Chapter 156 Different Paths: If Line

"Why didn't you divorce her earlier? Why choose this time? Do you think she's a fool?" Aunt Qin said. "It's no use telling me this. I can't possibly persuade your eldest daughter-in-law to divorce her. It's impossible. No one can persuade her. If I were her, I wouldn't want a divorce either. If we divorce, my child will get nothing."

Aunt Qin understood Tian Keshu's actions. At this point, she had to hold on tight and not get a divorce. For her son's sake, the marriage had to continue, even if the couple slept in separate rooms. The most important thing was to secure a good position and not give others room to take.

Tian Keshu couldn't possibly have been unaware of this; many people could easily have thought of it.

"Stop making a fuss," Aunt Qin said. "Whether you get a divorce or not doesn't really matter right now. If they don't want a divorce, but you insist on it, and things get out of hand, it might not be good for you."

"Sigh." Qin's mother felt terrible just thinking about it. "They should have gotten a divorce a long time ago."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Aunt Qin said.

"At the time, we didn't think the matter was particularly serious. If they divorced, people would say that we gave up on her so easily. Couples are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately," Qin's mother said. "The eldest son was just afraid of damaging his reputation, so he endured it. After all, Tian Keshu bore him children."

“You’re all thinking too simply,” Aunt Qin said. “Over the years, you’ve spoiled Qin Li’an far too much. If you hadn’t spoiled him so much, and he hadn’t made any mistakes, how much better things would have been.”

Qin Li'an is now useless, and Tian Keshu still refuses to divorce him.

Brother Qin only has one son. Even if Brother Qin were to give Tian Keshu some things during the divorce, Tian Keshu would never agree. She wants everything belonging to the Qin family. Those things should belong to Qin Li'an, not anyone else.

Brother Qin and Tian Keshu went through a lot of arguments and fights, but in the end, they didn't get divorced. Their situation didn't seem like they could get divorced. Brother Qin was easily swayed by emotions, and with Tian Keshu making some harsh remarks, the divorce naturally didn't go through.

When Song's mother came to see Song Fenglan, she also mentioned the Qin family's affairs. Song's mother came to ask Song Fenglan what she thought about Qin Yizhou.

"You and Yizhou..."

“Mom, I’ve already told Zihang that Qin Yizhou and I can’t remarry,” Song Fenglan said. “Mom, you all know that he himself is capable, that’s true, but the Qin family is a mess. If I’m with him, I’ll have to deal with that mess. I’d rather spend more time in the lab and do more work than dealing with that mess.”

"That's true, the things you do are all very important." Song's mother nodded. "If you really have to choose, you should focus on your work. I just feel it's a pity that the two of you... Yizhou is a good man, it's just a shame that his family is like that. When you married him, you suffered a lot afterwards."

“Yes,” Song Fenglan said, “He helped us, and we should repay him. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I have to marry him.”

Song Fenglan understood perfectly well that this wasn't a special era anymore, and she had no reason to stay with Qin Yizhou out of some so-called favor. Others might think she was cold-hearted, that she had used Qin Yizhou and was now abandoning him.

But there's nothing we can do about it; people are naturally inclined to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Song Fenglan was preoccupied with her experiments and other tasks; she simply didn't have the time to deal with the Qin family's affairs. Qin's mother and her ilk were all incredibly troublesome, and Tian Keshu was no better. If they were all less demanding, Song Fenglan might have reconciled with Qin Yizhou.

"Their family situation is truly awful," said Song's mother. "You...you're just planning to stay single forever?"

“Why not?” Song Fenglan said. “We can’t always be thinking about men. Men can’t give us everything. We can give ourselves a lot. We don’t have to rely on men.”

Song Fenglan is not someone who cannot live without a man; she can live on her own.

“With Zihang here, everything is easy,” Song Fenglan said. “The important thing is that with such a child, it doesn’t matter whether we get married or not.”

"You haven't remarried, and you don't plan to be together anymore?" Song's mother asked.

“Even if we don’t remarry, the Qin family will still talk if I’m with him,” Song Fenglan said. “We broke things off completely back then, so there’s no need for any other entanglements now. As for other things… let’s just forget about them.”

When Song Fenglan first returned to China, she wasn't thinking about romantic relationships; she just hadn't expected to meet Qin Yizhou so soon. After returning to work, Song Fenglan's thoughts were simple: to do her job well, and that the Qin family's affairs were none of her concern.

"Mom, do you want the Qin family to come after you?" Song Fenglan said. "I certainly don't."

“If you don’t want to, then don’t think about it.” Song’s mother held Song Fenglan’s hand. “Mom is just worried about you. I’m thinking that it’s not easy for you to raise a child alone. I’m wondering if you should find a companion.”

“I’m doing fine. I have servants at home, so I don’t need to do any work. They cook and do the laundry. They take care of all the chores,” Song Fenglan said. “If I were to hire a man, he might not be able to do those chores. With servants around, I can do whatever I want without lifting a finger.”

"That's because you're capable," Song's mother said. "If you weren't so outstanding, no one would have arranged these things for you."

“As you said, you have to be strong yourself to succeed,” Song Fenglan said. “Mom, don’t worry about me. Someone like me will think things through on my own. I don’t need you to help me. What about Aunt? Is Aunt related to the Tang family…”

“She doesn’t approve of those children,” said Song’s mother. “She doesn’t want them to come near her. Those people cut ties with her back then, and they’re going to stay cut off now. Your aunt is adamant and won’t back down.”

“As long as Auntie is happy, that’s the most important thing,” Song Fenglan said. “There’s no need to keep thinking about those people.”

“Your aunt thinks so too,” said Song’s mother. “Why punish yourself for other people’s mistakes? That’s not right.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Song Fenglan nodded. “Mom, you really don’t need to worry about so many things. We’re all grown up now, adults, and we know what we’re doing.”

"Yes, you all know," said Song's mother. "How could I not know that you all know? As an elder, I still want to think more about you."

Song's mother was worried that Song Fenglan would be all alone in the future, and that Song Zihang would have his own family when he grew up, and that his son and daughter-in-law might not be willing to live with their parents.

“If you’re worried that I’ll be all alone in the future, then you don’t need to worry,” Song Fenglan said. “It’s not that I’m narcissistic or blindly confident. As things stand, when I get old, I’ll probably still have a lot of people around me, and people from relevant departments will come to see me.”

"You," Song's mother chuckled, "I used to think your second brother was always unmarried, but now, he's settled down, while you..."

“I’m fine too,” Song Fenglan said. “Extremely fine, nothing else, I’m genuinely fine.”

“Good, very good,” Song’s mother agreed, “I won’t say you’re not doing well.”

“People outside are all pretty much the same. They think women should get married early and rely on men,” Song Fenglan said. “If a woman doesn’t get married, she’s all alone and suffers. But after a woman gets married, she usually has to take care of the family and do a lot of things. After a man gets married, he has women to serve him.”

“If you were with Yizhou, you wouldn’t have to do those things,” Song’s mother said.

“That’s because we have servants at home. If we didn’t, we’d still have to do some things,” Song Fenglan said. “I know our family owes Qin Yizhou, and I didn’t stop him from seeing Zihang. If they want to see each other more, then let them see each other more. As for me, it’s impossible for me to…”

"Alright, alright, I understand what you mean," said Song's mother. "You don't need to say these things."

Song's mother felt that continuing the conversation would be like stabbing her daughter in the heart. Did her daughter not want to get married? Did her daughter like someone? It was all due to practical constraints; many men weren't that good, and even when she finally found a decent one, his family affairs were just too troublesome.

Song's mother couldn't say her daughter had made the wrong choice; her daughter was destined for great things, while she herself knew nothing about research and couldn't help her daughter at all. Her husband often spoke highly of their daughter at home, and Song's mother knew he was right.

"From now on, it's up to you," said Song's mother. "Your father and I originally thought that if you and Qin Yizhou were a good match, you could be together. But now that things are different, it's not a good match, so don't force it. Whatever decision you make, your parents will support you, and your older brothers and the others won't have any objections."

"Hmm." Song Fenglan nodded. "It's good that you have no objections. Don't listen to the nonsense from those people outside."

“I won’t listen, I won’t listen,” said Song’s mother. “Just do what you want to do and don’t let these sentimental matters get in the way.”

“Of course,” Song Fenglan said.

Song's mother did feel it was a pity, but she also understood that her daughter's words made a lot of sense. Her daughter was so outstanding; she would have thought everything through.

"Is Zihang not home?" Song's mother asked.

"No," Song Fenglan said. "I went out to play."

As long as Song Zihang finishes his homework and his tutoring session, Song Fenglan doesn't stop him from going out to play whenever he wants.

After Song Fenglan said those things to Li Yu, Li Yu stopped thinking about marrying her. He knew it was impossible for her to marry him. Li Yu still had investments in China; he hadn't withdrawn. His return to invest wasn't solely for Song Fenglan. If she were willing to marry him, that would be ideal. If she wasn't willing, he could do other things.

Qin Yizhou also took turns protecting Song Fenglan, and the two maintained a certain distance.

Time flew by, and it was time for Song Zihang's high school entrance exam. Song Zihang's grades in school were quite good, and he ranked among the top in the exam, successfully gaining admission to the high school affiliated with his workplace. In fact, even if Song Zihang hadn't done well on the exam, he could have gone directly to the high school affiliated with his workplace; the country still showed certain preferential treatment to outstanding talents like Song Fenglan.

In Nancheng, Zhang Xiaohu did poorly on his high school entrance exam; his grades were extremely low. If he were to continue his education, he would have to attend a vocational school that didn't require high grades. This caused his wife, Fatty, a great headache. She worked hard to earn money and even hired a tutor for Zhang Xiaohu, but he just wouldn't study properly, which led to his terrible grades.

"Look at you, we've spent so much money on you, and what have you done? You didn't even bother to study properly. Now look what's happened, you got such terrible grades, what are we going to do?" the fat woman asked.

“Then I’ll just quit school and go to work,” Zhang Xiaohu said. “Anyway, after I finish school, I’ll still have to go out and work in the future. It’s all the same thing, just to make a living.”

"You..." The fat woman angrily slapped Zhang Xiaohu a few times, "What do you know? What do you know? You didn't finish your studies, you're uneducated, you won't even be able to find a job..."

“How can it be hard to find? It’s very easy to find.” Zhang Xiaohu retorted. “Many private factories need people to work. It’s not that they don’t need people. I’ve asked around, and those factories do need people.”

“Private factories are nowhere near as good as state-owned factories,” said the plump woman. “You just don’t understand things. We tell you to study hard, but you always think that it’s the same even if you don’t study.”

“That’s how it is,” Zhang Xiaohu said.

"That's because you haven't experienced hardship yet. Once you have, you'll understand." The fat woman gritted her teeth. "We've always been too good to you, which is why you've become like this."

“Where…” Zhang Xiaohu didn’t think he had done anything wrong.

The fat woman was distressed and told Fan Yani about Zhang Xiaohu. Fan Yani wasn't surprised; Zhang Xiaohu wasn't a studious person to begin with. He liked climbing trees with others and stealing bird eggs. He had even fallen from a tree once and broken his leg, so he could only go to school on crutches.

Now, Zhang Xiaohu's grades are terrible, and he failed to get into high school, which is perfectly normal.

“If you want him to continue to high school, it’s not impossible, but it will cost more money,” Fan Yani said. “It’s just that your Xiaowen’s grades are better than Xiaohu’s, and Xiaowen didn’t cost more money to go to high school. You can’t say that things are different now, the time is different, and the result is different, right? That would hurt the child’s feelings. Of course, you can talk to Xiaowen about it, and he probably won’t have any objections.”

Fan Yani knew what Fatty Sister-in-law was worried about. Actually, she wanted to say that Zhang Xiaohu only cared about having fun. Even if Zhang Xiaohu managed to go to high school, it was unlikely that he would do things well.

"This..." Aunt Pang sighed, "Given his condition, it's better not to send him to high school. It's a waste of money. Let him go to a vocational school first, and then find a job after he graduates. There's nothing we can do about him; he's just not ambitious enough. We've spent so much money on him, and we haven't seen any results. I shouldn't have spent money hiring a tutor for him in the first place."

“There’s nothing we can do about it. How will we know the final result if we don’t try?” Fan Yani said. “It’s precisely because we don’t know the final result that we’re thinking of taking a gamble. This concerns the child’s future, and it’s not something we can decide in a few words.”

“You’re right,” said the plump woman. “It was precisely because we weren’t sure that we hired a tutor in the first place. At the time, they said that Zhang Xiaohu’s grades were too poor and that we shouldn’t hire a tutor, but we still had to. We had no choice but to hire one; who would teach Zhang Xiaohu? His father and I don’t have much education, so we can’t teach him.”

"Don't be angry anymore, it's all settled now," Fan Yani said. "Instead of thinking about these things, why not think about what Zhang Xiaohu will do after he graduates from technical school? But once he graduates, you don't need to worry, he'll be all grown up and he'll know what to do."

"I'm afraid he doesn't know anything," said the plump woman. "The kind of person he is, all he knows is how to have fun."

Fatty wished Zhang Xiaohu was as sensible as Zhang Wen, then she wouldn't have to think about so many problems or worry about Zhang Xiaohu's future.

Fan Yani looked at her sister-in-law with a headache, but she was at a loss. It wasn't like her sister-in-law hadn't scolded or beaten her own child. In the end, it was because her sister-in-law and Zhang Chenghai's child wasn't very smart, and Zhang Xiaohu hadn't grown up in a good learning environment, so it was perfectly normal for him not to like studying.

If Zhang Xiaohu wants to attend a vocational school, that means studying in the southern part of the city, not in the capital. Vocational schools themselves aren't very useful; many people who graduate from them end up in the same situation.

When Gao Xiuxiu learned that Zhang Xiaohu had failed the high school entrance exam, she even made fun of her fat sister-in-law at home.

“Neither of her sons got into high school,” Gao Xiuxiu said with a smile. “The couple themselves weren’t very capable, so how capable could their sons be?”

"Don't talk about them, our daughter's grades aren't much better either," Fang Xudong said, "Don't laugh at someone else's faults."

“That’s different. We have a daughter, not a son,” Gao Xiuxiu said. “If it’s a daughter, she can marry into a good family in the future, and that’s the same. It’s not just about academic performance. It’s different for boys. They have to work harder so that they can have a better future. If they don’t work hard, how can they expect to marry a capable wife? It also depends on whether the girl’s parents agree.”

"..." Fang Xudong was speechless. The child is so young, and Gao Xiuxiu is already thinking about these things.

Song Zihang successfully passed the high school entrance exam, but Song Fenglan did not hold a celebration for him. In Song Fenglan's view, it was just high school, not a prestigious university.

When Qin Yizhou learned that Song Zihang had been admitted to high school, he gave Song Zihang some money. Qin Yizhou knew that Song Zihang didn't lack anything; Song Fenglan and the others had already made good arrangements for him.

Earlier, Song Zihang had told Qin Yizhou what his mother had said, and Qin Yizhou thought Song Fenglan's words made a lot of sense. The things that had happened in the Qin family were too terrible; it was best not to involve Song Fenglan. Qin Yizhou felt that being able to watch over Song Fenglan from a distance and protect her was already quite good enough, so he didn't want to think about anything else.

Currently, Qin Yizhou has less contact with the Qin family, as he cannot allow them to go to Song Fenglan's place. In fact, Qin's mother is also hesitant to approach the Song family now; she doesn't want to be summoned for questioning.

Qin's mother went to see Qin Yizhou. She already knew that Song Zihang had been admitted to high school. Qin's mother was wondering if Qin Yizhou should ask Song Zihang to change his surname.

“If you don’t want to remarry, then let Zihang change his surname and continue to use the Qin surname,” Qin’s mother said.

Qin Li'an went to jail, and Qin's mother was upset. She didn't want people to say that her grandsons were all useless, nor did she want people to say that she didn't value Song Zihang. Song Zihang went to high school, but Qin Li'an couldn't.

"Impossible," Qin Yizhou said. "Back then, Feng Lan and I had already discussed it, and you both agreed, didn't you?"

“At the time, we didn’t know you wouldn’t remarry. If we had known, we definitely wouldn’t have agreed,” Qin’s mother said. “If you don’t let Zihang change his surname back, people will talk about you and our family.”

“If we make Zihang change his surname now, people will laugh at us,” Qin Yizhou said. “They’ll laugh at us for only knowing how to reap the rewards. Song Fenglan raised Zihang so well, and we want him to change his surname to Qin? If Zihang wasn’t so outstanding, would he not have the surname Qin?”

“I didn’t say that,” Qin’s mother said. “Go and talk to Zihang. I heard that you two have a very good relationship.”

“Impossible,” Qin Yizhou said again. “I can’t say that to him. Even if I did, he wouldn’t agree. In his heart, his mother is the most important person.”

"How important can his mother be?" Qin's mother rolled her eyes. "If it weren't for you, would the Song family have been doing so well back then? You helped the Song family so much, and this is how they treat you? Is that fair?"

Qin's mother believed that Qin Yizhou should make Song Zihang change his surname, and Song Zihang should be called Qin Zihang. Only in this way could Qin's mother feel less ridiculed by others. She wouldn't say it was for her own sake; she would only say it was for Qin Yizhou's.

"If you won't go and tell them, do you want me to go and tell them?" Qin's mother said.

"Mom, have you forgotten how you treated Zihang back then?" Qin Yizhou said. "Do you think Zihang would listen to you?"

During holidays and festivals, Song Zihang didn't go to the Qin family. He knew he was unwelcome and didn't want to suffer. Song Zihang clearly understood what he was doing; he couldn't possibly suffer.

"I... he was corrupted by his mother," Qin's mother said coldly. "His mother has said countless bad things about our family to him, his mother..."

"You always say Fenglan isn't doing a good job, but I think it's you who's doing a bad job," Qin Yizhou said. "You rush out whenever there's a good thing. You've never considered them at all, and you shouldn't be thinking about it now. Don't even think about going to Zihang's side. Don't act like you're superior just because you're older. It's such a shameful thing... Or do you want to be summoned by the relevant departments?"

"You...you're threatening me?" Qin's mother said, looking at her son in disbelief. How could her son say such cold and heartless words?

"I'm not threatening you," Qin Yizhou said. "But you've tried it yourself. You went to Fenglan's mother's place, and people came looking for you, didn't they? Not just you, but also Dad and my older brother. Oh, my older brother has been fired now, so maybe no one's in such a hurry to go to him anymore. Dad retired a long time ago, and Li'an is in jail. You really don't need to worry about affecting their futures. As long as you're thick-skinned, the worst that can happen is you'll just be sitting at the relevant department having a few more cups of tea."