At dawn, the moon was high in the sky, and the entire Qingshui Village was shrouded in tranquility, enveloped in a hazy black veil.
Under the cover of night, a dark figure stealthily emerged from the house, cautiously making no sound. With cat-like steps, it crept towards the door, and as it drew closer, its hand reached for the latch.
"What are you doing?" A sudden voice rang out, startling the dark figure so much that he almost dropped the bag in his hand and quickly hid it behind his back.
"Hongjun, I... I just couldn't sleep at night and wanted to go for a walk." Huang Siwen felt a little guilty, her eyes darting around, avoiding Zhao Hongjun's gaze.
"Heh, do you need to bring luggage when you go out for a walk?" Zhao Hongjun sneered, strode forward, and easily snatched the bag with his long arm.
"Ah—give it back to me—" Huang Siwen screamed, wildly waving her hand as she reached out to grab Zhao Hongjun's face.
How could Zhao Hongjun, a grown man, be hurt by a woman? He dodged in a flash, but she relentlessly pounced on him, and the two of them chased and dodged.
Hitting a woman is something no man should do. Zhao Hongjun dodged several times, still in disbelief. The person caught red-handed was so self-righteous, and he, the victim, was being chased and beaten.
Huang Siwen missed again, stumbled, grabbed something, and lunged at Zhao Hongjun's head. She had to leave this place; no one could stand in her way.
"Snap—" The crisp sound was particularly loud in the silent night. Wuyou shook her sore hand, pushed Huang Siwen aside, and snatched the stone.
"You dare hit me?!" Huang Siwen covered her face, tears streaming down her face, wincing in pain.
"What? Caught red-handed and now you want to kill me?" Wuyou threw away the stone. This woman really is hard to change her nature.
"I... I got into university on my own merit, so why can't I go to school?" Huang Siwen said confidently, puffing out her chest as if to encourage herself.
“We didn’t say you couldn’t go to school!” Wuyou smiled and gestured to Zhao Hongjun.
“You can go to school, we won’t stop you, but we’re family, we should go together.” Zhao Hongjun stepped forward, his tall stature giving people a great sense of pressure.
"Sneaking around in the middle of the night, could it be that there's some ulterior motive?" Wuyou frowned and pondered, finally saying this as if she had figured it out.
Zhao Hongjun weighed the bag in his hand, which seemed to have an unclear weight, and unzipped it, his face filled with shock and disappointment. "We've been husband and wife for so long, how dare you steal money and run away? We only have this much money left, how are we supposed to live if you take it? Xinghe is your son, don't you care about him at all?"
Over the years, Wuyou had been wary of Huang Siwen. The only money she had openly kept was fifty yuan, which she placed under a brick in the corner of her bedroom. Huang Siwen didn't keep a single penny of it.
"I didn't want to leave. I just wanted to see my parents, go to Beijing to say hello, and then bring you back. Leaving tonight was just so as not to make you sad." Huang Siwen looked aggrieved, lowered her head, and sobbed softly.
Wuyou saw the admission notice in the bag, casually pulled it out and waved it in front of Huang Siwen, "I really didn't expect you to be so kind-hearted. Here, you can leave this and go. I'll return it to you when you pick us up and take us back to the city."
"Impossible—" Huang Siwen's eyes widened as she spoke sharply. But then she realized her expression was too ferocious, so she composed herself and said, "This is my admission notice. Without it, I can't go to school at all. Mom, you can take anything else, but not this."
She knew her mother-in-law was illiterate and attributed it to luck, unaware that it was something Wuyou had specially chosen.
"What's the big deal? We're family!" Wuyou said nonchalantly, appearing quite magnanimous.
Huang Siwen was truly speechless now. She couldn't very well openly declare, "I don't want you anymore, I'll never come back, and don't come looking for me!" That would make it difficult for her to leave the village.
She knew clearly that if Wuyou and the other person didn't want her to leave, it would be difficult for her to leave the village.
Wuyou continued, "Besides, Siwen, you took all our family's money. The admission notice is in our hands. If we really don't have money, we can sell it! I believe many educated youths would be willing to spend money to buy it."
"No...don't sell my admission notice." Huang Siwen's face turned pale. She knew that Wuyou meant what she said and wasn't just bluffing.
“Huang Siwen, I know what you’re trying to do, and you don’t need to make up lies to deceive us. Have you forgotten that we are a legally married couple? Even if you really leave, I can find you. If all else fails, I can call the police.”
Zhao Hongjun's eyes were sharp; he wasn't stupid, and he could see right through his partner's heart. From the day he learned that she had been admitted to university but had kept it a secret, he knew this would be the outcome, so it wasn't entirely unexpected.
At this point, he was actually glad that his mother had been so wise, insisting that the two of them get a marriage certificate before he was willing to get married.
"What do you want?" It has to be said that Zhao Hongjun's words reminded Huang Siwen of the memories deep in his mind, and he was very annoyed. He stopped pretending.
"..." Zhao Hongjun dropped his pretense and began negotiating in his true businessman nature, practically skinning Huang Siwen alive. His feelings for Huang Siwen were nowhere near as deep or timid as they had been in his previous life; their separation only brought him disappointment.
Afterwards, the villagers of Qingshui Village discovered that Zhao's wife was missing. At first, everyone thought she was a college student resting at home, but gradually they realized something was amiss. The cause was Zhao's son, Zhao Xinghe, who inadvertently let slip the truth while playing with the children.
"There's no mom anymore, only grandma, dad, and Xinghe." When the child said this, his face was filled with an excited and happy smile, without the slightest trace of reluctance or attachment.
This made it clear just how much of a failure Huang Siwen was as a mother. Others who knew about this could only sigh and lament the Zhao family's misfortune, saying that Huang Siwen was no good, and they gossiped about it behind her back, but no one said it openly.
Huang Siwen's case seemed to have sounded a clarion call, and it became commonplace for educated youth to return to the city by going to university, abandoning their wives, husbands, and children and never coming back. It had become a trend.
Unfortunately, in this era, marriage is a simple ceremony, unlike the urban custom of obtaining a marriage certificate. Not only is it difficult to find a wife or husband who has returned to the city, but even if you do find them, they may not be willing to acknowledge you, leaving you with no choice but to suffer in silence.
Many families in the village with educated youth suffered losses. Some heartless individuals not only abandoned their partners and children but also absconded with the family's money, leaving behind grieving and resentful "family members."
At this time, it was Yu Xiaohong, who had been admitted to Jinghua University, the highest institution of learning in Beijing, who did not give up and returned to the city with her family in high spirits, instantly boosting her reputation.
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