After Lin Jingwen and Teacher Wang left, Li Anping and Zhang Lanxiang both looked grim, sitting in silence.
“Anping, it’s obvious Lin Jingwen has grown wild. If you don’t give her a harsh lesson, she’ll never obediently listen again!” Zhang Lanxiang was still furious. She thought they should have tricked Lin Jingwen into staying earlier and let Teacher Wang go home first.
Once Teacher Wang left, they could gag Lin Jingwen, beat her, and lock her in a room. If she dared to shout, they’d beat her again—until she was completely terrified and submissive, so she wouldn’t dare make trouble anymore.
Plenty of rural men disciplined disobedient wives this way—beating them until they no longer dared to run, only obediently staying home.
“Mom, what era do you think this is? We can’t lock people up and beat them. If anyone found out, I’d be reported, and I could lose my job.” Li Anping said coldly, telling his mother to drop the idea.
“Then what do you suggest? This won’t work, that won’t work! Didn’t you say yourself that if she insists on divorce, it’ll affect your job, even your housing allocation?” Zhang Lanxiang shouted angrily.
“Even if we really divorce, it’s not that serious! Promotions and housing are based on his own merits. What does Lin Jingwen have to do with it?” Li Jianguo spoke up.
Because of the issue with Li Dongle, Li Jianguo still felt guilty—toward his younger brother Li Anping, not toward Lin Jingwen.
Toward Lin Jingwen, he felt only resentment. If she hadn’t insisted on divorce and refused to raise Dongle, the child wouldn’t have been returned to them.
“Exactly, eldest brother is right!” Zhang Lanxiang immediately agreed.
Hearing his elder brother’s words, Li Anping felt much more at ease. He realized he had been taking Lin Jingwen too seriously, caring too much about appearances.
“Fine, let’s just leave her alone for a few days. Ignore her, so she doesn’t start thinking she’s really important.” Li Anping said firmly.
Zhang Lanxiang nodded repeatedly. “People are cheap‑boned. The more you coax her, the more arrogant she gets. If you ignore her, she’ll come crawling back on her own.”
“Alright, Mom, Brother, it’s late. Let’s all get some sleep.” Li Anping, exhausted, stood up.
When he returned to his room, he saw the messy bed, still damp and reeking of urine. He frowned deeply. Clenching his fists, he told himself to endure for just a few more days. Once the housing allocation came through, he would move into the new apartment immediately.
Meanwhile, Li Dongle was squeezed onto a bed with his biological parents and Li Chunqing, sleeping uncomfortably.
“You’re really stupid. Having Third Aunt as your mom was such a good thing,” Li Chunqing whispered before falling asleep.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t be crying and making a fuss.”
“You’re just a money‑loser, they don’t want you!” Li Dongle snapped angrily at being called stupid.
“They don’t want you either! We already have two older brothers, you’re not worth anything!” Li Chunqing retorted, turning her back on him in anger.
Li Dongle couldn’t yet understand those words. He was still sulking over not getting any chocolate.
As for the idea that Lin Jingwen might not want him anymore? Li Dongle refused to believe it.
In the past, even when she was his “stepmom,” at worst, he could just call her “Mom.” His birth mother had also said she didn’t want him before, but whenever he cried and called her “good mom,” she would give him something tasty to eat.
The next morning, Li Anping woke up feeling covered in the stench of urine. The quilt and mattress were unusable unless they were washed. He opened the wardrobe, wanting to change into clean clothes, only to find none left. On the floor nearby lay several dirty garments. The once‑tidy wardrobe was now a complete mess. Before, he had changed clothes almost daily, and Lin Jingwen would always wash them, hang them up, or fold them neatly.
But now…
Li Anping had no choice but to keep wearing the dirty clothes on his body. He picked up the pile of dirty clothes from the floor, carried them out of the room, and said to Zhang Lanxiang: “Mom, please wash these for me today. I don’t have any clean clothes left.”
Zhang Lanxiang: …
She herself still had a pile of dirty laundry waiting. She had been counting on Lin Jingwen to come back and wash them. She didn’t want to wash them. Not at all.
She was already sixty years old, and in the middle of winter, she still had to use cold water to wash her son’s clothes—what kind of life was this?
But could Li Anping’s dirty clothes really be handed over to the eldest sister‑in‑law or the second sister‑in‑law to wash?
“Mom, if you don’t want to wash them, let Big Sister‑in‑law or Second Sister‑in‑law do it. Before, Lin Jingwen often washed clothes for Big Brother and Second Brother too. Why can’t they wash mine?” Li Anping could tell his mother didn’t want to wash them, so he spoke up.
Since they all lived under one roof in a small house with no soundproofing, his words were immediately overheard by Huang Juan and Gao Qin.
Unlike Lin Jingwen, who used to suffer in silence, the two of them instantly lashed out: “Oh heavens, this life is unbearable! Go ask around—who else has sisters‑in‑law washing underwear, socks, and clothes for a married younger brother‑in‑law?”
“You Li family people bully others too much! If this keeps up, we’ll go back to our parents’ homes!”
Li Anping’s face flushed red with shame, wishing he could crawl into a hole.
“Shut up, all of you! If you’ve got the guts, go back to your parents’ homes then!” Zhang Lanxiang shouted angrily.
But Li Anping was truly afraid his two sisters‑in‑law might leave. If they did, all the household chores would fall to his mother. And whatever she couldn’t manage would end up on him and his elder brother.
With Lin Jingwen already gone, the house was chaotic enough. If the two sisters‑in‑law left too, the family would completely fall apart.
He quickly tried to calm his mother down and apologized to his sisters‑in‑law, finally settling everyone down. But then—who would wash the dirty clothes? Li Anping had to wash them himself!
In the middle of winter, he squatted in the courtyard, scrubbing clothes with cold water, his teeth chattering from the chill, silently enduring the misery.
Jicheng University.
After finishing the laundry, his hands nearly frozen, Li Anping rode his bicycle to campus, seething with frustration. As soon as he entered the office building of his department, he ran into Zhang Aiguo, a colleague he usually didn’t get along with.
“Well, well, Teacher Li. I heard your wife is divorcing you. That bruise on your face—don’t tell me your wife hit you?” Zhang Aiguo looked at him with glee, mocking.
“Of course not! Where did you hear such nonsense? Didn’t I already say two days ago that this bruise was from falling off my bike? And there’s no divorce!” Li Anping frowned, speaking angrily.
“Come on, everyone knows your wife moved out. The whole school and the neighbors are talking about it. Don’t bother hiding it.”
Zhang Aiguo sneered.
“Couples fight sometimes, sure—but usually they make up afterward. Teacher Li, letting your wife run away like that just shows you’re not capable enough.”
Inside, Li Anping cursed Lin Jingwen bitterly for stirring up trouble, while outwardly his expression grew even more severe.
“Teacher Zhang, this is the university. You’d better watch your words! And besides, matters of marriage are my private affairs—they shouldn’t be discussed here at school.”
Zhang Aiguo clicked his tongue lightly, unwilling but forced to shut his mouth.
Just then, another teacher arrived. Seeing Li Anping, he said: “Teacher Li, three days ago, I think I saw you at the Xile Hotel. What were you doing there?”
“A friend came to town, I went to visit,” Li Anping replied, his heart skipping a beat. He thought to himself, *Good thing I haven’t gone to see Xinping these past two days.*
If someone caught him there and connected it with Lin Jingwen’s divorce, everyone would surely say he had a woman outside.
The group continued chatting as they entered the office.
“Well, Teacher He, what brings you here? Is your Chemical Engineering Department planning some joint event with us?” Zhang Aiguo asked with a laugh when he saw He Shangjin.
“No event. I just came to borrow a document from your side,” He Shangjin replied, deliberately glancing at Li Anping.
Seeing the bruise on his face and his gloomy expression, He Shangjin felt reassured that what Lin Jingwen had said was true. That meant his housing allocation was secure!
He Shangjin had been holding back for two days, nearly bursting with impatience. He wished he could announce the housing list immediately, but in reality, he still had to wait two more days. It was agonizing.
He Shangjin had come today mainly to investigate indirectly, to confirm whether Lin Jingwen’s words were true. Once he saw Li Anping’s miserable state, he quickly slipped away without speaking to him. He didn’t want Li Anping suspecting him of stealing the housing allocation when the list was announced, and then coming after him for trouble.
Just as He Shangjin left, several leaders of the college arrived, accompanied by a young, refined, and handsome man.
Li Anping glanced at him and immediately guessed this must be the new professor, Qiu Ze. Even the department head—whose face was usually stern and stiff—was smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum when looking at him. Other than a genius professor, no young man could make the department head lower himself like that. And indeed, that was the case.
The department head smiled and said to everyone: “Everyone, pause your work for a moment. Let me introduce Professor Qiu Ze. Don’t be fooled by his youth—his academic achievements are truly remarkable…”
Listening to Qiu Ze’s dazzling accomplishments, seeing his refined attire, elegant demeanor, and handsome looks, Li Anping couldn’t help but feel ashamed of himself. Yet he couldn’t even muster jealousy.
Some people are simply too outstanding, standing so far above you that you can only look up to them, not envy them. Because you know, no matter how hard you try, you’ll never catch up.
Then, hearing the department head officially announce that two teaching assistants would be selected for Professor Qiu, Li Anping clenched his fists in secret.
Everyone else’s eyes lit up too, eager to compete for the assistant positions—the benefits and treatment were simply too good.
After the department head finished his introduction, all eyes turned to Qiu Ze, waiting for him to say a few words.
“My only requirement for assistants is that they have the ability to learn independently and can complete the research tasks I assign,” Qiu Ze said.
“I don’t like beating around the bush. I prefer being straightforward. I value efficiency and results. In the future, if we work together and I criticize something you’ve done wrong, it’s about the work, not personal. I hope we can understand each other.”
The crowd immediately applauded warmly, the atmosphere lively and enthusiastic.
But many secretly muttered to themselves, thinking Qiu Ze was too strict and impartial, difficult to get along with. In today’s world, everything runs on relationships—who would believe someone only cares about efficiency and not personal ties?
Li Anping frowned. He considered himself capable, but there were two teachers in the department whose research skills were definitely stronger than his.
The problem was that those two were poor at communication, always silent, and overlooked. In evaluations and promotions, they were often marginalized. If assistants were truly chosen based on ability, he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Carrying these worries, Li Anping went back to preparing his lecture. Near noon, he was summoned to the department head’s office.