"If you don't want to compromise, then don't compromise. It's okay." Yun Qiao patted her shoulder gently and comforted her softly, "There are many paths in this world. If you don't want to take this path anymore, it's totally fine to take another one."
"Thank you," Zhao Yuan said sincerely. "Sister Yunqiao, you're the first person to say that. My family, friends, and even my former colleagues all think I'm being unappreciative. I have such a good life, but I have to act like that."
Yun Qiao said, "You live your life. Whether it's good or bad, only you know it. Others can only see the surface. You don't have to care too much about what others think."
"Yes, I am the only one who knows my suffering. They all envy me for marrying into a wealthy family, but they don't know that marrying into a wealthy family means more than just swallowing needles. Sometimes, you even have to swallow knives."
The grievances she had suffered pierced her heart like thorns, and Zhao Yuan couldn't help but tear up when she thought about it.
With tears in her eyes, she said thankfully, "Luckily, the country has reinstated the college entrance examination, otherwise I would have become a childbearing tool for the Zhou family for the rest of my life. You know, my mother-in-law even forced me to have a third child a while ago."
Yun Qiao frowned slightly. "Your grandpa isn't even a year old yet? Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, and she's so anxious? Can't she wait a little longer?"
"It's not their own daughter that they don't feel bad for. A family like theirs will definitely wait until they have a son."
At this point, Zhao Yuan smiled coldly, a hint of sarcasm flashing in her eyes. "Why did their family get so angry when I wanted to sign up for the exam? It's because my decision disrupted their plans and made them feel that I was out of control."
"My mother-in-law told me straight up, right in front of me, that she married me to give birth to grandchildren. Otherwise, there was no way a poor, poor kid from a slum with only a pretty face would marry her son. To be frank, my status in the family is even lower than that of the cat my mother-in-law keeps."
"And I, a pet, actually dared to resist my master's will. What should I do? I must teach him a lesson."
Zhao Yuan rolled up her left sleeve and showed Yun Qiao her arm. "Look, my mother-in-law beat me. It's been a month, and it's still blue."
"She even hit you?!" Yun Qiao's face showed a look of surprise: "This is too much. Doesn't Zhou Heyi care?"
"No matter." Zhao Yuan laughed sarcastically. "He's busy, really busy. He doesn't come home for ten days or half a month. And there's no point telling him, because that's his mother. When I told him, he just said it's only natural for elders to teach younger ones, and told me to be patient and not bother him with such trivial matters all the time."
Yun Qiao frowned and said, "Life is indeed not easy for your Zhou family."
"I passed. I have to thank my ex-mother-in-law for not injuring my right arm, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to write on the Gaokao." Zhao Yuan said this, then suddenly smiled and said, "I'm pretty confident about this exam. I know how to answer most of the questions. I feel confident now. If it were me a few months ago, I would have waited until I received the acceptance letter before getting a divorce. Otherwise, if I didn't pass, I would have had a way out. But now I'm no longer like that. I'd rather go out and sleep on the street than stay in the Zhou family."
Yun Qiao followed up on her words and asked, "Why aren't you here now?"
"Because of this marriage, not only Zhou Hee is suffering, I can't stand it for a single day either."
Zhao Yuan said, "I married Zhou Heyi not for who he was or for his love, but because he had a good family and a good background, so that my child and I could live a good life. But what happened? After we got married, there was no such thing as a good life. Every day I was beaten or bullied. It was so far from my ideal life that I couldn't stand it anymore. So divorce was a relief for me."
Yun Qiao nodded, "That's good. You will be free from now on."
"Yes, I am free. From now on, I will be the master of my own life, and no one can control me anymore."
She no longer wanted to live a life where she would be scolded for eating soy milk and fried dough sticks in the morning.
Speaking of this, Zhao Yuan suddenly thought of her two children, and her bright eyes dimmed.
She sighed and said, "I just feel a little sorry for the two children. I may not have the chance to see them again in the future."
"The Zhou family won't let you visit your child?" Yun Qiao asked doubtfully. "Logically speaking, even after a divorce, you should still be allowed to visit your child. Once a week, once every two weeks, or even once a month is fine."
"You said it yourself, that's when we're being reasonable." Zhao Yuan gave a wry laugh. "My ex-mother-in-law wasn't a reasonable person. She moved from the countryside to the city in her 1950s, and while she's completely lost her country folk's simplicity and kindness, she's retained a good deal of her aggressive and unruly nature."
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