Chapter 99

When Zhong Jing returned home after get off work today, Zhou Wen was already waiting for her.

He said nothing at the time. After Zhong Jing prepared dinner and they had eaten quietly, Zhou Wen proposed divorce to her.

Zhong Jing asked, "Why?"

Zhou Wen said: "Among the new teachers here, is there the guy from Peking University?"

Zhou Wen's words made Zhong Jing feel that she was wronged. She couldn't understand why Zhou Wen thought there was something going on between her and Xie Cong. The moment she decided to marry Zhou Wen, she had already decided to let go of the past.

She explained that the reason she didn't tell Zhou Wen was because she was afraid he couldn't bear it.

Zhou Wen asked her, "In your heart, am I this kind of person?" I have low self-esteem, I am sensitive, and I am afraid that others will know my current situation.

The two had a quarrel over this matter, and Zhou Wen insisted on divorcing Zhong Jing.

Zhong Jing ran out and walked around the beach, but she couldn't suppress the grievance in her heart. She remembered that when Zhou Wen was demoted, his family members all persuaded her to leave Zhou Wen. She resolutely gave up her job and accompanied him to Shengshan Island.

She accompanied him on fishing trips, and she never complained even though she couldn't stand the smell of fish before.

Now, just because Xie Cong is here and he doesn't even listen to his explanation, does he conclude that there is something going on between him and Xie Cong?

When Zhong Jing said this, tears welled up in her eyes and she wiped them away with her hand: "Teacher Lin... when I explained to you what happened between me and Teacher Xie, I deliberately concealed the part between me and him. It was because I felt that it had happened so many years ago and I had let it go. Instead of talking about it, I might as well just pretend it never happened. I don't want to bring it up, and I'm really embarrassed."

"I don't really have many friends here, and I didn't want to tell Teacher Xu and Sister Chen about this, but after thinking about it I decided to come to you... I'm really sorry to bother you... You have to listen to me talking about these bad things late at night..."

"Teacher Zhong, don't say that. You also said that we are all friends. Isn't this how friends are? If I encounter anything, I will also think of asking my friends for advice." Lin Tao said.

She patted Zhong Jing's back, sighed, and said, "Teacher Zhong, don't be too sad. The teachers in our school have seen everything that happened between you and Teacher Xie. You two are both innocent. Every one of us can testify to that."

"I don't know why Teacher Xie came here. Even if he still remembers what happened back then, it's not something he does willingly. Teacher Zhong, how about this? I'll go home with you and explain this to Zhou Wen."

Zhong Jing was a little hesitant and said, "But he is a person... I'm afraid it doesn't make sense."

Lin Tao said, "Teacher Zhong, I actually wonder if he did this on purpose."

"Intentional?" Zhong Jing was puzzled.

"Yeah." Lin Tao nodded. "Right now, there's a lot of activity outside the island. In fact, Cheng Xi told me two days ago that there's a high chance that there'll be another storm on the island. I saw that the principal didn't say anything at the time, so I thought it wouldn't be a big deal and wouldn't affect you. But combined with Zhou Wen's incident, I suspect he may have heard some rumors, so I want to distance myself from you before that happens."

"Didn't he start arguing with you before Teacher Xie came? But at that time he hadn't thought through what to do. Teacher Xie came, and it made him feel that even if you divorced him, he would have someone to rely on, so he felt relieved and completely filed for divorce with you." Lin Tao said.

This time when Li Chengxi talked about the movement, his expression was very serious. He specifically mentioned this matter during the organization's meeting, which shows that this time the situation is indeed very serious.

"Of course, this is my current guess." Lin Tao said, "I was not too sure at first, because I didn't know Zhou Wen well, and I didn't know what kind of person he was. But you just mentioned that many people misunderstood you because of the teacher Xie incident, but Zhou Wen still married you."

"From this point of view, Zhou Wen definitely has you in his heart. And as you said, he has been very good to you all these years since you got married. Even when you were later exiled to Shengshan Island, he always felt that he was sorry for you and took good care of you, fearing that you would be wronged. Then why did he suddenly change six months ago? Moreover, he was nice to you some time before Teacher Xie came, but when Teacher Xie came, he suddenly asked for a divorce. Even if he misunderstood you and Teacher Xie, he should at least listen to your explanation. After so many years of husband and wife relationship, he didn't even listen to your explanation. This doesn't make sense."

"No matter what, we have to talk about this matter." Lin Tao said.

Zhong Jing was originally confused by the situation. She was misunderstood by Zhou Wen and was extremely sad, but she did not consider the possibility that Lin Tao mentioned.

Now that I think about it carefully, it makes sense. Could it be like this?

Lin Tao went home with Zhong Jing. Before entering the house, Lin Tao asked Zhong Jing to wait outside the door while she went in to talk to Zhou Wen. If Zhong Jing went in, Zhou Wen might say something unpleasant and unpleasant to provoke Zhong Jing to divorce him.

Lin Tao walked in and saw Zhou Wen sitting paralyzed on the ground, holding a bottle of wine in his hand, his face red from drinking.

The intellectuals of the past are now just like the fishermen, even more decadent than them.

"Teacher Zhou." Lin Tao called out.

Zhou Wen didn't expect that the person who came was Lin Tao. He got up from the ground and asked, "Teacher Lin, why are you here?"

"I came to talk to you." Lin Tao said.

"If we're talking about Xie Cong and Zhong Jing, there's nothing much to say." Zhou Wen directly ordered them to leave.

But Lin Tao didn't care. She continued, "I think you know Teacher Zhong better than anyone else. Others can misunderstand Teacher Zhong, but you can't. You are stabbing her in the heart by misunderstanding her like this. Teacher Xie has been here for so long, and all of us teachers can see that there is nothing between Teacher Zhong and Teacher Xie."

Zhou Wen's expression was painful: "You are right, I am like this, I harmed her, I made her become like this, if it weren't for me, she wouldn't come here to suffer."

Lin Tao shook her head: "You still don't understand. If Teacher Zhong didn't want to, she wouldn't have come from the beginning. She gave up everything there to be with you. Did she tell you that she was suffering? You said this to Teacher Zhong to make yourself feel better. Will she feel better? Is this how you treat your wife who has been through thick and thin with you?"

"But I won't do that. What else can I do... The political commissar has already found me and reminded me to be prepared to be demoted again. This time it was Shengshan Island, where will it be next time? Will it be Qingshui Island? There is nothing there... I have already let Zhong Jing suffer once and endure the pain with me, how can I bear to let her continue to live like this with me..." Zhou Wen said painfully, his eyes red.

That's why he had deliberately picked a fight with Zhong Jing before, just to pave the way for divorce. In fact, he didn't care about what Lin Hui said. He had already become like this, what else did he care about?

He only cared about not dragging Zhong Jing down any further. Zhong Jing was a good woman and shouldn't have to suffer so much for him.

Lin Tao sighed when she saw him like this.

She was right. Zhou Wen wanted a divorce because he thought he was treating Zhong Jing well.

At this moment, Zhong Jing opened the door and walked in, tears already streaming down her face. She said, "Zhou Wen, have you forgotten what I said to you when you were first sent down?"

"No." Zhou Wen shook his head. "You said, no matter how hard it is, we both have to get through it together."

"That sentence still stands." Zhong Jing said with a firm expression.

Zhou Wen married her amidst all the gossip and chatter, and walked through the crowd to hold her hand. From that moment on, she decided that they would never be separated.

Sharing hardships and joys, husband and wife are one. She doesn't care what others say, "Husband and wife are birds of the same forest, but they fly away separately when disaster strikes," because she won't be like that.

…………………………

After Zhong Jing and Zhou Wen talked it out, they reconciled. At this point, it was not appropriate for Lin Tao to continue joining in the fun.

Zhong Jing walked her to the gate of the courtyard, but was stopped by Lin Tao: "Okay, just walk her here. I have a flashlight, and I can go back by myself."

"Teacher Lin, thank you so much for coming today." Zhong Jing said sincerely. If it weren't for Lin Tao, the misunderstanding between her and Zhou Wen might not have been so easy to resolve.

Lin Tao shook her head: "I just want you two to talk it out. The most important thing is your sincerity towards each other. You and Teacher Zhou are both people who value friendship and loyalty."

It was almost eight o'clock when Lin Tao returned home from the fishing village.

Li Chengxi and Lin Changhai, the father-in-law and son-in-law, had taken Yueyue for a walk outside and returned home more than half an hour ago.

Not long after returning home, Yueyue began to feel sleepy. Li Chengxi and Lin Changhai gave Yueyue a bath together and then let her go to bed.

When Lin Tao came back, Li Chengxi was sitting on the bed waiting for her. Seeing her coming back, he asked, "Teacher Lin, have you solved everything?"

Lin Tao took off her thin cardigan, hung it up on a hanger, and sat on the bed.

Asked: "Do you know what it is?"

Li Chengxi closed the book and said, "When Teacher Zhong came, her face didn't look good and her eyes were red. She must have just cried. She must have had a quarrel with her lover. There's no need for her to come to you for a small quarrel. She must have encountered a big problem and had no one to discuss it with, so she came to you to talk about it. Could it be that her lover wants to divorce her?"

Lin Tao was shocked when she heard this.

Li Chengxi didn't know about what happened between Zhong Jing and Xie Cong. Moreover, Zhong Jing deliberately didn't go into the yard at that time, but stayed at the gate. Li Chengxi stood so far away, and she thought Li Chengxi couldn't see it. Unexpectedly, he saw everything.

Not only did I see everything, I also guessed it.

Lin Tao looked at Li Chengxi for a long time, then reached out and pinched his face, snorting, "Are you a demigod? How come you guessed everything? It would be a waste of your talent if you don't become the chief of staff."

A smile appeared in Li Chengxi's eyes. He reached out and held Lin Tao's hand that was pinching his face, and held her hand in his palm.

Li Chengxi's palms were broad and thick, with long fingers, while Lin Tao's hands were very small and were completely wrapped by him.

He said, "I am a soldier, but I am against feudal superstition. I am not guessing. You can figure this out by just making a random inference. Mr. Zhong's lover must have filed for divorce because of the movement and wanted to protect her."

"Yes, you really can know everything about the world without even leaving the house." Lin Tao said jokingly.

Thinking of Zhou Wen and Zhong Jing, he sighed again: "However, I was quite touched by the relationship between Teacher Zhong and Zhou Wen. At that time, I thought about it, Cheng Xi... If it was the two of us who encountered this kind of thing, you must not think that you are doing it for my own good and push me away. No matter what difficulties there are, we must face them together, okay?"

When Lin Tao spoke, her eyes fell on Li Chengxi's face, and their gazes intertwined, filled with sincerity and true feelings.

Li Chengxi reached out and held Lin Tao in his arms, resting his chin on Lin Tao's shoulder and stroking it gently.

Under the light, the shadows of the two were intertwined. The room was quiet. Apart from Yueyue's steady breathing, there were the sounds of Li Chengxi and Lin Tao. Lin Tao could hear Li Chengxi's strong and powerful heartbeat.

Li Chengxi said, "Okay, we will face it together. But, Tao, don't worry, I won't let our family encounter such a thing. I said in front of our mother's grave that I will protect you."

"Yeah." Lin Tao nodded.

With Li Chengxi's assurance, she felt at ease.

In fact, they had always lived a very comfortable life, and sports had nothing to do with them. Lin Tao just couldn't help but think of them when she saw Zhong Jing and Zhou Wen like that.

Even if nothing bad happened, Lin Tao wanted to make it clear to Li Chengxi that she would always be by his side.

Lin Tao pursed her lips and smiled, struggled out of Li Chengxi's arms, and planned to take a shower.

She just came back from outside and hasn't even washed up yet.

But as soon as she stood up, Li Chengxi took her back into his arms. Lin Tao fell on Li Chengxi's lap and glanced at him. He smiled and came over to kiss her lips.

Since Lin Tao became the Dean of Studies, she has indeed been busier than before. After returning home, she accompanies Yueyue and has less time to spend alone with Li Chengxi than before.

But at this moment, Lin Tao hadn't taken a shower yet. Lin Tao pushed Li Chengxi and said, "Wait, I haven't taken a shower yet. If you keep messing around, it's time to turn off the lights."

"I'll light the kerosene lamp and go with you." Li Chengxi suggested.

However, Lin Tao rejected it directly: "No, the kerosene lamp is too dim, I'm not used to it."

Last time, she had just finished taking a shower and Li Chengxi came over with a kerosene lamp to light the way for her, but he couldn't do it that time. This time, she didn't want to do it.

Lin Tao was unwilling, and Li Chengxi's plan failed, so he let her go and took the initiative to pour her a bath. He mixed the hot water and cold water in the kettle together to make warm water, which was just the right temperature for bathing.

Lin Tao went in to take a shower. In summer, she usually took a shower once a day. As she didn't like to sweat, her body was dry and clean, so she finished quickly.

I put on clean and fresh clothes and just walked out. The sea breeze felt so cool on my body.

After entering the room, Lin Tao locked the door. Li Chengxi was already waiting on the bed. Seeing him like this, Lin Tao found it funny. He was usually so serious and steady outside, but he was so impatient about this matter.

Lin Tao got on the bed, Li Chengxi hugged her and kissed her. Just as he was about to unbutton his clothes, he heard movement on the small bed.

Lin Tao and Li Chengxi turned around at the same time and saw Yueyue rubbing her eyes with her hands, looking at them, smiling, stretching out her hands, and saying incoherently: "Hold..."

Li Chengxi: “…”

Lin Tao: “…”

Lin Tao was stunned for a while, then she couldn't help laughing. This child woke up at the wrong time. Seeing that Li Chengxi's body was stiff and he was neither up nor down, Lin Tao pinched his waist, then got up and picked up Yueyue.

I guess Yueyue went to bed too early today, and the noise just now woke her up.

She was in very good spirits at the moment, and was eager to play with Li Chengxi.

Li Chengxi was quite helpless, but facing his daughter, he could only play with her. The little girl woke up, and it was difficult to get her to sleep. Finally, at ten o'clock, Li Chengxi took out a book and started reading to her, and finally she fell asleep.

But by this time, Lin Tao was extremely tired and so sleepy that she could hardly open her eyes.

Even though Li Chengxi was thinking about it in his heart, he couldn't bear to torture her any further. He kissed her and let her go to sleep.

*********************************

As expected, the movement soon became popular on the island, and the organization wanted to send Zhou Wen to Qingshui Island, where they were doing development work and the conditions were harsh.

Zhong Jing resigned from her job at the school and went to Qingshui Island with Zhou Wen.

They also raised a lot of chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, sheep, and some vegetables in this house. They couldn't take these away, so Zhong Jing gave some to a few friends she had good relations with in the fishing village, and most of the rest was left to Lin Tao, Chen Shuifen, and Xu Yuting.

Xu Yuting and Lin Tao both had rabbits at home, so they no longer needed rabbits. Chen Shuifen took the rabbit and asked for it. After all, they had eaten the rabbit meat fried by Lin Tao last time, and it tasted delicious.

Zheng Youde was still thinking about it. His family didn't raise rabbits and couldn't eat them. Now it was a good opportunity to raise rabbits and eat rabbit meat.

After eating the iron pot stewed goose made by Chen Shuifen, Lin Tao always wanted to raise geese, but she had never started raising them. Now she just raised geese. The sheep also stayed in Lin Tao's home. Lin Changhai raised sheep when he was a child, so it was just right for him to raise sheep.

The chickens and ducks went to Xu Yuting's home, and Xu Yuting, who had never raised these before, started raising them.

But she was afraid that the chickens and ducks would peck the flowers she grew, so she asked Wang Yuanliang to surround her flowers and protect them.

Chen Shuifen said, "Teacher Xu also raises chickens and ducks. Can he raise them well?"

Xu Yuting said nonchalantly: "I have Wang Yuanliang. He won't let me worry about these things."

Lin Tao found it funny. Actually, Wang Yuanliang doted on Xu Yuting, but Xu Yuting also loved Wang Yuanliang and cared about him. But she spoke like this, which led many people to say that Xu Yuting was ungrateful and didn't care about Captain Wang.

In response, Xu Yuting had only one thing to say: "What do you think of Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai?"

In order to take care of the new member of the family - Yang, Li Chengxi also got some cement and bricks and built a sheep pen next to the rabbit nest.

When Lin Changhai was jogging in the morning, he would cut a bamboo basket of grass and bring it back for the sheep to eat.

It was the first time for Yueyue to see a sheep, and she was very curious. From the moment the sheep entered her house, she lost interest in playing with the little rabbit and focused on studying the sheep.

Zheng Hongxing is the same, coming home from time to time to check on the sheep.

Lin Tao said, "Teacher Zhong will be leaving the day after tomorrow. Let's prepare the things, money and tickets tomorrow and send them over tomorrow night. There will be too many people at the pier tomorrow, so it will be inconvenient to give them to her later."

Chen Shuifen and Xu Yuting both nodded. Xu Yuting said, "Well, I'll go with you tomorrow after I get off work and prepare everything."

The three of them agreed.

This time Zhong Jing and Zhou Wen were going to Qingshui Island. They would definitely need everything there, and the things they could take away from here were limited, so Lin Tao and the other three discussed it and prepared everything for Zhong Jing.

When Zhong Jing brought the poultry to them, they refused to accept anything, but they couldn't really give up. As a friend, we should help as much as we can.

The next night, Lin Tao, Chen Shuifen and Xu Yuting went to Zhong Jing's home.

Zhong Jing and Zhou Wen were already packing their things. Looking at the house where they had lived for more than three years, they felt it was really shabby when they first arrived. Neither she nor Zhou Wen had ever lived in such a shabby house.

Later, this place became their home. They built it up bit by bit together, making it simple but warm. But now, they have to leave again.

When I was packing my things, it seemed like everything brought back memories. I couldn't bear to part with anything and wanted to take everything away, but there were only so many things I could take with me. There were always some things I had to leave behind.

The once bustling yard is now deserted.

Zhong Jing heard the knock on the door and said to Zhou Wen, "I'll go see who's here."

Knowing that they were leaving, many people came to visit them recently. They were a good couple and had many friends in the fishing village. Knowing that they were leaving, they were reluctant to see them go.

Zhong Jing opened the gate and saw Lin Tao and the other two standing at the door.

Not only that, the three of them also brought a lot of things, big and small bags. Zhong Jing was surprised: "Teacher Lin, Teacher Xu, Sister Chen? Why are you here? Why are you bringing so many things? What are you doing..."

Lin Tao said, "You are leaving, so we have to see you off. These things are what you will need when the time comes. No matter what, you must accept them."

Xu Yuting said: "That's right, otherwise I don't want your chickens and ducks."

Chen Shuifen said, "Sister, Qingshui Island is not like our Shengshan Island. There is no supply and marketing cooperative there, so it is difficult to buy something. Don't be embarrassed. These are our gifts, you have to accept them."

Zhou Wen also came out, and like Zhong Jing, he couldn't help but tear up when he saw these things. He actually knew all along that Teacher Lin and the others really regarded Zhong Jing as a friend, not like what Lin Hui said.

Zhong Jing wiped away her tears and choked up, "Okay, I'll take it, I'll take it..."

Now that Zhong Jing and Zhou Wen had special identities, it was not appropriate for Lin Tao and the others to stay at their home forever. After delivering the gifts and giving them a few instructions, the three of them went back home.

The next day, Zhong Jing and Zhou Wen left on a boat, carrying large and small bags of things.

They were not on a passenger ship, but a small fishing boat. Because of their status, they could not board a passenger ship. The small fishing boat drifted and swayed on the sea, and gradually disappeared.

Zhong Jing and Zhou Wen sat on the fishing boat, one facing the fishing village and the other facing the school, waving their hands non-stop...

Shengshan School.

Lin Tao walked out of the office and looked at Xie Cong's back.

"Teacher Xie, Teacher Zhong is gone. When do you plan to return to Beijing?" Lin Tao asked.

Since Xie Cong came for Zhong Jing, and Zhong Jing chose Zhou Wen unwaveringly, it was reasonable for Xie Cong to leave. Instead of waiting for Xie Cong to suddenly come and talk about this matter, Lin Tao might as well ask earlier and arrange things earlier.

It's painful to lose two excellent teachers at once, but fortunately there are four new teachers this time. Even if Zhong Jing and Xie Cong leave, everyone will be able to handle the work if they just have to be a little busier.

When Xie Cong heard Lin Tao's voice, he withdrew his gaze from the distance.

He shook his head and said, "I won't leave. I'll stay here and teach these kids."