Jiang Mian thanked him again, picked up a slice, dipped it into sesame sauce, and put it into her mouth.
Mmm!
The freshness of the lamb blended with the rich aroma of sesame paste, instantly melting on her tongue, warming her throat all the way down.
“Is it good?” Lu Heng asked.
Jiang Mian nodded vigorously, her mouth too full to speak.
On the other side, Lu Heng placed another piece into her bowl.
Then he added frozen tofu, napa cabbage, and bean sprouts into the copper hotpot.
He kept serving her food, one bite after another.
Jiang Mian simply focused on eating.
Without speaking, the two of them were unexpectedly harmonious.
So harmonious, as if they had never been apart.
As if they had only just said goodbye that morning.
Through the rising steam of the hotpot, Lu Heng watched Jiang Mian eat until the tip of her nose was beaded with sweat, and memories from the northeastern farm surfaced in his mind.
Back then, Jiang Mian worked in the farm cafeteria.
Every day after work, Lu Heng would go there to eat.
She would stand behind the serving table, holding a ladle and serving food.
Always with her head lowered, never looking at anyone.
But Lu Heng noticed that whenever she served him, she always gave him extra—more pieces of meat, more eggs, always saving the best portions for him.
At first, he thought it was just his imagination.
But later, even his coworkers noticed.
Whenever they compared their lunch boxes, his always had the best dishes—larger portions, more eggs.
Other people’s green pepper dishes were mostly peppers.
His were mostly meat.
Other people’s cucumber scrambled eggs were mostly cucumbers.
His were mostly eggs.
Even when it came to soup, his was thicker than everyone else’s. From a whole pot of egg drop soup, nearly half the eggs seemed to end up in his bowl.
The good dishes were always fuller than anyone else’s.
It was as if the best portions were always set aside for him in advance.
Yet strangely, she had never once looked up at him, and still she could recognize him.
And when serving him, her movements were always precise—without the slightest hesitation or pause.
Lost in these memories, Lu Heng became absent-minded.
Across from him, Jiang Mian finished everything on her plate. With nothing left to eat, she finally looked up and saw Lu Heng lost in thought.
Lu Heng snapped back to his senses, glanced at the empty table, and called to the server:
“Comrade, bring me three more plates.”
“No, no, that’s enough—I’m full!”
“I haven’t eaten yet.”
“……”
But after the food was served and cooked, Lu Heng still picked it up and placed it into Jiang Mian’s bowl.
Jiang Mian asked, “Why aren’t you eating?”
“I’m full from anger.”
“……”
Jiang Mian held back the urge to roll her eyes and finished all three plates anyway.
In the end, she was so full that she clutched her stomach, unable to eat another bite.
Lu Heng called the waiter and had a cup of sour plum soup brought over.
Jiang Mian held the warm drink and took a sip.
Suddenly, the man across from her asked:
“Why did you divorce me?”
“Pfft—”
Jiang Mian almost choked.
Holding her firm, rounded belly, she coughed a few times.
The man across from her remained indifferent as he pressed on:
“Give me a reason that can convince me.”
A reason?
If she didn’t divorce and followed him back to the city, it would be a dead end!
Wasn’t that reason enough?
In the story, after the male lead was sent down, he got married on the farm but never told his family.
So his parents didn’t know he had married in the countryside.
When he returned to the city, the old couple happily went to the station to pick him up—only to see that he had brought back a rural wife.
They couldn’t accept it and were so shocked that both of them ended up in the hospital before even going home.
Thinking about it now, Lu Heng probably also felt that having a countryside wife like her was somewhat embarrassing, which was why he never told his family about the marriage.
So without doing anything at all, she would end up bearing the blame for sending her in-laws to the hospital.
How was she supposed to deal with that?
Forget it—she wasn’t playing this game anymore!
She wasn’t going to be his child-bearing tool!
Wouldn’t it be better to keep those three genius sons for herself?
But—
After seeing her tragic ending in a dream, she was so frightened that upon waking, she immediately brought up divorce to the male lead.
The male lead was a bit stunned.
He asked why she wanted a divorce.
At that time, she had practically lost her mind and started cursing without thinking.