Zhang Lei was stunned for a long time before he slowly put down his chopsticks and let out a long sigh.

"I never intended to keep Yue'er's affairs a secret from you forever. Now that you have found out about it yourself, I will tell you formally."

"Yes, Yue'er's mother is Qiao."

Zhang Lei looked at Liu Ercui and recalled, "She and I were in a free relationship. At first, she didn't know that I had a childhood marriage in my hometown. After I confessed, she wanted to break up with me, but I pestered her and said that I would definitely cancel the engagement."

"I went home to visit my family that year with the intention of breaking off the engagement with you. Who would have known that later..."

Liu Ercui murmured, "It's my fault. I cried, made a scene, and threatened to hang myself before forcing you to marry me. I was wrong."

Looking at Liu Ercui's expression, Zhang Lei felt a little reluctant.

"All of this is in the past. From the moment I decided to give up her and marry you, I stopped thinking about anything else and just wanted to live a good life with you."

"But, I still owe her."

"Her reputation was ruined because of me, so she had to change jobs. But even after changing jobs to a local job, her marriage still didn't go smoothly. In the end, she had no choice but to marry Lin Peng... that's 'Uncle Yue'er', he is Yue'er's biological father."

"Lin Peng is a bad person. Yue'er has no future if she follows him. Qiao Cai asked me to take care of Yue'er before he died."

Liu Ercui asked calmly: "Have you been in contact with her?"

Zhang Lei shook his head hurriedly, "We haven't been in touch since I got married. She got sick and knew she didn't have much time left, so she asked someone to find me and tell me her last words."

Zhang Lei lowered his head, "Ercui, we are the ones who let her down. Let's take this as atonement and be nice to Yue'er."

Liu Ercui: "Then why didn't you tell me the truth at the beginning?"

Zhang Lei said: "I don't want to hide it, but I'm afraid you won't agree."

Liu Ercui chuckled.

Zhang Lei took Liu Ercui's hand.

Liu Ercui's body stiffened for a moment. The man hadn't held her hand for many years.

"It's good to talk things out. From now on, we can be calmer and live a good life."

"As for Yue'er, we will have fulfilled our responsibilities by raising her and finding her a good family."

After saying this, Zhang Lei felt a lot more relaxed.

"Father Yue'er, what are you going to do? Just let him keep blackmailing you like this?"

Liu Ercui finally understood now that Zhang Lei had made excuses to ask for twenty yuan to carry with him just to give money to Yue'er's father every month.

Later she complained that there was not enough money at home, and Zhang Lei spit out another ten yuan.

But after that, Zhang Lei stopped smoking.

When these details in life are connected together now, we can understand the reasons behind them.

"I won't care about Lin Peng anymore. I haven't given him any money since he made a scene."

Zhang Lei gave Lin Peng money before in order to keep things quiet. Now that Lin Peng has made a fuss, why would he care so much?

Besides, he will soon be transferred back to his hometown.

"When we return to our hometown, we will live in the county, but it will be convenient to buy a bicycle to go back to the countryside."

"Then we will bring the children back every week to visit my parents and your parents."

Thinking of the happy life in the future, Zhang Lei smiled.

Liu Ercui said, "I won't go back with you."

Zhang Lei was stunned: "Huh?"

Liu Ercui said, "Please file for divorce as soon as possible, and we will get it done."

Zhang Lei couldn't believe it, "Are you really going to divorce me?"

Liu Ercui frowned, "Do you think I'm joking?"

Zhang Lei really thought she was making a fuss.

It was indeed he who concealed Yue'er's affairs, and he was wrong.

But he had already explained the reason clearly. The two of them were clearly having a good conversation just now. It was rare that they didn't start arguing like they used to.

Why, why do you want a divorce?

Zhang Lei confirmed again, "Are you serious?"

Liu Ercui paused and nodded. "After the divorce, I will not go back to my hometown. I will stay in Jiangcheng with the children. You can say whatever you want when you go back."

In my hometown, a divorced woman cannot survive. Not to mention anything else, her parents' family will have to find her a new husband immediately.

However, she does not want to get married at present.

Zhang Lei was stunned. "You still want to stay in Jiangcheng after the divorce? Are you crazy? How can you live without a job? ... And you want to take care of the children?"

Liu Ercui: "I gave birth to all the children, so of course they have to follow me. But don't worry, they will always recognize you as their father, and they will still be filial to you in the future."

Zhang Lei couldn't bear it any longer, he stood up and paced back and forth anxiously.

"Why do you want a divorce?"

"I have explained Yue'er's affairs clearly. I promise that I will not hide anything from you anymore."

"I understand that you are angry, but after you calm down, you still have to live your life!"

"Divorce? Divorce is not a joke. You can't just say you want to divorce. How are we going to explain this to the elderly in your family and mine?"

"And the children, are you going to let them live without a father? You can't be so irresponsible."

Zhang Lei said so much, but only the last sentence touched Liu Ercui's heart.

She didn't mention divorce casually, and she had already thought of a way out if she stayed in the city.

Qin Hanshu had said before that she would help find a job, so if you ask her now, she would definitely be willing to help.

As long as she has a job, no matter what she does, she can support several children.

But Zhang Lei is right. Children without fathers will always be looked down upon.

Seeing Liu Ercui's expression changed, Zhang Lei felt a little relieved.

He knew that it was impossible for Liu Ercui, a rural woman with little education, to really divorce a man.

Claiming a divorce is just a way to vent the grievances in one's heart.

Zhang Lei thought carefully at this moment and realized that he had indeed not been very nice to Liu Ercui over the years and was always angry with her. Although she always talked back to him and quarreled with him, she would act as if nothing had happened after the quarrel.

There's actually nothing wrong with living with this kind of personality.

At least it doesn't require any brainpower.

Zhang Lei sighed, walked up to Liu Ercui, and put his hand on her shoulder. "Okay, let's end this matter here."

The tone was gentler than ever before.

Liu Ercui raised her head slowly and said, "You should file for divorce as soon as possible."