Cui Xuezhi glared at him angrily. "What do you mean I can go whenever I want? I'm asking if you're going?! Is it that hard to answer my question directly, Dong Dingbang?"
Dong Dingbang said, "I'm not refusing to answer your question directly. I just feel that it's your aunt's house, and you're half the owner, so it's just the same if you go there by yourself."
Cui Xuezhi felt angry when she heard him talking. "How can it be the same? Everyone is going in pairs. If you don't go, what's the point of me going alone? Am I going to be alone and let others laugh at me?"
Dong Dingbang rubbed his temples and said with a headache, "Then don't go. I don't want to go to that kind of occasion."
Cui Xuezhi's lips trembled with anger. "Dong Dingbang, you only think about yourself now. You never consider the feelings of Liuliu and me. We are now living like two strangers living under the same roof. What's the point of living like this?"
Dong Dingbang's heart tightened and he subconsciously looked into Cui Xuezhi's eyes.
Cui Xuezhi looked at him angrily, her eyes were red, and the tears in her eyes reflected sparkling water light under the light.
Dong Dingbang's heart softened immediately, and he said, "I'm sorry, Xuezhi, I...I did do something wrong, but...but I really don't know how to face you now."
Cui Xuezhi said, "Because I can't give you what you want, right? So you don't dare to face me?"
Dong Dingbang was silent again.
Cui Xuezhi then understood.
At this point, Cui Xuezhi felt unusually calm. "Dong Dingbang, if you don't want to continue this, just tell me now. Don't drag it out. While we're both still young, I won't delay you from getting married and having children."
"Let's just leave it at that."
"It's so boring, Dong Dingbang. Really, I can't stand you anymore."
Cui Xuezhi turned around and was about to leave.
Dong Dingbang reached out and held her arm, "Xuezhi, I loved you."
"I really loved you at first."
Cui Xuezhi's tears fell, but she didn't look back. "You also said it was at the beginning. Later, why did it change?"
So, when did it start to change?
Was it from his mother’s arrival on the eve of the wedding?
Or is it the exhaustion of conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law day after day after marriage?
Or maybe she lost her uterus after giving birth to Liuliu and could no longer have children, so he despised her?
Or was his love not pure from the beginning?
Because she has a good uncle who can support him? That's why he loves her?
Cui Xuezhi didn't want to delve into it any further. It was all over, and it was too painful to think about the past.
Probably, it was wrong from the beginning.
****
Yun Qiao didn't know what kind of emotional journey Cui Xuezhi had gone through. When she heard about Cui Xuezhi from Feng Juan again, she found out that she had already obtained a divorce certificate from Dong Dingbang in a low-key manner.
She and Liuliu still lived in the residential compound in No. 6 Hutong, while Dong Dingbang moved to a dormitory alone.
Feng Juan said, "This Dong guy is quite affectionate and righteous. Even though he and Xuezhi are divorced, he still gives her the living expenses and child support she's owed."
"Giving child support is considered being affectionate and righteous?" Yan Jingwan sneered, "After the divorce, Liuliu is no longer his child? Shouldn't he be paying child support?"
"It should be given," Feng Juan said, "but some men are just not forthcoming and unwilling. They drag their feet and force women to come to them to ask for it before they reluctantly give up a few coins. In comparison, Dong Dingbang still has some advantages."
Yan Jingwan was speechless.
There are indeed such men.
Even her father is a ready-made example.
Yun Qiao said, "The two of them are just torturing each other when they're together. Divorce would be a relief."
"It's just that Liuliu is pitiful." Feng Juan sighed.
Yun Qiao said, "She'd be pitiful even if they didn't divorce. Dong Dingbang never comes home and doesn't care about her at all. It doesn't matter to her whether he's her father or not."
"That's right," Yan Jingwan said. "After the divorce, it's just right for Cui Xuezhi to find her a new father. Maybe the new father will treat her better than her old father Dong Dingbang."
"What's with the old dad?" Qin Zheng helplessly tugged at Yan Jingwan's arm and said, "Wife, can you speak a little more elegantly?"
"It's a rough statement, but the truth is there." Yan Jingwan was very impetuous at work and had long been accustomed to summarizing things with the simplest and most direct words. There was no need for her to hide it in her life, as Qin Zheng already knew her true character anyway.
He just loves the way he is energetic.
Feng Juan smiled and said, "Jing Wan is right. There are many bachelors these days, and men who can't find wives are everywhere. If a woman has a child, even if she can't have children anymore, she won't have trouble finding a partner."
"Xuezhi is so beautiful, maybe there really is a man willing to accept Liuliu as his own daughter."
"That's what I'm saying." Yan Jingwan snorted softly, "Dong Dingbang is such a hypocritical man. He's greedy and wants everything, but when he can't get it, he resorts to cold violence. He's not really a good man. If Cui Xuezhi could find a down-to-earth man, she'd definitely be better off than with Dong Dingbang."
She used to be a scheming woman who was only interested in climbing the social ladder. How could she not see Dong Dingbang's thoughts?
Yan Jingwan snorted, "I'll just wait and see what kind of woman Dong Dingbang finds for his second marriage."
"That might not be long," Feng Juan said. "Matchmakers these days are like dogs with noses. As soon as someone gets divorced, they can smell the scent and come to their door to introduce them to a potential match."
…
What Feng Juan said is absolutely right.
A few days after Dong Dingbang got divorced, his sister-in-law who loved to act as a matchmaker in the family compound came to him and wanted to introduce him to a partner.
But he rejected them all.
Dong Dingbang had just divorced and was still not over his previous marriage, so he didn't want to find a partner so quickly.
Besides... he didn't want to find a partner in the Northeast.
In the staff housing compound, a cadre can only be allocated one house. Once he remarries, Cui Xuezhi, as his ex-wife, will definitely not be able to live in the house allocated in his name, otherwise his current wife will not allow it.
Dong Dingbang felt that he owed Cui Xuezhi and Liuliu a lot, so after the divorce, he still wanted the mother and daughter to live in peace for as long as possible.
Cui Xuezhi didn't plan to live in No. 6 Hutong for too long. Her aunt Cui Jing's house was very big, and her cousins lived far away. The house was cold and deserted. Only her aunt and uncle and a live-in nanny lived in the two-story building.
And her aunt also accepted her.
Although she was very angry that she did not discuss it with her family and filed for divorce with Dong Dingbang without saying a word, her aunt found her and asked her to move in with Liuliu from the day she knew about her divorce.
Her aunt still felt sorry for her.
Cui Xuezhi moved back to Commander Liang's house, and the courtyard became empty.
Dong Dingbang never went back. He lived in a dormitory all his life. Outsiders were not allowed to enter the dormitory, so the matchmaker who wanted to introduce him to a partner could not find him.
Time flies and it's almost the end of the year.
In the spring of 1976, Dong Dingbang was selected to participate in a joint military exercise held in the Beijing Military Region. After the exercise, he was left in the garrison area and never returned to his base in the Northeast.
He Tingjun also attended the joint military exercise in Beijing.
When the garrison was selecting talents, He Tingjun performed outstandingly and naturally received an olive branch from his superiors.
But he was worried about his wife and children who were far away in Northeast China, so he immediately rejected the leader's invitation.
The leader was not angry. He smiled and asked him to think about it again and discuss it with the family.
After all, although we cannot accompany the army to the capital, there are many factories and units near the base. If we handle it properly, we can still bring our wives and children over.
He Tingjun called Yun Qiao and told her about the situation here.
Upon hearing this, Yun Qiao immediately asked him to agree.
"This opportunity is rare. If I can stay in the capital, of course I have to stay."
"Don't worry about me and the child. Have you forgotten what your father-in-law does? He's definitely capable of getting our household registrations moved to Beijing. Even if that doesn't work, at worst, we can just register our household registrations in Northeast China, and the child and I can go live in Beijing first. We can afford to support ourselves anyway, and we don't need the few coupons we get every month."
Besides, it is already the spring of 1976, and the college entrance examination will be resumed in a little over a year.
When the college entrance examination is resumed, she can apply to a university in Beijing and still get her household registration in Beijing.
On the phone, Yun Qiao said to He Tingjun, "Then let's make it a deal. You must agree to it."
"I'll ask my dad to buy the nearest train tickets, and our whole family will go to the capital."
He Tingjun laughed dumbly: "Yun Qiao, don't rush to buy train tickets. We are not asking you to start your job right away. They will give you time to adjust your job. Wait for me to return to the Northeast, and we can pack up our belongings together. Then we can come over as a family."
"Okay, okay." Yun Qiao agreed: "Then I'll wait for you."
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