After I asked the question, Tie Nan's expression turned serious, which was pretty much what I expected. He was one of the few people who knew about Coach Ma's past, although he was usually reluctant to talk about it, but he might say something when he was drunk. However, I didn't understand why I suddenly became interested in Coach Ma's past.

Perhaps it's related to the fact that we're about to say goodbye. If I don't ask now, I probably won't have the chance to find out later.

Tie Nan held out his hand to me, gesturing for another cigarette. I lit it for him, and he squinted, took a puff, and then said to me, "Coach Ma's situation is pretty tragic. His parents passed away when he was very young, and his two older sisters raised him alone. After graduating from high school, not wanting to burden his sisters any further, he didn't go to university and instead followed one of his brothers-in-law in the renovation business… His brother-in-law later took him to Dali, and the two of them started a renovation team. At that time, Bai Lu had just married Guo Ming, and their wedding home was renovated by Coach Ma and his brother-in-law with their team… Guo Ming had just been fired from his job at a public institution because of his conduct, and seeing that Coach Ma and his team were reliable and skilled, he proposed to partner with them to start a renovation company. He would provide the capital, and Coach Ma and his team would provide the labor; it was he who asked Bai Lu to persuade Coach Ma…"

I interrupted Tie Nan and asked again, "What kind of misconduct led to his dismissal from his job?"

“Using his or her power to engage in illicit income.”

"This is a matter of character. How could Bai Lu have agreed to marry him back then?"

"They got married because she was pregnant. What could she do if she didn't marry him? Besides, that bastard is really good at sweet-talking women. He said he did all these illegal things so that Bai Lu would have a good life in the future. Isn't that what women fall for?"

I nodded, and Tie Nan continued, "I have to say, although this guy is a bad person, he has a good eye for business. He seized the opportunity of Dali's development, and with Bai Lu's family having connections, the decoration company started getting big hotel renovation orders after just over a year... Later, I don't know if he offended someone or what, but his company was investigated for tax evasion, and the amount wasn't small... So he went to beg Director Ma to take the blame; somehow, that idiot Director Ma actually took the blame. Later, this guy was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for one year, as a secondary responsible party; Director Ma was sentenced to three years..."

"Why do you think Coach Ma took the blame for this?"

"He didn't explain it clearly himself, and I'm just guessing..."

I nodded and replied, "Go ahead."

"Bai Lu was truly elegant and beautiful back then... Coach Ma, a naive young man just beginning to experience love, must have liked her... I guess he felt that if Guo Ming went to jail, Bai Lu would be left a widow, not only would she lose the company, but she would also lose her family, and their child was only a little over a year old. So, I think he probably took the blame for Bai Lu and the company."

I thought about Coach Ma's personality and replied, "He really is capable of doing something like that!"

Tie Nan continued, "Once Coach Ma went in, it was a piece of cake for that bastard Guo Ming to deal with his big-breasted brother-in-law. Before long, he set a trap and kicked Coach Ma's brother-in-law and his whole construction team out of the company... Later, it was rumored that when Bai Lu was pregnant, that bastard couldn't resist his lust and secretly kept a female college student as a mistress... Don't you think that bastard is a son of a bitch?!"

I nodded.

Tie Nan was so angry that his voice rose several decibels: "The worst off is Instructor Ma's brother-in-law. Ever since that bastard kicked him out of the renovation company, all the workers have been demanding their wages from him. He's an honest man, so he didn't dare vent his anger elsewhere. Instead, he picked fights with Instructor Ma's sister every day. All that arguing led to their divorce... Although Bai Lu later helped him pay off his debts, he was still devastated by the whole thing. He didn't want to go out to work and just drank all day... Last year, his health finally collapsed. He was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer and didn't even make it to the New Year; he passed away!"

My spirits died once again in the darkness of humanity. I took a deep drag on my cigarette and asked, "Has Bai Lu not divorced that bastard yet?"

Tie Nan sighed, "Bai Lu's parents are both respectable people. They are afraid of being gossiped about, so they absolutely refuse to let her divorce that grandson. In addition, that grandson is good at putting on a show and always tries to curry favor with Bai Lu's parents. The old couple are even more unwilling to let Bai Lu mention the matter of divorce. Besides, they have a child to take care of."

"This grandson doesn't want to divorce Bai Lu, isn't he just after her family's connections in society?"

"pretty close!"

"I really want to kill this scumbag... Coach Ma must be suffering so much from all this trouble!"

Tie Nan nodded and said, "This guy is really good at handling things. Most people would have collapsed long ago... He feels guilty towards his sister because of his brother-in-law's situation!"

I said with deep feeling, "Yes."

After a long while, I asked Tie Nan again, "What exactly is going on between Coach Ma and Bai Lu now?"

"Let's just live like this, in this ambiguous state... Bai Lu knows that Coach Ma has a knot in his heart, so she doesn't dare to mention anything to him... I reckon that as long as Coach Ma makes a statement to her, even if it's a mountain of knives and a sea of ​​fire, she'll have to divorce that scumbag. The key is that right now she doesn't know what Coach Ma is thinking, so she's in a pretty passive position!"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!