“Ah, Teacher Li, how come I didn’t hear your name?” Teacher Lu, who had just spoken to him, asked in puzzlement.
Li Anping forced a strained smile. “It’s normal. I told you this matter isn’t reliable.”
“It really is true—your name isn’t there.” Teacher Lu paused, then lowered his voice and asked,
“I heard your wife has been talking about divorcing you these past few days. Could it be because of this? Maybe that’s why you didn’t get the housing quota.”
“We’re not divorcing, there’s no such thing! It’s just a little quarrel between husband and wife. I’ll be leaving now.” Li Anping’s smile could no longer hold. He threw out those words and practically fled in embarrassment.
“There really isn’t Teacher Li’s name!”
“His wife is divorcing him, so of course, he won’t get the house. After all, if they could get one, it would’ve been thanks to his wife’s efforts.”
“What’s going on? We hadn’t heard about this!”
He Shangjin listened to everyone gossiping about Li Anping, biting his lip and suppressing the urge to spill more details. He quickly ran off. He was going to call his wife and tell her the good news!
He could already imagine her excited scream when she heard it. Heh heh, heh heh!
After leaving the bulletin board, Li Anping found a deserted grove and angrily slammed his fist against a tree!
“Lin Jingwen, you wretched woman!”
Bang!
Li Anping struck the tree again, imagining it was Lin Jingwen, wishing he could beat her to death right then and there. How dare she!
This whole housing matter—she must have sabotaged him behind the scenes.
If it were only her storming out and talking about divorce, even if Director Yang heard about it, they wouldn’t have denied him the house!
Because Li Anping knew very well: in the eyes of outsiders, no matter how badly Lin Jingwen threw a tantrum, she would never actually divorce him!
Even the department head thought so. Lin Jingwen had helped his elderly father, so out of gratitude, the head gave Li Anping the teaching assistant opportunity.
Because Lin Jingwen was his wife, they were one as husband and wife. Everything she had belonged to him. The house was no exception.
Li Anping had always believed this. He was confident Lin Jingwen would eventually come back home.
But this housing issue was like a slap across his face!
For the first time, he realized Lin Jingwen’s ruthlessness—and her determination to divorce him.
She didn’t want Li Dongle anymore, she didn’t want the house anymore!!
And her attitude toward him was nothing but utter disgust!
Li Anping shook his aching hand, starting to wonder what he should do next.
Since the house was gone, what was the point of becoming a senior teacher? With Lin Jingwen’s attitude like this, maybe it was better to just go through with the divorce and be with Xinping!
Without the school-assigned housing, he could simply rent a place with Xinping.
The family home was a mess—Xinping surely didn’t like it. Living there with her son was unfair to them.
But renting outside would suddenly increase expenses. Xinping didn’t have a job yet, so everything would rely on his income. Still, it wasn’t impossible.
Right now, his monthly salary was 100 yuan, plus some benefits and subsidies. Altogether, he earned about 1,400 yuan a year. He also had the habit of writing articles, submitting them to magazines or newspapers, which brought in another 40–50 yuan a month.
Over the past two years, he hadn’t had major expenses. Lin Jingwen managed daily household costs, so he had saved nearly 4,000 yuan.
So yes, he had some money. But then he thought about Xinping’s clothing and lifestyle—she would probably spend a lot. His savings would never last. Not only would he fail to save, but it might not even be enough for Xinping and her son.
If he didn’t divorce Lin Jingwen, he wouldn’t need to rent a place, wouldn’t need to give her money, and wouldn’t have to constantly support Xinping and her son. He could just visit them occasionally and give a little money.
Oh, and there was the teaching assistant’s 200 yuan, plus even more benefits and bonuses!
Once he divorced Lin Jingwen, the teaching assistant position would likely vanish too. His losses wouldn’t just be money—it would ruin his career prospects.
Comparing the two options, the gap was enormous!
The more Li Anping thought about it, the more it hurt. He slammed his fist against the tree again, then shook his hand in pain, his mind becoming clearer.
At middle age, he couldn’t just think about love—he had to consider practical matters: money, work, and caring for his mother in her old age.
If his mother fell ill one day and needed constant care, how could Xinping, with her delicate temperament, possibly look after her?
It had to be Lin Jingwen! No, he couldn’t divorce her—not yet, at least!
He had to find a way to bring Lin Jingwen back home.
With a dark expression, Li Anping left the deserted grove.
Meanwhile…
Lin Jingwen had planned to finish discussing salary and benefits with Manager Zhao and then leave work early.
But Manager Zhao told her she could rest tomorrow, and asked her to help with dinner preparations that evening.
Lin Jingwen had already refused several times before, but since the manager agreed to let her take tomorrow off, she didn’t refuse again and accepted. Her evening work was to prepare food while teaching Master Qian and the others how to shape the designs. They were all experienced chefs—once she explained a few tricks and they watched closely, they quickly picked it up.
Although all her pastries were popular, the adorable animal-shaped buns were the most beloved. Neither adults nor children could resist their cute charm.
Lin Jingwen worked until 8:30 p.m. before finishing. On her way out, she took a few animal buns and the plum blossom cakes she had made, planning to bring them to her other employer, Mr. Qiu.
But instead of going straight home, she made a slight detour to find He Shangjin and Cui Dongmei. She remembered today was the day the school announced the housing allocation list. After waiting all this time, she had come to collect the 300-yuan “thank-you fee” they had promised her.
Lin Jingwen didn’t go inside; she called the couple out to meet her at the door.
“Ah, Jingwen!! Thank you, thank you! The house really is ours!”
The moment Cui Dongmei saw her, she threw her arms around her in excitement, nearly shouting.
Fortunately, she hadn’t completely lost her senses from joy—she still remembered to keep her voice down.
Lin Jingwen felt her happiness and smiled as well.
“As long as the house is secured, that’s what matters. Before it was confirmed, I was worried something might change.”
“Heh heh, heh heh, no changes—it really is ours!”
Cui Dongmei said excitedly, then pulled out a red envelope and pressed it into Lin Jingwen’s hand, whispering,
“This afternoon we went to your restaurant to find you, and learned you’d been dismissed. You’re divorcing and unemployed—it’s not easy being alone. So, although we agreed on 300 yuan before, after discussing it, we felt this house was entirely thanks to you. We added a little more, making it 388 yuan—for good luck and a nice number.”
“And if you ever run into difficulties in the future, don’t hesitate to come to us. We’ll do our best to help.”
“Thank you.” Lin Jingwen squeezed the thick wad of cash and smiled. “Actually, I’ve already found a new job.”
“That’s wonderful. But still, take this money.” Cui Dongmei smiled. “Compared to a whole house, this is just a small sum.”
“Then I won’t be polite about it.” Lin Jingwen laughed. “I’ll be going now. Please don’t mention to anyone that you’ve been in contact with me, otherwise Li Anping might cause you trouble.”
“Of course, of course.” He Shangjin quickly agreed, then shared some gossip with her: “This afternoon, when everyone saw the housing list, since Li Anping’s name wasn’t there, they all said it was because you divorced him that he lost the house. Honestly, everyone understands what really happened.”
Lin Jingwen just smiled at that. “I suppose he’s going to curse me to death.”
“That’s his own fault!” Cui Dongmei immediately said to her.
“Mm, it’s late now, so I won’t keep chatting. I’ll head back.” Lin Jingwen said.
“Alright, you should go home quickly.” Cui Dongmei nudged her husband. “Ride your bicycle and escort Jingwen. She’s a single woman carrying money—it’s not safe.”
Lin Jingwen didn’t refuse, simply thanked them.