Chapter 101
◎ Late that night, in a residential building somewhere, the door on the second floor, the innermost room on the left side, was being pounded on.◎
Late that night, in a residential building somewhere, the innermost door of the second floor of the building on the far left was pounded loudly.
The lights inside came on, and Zeng Linlin, who was sitting on the sofa, hurried to open the door without even putting on her shoes.
The light in the other bedroom was also on. When the door opened, Xu Huiqiu came out wearing her coat. She watched Zeng Linlin struggling to help her drunk son in. She had no intention of going up to help. Instead, she watched leisurely and yawned.
Zeng Linlin gritted her teeth and dragged Xu Zeli into their bedroom. Xu Huiqiu whispered, "Take off Xiaoze's shoes and clothes, rub his face three times, and make him some hangover soup. If he doesn't want to drink, keep it warm on the stove. Ask him if he's only drinking and not eating tonight. If so, make him a bowl of wontons."
Zeng Linlin was sweating profusely as she listened to Xu Huiqiu telling her how to take care of her son.
Although Zeng Linlin didn't say a word, Xu Huiqiu knew that she would definitely do as she said.
Xu Huiqiu stood at the door of the master bedroom, looked at the unconscious Xu Zeli, and muttered, "Why did you drink so much?" Then she turned and went back to her room.
The light in the second bedroom was off, but the light in the master bedroom was on.
Zeng Linlin gently took off Xu Zeli's shoes, and then reached out to take off his clothes, starting with his outer coat.
Zeng Linlin held it in her hand, her heart pounding. She looked at Xu Zeli fearfully and saw that he still had his eyes closed and was snoring.
She turned around and slowly reached into her coat pocket, searching for a while, looking for a pen, wallet, work ID, car keys... Then she frowned and took out a folded piece of paper.
Zeng Linlin stood in the shadows in silence for a long time, but finally couldn't resist the needle-like struggle in her heart, and with trembling hands, she spread out the paper and looked at it.
It was a pregnancy check-up form, which said the baby was already five months old.
Zeng Linlin's heart, which was hanging on the cliff, fell into the abyss with a thud, shattered into pig-red mud.
Zeng Linlin's hands finally stopped shaking. She quickly folded the pregnancy test form back along its original shape and put it back into Xu Zeli's coat pocket.
As soon as she put the list away, Zeng Linlin felt as if all her strength had been drained away. She fell to the cold floor, covering her face and crying softly.
Quan Lijuan deliberately put this pregnancy check-up form into Xu Zeli's pocket, intending to let his wife Zeng Linlin see it.
After one year of marriage, Xu Zeli had no intention of becoming a father. After two years, he had the idea. After three years, he became anxious as he still had no children.
After ten years of marriage, he finally became a father because of his wife. Xu Zeli's joy did not diminish in the slightest because the mother of the child was shameful.
It only matters that he is the father of the child. It makes no difference to him who the mother is.
What's more, since Quan Lijuan became pregnant, she only likes to eat sour food. Li Yanzi and Xu Huiqiu both said that she was pregnant with a son. Even his close, knowledgeable and cultured friends said that Quan Lijuan was pregnant with a boy.
Xu Zeli believed it firmly and was in high spirits all day long, so it was not difficult for Quan Lijuan to ask Li Yanzi to cook a dish that Xu Zeli liked and then get him drunk.
Although Xu Zeli never talked about Zeng Linlin in front of Quan Lijuan, she was able to get anything out of him after getting him drunk.
After learning that Zeng Linlin's family was so capable but she herself was so incompetent, she sneered, looked down on Zeng Linlin, and was jealous of her for being in the pit.
That's why he stuffed the pregnancy test form into Xu Zeli's coat to piss off Zeng Linlin. He thought that even if Zeng Linlin was so angry that she vomited blood, she would not dare to lose her temper, after all, Xu Zeli's heart was with her.
She also had an even bolder idea. When her child was born, she would let Xu Zeli take the child home and let Zeng Linlin raise him.
Her son has a legitimate identity, and Zeng Linlin's parents are so rich that they have developed real feelings for him while raising him. Zeng Linlin's parents' money is not her child.
With the two elders around, Zeng Linlin didn't dare to treat her son badly. As for her son not growing up with her biological mother, she didn't feel bad about it.
As for children, she wanted them so she could live in the countryside and have another one to raise. Besides, the more children she had, the more reason she had to ask Xu Zeli for money.
Xu Zeli, lying in bed, regained consciousness a little, feeling uncomfortable all over. He frowned and muttered angrily, "Zeng Linlin, where are you? Where did you go?"
He shouted, then lost all strength. He took a breath and continued to curse, "You damned yellow-faced woman, come and serve me quickly!"
Xu Zeli's voice was not loud, but Zeng Linlin, who was sitting on the floor at the end of the bed, could hear every word clearly.
She seemed to have heard some call, she stopped crying, looked flustered, supported herself to stand up, walked quickly to the bedside, and reached out to comfort Xu Zeli.
The moment she touched Xu Zeli's forehead, Zeng Linlin bit her tongue hard and slapped herself hard in the face.
Zeng Linlin didn't feel sorry for herself at all when she slapped him. She even woke up Xu Zhengqing who was sleeping next door. He looked at the wall and asked, "What's going on?"
No one answered, and there was no sound for a while. Xu Zhengqing turned over and continued to sleep.
Zeng Linlin opened the wardrobe, took out an empty black luggage bag, and packed a few sets of clothes into it.
Then, she gathered all her documents and wallet, silently opened the bedroom door and the front door of the house, and walked out with her head lowered.
She walked into the vast darkness. There were only one or two taxis speeding on the streets. The whole city was sleeping, but she was not afraid at all.
She has become more and more timid over the years. She is afraid of meeting strangers and coming into contact with new things. She feels safe only when dealing with the daily necessities of life. Now she is afraid of nothing. Even if she is hit by a car, she will not regret leaving the house.
Zeng Linlin found a formal-looking hotel and checked into a room with her ID card. There was a small table in the room with a notebook and a pen on it.
Zeng Linlin's eyes lit up, and she rushed over as if she had found a treasure. She picked up the notebook and pen, crossed her legs, sat on the floor, unscrewed the pen cap, lowered her head, and wrote line after line in the notebook.
The morning light is bright, treating everyone equally, giving everyone a share, and giving everything in the world a golden edge.
Zeng Linlin walked out of the hotel with a thick stack of letters and delivered them to the postman's bucket on the street.
Zeng Linlin took a deep breath of the cool morning air and felt relaxed all over. All she had to do next was to wait patiently.
Fortunately, the relevant departments did not make Zeng Linlin wait too long.
She has been living in a hotel, even having her three meals a day delivered to her. She has no contact with anyone, and no one has contacted her.
It wasn't until ten days later that Xu Huiqiu called her in a panic, "Linlin, Xiaoze has been kidnapped!"
She held the cell phone, listened to Xu Huiqiu's crying and Xu Zhengqing's sighing, and smiled contentedly. She felt that it was time to go back and make a final break.
Xu Huiqiu watched Zeng Linlin stuffing her things into the suitcase one by one and asked hurriedly, "What are you doing?! At this time, instead of thinking about saving Xiaoze, you want to go back to your parents' home!"
Xu Zhengqing hurriedly shouted angrily, "Shut up! You have a lot of hair but little knowledge! Linlin is going back to her parents' home to ask for help, right? Linlin."
Zeng Linlin hadn't seen Xu Zhengqing like this in nine years. She lifted the hair from her ear, smiled, and shook her head, saying, "You want me to sever ties with my parents, right? Why are you asking me to go find them?"
Xu Zhengqing's face froze, then he forced a smile and said earnestly, "Linlin, Xiaoze is your husband. Husband and wife are one. Prosperity and adversity are shared. You can't be so ignorant at this time."
Zeng Linlin sneered and said sarcastically, "Have I ever been honored in all these years? I'm just an old woman in your family. Not only do I have to pay money, but I also have to sleep with your son!"
Xu Zhengqing sighed and said pretentiously, "You and Xiaoze's relationship is getting worse and worse, and as a father-in-law, it's not easy for me to interfere. Linlin, don't worry, I will educate Xiaoze well in the future, let him put family first, and don't be tempted by bad women outside..."
When Xu Huiqiu heard this, she saw that Xu Zhengqing was about to let the cat out of the bag, so she quickly pulled his arm.
Xu Zhengqing suddenly shut up and realized that he almost said the wrong thing. The woman outside didn't matter. The key was that she was pregnant with their Xu family's child.
Xu Zhengqing changed his tone and said, "Linlin, they arrested the wrong person. How could Xiaoze make a mistake? Xiaoze must be upright and has offended someone! You must save him!"
Zeng Linlin covered her mouth and smiled. She knew very well how Xu Zeli got in. She was the one who sent Xu Zeli in jail with her own hands for the sake of justice.
Zeng Linlin said coldly, "I'm leaving now. You guys take care of yourselves."
Xu Huiqiu hurriedly shouted: "Where are you going?!"
Zeng Linlin zipped up her luggage, straightened up, and said, "Of course I'm going to Qingdao to be with my own parents."
Xu Huiqiu pulled the suitcase over and shook her head, saying, "No! You can't leave! What will happen to Xiaoze if you leave?!"
Zeng Linlin held out her hand calmly and said, "Give me your luggage. My mother's men are downstairs. Are you sure you want to fight me?"
Of course, there was no one downstairs with her mother. She was an unfilial daughter and her brain had been eaten by worms over the years.
Because her parents refused to buy her a car or a house, or to provide her with financial support, she hated them and felt they were the culprits behind her unhappy marriage. If they were willing to give her money and resources, she would definitely treat her well.
Instigated by Xu Zeli and the others, she made a lot of noise and threatened not to go home to see them. Now, she would only call her parents when Xu Zeli and the others were short of money, and every word she asked was for money.
After she and Xu Ze divorced, she would go to Qingdao, kneel in front of her parents and beg for their forgiveness.
Xu Huiqiu suddenly shrank back. The power of Zeng Linlin's mother still remained after many years. She looked at Xu Zhengqing.
Xu Zhengqing frowned, sighed and said, "Give it to her."
The two watched Zeng Linlin walk out with her luggage. Just as she walked out the door, Xu Zhengqing said stubbornly, "Linlin, if anything happens to Xiaoze, you won't be able to escape."
Zeng Linlin turned around, smiled slightly, and surveyed the furnishings of the house. Her eyes fell on the luxurious 27-inch color TV in the living room. She said sarcastically, "Humph, you guys should just take care of yourselves. Sell what you need to sell and hand over the money. Maybe you can get a lenient sentence."
After graduating from university, she only worked for three months before returning home to prepare for pregnancy. Xu Zeli only gave her ten yuan pocket money every month, which was increased to twenty yuan three years ago.
With this twenty yuan, she not only has to cover all the household expenses, from small things like a bunch of green onions to big things like buying and replacing home appliances.
Xu Huiqiu and Xu Zhengqing even asked her for nice clothes and shoes, and every now and then they would complain about pain in their bodies and ask for bird's nest and deer antler supplements.
She didn't even know how much Xu Zeli's monthly salary was. She went to her parents for money like a madman and then spent the money on them. In the past ten years, she estimated that she had spent almost hundreds of thousands of yuan, no more than that.
If you want to settle the accounts, Xu Zeli still owes her. She didn't spend a penny of Xu Zeli's dirty money. Xu Huiqiu and Xu Zhengqing have a lot of his money. They should just worry about themselves!
Over the years, they treated themselves as deaf and blind and always avoided her. They also contributed to Xu Zeli's imprisonment.
The moment he was handcuffed, Xu Zeli knew that he was finished. He had no chance at all and knew exactly what he had done over the years.
Before the verdict came down, he was worried about his parents and the baby in Quan Lijuan's belly, so he was anxious to see his parents. They asked him to wait, but a few days later, they told him that Xu Huiqiu and Xu Zhengqing had also been detained and questioned.
All the things he had been hiding were exposed, and Xu Zeli was no longer afraid. He asked someone to inform Quan Lijuan that he wanted to meet her, to tell her some things, and to tell her how to go forward.
Xu Lijuan did not come to meet him. Xu Zeli was angry, but he could not do anything about Quan Lijuan, so he could only keep asking that he wanted to see Quan Lijuan.
Quan Lijuan was constantly being sent leaflets, so she had no choice but to compromise and answer Xu Zeli's call. She was now like a frightened bird. She didn't dare to go to the detention center to see Xu Zeli.
The first thing Xu Zeli asked was: "Is the child okay now?"
Quan Lijuan looked down at her empty stomach and dared not say a word.
Seeing that Quan Lijuan didn't dare to speak, Xu Zeli thought she was frightened and kept comforting her, saying, "You asked your mother to take you back to the countryside to give birth to the child. I have given her a lot of money in the past two years. For the sake of money, let her take good care of you and the child. I will definitely repay her in the future. You wait for me outside until I come out. Don't worry about anything else."
Quan Lijuan mumbled, "The child is gone."
If she didn't tell the truth, Xu Zeli would come after her again.
Xu Zeli's mind went blank. He bit his wrist and said in a hoarse voice, "What did you say?!"
Quan Lijuan whispered, "I went to the hospital and had the child aborted."
Xu Zeli raged and accused, "Quan Lijuan, how could you be so cruel! That's your child! You gave birth to the child, gave him to your mother to take care of, and went to work in the factory yourself. Are you afraid that you can't support a child? After all, you used to do this too. You've been with me for two years. Can't you bear the hardship?!"
Quan Lijuan closed her eyes and said quickly, "The child is not yours, it belongs to my former boss."
She knew nothing and had to rely on Xu Zeli. She could only find her former boss and ask him to give her advice on how to please Xu Zeli.
Men really understand men best. With his former boss as his military advisor, Xu Zeli became more and more reluctant to leave her and came to her more and more frequently.
But she was always unsettled and was afraid that in two or three years, Xu Zeli would dump her and find someone younger and fresher.
She told her former boss about her troubles, and he asked her to get pregnant as soon as possible. She first secretly broke the contraceptive device, and then coaxed Xu Zeli into letting her have the baby.
But she couldn't get pregnant. She secretly saw a doctor and took so many medicines, but there was no effect. She had no choice but to listen to her former boss and use sperm donation to have a child.
Now that Xu Zeli is in trouble, his former boss dares not get involved in anything. Quan Lijuan is Xu Zeli's lover. Although he wants a child, he dares not keep the one in Quan Lijuan's belly.
He gave Quan Lijuan some money, took her to the hospital, and personally watched over her, asking her to have an abortion.
Quan Lijuan gave half of the money to Li Yanzi. Li Yanzi was unwilling to even take care of her daughter during the confinement period. She told her not to contact her family until she found another job and she took a bus back to her hometown overnight.
Xu Zeli's face turned pale, as if struck by lightning. After a long while, his eyes were bleeding as he asked, "Quan Lijuan, tell me, am I your first man?!"
Ah? Quan Lijuan was stunned for a moment. She had never thought that Xu Zeli was about to die, so why would he care about this?
She was also angry, but now she was no longer afraid of Xu Zeli. Xu Zeli was inside, and she was still outside.
Quan Lijuan sneered and said: "Of course not, I had a boyfriend when I was working at the factory, and I did everything I should do."
Girls from the village who went out for the New Year and other festivals would come back looking bright and beautiful, all dressed in new clothes. Even their parents would smile at them.
Quan Lijuan, who was about to get married at the age of sixteen, was tempted and begged the older sisters in the same village to take her out to work.
When she arrived in the big city, she went straight to the factory as soon as she got out of the bus station. At first, Quan Lijuan had no idea about the prosperity of the city. Her fellow villagers kindly warned her not to be dazzled and be fooled by the young people in the factory.
Quan Lijuan, a pretty girl, was pursued by several male workers in the factory. Without the constraints of her parents or elders, she was as bold as she could be in pursuing them.
Quan Lijuan was soon pursued by a male co-worker who was the best at coaxing people. The two went to and from get off work together, went to the cafeteria, watched movies shown in the factory, and held hands and hugged in the woods.
The previous part was a very normal love process, no different from those office couples.
But all this changed after that black hotel. The sweetness between the two disappeared. Although the male worker still met with her on dates and even checked into a hotel room for intimacy, his eyes were always full of contempt, as if he was looking at a lowly toy.
Xu Lijuan couldn't stand this stimulation and asked directly. Only then did she know what the problem was. It turned out that there was no red spot on the bed sheet on the first night.
But she really didn't lie. She was innocent. Before her boyfriend, she had never even held hands with other opposite sex.
She tried to explain everything, but her boyfriend didn't believe her at all. He ignored her and later told her directly that he wanted to break up with her.
After the breakup, Quan Lijuan was depressed for a while until she was called to the office by the factory boss.
The secretary took her around the city for several days, and after eating and drinking, she did whatever the boss asked her to do.
After she said she would obey, she was taken to a big house with many beautiful clothes and high heels in the window. She was completely fascinated and the uneasiness in her heart disappeared.
When the boss knew that she had a boyfriend, his eyes darkened, but when he learned from the nanny that her menstrual flow was very light, his eyes brightened.
Soon she met Xu Zeli, and the boss told her not to let Xu Zeli succeed easily, and that he would arrange when and how to succeed.
The boss calculated the timing and asked her to go to bed with Xu Zeli on the first day of her menstruation, thus deceiving Xu Zeli.
"Quan Lijuan, how dare you?!" Xu Zeli said viciously after knowing the truth.
Who does Xu Zeli think he is? He is already a trapped dog, yet he is still so mean to her.
Quan Lijuan was furious and said sarcastically, "You weren't my first man, but I told you that there was no bleeding during my first time. Xu Zeli, you've misunderstood your wife for all these years. You can't use that bullshit bleeding to judge whether a woman is a virgin!"
After hearing this, Xu Zeli immediately burst into tears and didn't even have time to ask Quan Lijuan how she knew about this.
This is the deepest trauma in his heart, and he hasn't even told his parents. Maybe he really misunderstood Zeng Linlin.
After listening to Xu Zeli's wailing, Quan Lijuan laughed and hung up the phone. She believed that Xu Zeli would not let anyone contact her again.
Xu Zeli really didn't want to see Quan Lijuan again in his life, so he turned around and asked to see Zeng Linlin.
Zeng Linlin wanted to witness Xu Zeli's miserable condition with her own eyes, so she came.
As soon as Zeng Linlin's people appeared at the door, Xu Ze was immediately surprised. At the most critical moment, the original wife was still better and more reliable.
Zeng Linlin sat down leisurely and looked at Xu Zeli seriously, thinking that although Xu Zeli looked much more haggard, he was still far inferior to her.
Xu Zeli felt a little uncomfortable being stared at. He cleared his throat, looked repentant, and muttered, "Linlin, I was wrong."
Zeng Linlin said coldly: "I have applied for divorce in court."
Xu Zeli widened his eyes. Yes, Zeng Linlin must know about him and Quan Lijuan.
Xu Zeli raised his hand and slapped himself in the face, pretending to cry and saying, "Linlin, I've wronged you all these years. I'm not a human being! I never believed you! Now I do! The misunderstanding is resolved, and I will definitely live a good life with you! Linlin, don't divorce me, you're the only one I have!"
Zeng Linlin was stunned and didn't quite understand what Xu Zeli said. She frowned and thought carefully for a long time before she suddenly understood.
She laughed so hard that tears came out. In the ten years of marriage, she cared about the little love Xu Zeli had, but Xu Zeli was still concerned about her chastity.
It is true that she lied to Xu Zeli, but apart from the deception, she had never done anything wrong to Xu Zeli.
She believed that even if she had told the truth to Xu Zeli, Xu Zeli would not be willing to give up her as a big tree.
It was all retribution. When Xu Zeli abandoned his first love, she turned a blind eye and instead targeted the innocent Bei Bitang.
She has been tortured by this marriage for ten years, and Xu Zeli has enjoyed happiness for ten years. Now it is Xu Zeli's turn to receive retribution.
Zeng Linlin stopped laughing, stared at Xu Zeli, and suddenly said, "I'm pregnant."
After saying that, Zeng Linlin lowered her head, smiled gently, and gently touched her belly.
Xu Zeli immediately said happily: "When will it be? Linlin, I'm going to be a father. Thank you."
Zeng Linlin raised her head and said sarcastically, "Xu Zeli, have you forgotten that I haven't slept with you for a year?"
Xu Zeli was as stiff as a burnt tree struck by lightning. Zeng Linlin struck him with another hammer and said slowly, "You are not my first man, and you are not the father of my child. You are my mother's man. I will marry him for the sake of my child."
She did not contact her parents, but they loved her dearly and had been silently paying attention to her. When such a big thing happened, her mother immediately sent someone to help her.
She also has needs. Her mother specifically mentioned on the phone that the male assistant is single.
Xu Zeli gripped the armrest of the chair tightly, and a thought flashed through his mind dizzily: there might be some truth in what Bei Bitang said, and he really couldn't do it.
Xu Zeli's mind suddenly became clear, his eyes were like a torch, as if he had grasped the last straw, and he said urgently: "Linlin, I am willing to be the father of the child!"
Zeng Linlin smiled, raised her chin, and said proudly, "What qualifications do you have? He's younger than you, taller than you, more handsome than you, went to a better university than you, and is better than you in that aspect. He can satisfy me better."
Xu Zeli tried hard to ignore the last sentence. His voice was like sand grinding blood foam. He said, "Linlin, he must have set his sights on your mother's family's company! Otherwise, why would he be interested in you, an old..."
Xu Zeli suddenly covered his mouth and swallowed the last two words back into his stomach.
Zeng Linlin shrugged, smiled easily, and said, "It's okay, I don't mind. I'm just attracted to his face and the fat underneath. Do you think it's possible? My mother has never listened to you, a proper son-in-law, for years. She let you secretly manage the company and let people in. After this painful lesson, will she trust another son-in-law?"
Besides, it’s not certain whether they will get married or not. She and her parents are happy that they have a child, and the man is not important.
Zeng Linlin thought about it and realized that her psychological defenses were very high. She had been verbally suppressed by Xu Zeli and the old couple for ten years. Anyone would have collapsed. But she could hold on. If she really listened to Xu Zeli and pretended to commit suicide to force her parents to compromise.
Maybe the grass on her grave is three feet high now. Xu Zeli has a beautiful wife in his arms and is about to become a father. Her parents are probably so angry that they are about to die.
Watching Xu Zeli pulling out strands of hair like a madman, Zeng Linlin smiled comfortably, stood up and walked out of the meeting room.
Outside, the sky is clear and the weather is sunny.
The scorching sun shining on Zeng Linlin's body made her heart feel hot.
In the past ten years, she has lived like neither a human nor a ghost. Her greatest blessing is that she has not caused too much trouble to her parents. They are still fine and waiting for her to come home.
She could afford to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars and a villa. This was the confidence given to her by her parents.
It's ridiculous. She has many labels: daughter of xxx, college student in the 1970s, secretary of a certain unit... For the sake of the last identity of Xu Zeli's wife, she threw everything else behind her. Xu Zeli trained her like a pug and destroyed her personal dignity.
From now on, she will pick these back up.
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