Chapter 21
Zou Li gently patted the child's back and continued, "I quickly ran back with Xixi in my arms. In a hurry, I knocked on a neighbor's door and begged them to let us in to hide..."
Zhou Zhengzheng asked, "Hidden for a whole week?"
"Yes." Zou Li lowered her eyes to look at the child's face. "The neighbor was kind-hearted. After hearing about our situation, he was worried that Xu Candong would find us if we left, so he let us stay for a few more days."
"This neighbor is really nice. Which family is he from?"
Zou Li said awkwardly, "I can't tell anyone about this. If Xu Candong finds out, he'll definitely cause trouble for me."
Zhou Zhengzheng felt that this matter was unimportant and did not ask any further questions.
Seeing Zou Li looking at the child with heartache, Zhou Zhengzheng said: "Actually, you don't have to worry too much, Xixi actually..."
Before she could finish, "Xixi doesn't actually have leukemia," she heard two coughs. Director Wu, who had been listening, cleared his throat and began to speak.
"Xiao Zou, in my opinion, it's not right for you to do this."
Zou Li's face suddenly turned cold: "Director Wu, what's wrong with me?"
"Look, you two are divorced, and Xixi is seriously ill. Xu Candong, a grown man, has been taking care of the child tirelessly. Even if he doesn't have any credit for it, he has certainly worked hard."
Zou Li said angrily, "Let's not talk about whether Xixi's illness is real or fake, and whether he's really good to the child or not. I'm the child's mother and I have custody. Why does he take the child away and not let me see him?"
Zhou Zhengzheng was stunned for a moment, his eyes fell on Zou Li's face - did she know that Xixi didn't have leukemia?
Director Wu skillfully mixed the mud: "He must be worried that you'll be tired. It's not easy for a man to achieve this level. You have to be more understanding."
"Understand?" Zou Li sneered. "Director Wu, when Xu Candong and I were still together, he almost beat me to death. That's the way you spoke when you were mediating. You said that he treated you well normally and only lost his mind when he was drunk, so you have to be tolerant; men are under a lot of pressure in life, so you have to understand. You have to reflect on whether you have done anything wrong to make him angry... Director Wu, is that what you call mediation? You are just forcing me to endure it." Zou Li said angrily.
Director Wu was embarrassed. "Xiao Zou, you sound a little ungrateful. How much have I done to resolve your conflict? Besides, didn't you choose the man yourself? If you're restless, who can you blame for the failure of your marriage?"
Zou Li was stunned: "Who is restless?"
Director Wu showed disdain on his face: "I don't want to discuss your family's private affairs. It's you who insisted on telling me - everyone knows that you have a man outside, so you insisted on getting a divorce."
If she hadn't been holding the child, Zou Li would have jumped up: "Who has a man outside? Who told you that?"
"Of course it was Xu Candong who said that."
"Do you believe him when he throws dirty water on me?"
Director Wu snorted disdainfully: "If you're not having an affair, why are you getting a divorce?"
"Does an affair have to be involved in a divorce? Can't it be simply because Xu Candong is a rotten person?!"
"That's the man you chose yourself. Don't regret it. You have to be responsible for your family!"
"I chose it myself?!" Zou Li suddenly burst into tears. "Director Wu, do you know why I married him in the first place? He and I were classmates in junior college. When we were sophomores, he pursued me. I refused, so he set a trap for me and raped me!"
Director Wu's face flushed red: "Oh, how can you talk about such embarrassing things with a man like me? Stop talking." He waved his hand as if to wave away something dirty.
Zhou Zhengzheng couldn't help but interject, "Director Wu, rape is a crime. If there's anything shameful, it's the rapist who's shamed. How can you say the victim is shameful?" She turned to Zou Li and asked, "Zou Li, have you reported the case?"
Zou Li laughed bitterly, "No. I couldn't produce any evidence that it wasn't consensual, and I didn't have the courage to call the police. Before I could say anything, Xu Candong told the whole school that I had thrown myself into his arms. I became a slut in the eyes of my classmates.
"Later, I found out I was pregnant and wanted an abortion, but I had no money. I asked my family for money, but they beat me up and said I was bringing shame to the family. I didn't understand. It was clearly Xu Candong who did the bad thing, but he acted like he had won some victory, and all the shame was on me."
Tears streamed down Zou Li's cheeks. "My parents went to Xu Candong's family and asked him to marry me. They agreed, and my parents accepted the betrothal gift. No one listened to my opinion. Neither family would allow me to have an abortion. I was pregnant and couldn't stay in school. My parents also refused to let me go, so I had to drop out and give birth to the child. After Xu Candong graduated, we got married."
"After we got married, Xu Candong became an alcoholic. He went out every day either gambling or visiting prostitutes. Whenever I argued with him, he would beat me. The beatings got worse and worse. He would grab my head and bang it against the wall. My head was swollen like a pig's head."
Director Wu blew the steam from the glass and shook his head. "Of course he did something wrong. But you knew you couldn't win, so why bother provoking him? I advised you at the time that these were minor matters, nothing serious. Taking a step back will open up a new world. A woman's gentler temperament will lead to a harmonious family and prosperity."
Zou Li raised her eyebrows. "Are gambling and prostitution trivial matters? He's the one who's wrong, so why should I quit?"
"Look at you, your temper is still so bad. No wonder Xiao Xu fought with you."
Zou Li laughed angrily: "After all, it's my fault. I asked for it, didn't I?"
"Hey, you finally understand. Just correct your mistakes."
Zhou Zhengzheng also wanted to take blood pressure medication. She couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Director Wu, I'm trying to understand the situation. Could you please just shut up... shut up?" She couldn't be as rude as her master, so she politely added the word "honor."
Director Wu was obviously unhappy, but he didn't dare to contradict the police. He turned his head with a sullen face and drank his tea.
Zou Li suppressed her anger and continued, "I couldn't stand it anymore and wanted a divorce. I didn't expect my parents to be the first to disagree. They thought it was embarrassing! I told my parents that if I didn't divorce him, he would beat me to death sooner or later."
Director Wu couldn't help but interrupt again: "That's not the case. If he dares to beat you to death, he will be held legally responsible."
Zou Li laughed out loud. The child in her arms stirred, as if about to wake up. She patted it a few times, and the child fell asleep again.
"Director Wu, you sound just like my parents. They said that if Xu Candong beat you to death, the law would punish him. But have you ever thought that no matter how much the law punishes him, I'm already dead, I'm lifeless, and my children are motherless!"
Director Wu didn't like what he said: "You're taking this too seriously. How can a quarrel between a young couple result in a death?"
Zou Li ignored this nonsense, a fierce look on her face: "I told my parents, isn't it just for that little betrothal gift? If they don't want to return it, I will work to earn money to pay him back. We must get a divorce, otherwise there are only two consequences. Either he beats me to death, or I kill him. I figured it out, I would rather see a judge than a forensic doctor. They saw that I was determined to go all out, so they finally agreed to the divorce. Otherwise, I really would have killed him."
The last words were bitten out from between teeth with hatred. It was obvious that he was not bluffing, but really had the intention to kill.
Director Wu's face changed drastically. "How could you, a woman, have such thoughts? He's someone else's son."
Zou Li looked at him in surprise: "Director Wu, you are my father in disguise. How can you say the same thing without changing a single word? He is someone else's son, and I am someone else's daughter. How come I can die but he can't? A man's life is more precious than a woman's, right?"
"This...that's not what I meant! How can you be so ungrateful, woman? I do my job for the sake of your family!" Director Wu was so angry that his face turned blue. He wanted to smash the cup but couldn't bear to do it.
At this time, two policemen walked in.
One was Chang Ting, and the other was wearing a white coat over his police uniform.
Director Wu grabbed Chang Ting and said, "Comrade police officer, please judge the situation..."
"I heard everything." Chang Ting said indifferently, "It's complete, right? Do you like eating a complete pile of shit?"
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