Lin Jingwen placed the gift box on the table, then sat down and carefully examined her hands. They were covered in chilblains, calluses, cracks, and the skin on her fingertips was so rough it felt prickly to the touch.
In the past, Li Anping had despised her coarse, callused hands. He never let her touch him, saying her hands were ugly, dirty, and rough.
Her stepson, Li Dongle, also disliked them. Every time she bathed him, he would cry out that her hands hurt him, complaining that they were too ugly. Because of this, she often felt ashamed, insecure, and humiliated.
But how had her hands become this way?
Because of her family’s preference for sons over daughters, from the time she could remember, all the housework was done by her mother, her elder sisters, and herself.
Her father and younger brother never had to cook, never had to wash clothes in the freezing winter, never had to do chores. They wore thick, warm cotton coats; their hands and faces never suffered from chilblains, never cracked painfully, never itched.
Her job was given to her younger brother, while she was forced to spend eight years in the countryside, doing farm work, collecting cow dung, hauling pig manure, building walls, digging irrigation ditches—every kind of heavy, dirty, exhausting labor. That was when her hands became covered in calluses.
When she returned to the city, she was immediately married off to Li Anping. For eight years in her in‑laws’ household, she did all the laundry and cooking. When her father‑in‑law fell ill, she was the one who cared for him until he passed away.
On top of that, she worked as a kitchen helper in a restaurant, constantly washing and chopping. Her hands never had a moment’s rest.
Whenever Lin Jingwen thought back on her thirty‑plus years of life, she found it laughable, ironic, and pitiful.
Those so‑called family members and loved ones had hurt her deeply. They never cherished her, only made her do the dirtiest, hardest work, living comfortably themselves while despising her cracked, callused hands.
Lin Jingwen shook her head. She didn’t want to dwell on those painful memories. She had just been reminded of them suddenly, and couldn’t help thinking about it.
At once, she opened the gift box, took out the skincare products, and began using them immediately.
Time to love herself! Earn money, become beautiful!
Since she was on the evening shift today, Lin Jingwen tidied up her home, knitted for a while, and left at 9:45, just in time for work. She rode her bicycle for ten minutes to the state‑run restaurant, arriving five minutes before ten—she wasn’t late. But at the entrance of the restaurant, she saw Li Anping waiting.
Since waking from her nightmare, Lin Jingwen hadn’t seen him. Now, at the sight of him, she felt utterly disgusted. Though, ironically, the bruises on his face looked rather good.
“Why are you only coming now!” Li Anping rushed toward her as soon as he saw her. “How can you show up so late for work! I’ve been waiting here for over an hour!”
He was nearly frozen to death.
Lin Jingwen looked at him as if he were insane. “I’m on the evening shift.”
Li Anping’s face stiffened. He swallowed his anger from standing in the cold for over an hour and said,
“About the apartment—if you don’t agree, I won’t let Zhou Xinping live there. Calm down, just come home with me first. Whatever demands you have, I’ll agree to them, alright?”
This was the softest, most conciliatory tone Li Anping had ever used with Lin Jingwen.
“My only demand is that you come with me right now to file for divorce.” Lin Jingwen replied firmly.
“You—you must be out of your mind! If you divorce me, what benefit could you possibly get!” Li Anping shouted angrily, unable to contain his fury at her unyielding stance.
“Staying away from scum like you—that’s the biggest benefit.” Lin Jingwen replied coldly.
“Get lost. If you want a divorce, then come find me. At any other time, I don’t want to see you at all!”
With that, Lin Jingwen pushed her bicycle forward, heading toward the back entrance of the restaurant.
“Lin Jingwen, stop right there!” Li Anping grabbed the back seat of her bicycle, his face dark.
“What will it take for you to calm down?”
“First, slap yourself twenty times. Then call yourself a scumbag a hundred times. After that, kneel and kowtow to me to admit your mistakes…” Lin Jingwen finished with a cold smile.
“That might cool my anger a little, but I still won’t forgive you. I’m divorcing you no matter what.”
“You… you… you…” Li Anping was nearly faint with rage. He had never imagined that the usually quiet, reserved Lin Jingwen could speak so sharply, cutting him to the bone. But as a supposedly refined, respectable university lecturer, he couldn’t afford to shout and make a scene in public—it would ruin his image.
Li Anping glared at her retreating back, then sniffed involuntarily.
That scent? Yes, when Lin Jingwen came close just now, he noticed it—what perfume was she wearing? She actually had the mood to put on fragrance? Truly, ugly women always make trouble!
Just look at her—like an old hag, with frost‑red cheeks, dark skin, rough and unsightly hands, and that tacky red cotton jacket. Calling her a “yellow‑faced woman” would be flattering.
Li Anping’s face twisted with disgust. He ground his teeth in hatred, then mounted his bicycle and had no choice but to leave.
Red Star First Primary School.
Li Dongle was six and a half years old this year, already in first grade.
After wetting the bed last night, he had been beaten again by Li Anping and barely slept. During class, he lay on his desk and dozed off.
Chinese teacher Wang Lan noticed him sleeping, grew angry, and called him up, making him stand at the back of the classroom as punishment.
Exhausted, Li Dongle couldn’t bear it. Standing there, he burst into loud sobs.
Teacher Wang took a deep breath, suppressing her irritation, and patiently told him to stop crying. She then asked why he was sleeping in class.
“I… I… my step mom left. At home, the adults are all fighting; they all scold me, and last night my dad hit me. I didn’t sleep well.”
Li Dongle knew that wetting the bed was shameful—if he admitted it, everyone would laugh at him. So he didn’t mention that. He only said his mother had left, his father had beaten him, and the family scolded him.
Though only six and a half, he already knew how to read adults’ moods and had developed a basic sense of shame. Instinctively, he revealed only half the truth—his grievances—while hiding the part where he was at fault.
Teacher Wang realized the family conflict was serious—serious enough that his mother had left home!
No wonder Li Dongle’s homework had been messy these past two days, his pencil unsharpened, and he had even forgotten his textbook that morning. It all made sense now—his mother wasn’t at home.
If this continued, Teacher Wang would have to make a home visit and talk with Li Dongle’s parents. Adults might quarrel and fight, but they shouldn’t drag the child into it.
So Teacher Wang didn’t scold him further. She quickly let him sit back down and even told him that if he was too sleepy, he could rest his head on the desk for a while.
But Li Dongle couldn’t fall asleep anymore. His heart felt heavy. Ever since his stepmother left home, he hadn’t eaten well, hadn’t slept well, and was constantly scolded and beaten by his father. He felt utterly miserable. He hadn’t had candy or meat buns for days! The more he thought about it, the more wronged he felt, until tears silently rolled down his cheeks.
Finally, class ended. His classmates left their seats and bounced happily outside to play. But Li Dongle stayed slumped at his desk, unmoving. Then he overheard the brothers Cai Huanhuan and Cai Kangkang bragging about eating delicious chocolate.
“You guys don’t believe me? Chocolate is amazing! Even the candy wrappers are beautiful. Look—we didn’t throw them away. Smell them if you don’t believe me, they’re so fragrant.”
Cai Huanhuan pulled out a chocolate wrapper from his pocket, inhaled it with delight, then passed it around for others to smell.
Everyone scrambled to sniff the wrapper, marveling at how wonderful chocolate smelled.
Some even asked where they had bought it, planning to ask their parents to buy some too.
“This chocolate came from Li Dongle’s mom. She gave it to my grandpa, and he brought it back for us. We each got one piece.”
Cai Kangkang pointed toward Li Dongle, who was still lying on his desk, and spoke. “Li Dongle must have eaten even more chocolate. His mom treats him so well—she always saves the best food for him, never taking a bite herself.”
The classmates crowded around Li Dongle, marveling and envying him:
“Wow! Li Dongle, your mom is amazing! She’s incredible—she can even buy such good chocolate!”
“Yeah, yeah! Chocolate is super expensive. I once asked my mom to buy it, but she said it was too costly and refused.”
“Li Dongle, isn’t chocolate delicious? Since you ate so much, you must still have the wrappers. Can you give me one? I want to collect them.”
……
Surrounded by his classmates, hearing them praise his stepmother and rave about chocolate, Li Dongle felt only confusion, hurt, and even anger!
Chocolate? He didn’t know anything about it—he hadn’t eaten a single piece. His stepmother had given the chocolate to Cai Huanhuan and Cai Kangkang, not to him! Ahhh, it infuriated him!
They had eaten what should have been his chocolate. He wanted to snatch it back, to make them pay!
Thinking this, Li Dongle suddenly stood up, raised his fist, and charged at Cai Huanhuan.