After the door to the Knowledge Youth Institute was shut, a devastated Zhang Jiahua was finally pulled to his feet by the crowd.
Knowing that he had a falling out with his family and didn’t want to go home, Zhang Ci Hao invited Zhang Jiahua over to his place.
Zhang Jiahua shook his head in distress. "I’ll just go to the fields by myself to get some peace and quiet." Without Deng Yuyuan, he felt as if his entire world had turned black and white. He couldn’t muster the energy to do anything.
"Why don’t you come to my place for a bit?" the man from the Jin Family patted his shoulder. Back when Zhang Jiahua was mistreated by his mother as a child, it was this man who had taken pity on him and given him a few steamed buns to eat. "You can also see how our family takes care of Fubao," the man added half-jokingly. "Even though your wife is taking care of the baby alone right now, if she finds out you still don’t know how to do anything on the day you two reconcile, she might just get mad and leave again."
He called out into the distance, and a little boy carefully walked over holding Fubao. When the farce at the Knowledge Youth Institute happened, they had simply run far away with Fubao instead of going home. After all, gossiping was human nature.
"Take a look, isn’t she super cute?" the man from the Jin Family showed off proudly.
Zhang Jiahua looked at the chubby, fair-skinned baby. The first thing that came to mind was his own thin and tiny Tuantuan, and a wave of immense sorrow instantly washed over him. He spoke the truth. "Actually, compared to my Tuantuan, her eye shape isn’t as nice, and her face isn’t as delicate."
The smile on the Jin Family man’s face stiffened. He realized he had been far too accommodating to him. Forget it, a happy man shouldn’t bicker with an unfortunate one. "So, are you still coming?"
"Yes," Zhang Jiahua managed to squeeze out. Seeing Fubao had indeed improved his mood quite a bit. A sudden spark of inspiration hit him. Driven by some inexplicable impulse, he looked down and asked the baby, who couldn’t even speak yet, "Fubao, can you bless me so that I don’t get a divorce?"
"Ah!" Fubao broke into a wide, beaming smile, her little hands gently patting Zhang Jiahua’s stubbled chin.
"Thank you." Zhang Jiahua took it as a small infant’s consolation.
On the way back, the man from the Jin Family deliberately took a detour down a less crowded path. Zhang Jiahua didn’t continue to tease Fubao. Instead, he followed silently behind. His unfocused eyes swept past the running, playing boys and finally landed on the man holding Fubao, revealing a hint of envy.
Noticing his depression, Zhang Ci Hao threw an arm over Zhang Jiahua’s shoulder and offered him some earnest advice. "Brother Ah Hua, Mr. Deng said that no matter what, you’re the child’s father. Mr. Deng is currently caught up in the heat of the moment. The more you refuse to divorce, the more she’ll want to fight against you. Rebellious psychology is perfectly normal."
"Then what can I do? Just go along with her wishes?" Zhang Jiahua wondered out loud. "You go to the Knowledge Youth Institute all the time. Can you help me talk some sense into Yuanyuan?"
Zhang Ci Hao sighed. "My mom has been trying to persuade her all day today, and as you saw, Jiahua, it didn’t do any good at all. But think about it—if there’s divorce, there’s also reconciliation. Mr. Deng is dead set on getting a divorce right now, so you should just give her what she wants. That way, she won’t keep giving you the cold shoulder. Even after the divorce, you’ll still be the child’s father. If you say you want to see the kid, could she really stop you?"
Zhang Ci Hao painted an increasingly rosy picture. "Right now, the child is small, so she can afford to ignore you when you visit. But once the kid gets older and starts to understand things, she’ll have to pretend in front of the child that you two still have a good relationship despite the divorce. If you put on a good performance then, you’ll definitely be able to get back together!"
As Zhang Ci Hao spoke, he ended up making himself feel a bit sour. It was no big deal; he was probably just craving some sweet and sour candied hawthorn sticks. He had heard that many pregnant women loved eating them, though he wasn’t sure if women doing their postpartum confinement liked them too. If he had time, he could bring one to Deng Yuyuan. His thoughts gradually drifted into the clouds. It wasn’t until Zhang Jiahua’s increasingly heavy pats on his shoulder that Zhang Ci Hao’s wandering mind was brought back to reality.
Zhang Jiahua was somewhat moved by the idea. However, divorce and remarriage were both foreign and terrifying concepts to him. If possible, he didn’t want either to happen. Now that push had come to shove, he was still hesitating. "...But, but..." Zhang Jiahua kept his mouth open for a long time, yet he still couldn’t manage to say anything of substance.
"No more ’buts.’ If you ask me, you should just agree to the divorce right away to cool down Mr. Deng’s temper first. If a person is suppressing a raging fire in their heart, how can they recover their health properly?" Zhang Ci Hao advised earnestly. "It’s not that I’m trying to fan the flames as your younger brother, but it’s been a month. Not only have you two not reconciled, but today it escalated to the point where you were kneeling to each other. There’s no point in dragging this out. It’s better to break things down before rebuilding them. First, try to get Sister-in-law Deng to at least treat you pleasantly."
As Zhang Ci Hao spoke, his initially wavering voice grew firm again. He had already managed to convince himself.
Zhang Jiahua was completely at a loss. The man from the Jin Family felt that something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it to argue back—Zhang Jiahua’s marital situation was already complicated enough to make his head spin.
After a long time, Zhang Jiahua asked softly, "Then... when would be a good time to take Yuanyuan to get the divorce certificate?"
"There’s no time like the present. Let’s make it tomorrow."
As soon as Zhang Ci Hao finished speaking, both men turned their heads and looked at him in surprise.
The man from the Jin Family finally sensed that something was amiss. "Why are you in such a hurry about Jiahua’s business?"
"You guys just don’t understand, do you?" Zhang Ci Hao patted his chest. "Nighttime is exactly when people tend to let their imaginations run wild. With Sister-in-law Deng taking care of the baby alone at the Knowledge Youth Institute, recalling what happened during the day, she’ll inevitably get angrier and more worked up the more she thinks about it. Her impression of Brother Jiahua will plummet—WHOOSH—straight to rock bottom. But what if you go tell Sister-in-law Deng tonight that you’ll divorce tomorrow?
"In the dead of night, realizing she has truly lost her husband, she’ll start remembering Brother Jiahua’s good points and feel that he’s a considerate man."
Zhang Ci Hao spoke with immense enthusiasm, and his only two listeners were completely reeled in by his logic, both feeling that what he said made perfect sense. Finally, Zhang Ci Hao hammered his point home. "I’m someone with a high school diploma. You can’t go wrong listening to me!"
His supreme eloquence, combined with his outstanding diploma, thoroughly convinced the two men who only had elementary school educations. Zhang Jiahua turned around, ready to head straight back to the Knowledge Youth Institute.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Zhang Ci Hao hurriedly pulled him back. "If you go back now, the people at the Knowledge Youth Institute definitely won’t open the door for you. It’s better to ask someone to pass on a message and give each other some buffer time. Do you know what buffer time is? It means that Sister-in-law Deng might get furious just seeing you right now, and nothing you say will work. She’ll only be able to think clearly if someone else tells her."
That made even more sense.
Zhang Jiahua humbly asked for advice. "Ci Hao, give me an idea. Who would be the best person to ask?"
"It’s mealtime right now, so we need to find someone who is good with words and has free time. Who else but Aunt Wang?"
Aunt Wang loved to gossip. After getting off work, she would always stroll around, listening to rumors about every household. If they asked her to pass on a message, she would be more than happy to do it.
Zhang Ci Hao slapped his thigh. "Jiahua, hurry home! Aunt Wang is definitely chatting with your mom right now!"