Free Web NovelChapter 61: Chapter 61: Showing No Mercy
"Su Li, do you want to divorce me because of Qin Caihua?"
Hearing his question, Su Li was stunned. It was completely baffling.
"No, it’s not," Su Li said, shaking her head. "The divorce has nothing to do with her."
Tang Yuanxiao was about to say something, but he shut his mouth when he saw her expression. A thoughtful glint appeared in his eyes, and he said no more.
Looking at his expression, Su Li felt something wasn’t quite right. Just as she was about to ask him about it, she heard Little Tang Mo call out to her.
"Mama, quick, look!"
Little Tang Mo was holding up a large radish, showing it off proudly.
Su Li’s attention was immediately captured. ’I’ve already said everything I needed to say to Tang Yuanxiao anyway,’ she thought, so she didn’t dwell on it any further.
After Little Tang Mo finished pulling up the radishes, he was covered in mud. Used to this, Su Li simply patted the dirt off him as they walked.
Tang Yuanxiao took it upon himself to do the heavy lifting, carrying all the radishes.
Halfway home, during a lull in Little Tang Mo’s childish chatter, Tang Yuanxiao suddenly leaned in and explained in a low voice to Su Li.
"Su Li, I don’t see Caihua as a grown-up at all. I’ll keep my distance from her from now on."
Su Li nodded, but before she could reply, Little Tang Mo pulled her away.
The moment the three of them stepped through the door, Qin Shanshan, who had been waiting impatiently, immediately rushed over to greet them.
"Brother Tang Yuan, you’re finally back."
She had barely gotten close—still a good ten feet away—when Tang Yuanxiao quickly took a large step back to avoid her.
Seeing Qin Shanshan’s confused look, Tang Yuanxiao coughed, glanced at Su Li, and then said to Qin Shanshan.
"Qin Caihua, you should just call me Tang Yuanxiao from now on. Don’t call me Brother Tang Yuan anymore."
Tang Yuanxiao’s expression was so cold that Qin Shanshan froze on the spot.
"I... I’m just used to it. I’ve always called you that..."
Tang Yuanxiao cut her off. "I’m getting older, and Tangyuan is a childhood nickname. It’s not appropriate."
His refusal was so blunt that Qin Shanshan’s face turned deathly pale. "O-Okay."
She agreed, her face full of grievance and her eyes brimming with tears, as if Tang Yuanxiao had committed some unforgivable sin.
Tang Yuanxiao’s expression darkened, and both Mrs. Tang and Aunt Li looked awkward.
"You made a perfectly reasonable request sound so harsh," Mrs. Tang said, trying to smooth things over.
Aunt Li forced a smile. "Shanshan, come and help. And you have the nerve to look so wronged? Momo is a big boy now, so it really isn’t appropriate to call his father Tangyuan anymore. You’re being so thoughtless."
Qin Shanshan could only swallow her heartbreak for the moment. "You’re right. It’s my fault."
She bit her lip. "Then Tang... Can I call you Brother Yuanxiao from now on? You’re older than me, and I’m used to calling you ’brother.’ I can’t just call you by your name."
Tang Yuanxiao frowned and was about to speak when Su Li’s chilly voice cut in.
"What’s the difference between ’Brother Tang Yuan’ and ’Brother Yuanxiao’? I just call him Tang Yuanxiao. If you can’t manage his name, you can always just shout ’hey’."
Qin Shanshan shot a look at Su Li. A dark glint flashed in her eyes for a fleeting moment, but her expression remained one of pure grievance. "Su Li..."
Su Li cut her off without a shred of mercy.
"Qin Shanshan, the Lunar New Year festivities aren’t even over. Can you stop looking like you’re at a funeral? It’s not like you’re possessed by Lin Daiyu or something, so why do you always look like you’re about to burst into tears?"
Qin Shanshan’s eyes reddened with anger. She fought back tears and looked pleadingly at Tang Yuanxiao. "Su Li, I didn’t mean to..."
"Alright, alright. If I say any more, Aunt Li will get upset. I’m going to go make dinner."
With a wave of her hand, Su Li went straight into the kitchen. Little Tang Mo scurried right after her, and Tang Yuanxiao followed without a moment’s hesitation. freēwebnovel.com
This left Qin Shanshan standing there, utterly flustered.
Aunt Li, who had been about to say something in her displeasure, was rendered speechless by Su Li’s quick remarks. She resentfully called over to Qin Shanshan.
"Didn’t you hear Su Li? Stop your crying and come help."
After Su Li had so blatantly disrespected both her and Qin Shanshan, Aunt Li couldn’t bring herself to stay any longer and left shortly after. Qin Shanshan, however, shamelessly remained.
Acting as if nothing had happened, she actually loitered around the Tang family’s home for the entire day. Su Li couldn’t get her to leave no matter how much she tried.
She refused to give up, constantly trying to find ways to get close to Tang Yuanxiao and talk to him. But in the end, her attempts were either dodged by Tang Yuanxiao or sabotaged by Su Li.
Su Li was determined to shut Qin Shanshan down, and she showed absolutely no courtesy or restraint. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
’I have to protect Little Tang Mo, no matter what...’ Clinging to this conviction, she focused all her energy on dealing with Qin Shanshan, completely missing the change in Tang Yuanxiao’s gaze.
Just like before, Su Li had truly thought of everything—except Tang Yuanxiao.
When she attacked Qin Shanshan, she did so from the position of Tang Yuanxiao’s wife. From that standpoint, whether her actions were born of jealousy or not, they certainly looked like it.
In any case, as dense as Tang Yuanxiao was, he slowly began to sense something. Recalling their earlier conversation, he inevitably fell into another spectacular misunderstanding.
The way he looked at Su Li slowly began to change. When he saw her shutting down Qin Shanshan, a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes.
Su Li and Qin Shanshan had been at each other’s throats all day at the Tang family home. Tang Yuanxiao should have been annoyed, but in reality, he was secretly delighted.
He was now certain that Su Li had feelings for him. She wanted a divorce because she had misunderstood what Qin Shanshan said and because he had hurt her.
All things considered, what he needed to do was win her back and make amends.
Having figured this out, Tang Yuanxiao unceremoniously kicked Qin Shanshan out.
Yes, kicked out. In the most direct way possible.
"Qin Caihua, stop bothering Su Li. You’ve been at our home for a whole day. It’s getting ridiculous. Hurry up and go home."
Qin Shanshan thought she must be hearing things.
How could her Brother Tang Yuan speak to her like that!
"Brother Tang Yuan, what did you just say?"
Hearing the three words "Brother Tang Yuan," Tang Yuanxiao’s expression grew even colder.
"I said, you should go home. Your constant presence is affecting Su Li and me. I rarely get to come home and visit my family. Do you understand what I mean?"
Qin Shanshan’s question was met with even harsher and more blunt words from Tang Yuanxiao.
Now that was a real slap in the face. Su Li looked at Tang Yuanxiao and raised an eyebrow.
As for Qin Shanshan... she looked as if she’d been struck by lightning, her world completely shattered.
With a loud "WAAAH!" she burst into tears and ran out of the house.
The Tang family’s home was finally quiet.
Su Li breathed a sigh of relief. ’At this point, surely Qin Shanshan will finally give up, right?’
Watching Su Li’s expression, a hint of a smile touched Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes.
Tang Yuanxiao was in a great mood. He eagerly took charge of dinner. "I’ll make a tofu feast. Su Li, you and Little Tang Mo go have some fun."
Pulled along by Little Tang Mo, Su Li took the rare opportunity to leave the house and take a walk around Xinghua Village. While they were out, she heard some news.
A few of the young men from the village, including Tie Niu, had arranged with someone from town to screen a movie. They were planning to show it right there in Xinghua Village and were calling for all the villagers to come and watch.
There wasn’t a single television in all of Xinghua Village, so watching a movie was a luxurious event. The news sent a stir of excitement through the entire village.
Tie Niu and the others were still helping the projectionist move the film equipment, but the village children were already running all over, shouting the news.
"They’re showing a movie! They’re showing a movie!"
Little Tang Mo’s face lit up with excitement. "Mama, they’re showing a movie!"
Su Li nodded, her face filled with nostalgia. "That’s right. They’re going to show a movie."
An open-air movie. It had been a long, long time.
Hearing that a movie was being shown in the village again truly filled Su Li with a wave of emotion.
