Lu Xiaoran guiltily avoided his gaze, stammering and not daring to speak.
At this point, how could Lu Guoheng not understand?
His son had truly done such a despicable thing.
Lu Guoheng’s face darkened with anger. Seeing the situation turning sour, Zhang Yufen immediately shielded her grandson.
“Guoheng, don’t blame Xiao Ran. Xiao Ran already apologized to her.”
“But she still wouldn’t let it go, making such a scene that all the neighbors came to watch the spectacle.”
“Now the children in the village don’t want to play with Xiao Ran anymore. He’s been crying for hours over this.”
“She’s practically trying to drive Xiao Ran to his death!”
Zhang Yufen wiped her tears with her hand – everything she said was true.
If Song Jinhe hadn’t made endless scenes at home, it wouldn’t have attracted the villagers to watch the spectacle.
Lu Guoheng turned back in disbelief, as if seeing Song Jinhe for the first time.
“You even told outsiders about family matters?”
“Song Jinhe, don’t you understand that family shame shouldn’t be made public!”
“Xiao Ran is still so young, and now he has to bear these accusations. Do you want him to live in shame for the rest of his life?”
Although their son was at fault, how could Song Jinhe, as a mother, act without any consideration for her child?
Lu Guoheng was so angry his chest hurt. Seeing Song Jinhe’s indifferent expression made him tremble with rage.
“When did you become like this?”
As Lu Guoheng questioned her, his mind remained in a state of shock.
He genuinely couldn’t understand how Song Jinhe had become like this.
The former Song Jinhe was gentle, considerate, and knew her limits. How had she turned into this unreasonable person in just a few years?
When Song Jinhe heard Lu Guoheng’s final words, she finally stood up.
She looked directly at Lu Guoheng and said with a bitter laugh:
“Who made me become like this, if not you?”
“Your mother keeps telling everyone how terrible I am. When I get upset after hearing it, you say she was just making casual remarks and tell me not to mind.”
“Even when you defend Liu Qingying in front of others, making me the laughingstock, you turn around and accuse me of overthinking and not being generous enough.”
“I’ve been following your family’s rules all along, watching my reputation deteriorate day by day, while you keep throwing mud at me outside, portraying yourselves as the victims.”
“If you had told me earlier that your family rules were specifically designed for the daughter-in-law, I would never have married someone like you in the first place.”
Song Jinhe poured out all the words she had been holding back in one breath.
After speaking, she raised her hand to warn Lu Guoheng.
“Lu Guoheng, let me tell you – what happened today is the first time, but it won’t be the last.”
“From now on, however your family throws mud at me, I’ll throw it right back.”
“If you don’t want me to have peace, then none of us will have peace!”
Lu Guoheng was stunned: “Song Jinhe, how can you say that?”
“Even if Mom and I said something outside, it was unintentional. How were we supposed to know it would affect you so much?”
Lu Guoheng scratched his head irritably.
“We’re family. Living as a family requires mutual tolerance and understanding.”
“You can’t deliberately retaliate against us just because Mom and I accidentally said a few things, can you?”
Song Jinhe laughed in anger, wondering how Lu Guoheng had the nerve to say such things.
“Lu Guoheng, you really have a way with words.”
“You splashing dirty water on me is just an accident, and as family, I’m supposed to tolerate, understand, and endure the grievance without a word.”
“When I do something, it’s because I don’t understand that family scandals shouldn’t be aired in public, and I’m not considering the child.”
Song Jinhe’s tone was sarcastic, and Lu Guoheng’s face turned pale and then flushed. In the end, he only said:
“If that’s what you think, then there’s nothing I can do.”
“I can only say that I have a clear conscience toward you.”
Lu Guoheng worked at the Machinery Factory, a secure job with a monthly salary of forty-five yuan, making him one of the most accomplished in Da Shan Village.
When he reached marriageable age, many matchmakers came to propose matches for him.
To put it bluntly, if he hadn’t liked Song Jinhe back then, finding her beautiful and hardworking, he wouldn’t have turned down the matchmakers and married her.
While other families only had meat dishes on the table during holidays, his family had meat dishes every few days.
Lu Guoheng didn’t see how this life was in any way unfair to Song Jinhe.
He thought she was just too comfortable and would latch onto anything to make a fuss.
Song Jinhe laughed: “What a clear conscience.”
“Since I married into your family, what dirty or tiring work haven’t I done?”
“I do the housework, grow the vegetables, raise the child, and when your mother was sick, I spent my own money on medicine and took care of her. I even listened to you and swallowed my anger every time you ran off to Liu Qingying’s house.”
“But after all I’ve done, you stay out all night to help Liu Qingying, and your son hits me saying he wants Liu Qingying to be his mother.”
“And besides, in the six years we’ve been married, how many times have you given me money?”
“And now you tell me you have a clear conscience? That’s not even how you bullshit, is it?”
Faced with her accusations, Lu Guoheng held back again and again, but he couldn’t take it anymore by the end.
He said furiously: “Enough! Since you’re so aggrieved, let’s just get a divorce!”
“The son stays with me. After the divorce, you can go back to your parents’ house and live the life you want!”
Lu Guoheng didn’t really mean to divorce.
He and Song Jinhe had years of feelings between them. They might quarrel and fight, but it would never come to divorce.
He just wanted to remind Song Jinhe that it was fine to vent her anger with a few words, but she couldn’t push it too far.
Lu Guoheng thought Song Jinhe would understand his meaning, but instead, she nodded without hesitation.
Song Jinhe looked at him and chuckled lightly: “Fine, I was planning to divorce anyway.”
“But before the divorce, you must take your son and go with me to Liu Qingying’s house to get the pendant back.”
Divorce was exactly what Song Jinhe wanted.
But before divorcing, she had to take back what belonged to her!
When Lu Guoheng first heard Song Jinhe agree to divorce, his heart skipped a beat, thinking she was serious.
But after hearing her next sentence, he immediately changed his mind.
Song Jinhe didn’t earn any money, and the pendant Xiao Ran took couldn’t be worth much anyway.
Bringing up trouble with Qingying at the height of their argument and divorce talk was essentially just her acting out of jealousy and anger.
Agreeing to divorce must also be said in the heat of the moment.
Lu Guoheng gradually relaxed. He glanced at Song Jinhe, wanting to give her a way out.
But thinking of what Song Jinhe had just said, he felt angry again.
After thinking it over carefully, Lu Guoheng simply agreed.
“Fine, I’ll take Xiao Ran and go with you.”
The pendant incident was entirely Ya Ya’s fault to begin with.
Ya Ya clearly knew Xiao Ran had secretly taken the pendant out – how could she just accept it like that?
Let Song Jinhe make a scene then. Once she vents that anger in her heart, she surely won’t cause trouble at home anymore.
Zhou Yufen couldn’t stand listening to Song Jinhe’s words and rushed forward wanting to scold her on her son’s behalf.
But the moment she charged over, she froze.
“What do you mean he hasn’t given you money many times?”
“Son, your salary isn’t small. All these years combined, it should amount to quite a substantial sum. Where has it all gone?”
Lu Guoheng’s expression changed abruptly upon hearing this, instinctively shooting a warning look at Song Jinhe.