Chapter 45 Xu Zhiyuan visits
“Xu Zhiyuan is a monster. He beats and yells at me all the time. His kid doesn’t respect me either… And his mother, she forces me to drink talisman water and all sorts of weird medicines. He never sides with me; he always listens to his mother…”
"Xu Zhiyuan even quit my job in the county behind my back. I went home for two days, and when I got back I found out that I had lost my job, and he wouldn't let me continue working."
“I can’t have children, but when the diagnosis came back, I told him that if he didn’t want to be with me, I was willing to divorce him. He said he didn’t mind and that I could raise Limei as my own child.”
Li Mei is the daughter Xu Zhiyuan had with his ex-wife.
Chen Fanglan's cries grew louder as she clung tightly to Shen Xuewei, as if she were grasping at some lifeline.
Shen Xuewei reached out her hand and gently patted her back again and again.
"...After he hit me, I brought up divorce with him, but he refused. Every time I brought it up, he would hit me again. I was really scared of being beaten."
The crying subsided a little, but her face was still covered in tears and snot.
“I didn’t mean to keep it from you. He threatened me, saying that if I told anyone, he would make our family suffer, that he would send people to retaliate against us, and that he would cause trouble for Weiwei in town. You are all old, and Weiwei is still young…”
"But it really hurts so much, I've never been in so much pain in my life... Mom and Dad, I really don't want to live with him anymore, I want a divorce, I want a divorce..."
Grandma Xi wept and said, "Good child, why didn't you tell us sooner? Those people are not good people. Don't keep it from the family anymore."
Grandpa Chen's face was ashen, his fists clenched tightly, and he uttered only two words, "Divorce!"
When he uttered those two words, Chen Fanglan's tense nerves finally relaxed.
Shen Xuewei, who had been held in her arms, struggled slightly and finally broke free from her embrace.
Knowing that she needed comfort at this moment, he held her hand the whole time.
It's easy to talk about getting a divorce, but very difficult to actually do it.
“But Dad, he won’t agree to a divorce so easily,” Chen Fanglan said in a panic.
Seeing Chen Fanglan's frightened face, Grandpa Chen softened his tone and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, Alan, Dad will take care of everything for you."
With just a simple sentence, Chen Fanglan instantly relaxed.
"Okay, I'll do whatever Dad says."
Having made up her mind to get a divorce, Chen Fanglan dared not go back home, so she stayed at the Chen family home.
Extremely insecure, she was even afraid to sleep alone at night, fearing that she would wake up to find Xu Zhiyuan standing in front of her bed.
Shen Xuewei had no choice but to offer herself and sleep with her for one night.
The next morning, Chen Fangli and her husband appeared at the Chen family home.
Grandpa Chen instructed the two to take good care of the family and planned to take Chen Fanglan to the county hospital.
Yesterday, I saw the shocking injuries on Chen Fanglan's body. This is only part of the injury; she needs to go to the hospital for a further examination before I can feel at ease.
In addition to treatment, going to the hospital also requires obtaining a medical report.
Since the husband is unwilling to divorce, the more evidence the better in this protracted divorce battle.
Grandpa Chen hadn't planned to bring Shen Xuewei along, but Shen Xuewei threw a tantrum, and Chen Fanglan's trust in her had reached a peak these past few days, so she insisted that Shen Xuewei accompany her.
Two against one, and in the end, Grandpa Chen was defeated and took Shen Xuewei with him.
Upon arriving at the hospital, registering, finding the appropriate department, and undergoing an examination, Grandpa Chen stared at the injury report with a furrowed brow that remained unchanged.
Back home, Shen Xuewei coaxed Chen Fanglan to go and rest first, while she herself had already made up her mind.
Her maternal grandfather was a refined man, and he did refined things. When he said he wanted a divorce, he probably just wanted to have a good talk with Xu Zhiyuan and then negotiate a divorce between the two of them.
However, her grandfather's idea was a bit too optimistic.
Xu Zhiyuan may look refined, but his behavior is anything but.
Try to reason with him; there's a 90% chance you won't be able to reach an agreement.
Let's send Auntie out to lay low for a while, and wait for Uncle, who's been fooling around outside, to come back so he can take care of things...
She shared this idea with Grandpa Chen and Chen Fanglan. Grandpa Chen also felt that it would be better to let Chen Fanglan go out and avoid the situation for a while, so that if she came back home, she might bring people and forcibly take her away.
The group helped Chen Fanglan pack her luggage and then took her to a relative's house that very night.
The day after they sent the person away, Xu Zhiyuan came to their house.
He looked apologetic. "Mom and Dad, I'm so sorry. I drank too much the other day and hit Alan in a fit of rage. Is she alright? I came here specifically to bring Alan home. Please let her out."
Grandpa Chen's eyes were icy cold. "Whether it was impulsive or deliberate, you should know the answer in your heart. I'm not going to waste any more words on you, just two words: divorce!"
Xu Zhiyuan's respectful expression faded slightly, but he still smiled ingratiatingly and said:
"Dad, what are you saying? I never thought about divorcing Alan. I swear, just this once, I will never hit him again. Please let Alan out, I want to talk to her, okay?"
Seeing that Grandpa Chen remained unmoved, he steeled himself and knelt directly at the entrance of the Chen family home.
"Mom and Dad, I absolutely will not leave today if I don't see Alan!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Grandma Xi grabbed a broom from the side and started hitting him.
"Get out of my house! You're not allowed to come to my house again, and you're not allowed to see my Alan. Get a clean and quick divorce from Alan!"
Xu Zhiyuan didn't dodge, but just let the broom fall on him.
"Mom, I know you're upset. As long as it helps you both vent your anger, hit me however you want. As for this marriage, I will absolutely not get a divorce. I can't live without Alan..."
Shen Xuewei couldn't stand it anymore. Like a gust of wind, she swept past the door and ran around to the other four households in the village.
A few minutes later, she returned, panting, followed by four other adults from different families.
"You married Alan but didn't treat her well, you coward who beats women, you're not allowed to come to Xiaoli Village again!"
"Yes, that's right. If you dare to come, I'll beat you up every time I see you!"
"Brother Chen, Sister-in-law, stop wasting time talking to him, just kick him out!"
A group of seven or eight people, some holding bamboo poles and others brooms, struck Xu Zhiyuan repeatedly.
This time, Xu Zhiyuan had no choice but to hide. He ran very fast, being chased all the way from the village to the side of the road.
The villagers stood in front of the village entrance, holding things and glaring at him angrily.
He changed his previous demeanor and looked at everyone with a gloomy expression.
"Mom and Dad, no matter what, I will not get a divorce. If we need to talk, let Alan come and talk to me in person."
Grandpa Chen scolded him, "Alan will never want to see you again in his life. If you won't divorce me, then we'll go to court and file for divorce. Get out of here now!"
Xu Zhiyuan didn't press the matter further. He gave everyone a deep look and slowly walked away along the road.
As everyone watched his retreating figure, they saw him walk a distance before hailing a passing car.
They got into the car and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.
Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
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