The 99th Divorce

“Yes, heat it up. It’s a coincidence we haven’t had dinner yet,” Shen Zhilie said. It had been a while since they had their meal in the afternoon.

Nanny He heard this and turned around to enter the kitchen.

Shen Zhilie pulled Ye Qianqian to the sofa, and they sat down together. Lady Shen shot Shen Zhilie a look and said, “Your brother has gone to find Manting.”

“What?” Shen Zhilie was surprised. “When did he go?”

“This afternoon.”

“We heard that Manting’s health hasn’t been very good lately. She didn’t want to come home, even on New Year’s Eve, so he went to find the woman.” The old lady apparently sounded quite unhappy and angry.

Ye Qianqian unconsciously turned to look at her when she heard her voice. Old Lady Shen was dressed in pajamas. She glanced back at Ye Qianqian and said, “So you’ve finally come back? I thought you might have kidnapped my grandson and taken him someplace else.”

Ye Qianqian felt a little embarrassed about it all. She looked at the old lady and said awkwardly, “Good day, Grandma.”

Shen Zhilie wasn’t too happy to hear what Grandmother said. He added, “Well, if she actually wanted to kidnap someone, it would be a kid, not a huge man like myself.”

“Hmph.” Old Mrs. Shen sat down and said, “Shen Zhilie, don’t wander around outside all day long. Stay at home for New Year’s sake.”

“I only went out to have some fun and kill time,” Shen Zhilie replied. “I’ll take Qianqian to see my brother. Everyone says that Qianqian is pretty.”

“As if beauty can be of any real use,” Old Mrs Shen said as she glanced at Ye Qianqian. “It’s not enough to be good-looking. You must also be virtuous!”

“Your daughter-in-law is very virtuous. She can do housework and cook. She’s a very powerful woman.” Shen Zhilie was beaming when he said this.

Ye Qianqian felt a little guilty when she heard this. In fact, during the time they had lived together, Shen Zhilie had done all the housework.

But, of course, Old Mrs. Shen didn’t know the truth. She believed him and said, “If you like her, then so be it.”

“Of course I like her. I like her a lot.”

“Zhilie, time to eat,” Nanny He shouted.

“Okay, let’s eat.” Shen Zhilie pulled Ye Qianqian up, and they went to the dining table together.

The food tasted delicious. Ye Qianqian gripped her chopsticks tightly as she glanced at Shen Zhilie.

Shen Zhilie looked at her at the same time. They stared at each other for a while before both suddenly burst out laughing.

Ye Qianqian looked down in silence and felt a warm feeling in her heart.

‘If you like her, then so be it.’

‘Of course I like her. I like her a lot.’

–

Kingstown.

It was cold outside, but the scene inside the Li family’s old house was ablaze with activity.

Doctors in casual clothes were coming in and out, and everyone in the Li family was smiling.

A woman’s screaming traveled outside one of the rooms. “It’s coming, it’s coming! Ah!”

Outside, Li Beixing felt as anxious as an ant on a stove, and was pacing left and right. After hearing his wife’s screams and shouts from inside, he began to sweat profusely.

“Mom, I’m going in!” he said.

But Qin Shuhua pulled him back and said happily and helplessly, “No way, son. Men shouldn’t be in the same room as women when they’re giving birth to their children.”

Li Beixing was going crazy. He yelled out loud, “My wife is having a baby! It’s not like it’s another person’s wife who’s giving birth, so why can’t I go inside?”

“No way,” Qin insisted as she pulled Li Beixing back. “It’s not good for pregnant women when a man enters the room.”

“I don’t believe in those old traditional superstitions.”

Li Jinnan and Li Sicheng led their wives to sit on the sofa and began drinking tea with ease. “Big brother, why don’t you take a seat?” they asked. “Why the hurry?”