Chapter 23 Five-Year Agreement
Without a job, Lin Ke's new battlefield is at home.
She usually sends the father and daughter out in the morning and then goes back to her room to read. In the afternoon, she goes to pick up Si Xiaotie from the kindergarten outside the community at 4:30 pm, which she uses as exercise to relax.
Si Xiaotie is very well-behaved. When her dad isn't home, she watches animal documentaries and cartoons by herself in the living room. When her dad is home, she goes to her room with him to play.
The days of preparing for the exam were ordinary and routine, but there were also many things that happened in between.
Si Yun and Qin Ru's conflict deepened. Si Yuming originally wanted to keep it from her so as not to disturb her mood, but he only told her after being repeatedly questioned.
Qin Ru's infidelity was confirmed, and Si Yun didn't hold back. She collected all the evidence and reported it to the school where Qin Ru worked.
A married man having an affair with his student is a complete breach of professional ethics for a teacher. Si Yun used her connections to get him dismissed and stripped of his professional title.
Qin Ru was filled with remorse and begged Si Yun for help, but Si Yun only gave him a divorce agreement that would leave him with nothing.
As Lin Ke listened, a smile crept onto her lips. Si Yuming, noticing her expression, raised an eyebrow: "Happy?"
The woman instantly composed herself.
Their relationship improved somewhat after that night, but they weren't exactly close. In fact, they felt awkward when they were alone together, unlike before when they felt natural.
However, Lin Ke couldn't care less about the awkwardness at the moment, and said fiercely, "Serves him right, he's lucky he wasn't thrown into a pig cage."
But then I worried: "What about Manman?"
When this was mentioned, Si Yuming also looked solemn and remained silent for a moment.
Lin Ke thought for a moment, then looked up and said, "Let's bring him here. The chaos at home has hurt him too much."
"You have an exam."
"The children go to school during the day, which is fine. They are very well-behaved and won't make a fuss."
Si Yuming considered for a moment, then nodded: "We'll see, if it's too noisy..."
It's a difficult situation. Where can we send them? Grandpa and Grandma side with Dad, and Mom's house is their whole world.
Lin Ke also sighed softly, "Just take it, it won't make any difference."
Perhaps the topic was too heavy, because the couple did not speak again in the dark space.
The next afternoon, Si Yuming first went to the kindergarten to pick up Si Xiaotie, and then went to the primary school to pick up Qin Mancheng. The luggage had already been taken by the family nanny, and the small bedroom where Aunt Chen was resting had been simply decorated.
On the way, he told his daughter in advance, "Your brother has been in a bad mood these past few days. Xiao Tie will play with him, but don't make too much noise and disturb Mom."
Upon hearing this, Si Xiaotie, who was about to happily share his feelings with his father, stopped talking and asked sadly, "What's wrong, brother?"
Si Yuming patted her head. "It's nothing serious. Aunt and Dad will handle it. Xiaotie just needs to stay with her brother."
"Okay! Xiao Tie understands!"
When they arrived at the primary school, Si Xiaotie got off the bus early and waited. Seeing that there were candied hawthorns for sale at the school gate, he begged his father to buy two skewers. While waiting, he kept squeezing the candied hawthorns in his hands, and every now and then, the candied hawthorns would stick to his yellow down jacket. Now his clothes were covered in candied hawthorns.
Qin Mancheng didn't know his uncle and sister had come to pick him up. When he saw them, he rushed forward and called out, "Xiao Tie."
"Brother, here you go!" Si Xiaotie handed over the candied hawthorn.
Qin Mancheng accepted it, and seeing the bright smile on his sister's face, his mood finally improved. "Thank you, Xiao Tie."
Si Xiaotie switched the candied hawthorn in her other hand, then reached out to take her brother's hand, saying, "Come on, let's go home!"
Qin Mancheng wasn't quite sure what this meant, so she looked up at her uncle, Si Yuming, who then said, "Manman has been staying at her uncle's house for a while now."
This time she understood, and the smile that had just appeared on her face faded, replaced by a hint of worry. "Uncle, my mom..."
"Your mother is fine, let's go home first."
Lin Ke was also waiting at home. When the little boy arrived, she took out the slippers she had prepared for him and gently patted his hair, saying, "Manman is here."
Qin Mancheng obediently greeted her, "Auntie."
"Hey, come on, let's go see your room."
Si Xiaotie had already run off as fast as he could, shouting, "Brother's room!"
Qin Mancheng looked inside.
My uncle's house is so small, and there are so many things! My sister's toy dinosaurs and dolls almost fill the sofa. If Mom were here, she would definitely be angry.
But he liked his aunt and uncle's small house, and didn't like the big house that was always empty and deserted.
Seeing that his brother wasn't following, Si Xiaotie stopped abruptly, calling out, "Brother!"
"They're here."
Lin Ke went to stir-fry the last vegetable, and Si Yuming followed.
After Si Xiaotie and his men had a cheerful stroll around, Si Yuming sent his daughter away and kept Qin Mancheng behind for a private talk.
How are Mom and Dad doing now?
Upon hearing this, Qin Mancheng's little pearl fell down. "Mom and Dad were arguing a couple of days ago. They were arguing very loudly. Then Dad slammed the door and left. He never came back."
Where is Mom?
"Mom comforted me, saying it was okay, but I heard her secretly crying in her room... I'm scared... Waaah, Uncle... Are my mom and dad going to get divorced? They won't want me anymore, right? Uncle, I'm scared, they won't want me anymore..."
Si Yuming hugged the seven or eight-year-old boy, feeling extremely sorry for him. "No, your parents will handle their own affairs. They may separate, but your parents will always be Manman's parents. Your mother will always be by Manman's side, and there's also Xiaotie and your uncle and aunt. Manman, don't be afraid."
"Waaah..." The little boy's cries grew louder and louder until he finally burst into tears.
Si Xiaotie, who hadn't gone far, pushed open a small crack in the door and saw her brother hugging their father and crying. Tears welled up in her eyes as well. Si Yuming waved to her, and the little girl immediately came in.
Si Xiaotie, with his small body, hugged his brother tightly and cried along with him.
The two children's cries were so loud they almost shook the ceiling.
After crying for a few minutes until she was exhausted, Si Xiaotie wiped her own tears while wiping her brother's as she said in a hoarse voice, "Brother, Xiaotie is hungry."
Qin Mancheng was also tired, so she nodded and said, "Okay, let's eat."
After dinner and a shower, Si Xiaotie accompanied Qin Mancheng to his room to do his homework, being very obedient and not saying a word.
Qin Mancheng's emotions had calmed down a bit. He looked back at his younger sister, who was sitting on the bed hugging a doll head and falling asleep. After watching her for a while, he jumped off the chair, laid his sister down, covered her with a blanket, thought for a moment, took off his shoes, got into bed, and hugged his sister to sleep.
When Si Yuming pushed open the door to the second bedroom again, the little boy and girl were already fast asleep, and Si Xiaotie's domineering little feet had kicked off the blankets and pressed down on Qin Mancheng.
He went in, put her feet down, turned off the light, and quietly closed the door before leaving.
......
The next day after get off work, Si Yuming went back to the old house.
Si Yun was on the phone in the living room. When she heard the sound, she only glanced back at the person before finishing her call and coming over.
How's Manman?
Si Yuming said in a deep voice, "You shouldn't be arguing in front of him."
Si Yun leaned against the sofa, her hand gripping her phone tightly.
She didn't want to affect her son, but when her emotions got the better of her, she couldn't control herself and ended up hurting him.
Si Yun said with a guilty voice, "I've already filed for divorce. If things go smoothly, it should be done in a month. I'll let Manman stay with you for a few more days, and I'll pick him up as soon as I finish what I'm doing."
"What did Qin Ru say?"
"What can he say? He'll regret it, he'll say he's cut ties completely." Si Yun scoffed. "He can do something like this and he still wants my forgiveness? Do you think I'm some kind of despicable person?"
"What assets and honors did he possess that weren't given to him by me and the Si family? He dares to do it and dares to take responsibility. The harm he caused me and Manman is far less than one ten-thousandth of what I'm doing to him now. I wish I could tear him to pieces!"
Si Yun's eyes were filled with hatred and anger, and all the affection they once shared was gone.
Si Yuming listened and only reminded him: "If he's too cautious, he'll go crazy. Nobody knows what he might do if he goes crazy. You and Manman both need to be careful."
Si Yun hadn't thought about this before, but now she was startled. "I know."
Si Yuming took out his phone from his pocket, fiddled with it for a bit, and handed over the already connected video call.
In the video, the little girl is perched on her brother's head, looking at the camera with her eyes wide open. Upon seeing the person in the frame, her initial "Dad" is replaced by a sweet "Auntie!"
Seeing the two children, Si Yun's gloomy mood eased a little. "Hey, Xiao Tie." Her gaze then fell on her son, who was being pressed down by the little girl. The boy's eyes were a little red, and he stared at her intently.
Feeling guilty, Si Yun smiled and asked, "Manman, have you missed your mother?"
Si Xiaotie shouted, "Brother really wants to..."
Qin Mancheng immediately covered the little girl's mouth, her face showing no trace of the wailing she had endured the night before, and asked seriously, "Mommy, have you eaten?"
"No, have Manman and Xiaotie eaten yet?"
"Not yet, my aunt is reading a book, and Grandma Chen is cooking for us."
Reading a book? Si Yun glanced at the man beside her, then looked at her phone: "Then Manman and Xiao Tie will have dinner later, and Uncle will be back soon."
This wasn't what Qin Mancheng wanted to hear. He pursed his lips and asked softly, "Mommy..."
Si Yun understood what her son hadn't finished saying and felt even more heartbroken: "Manman, can you give Mom a few more days?"
Qin Mancheng sniffed, her voice becoming a little heavier: "Okay, Mom, I'll miss you."
"Mom also wants to be full."
After the call ended, Si Yun's hand holding the phone fell limply to her side, and she sighed deeply.
Si Yuming answered the phone and sent a message to Lin Ke, saying he would be back later.
Si Yun watched him type and guessed who he was sending the message to. She asked, "What book is Lin Ke reading?"
"She has an exam at the end of the month."
Si Yun didn't understand. "What kind of exam? A PhD?"
"No, I'm applying to the Translation Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
"Ministry of Foreign Affairs?" After a few seconds, Si Yun thought of something and chuckled, "If I remember correctly, Meng Jing is also in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, right?"
Si Yuming raised his eyes.
The woman on the sofa stared at him for a long while, as if she had made a decision. "Yu Ming, do you know why she wanted to apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"
The air seemed to freeze for a moment as the man slowly furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"
Si Yun got up, went to the refrigerator, took out a glass of red wine, poured two glasses, brought them over, took a couple of sips herself, and then glanced at them indifferently: "Do you think I didn't let you marry Lin Ke back then just because of Cheng Yin?"
Si Yuming naturally couldn't answer that question. Si Yun took another sip of wine and looked out the window at the manor, which was now shrouded in night.
“You’ve been married for a few years, and Xiao Tie is almost four years old. I thought she had settled down, and I still feel guilty about it.”
Even though she's softened during this time, Lin Ke could have done it if there weren't any fundamental mistakes. It's not that the Lin family can't tolerate it, but divorce would hurt the child too much. Si Xiaotie is still so young; there's no need for him to become another Manman.
"I shouldn't be the one telling you this, but it's bound to happen sooner or later, so it's good for you to prepare in advance."
Having not slept for several days, Si Yun's words were somewhat incoherent, but still clear: "I don't agree to her marrying into the family because of the Lin family. Such a family is of no use to you, and if something happens, it might bring us a lot of trouble."
“Yu Ming, you said you don’t like Cheng Yin, but Cheng Yin is quite interested in you. If one of you takes the initiative after you get married, the feelings can be cultivated slowly.”
"Back then..." Si Yun smiled bitterly, "Although the ending was a complete failure, my love life was quite fulfilling back then. I hope you can find love and a happy marriage."
"Where's Lin Ke? How many years has it been since you last saw her? How much do you know about her? She was 23 when she married you. Do you know who she liked or loved before?"
Si Yuming's breathing became heavy, his eyes narrowed, and he stared straight at the person.
"So I signed a five-year agreement with her. I hoped she would love me and be able to live with me sincerely for five years. But I never expected that after so many years she would still want to take the Ministry of Foreign Affairs exam."
The air shattered in the silence, without a sharp explosion, but rather slowly and continuously disintegrated.
Something unseen was pressing on the man's chest, gradually squeezing him until he could hardly breathe.
He slowly sorted out all his thoughts, going through every scene of his life in his mind.
The person in front of her whenever she hid from him when she was a child, the "brother" he had never heard of, the familiar faces Jin Yang spoke of, and the other half he avoided talking about.
"Meng Jing, is that right?"
The words that came out of his throat seemed to carry the smell of blood.
"And what is this agreement?"
"Marry by mutual consent, divorce after five years."
-----------------------
Author's note: Here comes the little red envelope~
Also... ladies, if you don't like the sour and astringent taste, you can save the last two or three chapters for later~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com