walked away, step by step, never looking back.
Su Li found the bus, bought a ticket, and boarded. She stared at the clouds swirling lazily in the sky, motionless for a long time.
The bus was about to depart. The driver got on and started the engine. Just as it was about to pull out...
"Su Li." Tang Yuanxiao suddenly appeared in front of the bus.
Amid the driver’s confused muttering, he boarded the bus without a word and came to a stop in front of Su Li.
"What’s wrong?" Su Li was puzzled.
She had just started to get up when Tang Yuanxiao suddenly crouched down in front of her.
Tang Yuanxiao’s deep, dark eyes were focused on Su Li as he spoke in a low voice.
"Su Li, for you, this divorce is an ending. But for me, it’s just the beginning. I’m not going to give up on you."
Su Li’s eyes widened abruptly.
"I will do everything I can to make you my wife again. You’re the only one for me."
The simple words could hardly contain the depth of Tang Yuanxiao’s surging affection.
Looking at Su Li’s astonished face, Tang Yuanxiao reached out and pulled her into his arms.
"Su Li, I adore you."
’I adore you. I love you. My heart belongs to you...’
These words had been building up inside Tang Yuanxiao for far too long. He had never been able to say them, but now, at the very end of their marriage, he finally voiced what was in his heart.
The hug was brief but heavy, and it ended just as quickly.
Tang Yuanxiao released Su Li and got off the bus as cleanly as he had boarded.
He got off, stood by the door, and nodded to the driver.
The bus quickly drove away.
Tang Yuanxiao watched the bus leave until it was out of sight.
Aboard the bus, Su Li sat frozen in her seat, in a daze.
’I never thought... My previous suspicions were actually true. Tang Yuanxiao really does have feelings for me...’
’Tang Yuanxiao is in love with me. That never happened in my past life.’
’And I never expected him to say he wouldn’t give up on me.’
’I always thought the divorce would be the end of it. That we’d go our separate ways, and that in this life, we’d be, at most, distant acquaintances.’ freewēbnoveℓ.com
’But he actually said he wouldn’t give up, that he would try to win me back.’
"How could this be..." Su Li murmured.
’This isn’t at all how I imagined things would go.’
Su Li had no desire to be in a relationship, at least not right now.
Her past experiences had left her with no expectations for marriage or romance. Now that she was divorced and her obsession was resolved, Su Li just wanted to focus on her studies and her work.
When Su Li returned to the Imperial City, she put away her divorce certificate and collapsed onto her bed, staring blankly into space. After a while, she pulled herself together and headed back to the university.
Registration at the university lasted for three days. Once classes officially began, students had to go to their homeroom to meet their advisor, pick up textbooks, and so on.
After that, it was time for military training.
That’s right, Huaguo Communication University had military training.
Military training had a long history; it just kept changing with the times.
This year, more than fifty universities and over a hundred high schools across the country were piloting military training programs. From then on, military training became a national standard.
Su Li’s year was officially undergoing military training for one week. They were notified during registration, where they were also issued standard-issue training uniforms.
Su Li’s training uniform and bedding were all in her dorm room.
Even though she had rented her own apartment, Yu Zhengqing had insisted that she should still keep her dorm room, even if she didn’t live there full-time.
Yu Zhengqing was a native of the Imperial City, and his family lived there, yet he also stayed in the dorms. For the sake of convenience, he lived at school most of the time, only going home on weekends.
The issued quilt, sheets, and uniform were all new and carried that distinct scent of new fabric.
Su Li had a habit of washing new clothes before wearing them, so she got ready to do just that.
When Su Li had gone to her dorm during registration yesterday, the six-person room had belongings on two of the beds, but no one was around. This time, however, she finally met one of her roommates.
She was a young woman with two braids and deeply tanned skin, named Chang E. Her teeth were remarkably white.
She was already wearing the issued training uniform, which she seemed to be very fond of.
After they exchanged greetings, the girl looked at Su Li, who was about to wash her new uniform and sheets, with a puzzled expression. "Aren’t they new? Why do you need to wash them?"
Su Li could only say, "I accidentally dropped them on the floor yesterday and stepped on them."
"Ah, well, go wash them then," Chang E said with a sigh. "You city folk are really particular."
After her remark, she happily smoothed down her own uniform. "I really wish I could wear this to show my mom and dad."
It wasn’t just Chang E, either. Su Li soon discovered that more than half the student body was already wearing their training uniforms.
"It’s just like Yu Zhengqing said," Su Li muttered to herself as she looked around.
Yu Zhengqing had told her that back in his university days, the training uniform was one of the most common "outfits" you’d see all over campus.
Back then, it wasn’t like it would be in the future, where people would just throw away their camo uniforms after training. Students genuinely liked them and would continue to wear them long after training ended, sometimes right up until graduation.
Meanwhile, Tang Yuanxiao returned to his work unit with Little Tang Mo.
He took Little Tang Mo to the cafeteria for lunch and ran into his supervisor, who had also come to eat.
The supervisor looked at Tang Yuanxiao’s expression and sighed inwardly.
"Come to my office this afternoon. I need to talk to you about something."
Tang Yuanxiao went to the supervisor’s office that afternoon as requested.
"The paperwork’s done?" was the supervisor’s first question.
Tang Yuanxiao nodded. "Yeah."
He actually seemed calmer than before; the gloom that had been hanging over him had vanished.
The supervisor was inwardly surprised. "What’s gotten into you? Did you have some kind of epiphany after the divorce?"
"I have, but not in the way you’re thinking, sir." Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes shone. "I figured, if she wants a divorce, fine. I’ll just have to win her back."
"Nothing in life comes easy, and that includes winning a wife. If I don’t fight for her, I have no right to sit around moping and blaming fate."
The supervisor looked at Tang Yuanxiao and finally nodded, relieved.
"Good, good, Tang Yuanxiao. I wasn’t wrong about you."
