Chapter 108. This chapter continues the story of Akemi. Next chapter…

Tang Mingmei was considering divorce, and Li Dazhu didn't realize it at first.

When he returned home in a huff and lay on his cold bed, pondering Tang Mingmei's attitude towards him, he slowly realized something was amiss.

The way she looked at me today was icy cold and devoid of any emotion.

They didn't express liking or love, not even anger.

Oh, no, disgust is noticeable.

Did her parents say something during her stay at her parents' home?

Li Dazhu became uneasy. He tossed and turned in bed, feeling uncomfortable no matter what. Finally, he got up, walked to the bedside, opened the window, and took a few deep breaths.

When Li's mother returned home, she saw her son standing by the window. She peeked into his room but didn't see Tang Mingmei and the child. She couldn't help but ask, "Weren't you supposed to pick up that unlucky woman and child today?"

Li Dazhu was annoyed and replied irritably, "I went, but she didn't want to come back."

Li's mother thought she had misheard, and after a long pause, she let out two cold laughs.

"Hehe, I didn't expect you to be so tough this time."

These words made Li Dazhu even more uncomfortable. He said to his mother, "Mom, are you gloating?"

“How could that be?” Li’s mother denied it almost reflexively. She was just surprised that Tang Mingmei’s attitude was so firm this time.

firm?

Li's mother realized what was happening and thought to herself, "Oh no, this is going to be difficult."

She stopped smiling and cautiously asked her son what had happened when they went to pick up Tang Mingmei today.

Li Dazhu didn't hide anything and told his mother the truth.

Li's mother slapped her thigh and said, "Son, is this how you treat people? They've been left hanging by you for so long, they must be resentful. How could you leave with such a cold face after just a few words?"

Li Dazhu said matter-of-factly, "Wasn't it always like this?"

In the past, whenever Tang Mingmei threw a tantrum and went back to her parents' home, she would always give in to his advances as soon as he appeared. Who would have thought that this time, the longest she had been left out, and the one who was thought to be tired of staying at her parents' home, would actually be the one with the strongest attitude?

Li Dazhu felt uneasy, a vague sense of foreboding creeping in.

Li's mother didn't notice the change in her son's expression and kept nagging him to go again in a couple of days and to lower his attitude.

“Otherwise, it’s almost Chinese New Year, and if she doesn’t come back, the neighbors will definitely laugh at our family behind our backs. They’ve already made a lot of fun at us because of your sister.”

When his sister was mentioned, Li Dazhu said irritably, "You might as well just agree to let her marry that old man."

"What are you saying?" Li's mother scolded her son while quickly looking towards the door, afraid that her daughter might suddenly appear.

Thankfully, no.

But the next second, she was filled with hatred.

It's well past the end of the workday, and he still hasn't come back. He must be on a date with Deng Qingyuan somewhere.

Li Hong muttered curses at her daughter as she went into the kitchen to start preparing dinner for the whole family.

It's freezing cold, and she really doesn't want to cook.

After thinking for a moment, Li's mother went to the living room to get the thermos, intending to pour some hot water into the basin to dilute the water.

However, when they picked up the thermos, they found it was empty, with not a single drop of hot water inside.

Although Tang Mingmei didn't do housework when she was around, and she was the one who was busy with everything, at least she would boil water in time.

As soon as she thought that, Li's mother froze.

What the hell? Why is she thinking of Tang Mingmei's good points?

After regaining her senses, Li's mother immediately spat.

No hot water? No hot water? It won't hurt to wash rice and vegetables with cold water.

-

The next day, Li Dazhu returned home around 4 a.m.

Because of the cold weather, Li's mother didn't go out much today. Seeing that her son had returned at this time, she hurriedly asked, "Why didn't you go to the Tang family to pick up Tang Mingmei and her daughter? Did you forget what I told you yesterday?"

Li Dazhu said to his mother in a bad mood, "I'm not going. She can come back or not, it's up to her."

Actually, he hadn't forgotten, and it wasn't that he didn't want to go, but when he was about to get on the bus, he thought of the way Tang Mingmei looked at him yesterday, and suddenly he didn't want to go anymore.

Seeing her son's attitude, Li's mother felt helpless but there was nothing she could do.

Let it wait a bit. I was upset with Tang Mingmei yesterday, so it's normal that I don't want to go. I'll be more willing to go in a couple of days once my anger subsides.

Two more days passed, and seeing that her son still showed no intention of picking up Tang Mingmei and her daughter, Li's mother couldn't sit still any longer.

She gritted her teeth and said to her son, "How about I go to the Tang family myself?"

Given An Li Dazhu's personality, he would definitely angrily stop her upon hearing such words.

But this time, he didn't; he just remained silent.

Remaining silent means tacit agreement.

Li's mother sighed, understanding what her son meant.

Suddenly, her mindset changed again.

I was just thinking about whether to go and pick up Tang Mingmei and her daughter on behalf of my son. Now I'm feeling sad and upset. I never thought that she would have to put down her dignity for her children at this age.

Because she was feeling sad and wronged, Li's mother cooked poorly that evening; the dishes were either too salty or too bland.

Both Li Dazhu and Li Baohua had complaints, but that didn't stop them from eating two bowls of rice.

Li's mother felt even more wronged. Tomorrow she was going to abandon her dignity and grovel to the Tang family, yet her son and daughter were still complaining that she couldn't even cook a proper meal at home all day.

Feeling extremely wronged, Li's mother finally couldn't hold back her tears after lying down in her room.

Seeing this, Li's father laughed at her, "You cry after being complained about by your two children. How come you're getting more and more like a child?"

As if she had been waiting for her husband to bring this up, Li's mother cried and said, "It's not about that. I feel so frustrated thinking about having to go to the Tang family tomorrow to beg Tang Mingmei to come back."

"You went to her house in person to beg her to come back?" Mr. Li paused in his act of getting into bed, somewhat incredulous. But after a few seconds, he smiled with relief and said, "The New Year is almost here. We really have to put aside right and wrong and bring her back. Otherwise, it won't look good."

"It's ugly, it's ugly, you know it's ugly, so why don't you go to the Tang family to pick them up yourself?"

"Me, go myself?" Mr. Li sneered as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. "Of course, it's better for you women to handle these things. How can we men get involved?"

Li's mother retorted to her husband, "Why can't I get involved?"

Instead of answering directly, Li's father asked his wife, "Do you want me, a man, to be disgraced?"

This was clearly wrong; a man shouldn't lose face, but a woman could. But Li's mother didn't think that way; she was even convinced and thought her husband was right.

It's better for her, a woman, to embarrass herself than for the men in her family to embarrass themselves.

Convinced by her husband's patriarchal logic, Li's mother willingly went out the next day.

Passing by a fruit stand, her decades of life experience told her that it wouldn't be good to go to her in-laws' house empty-handed, so she gritted her teeth and bought a few oranges.

At the Tang family's place, both Tang Mingmei and Li Hong were home.

Eight-month-old Li Xin has finally learned to crawl, and the two are overjoyed, playing with her.

When Li's mother arrived, this was the scene she witnessed, and she was instantly stung by it.

Although she disliked that her daughter-in-law had given birth to a girl, why should their child be the one enjoying family bliss in the Tang family?

Despite her displeasure, Li's mother was more mature than Li Dazhu and knew the purpose of her visit today.

Looking at Li Xin crawling around on the ground, he said with a forced smile, "Oh, this child can finally crawl too."

When Li Hong saw her, her smile was also forced. She had intended to greet her politely, but upon hearing these disdainful words, she said unhappily, "Seven months to sit, eight months to crawl. Babies usually start crawling at eight months."

"That's not true. Nowadays, children are well-fed, and many can crawl at seven months old. Our Li Xin is already over eight months old."

If she weren't afraid of scaring the child, Tang Mingmei would definitely have thrown the rattle at Li's mother.

She suppressed the urge to throw him and asked coldly, "What are you doing here? If it's just to say a few words of disdain for our Xin'er, I advise you to leave now, or don't blame me for being impolite."

Li's mother also sneered: "Ha, is this what you call politeness?"

Tang Mingmei waved her fist: "I have something even less polite to say."

Startled, Li's mother instinctively took a step back and asked hesitantly, "You dare to hit your mother-in-law?"

Tang Mingmei threatened, "You try it."

Perhaps the intimidation had worked, and remembering the purpose of her visit, Li's mother took a deep breath, stopped mocking her granddaughter, and forced herself to put on a smile and say nice things: "Alright, family doesn't hold grudges overnight. I came here today specifically to see you."

As he spoke, he held up the oranges he had brought.

There are six in total, not many, but they have a good meaning.

Neither Li Hong nor Tang Mingmei answered, and the forced smile on Li's mother's face began to crumble.

"Mingmei, you've been staying at your parents' house with the child for quite a while now. Look, it's almost Chinese New Year, shouldn't you go home?"

The moment Li's mother appeared, Tang Mingmei guessed the possible purpose of her sudden visit.

Upon hearing this, I thought to myself, "I knew it."

For the sake of the so-called good fortune of family reunion during the Lunar New Year, even someone like her mother-in-law was willing to lower her standards to welcome her.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Tang Mingmei remained unmoved and directly refused: "I will not go back."

"What do you mean?" Li's mother thought she had misheard.

What did she mean by saying she wouldn't go back?

Is it that you're still angry and don't want to go back, or that you'll never go back in the future?

Soon, her doubts were answered.

Tang Ming told her without saying a word, "I will never go back to your Li family again."

The smile on Li's mother's face vanished instantly, and she sternly questioned, "What do you mean? Tang Mingmei, what do you mean by saying this? You're already married to my son, do you still want to live in your parents' house forever? Your Tang family can afford to lose face, but our Li family can't."

"It means exactly what you heard: I'm not going back, I'll never go back." Tang Mingmei picked on the most hurtful words: "What face does your Li family have left? Your son cheated on you, going on a blind date and then breaking off the engagement. Your daughter can't get married and is dating an old man. Haven't your two children already disgraced the Li family?"

These words were truly piercing. Li's mother was so angry that the muscles on her face trembled. Pointing at Tang Mingmei, she said, "Your mouth is like it's been poisoned. You only say vicious things. It's a disgrace to our family. How could such a good boy like Dazhu marry a woman like you?"

"What do you mean? What's wrong with my daughter?" Li Hong wasn't about to let this go, especially since her daughter had been slandered. Before Tang Mingmei could even speak, she exploded, launching into a tirade against her mother like a firecracker: "My daughter is a beauty, while your son is fat and looks like a pig. My daughter's father is a skilled worker with good benefits and a high salary, while your son's father is just a butcher. With these obvious differences, who gives you the right to criticize my daughter?"