Chapter 45: Chasing My Wife

Li Jianxiong began to learn from Andy, the male protagonist in "The Shawshank Redemption", and sent a WeChat message to Wu Limei every two hours.

The contents are varied: some are admitting mistakes, some are confessing love, some are describing family situations, and some are recalling the past.

Two days later, Wu Limei finally replied to Li Jianxiong's text message asking her what she would eat in the evening: sweet and sour pork tenderloin, garlic oil and bean curd, and rice.

Li Jianxiong was overjoyed and decided to send one message every hour.

This went on for another three days, and then Wu Limei called him and pretended to ask him about the situation at home.

Li Jianxiong answered all the questions naturally and enthusiastically. The two of them were as enthusiastic as a young couple who had just fallen in love. They chatted for hours and even their phones were burned, but they were reluctant to hang up the phone.

Gu Yunsu rolled his eyes when he saw Li Jianxiong's happy expression, thinking that it was unexpected that only one person could show affection, what a genius in dog abuse.

In contrast, she felt even more lonely, desolate, and miserable.

I had explained everything to Xu Wenbin earlier, saying that something bad had happened in her family again and Ms. Wu had run away from home.

Xu Wenbin laughed and asked why there was such chaos in your family and why there was never any peace.

The two discussed Gu Yunsu's sadness, and Gu Yunsu said, "We need to put our problems aside for now. I don't have time to think about my own affairs now. I have to deal with the problems at home first."

Xu Wenbin expressed his understanding.

But whether he felt lost or not, Gu Yunsu couldn't tell.

It would not be appropriate to describe their current relationship as stagnant, but it is indeed like being trapped in a fog, unable to find a way out.

Stuck, stuck, and stiff, it's like constipation or a traffic jam. It's hard to explain and can't be thrown away.

How did it suddenly become like this?

Who should be blamed?

Li Jianxiong came to her in a sneaky manner and said that he had found out Wu Limei's address. He then said with a gloomy face that his wife had made three rules with him, asking him to promise not to visit her without permission, otherwise they would be divorced.

Wu Limei vowed: "Don't think I'm embarrassed to leave you just because I'm pregnant. I've been alone for so long, I'm not afraid of anything."

Li Jianxiong was so frightened that he nodded and bowed across the phone: "I believe you, I believe you."

He came to find Gu Yunsu to take her and Li Yan to "see Mom."

Gu Yunsu was not interested in this matter, but it would be inappropriate not to go due to moral reasons.

After Wu Limei left, she, out of moral obligation, took the initiative to send her a WeChat message, asking her to take care of herself.

At this point, she was a little discouraged about everything, herself, her lover, and her family.

The relationship with her mother was too complicated, and the knot in her heart was too deep. Gu Yunsu felt that she couldn't let go, but she couldn't get along with her mother without any grudges. Frankly speaking, she felt that she had done enough, but all her efforts were in vain, which made her feel depressed.

Destroy it, and hurry up—her favorite line recently.

Wu Limei rented a small one-bedroom apartment just ten minutes' drive from her home. The apartment was simply decorated and fully furnished, plain yet warm.

When Li Jianxiong and the other two arrived, Wu Limei was holding a bottle of water to water the newly bought flowers.

Li Jianxiong immediately wanted to take over, but his wife refused: "None of your business, this is my pleasure."

Li Jianxiong smiled and nodded, then handed his wife the roses he bought himself, a little embarrassed: "I was afraid you wouldn't like them, so I didn't dare buy more."

But how could Wu Limei not like it? She glared at her husband with a smile, looked left and right, and couldn't let it go.

This feeling was very strange. They were a family who had been together day and night just two days ago, but today, with only one host and one guest, they unconsciously felt a sense of distance. Wu Limei placed fruits and tea on the tea table and asked them to eat more. However, the other three people were a little restrained and could not move their hands and feet freely while sitting on the sofa.

Li Jianxiong was still concerned about his daughter-in-law, so he asked her, "How are you these past two days? Are you feeling well?"

"No, I'm fine." Wu Limei smiled with genuine joy, "I haven't felt this comfortable in the past few decades."

Wu Limei said this sincerely, but the more sincere she was, the more disappointed Li Jianxiong felt. He could not show it on the surface. He just picked up the teacup and brought it to his lips, nodding: "That's good, that's good."

As soon as Gu Yunsu entered the room, he observed the furnishings in the house like a scout, and also observed Wu Limei's expression.

Before this, she also guessed the reason why Wu Limei ran away. It was simply that she was tired of her daughter and husband, felt sad, and decided to turn a blind eye to it.

Looking at the furnishings in her room, there are flowers and plants, and there is rice paper on the table with a few big words scribbled on it. I guess she has picked up the interests of her youth again, and her life is very comfortable.

Gu Yunsu didn't mean it, but she couldn't help but think that this day should have been hers.

It was she who wanted it, it was she who was striving for independence, it was she who struggled, suffered, and endured pressure to survive but never gave up in pursuit of her ideal life of living alone. Isn't that what Wu Limei didn't want at all? She only wanted her husband's love and a warm family life. But in the end, it was Wu Limei who left and enjoyed her freedom, while it was Gu Yunsu herself who was tied down by the family.

This is... so unfair.

Would it be despicable for Gu Yunsu to say that she was jealous of Wu Limei?

Wu Limei found a vase, took out the roses that Li Jianxiong had given her, cut off the branches and thorns, and put them in water.

Li Jianxiong wanted to help, but was rejected again. He could only stand aside and warn in fear: "It has thorns, be careful!"

Wu Limei pretended not to hear.

Li Jianxiong watched quietly from the side, enjoying the peace and happiness that he had not experienced for a long time, and almost burst into tears.

We had dinner at Wu Limei's place and ordered takeout, so we all ate leisurely.

Wu Limei said: "I don't have to cook or wash dishes every day. I don't know how relaxing it is!"

Gu Yunsu believed that her mother said this as a casual sigh and was not complaining about anything, but it would sound different to someone who was paying attention.

Sure enough, Li Jianxiong paused while picking up the food, and seemed to hesitate for two seconds before putting down his bowl and chopsticks. He asked, "Is it because of housework? If so, I can take a leave, and you don't have to worry about anything at home."

He spoke incoherently, but the four members of the family all understood what he was talking about.

After much procrastination, we finally have to talk about this most critical issue.

Li Jianxiong asked again: "Is it because you are still blaming me?"

Gu Yunsu and Li Yan, who had no sense of presence since entering the room, also put down their bowls and chopsticks and looked at Wu Limei.

Wu Limei was frightened by the stares from everyone, and tried to act calm, saying, "No, I just want to be alone and quiet," and then called her two children, "Eat, or it will get cold."

"I don't understand," Li Jianxiong said in pain, clearly genuinely confused. "Why? If you are not satisfied with something, you can tell me and I will change it. We will all change it."

Wu Limei: "It's not your problem, it's my own problem. I want to figure out what I'm doing."

Li Jianxiong: "I still don't understand, what does this mean? What do you mean by what are you doing? You are my wife and the mother of my child. Don't you understand this? Is this what you don't want to do?" Maybe he felt a little wronged at the end and couldn't help but raise his voice a little.

As a result, Wu Limei was also unhappy: "I knew you wouldn't understand." She stood up and said, "It's useless to say anything. If you have nothing else, just leave. I'm tired and it's time to rest."

The couple parted on bad terms.

Li Jianxiong never understood what Wu Limei was talking about from beginning to end. He was afraid of really angering her, so he didn't dare to ask her endless questions. He kept a lot of questions in his mind and aged several years rapidly.

But Gu Yunsu understood.

She felt that Wu Limei was probably stimulated by a series of events and finally began to awaken herself.

"Who am I?"

"What am I doing?"

Taken individually, it seems silly and funny, but after all, everyone will be stumped and troubled by such metaphysical questions once or twice, right?

When you doubt the value of your life, when you lose your direction and motivation, when you feel disappointed with everything and everyone around you...

Especially women, who are used to being subordinate to others, finally have a moment of awakening and want to figure out what their own identity is.

Gu Yunsu thinks this kind of question is a good thing for everyone. She has always hoped that Wu Limei can focus more on herself and think more about herself.

But the problem is, isn't the timing of this awakening wrong?

Even if you figure it out, what's the point? What can you do for yourself? After all, no matter what you do, you're just running with the ball. It's better to be confused.

Until he returned home, Li Jianxiong was gloomy and silent.

He and Wu Limei had no conversation, and he didn't understand what was going on in her mind. For a moment, he was like a blindfolded mouse, fumbling around in confusion.

It was good enough that Wu Limei didn't forbid him to go see her. This was the only way he could comfort himself.

After a while, Gu Yunsu rummaged through the drawers and found a small Bluetooth speaker and sent it to Li Jianxiong.

The door of the master bedroom was open. She was about to knock on the door as a token of courtesy when she found Li Jianxiong squatting in front of the closet. There was an open bundle on the floor with several silk clothes in it, some of which seemed to be embroidered with flowers.

Hearing the noise, Li Jianxiong quickly wrapped up his bag and threw it deep into the closet.

Gu Yunsu couldn't see clearly, but he vaguely felt that there was a long wig in the bundle.

Wu Limei also has this? Gu Yunsu was a little puzzled, and even more puzzled was what Li Jianxiong was doing in such a secretive way.

Is there anything that she can't see?

She found it strange, and with her mind full of yellow waste, she couldn't help but think, could it be... a role-playing game in the room?

I was almost disgusted by myself immediately.

Stop thinking about it! She said in her head, stop, don't show the picture!

Li Jianxiong pretended to be enthusiastic and greeted her. She touched her nose to hide her embarrassment, handed over the small speaker, and said, "My mother just asked for a stereo. You can bring it to her next time."

Li Jianxiong took over.

Gu Yunsu turned around and was about to leave.

As a result, the other party called him again: "Su Su..."

Gu Yunsu had no choice but to stop. Li Jianxiong didn't say anything again. He looked very embarrassed and stammered, "Last time..."

Last time?

"Last time I said you..."

Alas, Li Jianxiong is good in other aspects except that he is too "cowardly".

Gu Yunsu sighed in his heart, he was so timid and clingy, no wonder his ex-wife wanted to divorce him.

Her patience was running out.

Li Jianxiong finally said: "It's me who blames you for not calling Meimei. I..."

Gu Yunsu was stunned. It turned out to be this matter.

Li Jianxiong looked guilty, and Gu Yunsu knew what he said next, that he felt sorry.

So although this person is not good in every way, he is a good person who is considerate of others, and it is no wonder that Wu Limei married him.

Gu Yunsu felt warm in his heart, and thought with amusement that he had received more comfort from the Li father and son than from anyone else in the past few days.

She waved her hand and said in a very generous and conditioned way, which surprised herself: "We don't care about these things among family members!"