Chapter 153 I mean, why me?

Li Dazhu was like a ghost, haunting Tang Mingmei from time to time.

It wouldn't be considered frequent, sometimes I wouldn't see him for a whole month. But he just doesn't completely disappear; just when you think he's vanished from your world, he suddenly pops up again.

Tang Mingmei was utterly speechless.

Sometimes when you're angry, you think that if he comes back next time, you'll definitely teach him a lesson, but then he disappears for a long time, so long that you forget about him.

Just when you've forgotten about him, he reappears.

Tang Mingmei said all sorts of nasty things, and every time he was angered by her, he would leave in a huff.

His rage was so intense that Tang Mingmei almost felt he never wanted to see her again.

But things didn't go as planned; he still didn't completely disappear from her world.

All the methods she tried to use against Li Dazhu were ineffective.

Tang Mingmei is annoyed.

Firstly, she didn't want to see this person again; secondly, her daughter was terrified of this so-called biological father, and every time she saw him, she would run straight into her or her mother's arms.

Tang Mingmei was so annoyed that she had no choice but to call Tang Mingli and tell her about it.

Upon hearing this, Tang Mingli immediately guessed, "Is he trying to get back together with your ex after he couldn't find anyone else after your divorce?"

A single word awakened me from my dream.

It's not about wanting to go back to an ex; it's about not being able to find a partner after a divorce.

Is it really true that no one would marry Li Dazhu except someone who's out of their mind?

To be fair, it really doesn't seem that bad. Li Dazhu at least had a job. Many women were delayed by the rural work assignments during those years, and for various reasons, getting married was quite difficult.

Tang Mingli reiterated the key point: "There are requirements. See if he's willing to marry a divorced woman with children or a widow with children who is unemployed."

"Of course he wouldn't want to. Not to mention raising someone else's child, how can he have a son if he marries someone who already has a child?"

"The kind of person he is, if he really wants to have a child, he'll have one secretly."

Of course, that's on the premise that a woman can give birth to his child.

"That's true. Back then, their family wanted me to give up my job at the brown sugar factory and hide away to have a son for them."

Tang Mingmei couldn't help but laugh when she talked about it.

Even if she were willing to risk having a second child, who could guarantee it would be a son?

If it's another daughter, they'll definitely pressure you to have a third or fourth child...

As long as the desire to have a son remains, it will never end.

Therefore, she resolutely refuses to compromise, and once she compromises, it may be several times over.

Regarding this, Tang Mingli couldn't help but praise, "Luckily, you weren't completely out of your mind back then."

"I'm grateful that their family is inhuman; I haven't had a single good day since I married into their family."

Tang Mingmei sighed softly. Even though she had recovered now, she still felt resentment when she thought about her time in the Li family.

Tang Mingli comforted her, "Although you suffered a bit, it wasn't all for nothing."

The fact that she could say those words is a testament to Tang Mingmei's own hard work and how she carved out her own path.

Otherwise, if one remains trapped in a predicament, it is impossible to let go of all the suffering one has experienced in the past.

The only one who can save you is yourself.

If you can save yourself, you can get back on the right path no matter how many wrong turns you take.

There's a saying that goes, "Heaven helps those who help themselves."

Having experienced all of this, Tang Mingmei was deeply moved when she heard these words from her cousin, and murmured repeatedly, "Heaven helps those who help themselves."

It seems that's really the case.

After she worked hard to make a living, God began to be on her side.

"If I hadn't treated you like that before, and had listened to your opinions more, I might have avoided a lot of detours."

This was the umpteenth time Tang Mingli had heard Tang Mingmei express such sentiments.

Previously, she would just smile and gloss over it each time.

This time, she decided to speak seriously.

"Think of it this way: some hardships are perhaps destined to be experienced by everyone. Without those experiences, we wouldn't be who we are today. Don't regret what you didn't do in the past. If you were given another chance, you might still make the same choices with the same mindset at the time. But we must tell ourselves that life is not lived in vain."

Tang Mingmei realized that her cousin was trying to comfort her.

She was indeed comforted.

Sometimes you have to step back to realize that you've been getting stuck in a rut.

She often laments that if her relationship with Tang Mingli hadn't been like that, her life might have been different—isn't that just being stubborn?

Tang Mingmei said gratefully, "I understand. Actually, I called you today not to complain, but mainly because I really had no other choice and wanted to hear your opinion."

She was convinced that Tang Mingli could definitely come up with a better solution than she could.

If it were the old Tang Mingmei, Tang Mingli definitely wouldn't offer any advice, and even if she did, she probably wouldn't listen.

But now, Tang Mingmei gave a very serious piece of advice.

“I think he just can’t find a suitable remarriage partner, which is why he keeps showing up in front of you. You might as well just make him give up on that idea completely.”

Tang Mingmei understood and was startled: "You're suggesting I remarry?"

Although she never intended to live alone for the rest of her life after the divorce, she certainly never considered remarrying.

How long has it been since she escaped that hell? She really doesn't have the courage to remarry.

Fortunately, Tang Mingli gave a negative answer.

"You can find someone to pretend to be your boyfriend, so that Li Dazhu will mistakenly believe that you two are already... I feel that Li Dazhu is a pretty macho guy. If you're already with someone else, he definitely won't be able to accept it."

Some men are just that despicable. They don't even consider their own worth or whether they are loyal, yet they have a self-righteous possessiveness towards their women, or women who once belonged to them.

"Find someone to pretend to be your partner?"

For some reason, a person immediately popped into Tang Mingmei's mind, and her face involuntarily turned red.

Fortunately, my cousin couldn't see what I looked like over the phone.

Tang Mingmei said with distress, "Then I need to find someone who can pretend to be my partner."

Tang Mingli said, "It's okay, just find anyone to impersonate. It doesn't have to be the same person all the time. This time it's this one, next time it's that one, it doesn't matter. Li Dazhu will just find it even harder to accept."

Tang Mingmei understood.

By changing his partners, he could make Li Dazhu misunderstand that he was promiscuous.

She felt a little embarrassed listening to this. How could Tang Ming say these things so calmly?

Sigh, she had no idea her cousin was so open-minded.

but……

Tang Mingmei asked worriedly, "Is there anyone else with you right now?"

Tang Mingli laughed and said, "No, I'm the only one at home right now."

Otherwise, she wouldn't dare say such a thing; her grandparents are very traditional people.

"You scared me." Tang Mingmei reminded her with concern, "But it doesn't matter what you say to me, you still need to be careful in front of your in-laws, especially in front of Fu Ci."

“I understand.” Tang Mingli couldn’t help but grin.

If Fu Ci heard this, he would be so angry that he wouldn't be able to get out of bed for three days.

Tang Mingli felt shy at the thought of how he might punish her.

-

Tang Mingmei listened to Tang Mingli's suggestion and prepared herself mentally for three days. When the wholesaler's employee came to deliver goods again, she asked him to invite her to lunch.

"It's my treat."

The other party was very surprised.

Although the two were very familiar with each other, they had never eaten together.

Seeing the other person hesitate, Tang Mingli's hard-won courage waned, and she asked, "Don't you have time?"

The other person quickly shook their head: "I have time."

"That is..."

Tang Mingmei felt uncertain.

If someone has the time but doesn't agree, it's highly likely they're unwilling.

Alright, they failed before even opening their mouths; they need to find someone else.

Unexpectedly, the other party suddenly smiled and said, "I'm willing to have dinner, but it's on me."

Upon hearing this, Tang Mingmei's tense nerves instantly relaxed.

"That won't do. I was the one who suggested it, so I have to treat you."

"Although it was you who suggested it, I am a gay man, how can I let a female comrade pay for it?"

"Now men and women are equal."

The other person hummed in agreement, acknowledging gender equality, and smiled, "But I still want to maintain the manners a man should have."

In the end, Tang Mingmei couldn't refuse and had to agree.

Before agreeing, she first explained that she had invited him to dinner because she wanted to discuss something with him.

The other party, still good-natured, smiled and said, "Okay, let's talk properly over dinner later."

He still has a few bags of goods to deliver, and he estimates he can get back by noon.

Tang Mingmei didn't dare to delay, but reminded him to be careful.

Around noon, the person appeared on time.

Tang Mingmei left the shop in her mother's care for the time being and took her people to a small restaurant nearby.

Having eaten until she was about half full, Tang Mingmei decided to get down to business.

Since she had already decided to go public, she stopped being coy.

"Do you remember my annoying ex-husband who misunderstood us last time?"

The other person nodded.

How could he not remember the look that man gave him back then, as if he wanted to kill him?

"To be honest, one of the reasons for our separation was that he wanted a son, but I didn't want to have any more children. The divorce was quite messy, and I thought we would never speak to each other again..."

Tang Mingmei succinctly explained her troubles, while secretly observing the expression on the other person's face as she spoke.

Fortunately, the other party listened patiently and did not show any impatience, even when responding.

This gave her a lot of courage, and she said, "So, in order to make him give up completely, I want you to pretend to be my new boyfriend."

"Why?"

Tang Mingmei thought he hadn't understood, so she explained again: "To make him give up completely and stop bothering me."

The other person smiled and quickly replied, "I mean, why me?"

"this……"

Tang Mingmei couldn't explain it clearly; she just knew that when she was thinking of candidates, he was the first one that came to mind.

But even if it's unclear, it still needs to be explained.

"We've known each other for almost a year, and I think you're a really good person. You have a good personality and you're reliable."

Most importantly, I'm single.

Even if she's pretending, she couldn't possibly be dating someone who already has a partner.

But Tang Mingmei felt that this explanation was not enough, so she quickly added, "I don't have any male friends around me."

That's absolutely true.

There were many men of the same age living in the tenement building, but she used to have a bad personality and didn't get along with many people.

As for the classmates who went to school later, very few of them kept in touch after graduation.

Sigh, how come she never realized how terrible she was before?