Free Web NovelChapter 203: Chapter 203: Finding Out
"It’s probably a letter of complaint..." Su Li muttered to herself as she looked at the letter.
Of course, she wasn’t going to open Tang Yuanxiao’s letter, nor did she want to. It was just an objective guess.
After sitting for a moment, Su Li yawned.
"I’d better get some sleep." Su Li got up, moved the firm block aside, turned off the light, and covered herself with the overcoat to make do for the night.
But after lying down, she couldn’t fall asleep.
When she finally managed to drift off, she didn’t sleep well, and she woke up early the next morning.
After washing her face, she came out and saw Aunt Chang heading home with breakfast. Su Li thought for a moment, then quickened her pace to follow her.
"Aunt Chang."
"Oh, Su Li, you’re awake." Aunt Chang opened the door. "Come in, have a seat."
It was Su Li’s first time at Aunt Chang’s home. "Have a seat. Are Momo and his grandma still asleep?"
"Yes, they’re not awake yet." Su Li smiled and greeted the supervisor standing to the side. "Supervisor."
"Mm," the supervisor acknowledged.
"I just came to thank you both for last night..." Su Li had just begun to speak when Aunt Chang cut her off.
"Don’t thank us. All this thanking just makes things feel distant." Aunt Chang glanced at the supervisor. "Tang Yuanxiao is on a business trip, so he happens to be away."
Su Li nodded. "You told me last night."
"He wasn’t supposed to go originally. The person who was meant to lead the team suddenly fell ill, so he stepped in. It was urgent, and he left in the middle of the night. For the past two days, everyone and I have been helping take care of Little Mo."
"I didn’t hear his mother was coming either. He didn’t mention it himself. We only got a sudden telegram yesterday saying she was on her way."
Aunt Chang explained the situation, and Su Li nodded.
"Yes, and you even helped take care of Little Mo. I’m sorry to have troubled you, Aunt Chang. I still have things to attend to in the Imperial City, so I’ll probably have to head back soon."
Aunt Chang paused, then nodded. "If you have things to do, you should go back first. We’ll help look after Grandma Xiao Mo. It’s good that she’s here; she can take care of Little Mo."
Although it hadn’t been publicly announced, Su Li and Tang Yuanxiao were divorced. It was normal for Su Li to want to leave, and there was no reason to stop her.
Su Li nodded, they chatted for a moment more, and then she said her goodbyes.
After leaving and walking a few steps, Su Li remembered she’d forgotten to ask how long they needed to keep the divorce a secret and turned back.
Keeping her divorce from Tang Yuanxiao a secret like this couldn’t go on forever. She wanted to ask how much longer it would be before they could announce it.
She didn’t know why Mrs. Tang had come this time, but Su Li had a bad feeling about it. Her intuition told her it wasn’t for anything good.
Judging by Mrs. Tang’s behavior last night, she was bound to cause a lot of trouble. The best way to handle it would be to let her know that she and Tang Yuanxiao were already divorced and that she no longer had any connection to the Tang Family.
Just as Su Li was thinking this and about to knock, the conversation inside made her freeze.
"...His promotion was delayed because of the divorce. What if Tang Yuanxiao doesn’t work even harder now?"
Su Li’s hand, raised to knock, froze in mid-air.
After Su Li had left, Aunt Chang had sighed to the supervisor.
"I hope he comes back soon this time. Sigh, Tang Yuanxiao works himself too hard. It’s not like he was the only one who could have gone on this business trip."
It was after hearing Aunt Chang’s words that the supervisor said what Su Li had just overheard at the door.
"...Back when the factory director spoke with him, he told him that a divorce would affect his promotion and that he should think it over carefully. It was Tang Yuanxiao himself who said he couldn’t make things difficult for Su Li just for the sake of his own future, and insisted on the divorce."
Aunt Chang didn’t know about this.
"That happened? Didn’t they say keeping it a secret would be enough?"
"Keeping it a secret only works for outsiders. How could you hide something like that from the higher-ups... It’s a good thing this wasn’t announced publicly, or the consequences would have been even more severe. This is his second marriage ending in divorce; people would suspect there’s something wrong with him. And right now is when they’re focused on helping these young men solve their ’personal problems’."
The supervisor paused. "Next, they’re even going to organize matchmaking events with suitable work units, like the hospital."
Aunt Chang shook her head. "No wonder..."
Aunt Chang’s and the supervisor’s conversation continued, but Su Li backed away silently.
After coming down from Aunt Chang’s apartment, Su Li closed her eyes and sighed.
A bitter feeling welled up inside her.
She hadn’t known about this at all. Tang Yuanxiao had never mentioned a word of it to her.
No wonder that, even though they had agreed to wait for the factory director to talk to them, she never met with him after he returned.
It wasn’t that the director didn’t care about the matter; it was that he had spoken with Tang Yuanxiao first, and Tang Yuanxiao had made the decision himself.
Su Li recalled Tang Yuanxiao’s unusual silence in the days around their divorce, how he had just stood there in a daze for a long while without moving.
It was impossible for her not to be moved, but that feeling vanished into thin air not long after she pulled herself together, went to the canteen to buy breakfast, and saw Mrs. Tang.
After a night’s sleep, Mrs. Tang was full of energy. Upon waking, she had patrolled every corner of the apartment, dissatisfied with everything she saw, inside and out.
When Su Li returned, she endured eating breakfast with Little Tang Mo, and after sending him out to play, she started in on Su Li.
"...Just look at this place! It barely looks like a home anymore. You don’t even cook. And Little Mo’s dirty clothes are still lying there. What kind of way is this to live?"
"I knew it. I knew this would happen if you went to university. It’s a good thing I kept thinking about it and came because I was worried."
Mrs. Tang’s face was full of anguish as she lectured earnestly, "Su Li, it’s impressive that you got into university, but your most important duty is your responsibility as a wife. Tangyuan is letting you go to school; you should be more considerate of him. How can you be like this...?"
Seeing that she was gearing up for the same endless lecture as always, Su Li cut her off directly.
"I’m very busy. I have important matters at the university today, so I’ll be heading back now."
Mrs. Tang hadn’t been shut down by Su Li in a long time, and she wasn’t used to it. She immediately got angry. ƒrēewebnovel.com
"Su Li, I’m doing this for your own good! How can you treat me like this? You don’t even call me ’Mother-in-law’ anymore. No matter what, you can’t be like this..."
The more she spoke, the angrier she became, and thinking of the clothing factory made her even more furious.
"And another thing, the matter with the clothing factory..." Mrs. Tang took a deep breath. "Su Li, I’m about to die from anger! That Li Hongqin and the others wouldn’t even let me in."
"It’s clearly our Tang Family’s factory, yet they won’t let me in. Did you know about this? Was this your idea, or theirs?"
Just as she’d expected. Su Li closed her eyes and cut Mrs. Tang off in a heavy voice.
"It was my idea. They were following my orders by not letting you in."
Su Li looked directly into Mrs. Tang’s eyes. "That is my factory. It was started with my dowry and has nothing to do with the Tang Family. Please stop concerning yourself with the clothing factory."
Su Li said the last sentence with particular emphasis.
Mrs. Tang’s reaction was intense. "What do you mean it has nothing to do with the Tang Family? Su Li, you are a daughter-in-law of the Tang Family! You yourself belong to the Tang Family!"
Her face was a mask of disbelief. "Do you have any idea what you’re saying?"
She slapped her thighs with both hands and sat down, her face a picture of deep pain. "I knew it! I knew your ambition would grow too large!"
"Aiyo, what is this world coming to? ’The factory is yours and has nothing to do with the Tang Family’... No wonder they wouldn’t let me in. So you were planning to take it all for yourself!"
"This is a sin! We never should have let you go to school! How long has it been, and you’ve already forgotten the most basic standards of being a daughter-in-law!"
Su Li couldn’t take it anymore. "That’s enough."
