Su Minzhi and Fang Yuming had first met through an introduction.
Back then, Fang Yuming’s second aunt and Su Minzhi’s mother were colleagues at Jiaotong University and knew each other well.
Seeing that both were of suitable age—Su’s father served in the military, the Fang family was upright and respectable, Fang’s father was a cadre at a state-owned factory, and Fang Yuming himself was gentle-looking and well-mannered—the two families readily agreed to the marriage.
Of course Su Minzhi knew Fang Yuming had once been sent down to the countryside, but in his telling, those years were simply “educated youth tempering,” “a period of hardship.”
No one ever told her that during those long years in the village, he had actually married someone there—and even fathered a child.
The thought stabbed her chest like a sharp needle, making her breath run cold.
At the courtyard entrance, the gate creaked open. Several figures walked in—they were the Fang family.
The moment Fang Yuming entered and saw Liu Xianglan and her son sitting in the hall, his steps faltered. His face drained of color, panic flashing so quickly in his eyes he couldn’t hide it.
“I told you to wait for my message…” He hurried over, lowering his voice though it trembled with suppressed anger. “Why did you come on your own?!”
As soon as he spoke, his gaze involuntarily shifted toward Su Minzhi.
Meeting her cool and distant expression, his heart dropped with a jolt, a chill shooting up his spine.
She knew.
Mother Fang’s face instantly went pale. She looked at Su Minzhi in panic, lips trembling, unable to utter a word.
Father Fang, however, remained relatively composed. He frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, “Since everyone is already here, we should discuss the matter properly.”
The air in the hall tightened.
Su Minzhi suddenly let out a soft laugh, cold to the bone. “Discuss? Discuss what?”
Fang Yuming froze. His face stiffened, lips trembling, unable to respond.
Fang Yuqing stepped forward quickly, reaching to hold Su Minzhi’s hand as she whispered, “Minzhi, don’t be impulsive. Let’s talk about Xiaolei.”
Su Minzhi drew her hand back instantly. Her voice was icy, each word sharp as iron. “This is the Fang family’s matter. There’s no need to discuss anything with me.”
Silence fell, heavy and suffocating.
Father Fang steadied his breath and spoke earnestly. “Minzhi, we’re all one family. Since it has already happened, we should sit down and find a solution together.”
Fang Yuqing glanced briefly at Liu Xianglan and said lightly, “Back in the village, she and Yuming… talked, but it wasn’t a real marriage. No one expected this accident. And she’s already married now. It won’t affect you and Yuming.”
Su Minzhi looked coldly at Fang Yuming. He avoided her gaze, Adam’s apple bobbing nervously.
Mother Fang finally mustered the courage to speak, cautious and hesitant. “She came this time hoping to leave the child with our Fang family. Minzhi, we respect your opinion. If you really don’t want to—”
She didn’t finish before Father Fang interrupted, voice even heavier. “Minzhi, with the current one-child policy, a family can only have one. But think about it—having another child isn’t necessarily bad. In the future, he and Niannian can support each other.”
Before he could finish, rapid footsteps sounded from the hallway.
Su Niannian rushed in, throwing her arms around Su Minzhi’s waist. She looked up, expression firm. “I have Mom, and that’s enough. I don’t need a brother!”
Father Fang froze. He never expected his usually obedient granddaughter to contradict him so directly.
Niannian clenched her fists, her eyes unwavering. She couldn’t forget the look Liu Xiaolei had given her earlier—cold, hostile, nothing like a child his age.
Fang Yuqing frowned, her tone a reprimand. “This is an adult matter. Children shouldn’t interrupt.”
“I don’t care!” Niannian hugged her mother even tighter, her small body stubborn as a stone.
Su Minzhi lowered her head, gently brushing her daughter’s hair. Her voice was calm yet absolute. “I said it already—this is the Fang family’s matter. It has nothing to do with me.”
Mother Fang grew frantic, voice trembling. “Minzhi, we’re one family. How can you say something like that—”
Su Minzhi lifted her eyes, voice cold and cutting. “We won’t be for much longer.”
Silence crashed over the hall like icy water.
Fang Yuming stiffened, taking an involuntary step forward. His gaze locked on her, voice shaking. “Minzhi… what do you mean?”
Su Minzhi met his eyes calmly and enunciated each word clearly. “Fang Yuming, let’s divorce.”
Fang Yuming stared at her blankly, face turning ghost-pale, as if punched in the chest. His throat went dry. “W-what?”
Mother Fang nearly lost her balance, grabbing the edge of the table. I knew it, she thought bitterly. Minzhi is not someone who can be coaxed or fooled.
Father Fang’s expression darkened, a vein jumping at his temple. He hadn’t expected his daughter-in-law’s temper to be so fierce—speaking of divorce without leaving a shred of room for compromise.
Fang Yuqing narrowed her eyes slightly, a complex look flashing within. So many years have passed, yet this sister-in-law still hasn’t changed. Still stubborn as ever.
Liu Xianglan was completely stunned. Never in her life did she imagine Su Minzhi would actually say the word “divorce.” She opened her mouth but couldn’t choke out a single syllable.
Liu Xiaolei blinked rapidly, his eyes shifting around shrewdly. Something sly flickered in his expression—he was calculating.
Amid the dead silence, Su Niannian suddenly lifted her head, eyes shining with admiration. As expected of a future powerhouse—decisive and unstoppable!
She looked straight at the stunned Fang family, her voice clear and crisp, ringing through the hall like a hammer blow:
“Daddy and Mommy are getting divorced—I’m going with Mommy!”
Her declaration struck like lightning, jolting every heart in the room.
Su Minzhi immediately lowered her head, stroking her daughter’s hair, answering without hesitation, firm as bedrock. “Of course Niannian will stay with Mommy.”
Mother and daughter leaned close, united.
Standing to the side, Liu Xianglan’s thoughts spun quickly. She glanced at Xiaolei beside her, and a thought flashed through her mind:
If this little girl leaves with her mother… then the only child left in the Fang family would be Xiaolei.
A faint gleam flickered in her eyes, and the corner of her lips almost twitched upward.