Chapter 3. She sat at the breakfast stall in the early morning, slowly...

Zhu Xu vaguely heard someone making a phone call. He struggled to lift his eyelids and saw the clock on the opposite wall. It took him a few seconds to make out the time.

It turned out she was only unconscious for ten minutes.

"What should I do now? Describe the injuries... My wife might have injured the back of her head and is currently unconscious... I don't know how it happened, I haven't even asked her in detail yet... Wait a minute, she'll wake up, you shouldn't need to come anymore..." Liang Haiyang's voice was urgent as he strode to the sofa, sat down, and took Zhu Xu's hand. The other end was still giving instructions; he replied, "Okay, I'll take her to the hospital. Thank you."

He hung up the phone.

Zhu Xu scanned the four words "Emergency Center" on the screen.

Liang Haiyang pressed her hand to his lips, and with his other hand he stroked her hair, his eyes filled with tenderness, as if the person who had just been hysterical was not him.

He asked softly, "Honey, how are you? Where does it hurt? Let's go to the hospital now."

Zhu Xu tried to pull her hand away, but failed. She admired her own ability to still have a teasing attitude, saying, "That's not a sophisticated lie."

Liang Haiyang remained silent for a long time before saying, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hit you." He slid off the sofa and knelt on the floor. "Wife, don't be angry. I was wrong. Please forgive me this time."

Liang Haiyang suddenly grabbed her hand and started splashing it on his face.

Zhu Xu's injured arm was pulled, causing her to break out in a cold sweat from the pain. Her cheek throbbed even more, and she felt dizzy as soon as she moved her eyes. She could only close her eyes, wanting to laugh, following almost the same routine and dialogue as the previous two times.

After punishing himself, Liang Haiyang still held Zhu Xu's hand and pressed it against his forehead: "I called Jiang Rao, and she said that she did have dinner with you just now. You had a class reunion today, and you left early because you wanted to come back sooner... I know that the guy was your classmate."

Zhu Xu kept his eyes closed to try and relieve his dizziness.

Liang Haiyang looked up at her: "Actually, you could have cleared up the misunderstanding by explaining, but why did you..."

He didn't say anything more.

Zhu Xu did not speak either.

The house was quiet, with only the wall clock ticking endlessly.

After a long pause, Liang Haiyang asked softly, "What are you thinking about?"

Zhu Xu said, "I'm wondering what you'll give me this time."

"I'll buy you whatever you want."

"Let's buy a Bentley."

Liang Haiyang paused for a moment, then forced an awkward smile: "I know you're just saying that out of anger. It's my fault, I misunderstood you." After a pause, he said, "But if you want it, I'll work hard to earn money to buy it for you."

Zhu Xu didn't care at all; these compensations, built on the foundation of hurting her, were utterly disgusting.

Looking back, those warm and sweet days truly existed. When they were dating, no matter how busy they were, they would always make time each week to see a movie or play, have a big meal together, go to the amusement park, go for a drive, and there were flowers and gifts. They never neglected or omitted any memorable day.

When she had menstrual cramps, he never told her to drink more hot water. Instead, he would personally boil ginger and brown sugar water and bring it to her with a hot water bottle. He would never eat the most delicious dish at mealtimes. When eating watermelon, he would feed her the sweetest bite in the middle. He remembered her little habits and knew that she was allergic to peaches. She was afraid of cats' eyes, so when they met stray cats on the street, he would never tease them but would always lead her away as quickly as possible.

That Mid-Autumn Festival, my father suddenly suffered a stroke and collapsed at the mahjong table. Coincidentally, my stepmother, Shen Jun, and my younger brother had joined a tour group that was thousands of miles apart. It was he who provided emergency care and waited for the ambulance to arrive when she was most fearful and helpless. Later, he stayed at the hospital for three days and three nights without taking off his clothes, taking care of her even more diligently than she, his daughter.

So, not long after her father recovered from his illness, they began to discuss marriage.

At that time, Zhu Xu was immersed in happiness. Liang Haiyang seemed to meet all the standards of a good man and gave her all the beautiful memories of love. With the determination to make a decision without regret, she was led by him into the hall of marriage.

But what later caused this marriage to deteriorate? Was it the mundane routine of daily life, or the uneventful mundane details? Zhu Xu felt that none of these were the fundamental issues.

Liang Haiyang began to feel dissatisfied with his 50-square-meter living space, the scheming and plotting in the workplace, and his job and salary. He brought his negative energy and bad temper home. There were no more dates, no more flowers and gifts, but instead, there were frictions and arguments.

Liang Haiyang initially only physically assaulted her during an argument, during his darkest period after resigning from his job. Later, he apologized and repented, and Zhu Xu was understanding and didn't take it to heart.

Her forbearance led to subsequent domestic violence.

When he grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the coffee table, Zhu Xu felt more shock than anger and fear.

In those few short minutes, she thought she had arrived in hell.

Liang Haiyang's anger came like a storm, quick to rage and just as fast to subside. After calming down, he saw Zhu Xu lying amidst shards of glass, like a broken rag doll. He panicked completely.

Liang Haiyang knelt on the ground, his face streaked with tears, repeatedly slapping himself in the face as he begged for forgiveness.

Zhu Xu was covered in blood, but he foolishly softened his heart.

Shortly after that, Liang Haiyang gave her a BMW.

The second time he did it was only two months after the first. Bloodshed and violence seemed to be addictive, allowing him to relieve stress and find an outlet. He became more skilled and ruthless, pressing her head into a bathtub filled with cold water and not letting go until she struggled weakly and fell downwards.

Zhu Xu felt a chill run through his body and finally regained consciousness.

The fortress of marriage in her heart collapsed instantly, all the past moments lost their meaning, leaving only hatred slowly piling up.

She filed for divorce, but Liang Haiyang started his clumsy performance again, kneeling down and begging for forgiveness, crying and self-harming, refusing to agree to separate from her no matter what.

This tug-of-war went on for a long time. Zhu Xu was unable to extricate himself, and his relationship with him was like walking on thin ice. He was powerless and terrified as he continued the irreparable days.

So soon, she faced this domestic violence incident.

After a long silence,

Let's get a divorce.

"Let's have a child."

The two spoke at the same time.

"I will file a lawsuit."

"Everything will be different once you have a child."

They each spoke their own mind.

"If you agree to the divorce, it will be relatively simpler."

"I like girls, how about having a girl?"

Liang Haiyang said, "We'll go see a reproductive specialist tomorrow. You and I will both get a thorough check-up. Maybe it's my problem. I'll cooperate fully with the treatment and take good care of myself. We've been married for so long, it's time for us to have a child. Things will get better..."

Zhu Xu remained silent, painfully pulled his hand away, and slowly stood up.

Just like last time, Liang Haiyang wouldn't let her go out or touch her phone, and she didn't have the energy to argue anymore. She went to the study, locked the door behind her, moved to the swivel chair, and sat down, turning her head to look out the window until the sky turned blue.

There was no sound outside; Liang Haiyang was still fast asleep.

Zhu Xu reached under his pillow for his phone, removed the SIM card, clenched it in his palm, wrapped himself in his down jacket, and quietly went out.

The steamed buns at the street-side breakfast stall were freshly baked, and the rising heat brought her a sense of warmth. She bought four buns and a bowl of egg drop soup, and ate them slowly at the open-air stall in the early morning. Looking up at the dark blue sky, she missed her mother a little. If she were still here, seeing what had happened to her, her heart would be breaking.

Zhu Xu only managed to eat three steamed buns in the end. He pushed the plate away a bit, borrowed a light from the owner, and slowly finished his cigarette.

It was still a bit early, so she took a taxi to the western suburbs. The apartment she had previously owned was still empty, and it contained some old furniture and household items.

Zhu Xu found his old cell phone in a drawer in his bedroom, charged it for a while, and found that it could still be turned on.

She installed the SIM card and logged into various social media and payment accounts, which worked barely.

At this moment, the sky was fully open, and the first rays of sunlight shone in through the glass window.

Zhu Xu sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to touch the light and shadow on the wall.

Suddenly, a sharp musical sound rang out in the room. She shuddered and hurriedly looked around, only to find that the sound was coming from the old cell phone.

Zhu Xu glanced at the screen and answered the call.

Jiang Rao, still half-asleep, asked, "You're up?"

"Get up," Zhu Xu said.

Jiang Rao asked, "How are you? Did you get home alright yesterday?"

"And you? Have you had too much to drink?"

Jiang Rao yawned: "I'm fine, but Liu Chuang, that bastard, got completely drunk. You know how much trouble it took me to get him back. By the way, Liang Haiyang from your family called me last night, asking if you had dinner with me. You two didn't have a fight, did you?"

Zhu Xu didn't speak for a moment.

Opposite the bed stood an old bookshelf, its glass reflecting her current ghastly appearance. She suddenly remembered Jiang Rao saying last night that she still had a youthful charm; she had probably aged ten years overnight.

"I want a divorce."

"...What?" Jiang Rao asked incredulously. "Say that again?"

Zhu Xu knew she had heard him clearly, so he didn't repeat it.

No one would joke about something like this. Jiang Rao took a moment to process it: "Why get a divorce? Haven't you always had a good relationship? Liang Haiyang is a very thoughtful and considerate person. He's also very clean-living and family-oriented. If he hasn't made any fundamental mistakes, you should think carefully before making a decision."

Zhu Xu didn't blame her friend for misunderstanding, because Liang Haiyang was indeed perfect in front of outsiders, just like the neighbor she met last night. If problems arose between the two, others' first reaction would be that she was making trouble for no reason.

She said, "I'll talk to you later, I have to go out now."

Zhu Xu took a taxi straight to the hospital for a medical examination, but he didn't know if it was still valid after so long.

Immediately afterwards, she went to a law firm to hire a lawyer.

The lawyer, surnamed Wang, is a middle-aged man who wears glasses and is quite famous in divorce-related civil cases.

Attorney Wang reviewed the documents she brought and said, "The evidence for the breakdown of the marriage is not sufficient."

What do we need?

“Police reports, interrogation records, or video footage that can prove domestic violence,” Attorney Wang said. “Currently, there is only a medical examination report, which is insufficient to prove that it was the perpetrator’s behavior.”

Zhu Xu felt a chill run down his spine after hearing this. "What am I supposed to do if I don't have any of these?"

Attorney Wang said, "According to the general divorce case process, if the other party does not admit that the relationship has broken down, it will probably be quite troublesome and take a long time."