The two families quickly reached a consensus on Zhou Yue and Chen Kai's divorce. One family had lost face, while the other couldn't bear to part with their daughter any longer and had no other choice but to take this step.
Zhou Xing drove Qin Xiaoyu and Zhou Yue to the Civil Affairs Bureau that day.
Throughout the journey, Zhou Yue was very nervous, squeezing Qin Xiaoyu's hand so hard it left marks. Qin Xiaoyu sat next to her in the back seat, leaning on her for support.
She didn't know if something would go wrong today, and she kept thinking about how to deal with any unexpected events and how to protect Zhou Yue.
Zhou Xing parked the car in front of the Civil Affairs Bureau and came over to open the car door for them.
"Get down." Zhou Xing had just finished speaking when he suddenly heard the sound of brakes behind him. Then two open-top military vehicles stopped, and more than twenty soldiers jumped out of one of them.
Led by Xiao Chen, a group of people stood behind Zhou Yue.
Qin Xiaoyu then realized that there was already a car over there, and the person who got out with crutches was none other than Chen Kai.
He's crippled? No way.
Qin Xiaoyu blinked and pouted, inadvertently meeting Zhou Xing's gaze, which he quickly looked away from.
The other team of soldiers was brought by Chen Kai, and their numbers on the vehicle were different.
Neither of the two commanders appeared in person, but the security arrangements were handled very well.
The staff member was a young woman, probably in her early twenties. She was taken aback by the scene before her and proved with her actions that the banner of "Production Model Worker" hanging on the wall was well-deserved. She quickly helped the two of them complete the divorce procedures.
As she held the large red seal, about to stamp it, she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no!"
The atmosphere in the room immediately became tense, with dozens of eyes staring at them, and the little girl broke out in a cold sweat.
"What's wrong?" Qin Xiaoyu had no choice but to step forward and ask softly.
"I, I, I forgot we needed to mediate," the little girl stammered.
Qin Xiaoyu looked at her sympathetically. Brains are a good thing; I hope everyone has one.
"Comrade, do you think there's any need for mediation?" Qin Xiaoyu looked around; the walls were covered with posters of heavily armed soldiers.
"No, it's not necessary." The young girl nodded vigorously, then immediately shook her head, and stamped her fingerprint on the divorce certificate.
Zhou Yue is now free.
Chen Kai ran faster than a rabbit, afraid of being caught by Qin Xiaoyu, and didn't even have the courage to make eye contact with her.
Zhou Xing and the other two got into the car, and Zhou Yue breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you both."
"Go home quickly, your aunt is waiting for news." Qin Xiaoyu was very thoughtful.
"Didn't Xiao Chen go back? What's the rush? We should have a celebration. My sister is free now." Zhou Xing calmly turned the car around.
Qin Xiaoyu noticed that Zhou Xing and Zhou Yue's relationship had changed since she returned. He used to call Zhou Yue by her first name, but when had he ever called her "sister"?
"Where should we eat?" Although Zhou Yue still had a lip injury, her eyes lit up when she heard about food.
"Of course I'll go to Fourth Brother's place. I've been away for so long, it's too good for him." Zhou Xing seemed to be very familiar with Qi Si's shop. Without asking Qin Xiaoyu, he drove to the new shop.
Qi Si was watching the waiters carrying goods inside when he saw Zhou Xing's car approaching, so he quickly went to greet it.
"How come the three of you are all together?" Qi Si asked, then regretted it and gave Qin Xiaoyu a meaningful look.
"I'm divorced, you'd better treat me to a nice meal!" Zhou Yue said bluntly.
"Divorced? That's it? That's it for sure? That little bastard got off easy. If you're not happy about it, I'll teach him a lesson again," Qi Si said cheerfully.
"Xiaoyu has already stood up for me. After all, we were husband and wife. It wasn't all his fault. I also had my shortcomings. Let's just consider this a clean break, and from now on, we'll leave each other alone." Zhou Yue's words made Qin Xiaoyu look at her with new respect. She was growing up rapidly.
Qi Si personally ordered the dishes, and they suited their tastes perfectly. Zhou Yue was the most vocal, but she didn't eat much; her mouth hurt.
"Sis, don't eat spicy food. You're taking medicine now, so you need to avoid certain foods." Zhou Xing rudely knocked the meat slices out of Zhou Yue's chopsticks.
"You've become my babysitter." Zhou Yue said, her eyes suddenly reddening. She said to Qin Xiaoyu, "Now I know, it's so good to have a younger brother. It's even better to have a younger sister. You two are the people I love most, it's just a pity..."
She couldn't continue.
"Sister, don't say these things anymore. Don't mention them again in the future. We're family now, and I'll take good care of you." Zhou Xing didn't look at Qin Xiaoyu, but every word he said was meant for her.
Qin Xiaoyu is no longer the same person she used to be; that's all just a passing cloud. In matters of the heart, what you see isn't necessarily true, let alone a promise.
With Zhou Yue's matter settled, Qin Xiaoyu took the child back to the Tang family. So far, only Hanhan's grandfather has visited the hospital; the mother-in-law hasn't seen the child and is incredibly anxious.
As Qin Xiaoyu walked into the courtyard, she smelled a delicious aroma; someone was in the kitchen. She wondered if it was Grandma Hanhan returning. Just as she hesitated, the kitchen door opened, and her mother-in-law beckoned to her.
"Little fish, they're all here. Oh my, my great-grandson's back!"
Qin Xiaoyu looked and saw that his wife was wearing an apron and rolling out dough, with a large, thin-skinned chive pancake on the board.
Aunt Yu is the one who bakes boxes by the stove.
"Why is Madam cooking? Let me do it. You should go inside and rest." Qin Xiaoyu took off her coat, rolled up her sleeves, and washed her hands.
The lady was reluctant to go, but Hanhan and her younger sister pulled her back to the east room.
"Aunt Yu, you've gone to so much trouble. Oh, by the way, I brought back a dog-skin apron. You always say your back hurts, try wearing it." Qin Xiaoyu had heard that Aunt Yu had been helping her a lot lately, and she was very grateful. Last time, she was almost arrested by Director Zhang of the committee, and it was Aunt Yu who helped her. She wanted to repay that kindness.
“I’m not saying this because I’m helping you, it’s because your family has taken care of me. At my son’s house, I do much more work than this. I’m not even allowed to sit at the table to eat, and I get scolded if I eat even one extra bite. Here, I can at least get a full meal,” Aunt Yu said, wiping away a tear.
"This is because you and my wife have a good relationship. We're both so good together, there's no question of needing to help each other."
"Little Fish, have you heard? Something happened in that house." Aunt Yu gestured towards the west room.
"What's wrong?"
“Now part of the factory is going to be moved to the Northwest, and your uncle is going to go with him. He doesn’t want to take that woman with him.”
"What if we don't take her with us? How will she live?" Although Qin Xiaoyu hated the old woman, her fate was tragic enough.
"Isn't she crying and making a scene every day? It's awful to listen to. Your uncle hates her to the core. A few days ago, she was trying to win him over, saying that Hanhan is a member of the Tang family and shouldn't be taken away by outsiders, which caused all that trouble. Your wife was so angry that she hit your uncle too. He really doesn't want to live with her anymore."
"Heh, now he's blaming others, but he's the one who did it. He has no sense of responsibility, so who can he blame?" Qin Xiaoyu sneered.
When Hanhan's grandfather came home from get off work, the table had already been set up in the house. The Tang family was usually quiet and deserted, but today it was unusual for it to be lively. He poured a small cup of wine for his wife and Aunt Yu.
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