Xiao Cui, fighting back tears, shook her head and rushed forward, throwing herself tightly into Qi Zhijun's arms. She clung to his waist, murmuring, "Zhijun, don't leave me, don't leave me, please? I beg you, let's start over. I know I was wrong before, I hurt you, it's all my fault. Please give me a chance to make it up to you."
Qi Zhijun was powerless to push her away and only said, "Xiao Cui, you need to know that you resent our family now. You resent Zhi Fang for bringing such a great disaster to our family, and you resent me for abandoning you when you were still newlywed and never considering you. I also have my faults, namely that you chose to stay out of trouble when our family was in the most difficult time, and you also had an unclear relationship with Wang Yanda..."
Xiao Cui shook her head and said, "It's not like that. I was just too scared at the time. I couldn't face the gossip and pointing fingers. And then you suddenly separated from me. When I encountered grievances or problems, I had no one to talk to. I just wanted to hide far away. When you came to see me last time, I was still angry. I was just angry, but that wasn't my original intention. I admit I was willful, and I'll change in the future, okay? Also, Wang Yanda and I aren't what you think. We have no relationship. I can explain that we..." Looking at Qi Zhijun's cold eyes, Xiao Cui stopped talking. Qi Zhijun smiled contemptuously and said, "Why did you stop talking?"
Xiao Cui cried, tears streaming down her face, and said softly, "I told you about my situation before we got married, and you said you didn't care. Now you're slandering me! How could you do this! I swear to God, Wang Yanda and I are not in that kind of relationship, or I'll die a horrible death, okay!"
Qi Zhijun's thin lips curled into a cold, ruthless smile as he said, "You said you've been hurt and your body is tainted, and I don't care because that wasn't your fault. On the contrary, I feel sorry for you. But what happened with Wang Yanda was your own doing, not your own intention. Being tainted and being shameless are two different things. Being shameless is a matter of morality and character. Do you think you can be forgiven? No matter how you try to justify it, you fell for a married man, that's an undeniable fact, and that man is my own sister's man. I really think you're terrifying. How can you marry me so nonchalantly, or do you think it's more exciting that way?"
Xiao Cui wept silently. "I only had feelings for him. I didn't know he was married at first, and I didn't do anything out of line. When I found out, I left him a letter with a poem by Pushkin: 'To be unable to forget what you can't have is foolish.' I didn't dwell on him; I'm not foolish! I made a mistake, but I didn't act foolishly. Making a mistake and acting foolishly are two different things! Everyone makes mistakes, but when it doesn't cross the line of morality, why shouldn't it be forgiven? I never knew you thought this way about me!"
Qi Zhijun was so angry at her theory that he plopped down on the kang (a heated brick bed), completely exhausted. He said weakly, "We really can't go on like this!"
Xiao Cui slowly walked over, locked the door, drew the curtains, silently unbuttoned her coat, took it off, and squatted down opposite Qi Zhijun, bringing her face very close to his. She murmured, "Zhijun, believe me, I'm not that kind of person. Let's start over and live a good life, okay?" Sensing that Qi Zhijun was about to leave, she softened and leaned closer. After a kiss, things naturally progressed, and the two fell onto the bed together...
When Qi's mother came over to ask Qi Zhijun to go buy cabbage, she heard a voice that made her blush. She couldn't help but withdraw her hand that was about to knock on the door, chuckled, and turned to leave.
Afterwards, with her hair down, Xiao Cui lay in Qi Zhijun's arms and whispered, "Zhijun, let's forget all the unpleasant things, okay? Let's try again! Can we give each other a chance?"
After a long while, Qi Zhijun finally let out a soft "hmm" through his nose.
Xiao Cui hugged her even tighter. Yes! These days, the reputation of a criminal's relative is not good, but the reputation of divorce is not good either. Not everyone is as lucky as Wei Shuqing.
Besides, with the three children no longer at home, and three people earning wages, and all the debts gone, life is pretty good. As for housing, we can negotiate with the company in a few years.
This is the calculation of respectable people—they never mention it, yet they are always calculating.
The two women, who hadn't had a proper rest in a long time, fell into a deep sleep. When they opened their eyes, it was almost dark. Xiao Cui quickly got up and tidied herself up. She went to the kitchen and saw Qi's mother making dumplings. She quickly washed her hands and helped. The two women, mother and daughter-in-law, unknowingly put aside that unpleasant experience, as if nothing had happened. When Qi Zhifang returned with her benefits, she saw Qi's mother and Xiao Cui making dumplings.
She gave an awkward laugh and said, "My sister-in-law is back!"
Xiao Cui nodded, and Qi's mother asked, "What did you send?"
Qi Zhifang said, "Two jin of wheat flour, five jin of cornmeal, three jin of meat, and they even gave us a jin of peach shortbread! The benefits at this steel factory are really good." Then, she changed her clothes and said, "I'll render the oil! We've run out of oil at home!"
Qi's mother said, "Just put it there for now! We'll talk about it tomorrow. We'll have dumplings today."
Qi Zhifang nodded and came over to help wrap them. Soon the water boiled and they were cooking. Xiao Cui went back to call Qi Zhijun to get up and eat.
Qi Zhijun then opened his eyes and put on his clothes. Each person was given fifteen dumplings, and Qi Zhijun ate twenty. It took more than a year for the Qi family to finally see the storm pass and things appear calm on the surface.
Xiao Cui dared to come back because Qi Zhifang had joined the steel factory. Even though her reputation was bad, it completely cleared her name as a criminal. After weighing the pros and cons, it was still more worthwhile not to divorce her.
After dinner, Qi Zhijun and Xiao Cui went back to the Children's Palace to retrieve their luggage, thus bringing the Qi family's troubles to a close.
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