Lin Qingyue still remembered her past life. When Gu Niancheng got into university and needed to attend, the family didn’t have nearly enough money and could only borrow from the village.
Gu Niancheng was the only university student in the entire village. Everyone thought he would surely amount to something in the future, so they were all willing to lend to him.
Before leaving, he borrowed one hundred and fifty yuan, but never once thought about paying it back.
As Gu Niancheng’s wife, that debt fell onto her shoulders, the one left behind in the village.
A sickly son, a paralyzed father-in-law, a half-paralyzed mother-in-law, and a sister-in-law who looked down on everyone and loved to stir up trouble—all the burdens fell on her.
Back then, she had it far harder than Yao Hongyan.
After all, Yao Hongyan only had one son to support.
But at that time, who in the Gu family ever showed her any pity?
Especially Gu Yunyun, who was always so immature. Mother Gu said she was just childish and spoke without thinking. But back then, she herself wasn’t much older than Gu Yunyun either.
“Village Chief, since they can’t do it, then there’s no need to continue this marriage.”
“I’ll divorce Gu Niancheng.”
“I can see he’s quite attentive to Yao Hongyan anyway. The two of them can just pair up, so the villagers won’t have anything to gossip about and ruin the village’s reputation.”
The moment these words came out, everyone in the village was stunned.
Even the Village Chief was deeply shocked.
The Gu family stood there frozen!
After about three or four minutes, it was Auntie Liu who reacted first: “Qingyue, what did you just say?”
“Divorce? You’re heavily pregnant right now, about to give birth. If you divorce, who’s going to take care of you during childbirth and postpartum recovery?”
Lin Qingyue smiled bitterly: “Auntie Liu, do you think anyone would take care of me even if I don’t divorce?”
“I can manage on my own.”
Auntie Liu’s nose tingled with sadness. Looking at the thin yet stubborn young woman, she felt her heart soften completely.
“Heh, Lin Qingyue, are you deliberately threatening us?” Gu Yunyun suddenly spoke up, a sneer on her face:
“You think just because you’re pregnant, we won’t agree to the divorce? Fine, let’s divorce! My brother is going to university. He’ll be a university graduate, and after graduation the state will assign him a job—a cadre with an iron rice bowl. After divorcing you, he can find any kind of woman he wants! And you…”
“You’re nothing but a discarded shoe nobody wants, and you’re dragging a child along. Who do you think would still want you?”
“We can’t divorce!” Gu Niancheng finally ran over.
His face was dark enough to drip water. He had actually arrived long ago, but too ashamed to show himself, he had been hiding in the back with his head tucked down.
“Big brother, did you hear what she just said? Why can’t we divorce?” Gu Yunyun pouted in anger, her face full of displeasure.
Lin Qingyue looked at the anxious Gu Niancheng and curled her lips in contempt. Of course she knew why Gu Niancheng didn’t want to divorce. He was still counting on her to take care of his parents and that sickly son of his, wasn’t he?
“Qingyue, there’s really nothing between me and Hongyan. You’re misunderstanding.”
“The only reason I brought her into our home to take care of her was out of consideration for you, and also because her difficult labor was somewhat related to you…”
Gu Niancheng patiently explained, but Lin Qingyue didn’t let him finish before she cut him off tearfully:
“What do you mean ‘related to me’? The Village Chief and all these elders here have said that matter had nothing to do with me. Gu Niancheng, who exactly is your wife? Do you even have a conscience?”
“Qingyue, be reasonable!” Gu Niancheng choked, reaching out to steady Lin Qingyue.
Lin Qingyue took a step back, refusing to let the scumbag get close.
“Qingyue, Hongyan and I—”
“Hongyan, Hongyan—why don’t you just go live with your Hongyan?”
“Gu Niancheng, I can see you care quite a bit about Hongyan’s child. So you probably won’t care about the one in my belly either. Let’s divorce right now. The child in my belly belongs to me, and from now on, this child has nothing to do with you.”
“Fine! Big brother, hurry up and agree!”
Gu Yunyun, hearing that Lin Qingyue would raise the child herself, rushed to speak:
“You said it yourself! Lin Qingyue, don’t come asking us for grain to feed her after you give birth.”
“A money-losing good-for-nothing, huh—we wouldn’t want her anyway.”
Money-losing good-for-nothing?
Hearing those three words again, this time from the child’s own aunt, Lin Qingyue felt a chill in her heart!
No wonder her daughter had only lived a few days in her past life—in their eyes, a daughter was nothing but a worthless, money-losing good-for-nothing.
“Village Chief, I want to divorce Gu Niancheng!”
Tears still streaked Lin Qingyue’s face, but her expression was resolute.
“This… Youth Lin, divorce is no small matter. Why don’t you two—” The Village Chief looked toward the Gu family, still trying to mediate, but Gu Niancheng cut in urgently: “No!”
In the end, the divorce didn’t go through. Gu Niancheng flatly refused, but he agreed to let the young widow go home and to return the grain he’d taken over.
Lin Qingyue directly asked Auntie Liu for help and moved everything out of the young widow’s kitchen.
Not a single grain of rice was left behind. Not only that, she also changed the lock.
By the time Gu Niancheng settled the young widow and came home, he found the courtyard gate locked.
His key wouldn’t open it.
Gu Niancheng called out at the gate, shouting for ages with no one answering. In the end, he had to go to Father Gu’s place first.
When the Gu family heard that Lin Qingyue had dared to shut him out, Mother Gu was so furious she nearly fainted.
“Son, we don’t want this woman anymore!”
Today, Lin Qingyue had made them lose face in front of the whole village. She didn’t dare go out that afternoon.
The looks those people gave them made her uncomfortable wherever she went.
“Big brother, just dump that woman.”
Gu Yunyun snorted coldly: “I’d like to see how she manages in the village after we kick her out, big belly and all.”
“Probably within three days, she’ll come crawling back begging for mercy.”
“Son, maybe…” Father Gu was also livid. He’d always cared about face, but today he’d lost face and dignity alike.
“I told you long ago to stay away from that young widow, but you wouldn’t listen. Look at what’s happened now…”
Father Gu glared at his son with reproach: “The child you fathered is a boy, sure, but he’s sickly. I’ve heard that illness will cost a lot of money later, and he might not even survive to grow up…”
Father Gu wore a worried frown—in these times, with the family’s poor circumstances, they simply couldn’t afford to raise a sick child.
“Dad, don’t forget—this is your own grandson.”
Gu Niancheng warned in a low voice, “Have you forgotten that Mom had someone calculate his fortune?”
Father Gu choked, and even the dry tobacco in his hand lost its appeal.
“He’s a future top scholar. Raise him well, and he’ll bring glory to the family.”
Gu Yunyun’s eyes widened in shock: “Big brother, you mean…” She’d long suspected the child was connected to her brother, but who could have imagined the child really was his.
“Gu Yunyun, you keep this matter buried in your heart.”
Gu Niancheng glared fiercely at his younger sister:
“Besides, we’ll give the child to Lin Qingyue later and let her raise it along with the others.”
“Dad, this child is our family’s hope for the future.”
“Divorce is out of the question—after all, Hongyan and I still need to attend university, and the family needs her to take care of things.”
“She’s educated, and among the educated youth, she’s the most hardworking and capable. With her managing the household, I can rest assured and focus on my studies!”