Xiao Lei pursed his lips in shame. Seeing Qi Miao sign the divorce agreement without hesitation, he remained silent for a long time before finally picking up the pen with difficulty and signing his name on the divorce agreement with trembling fingers.
Black ink on white paper, once written, there's no going back.
Qi Miao breathed a long sigh of relief when she saw the name on the divorce agreement.
Finally, she no longer had to deal with this family; she had had enough of it these past two years.
The divorce agreement was temporarily kept by Jiang Ling. She put it away and asked Xiao Lei, "Comrade Xiao Lei, now that the agreement has been signed, let's finish the formalities as soon as possible. Do you have time tomorrow?"
Xiao Lei shook his head: "Tomorrow probably won't work. Divorce requires a report to the higher-ups, and it's not certain that it will be approved tomorrow."
"Then the day after tomorrow." To avoid any unforeseen circumstances, Jiang Ling immediately made a decision: "Go back and submit the divorce application report. I'll have Old Chen expedite your review, and I'll give you another day off the day after tomorrow to handle your family matters."
Xiao Lei then remembered that his boss, Chen Jingrui, was Jiang Ling's lover.
He nodded with a wry smile: "Okay."
When I came out of the Women's Federation office building, the sun was already high in the south, and most of the staff had already left for the day.
Jiang Ling had students waiting for her to eat, so she was in a hurry to leave. She greeted Fang Qiao, "The students should be home by now. Xiao Qiao, Miao Miao, are you going to the cafeteria? If so, let's go together."
Fang Qiao shook her head: "Sister Ling, I'm not going. My Chuan Chuan and Yue Yue are still at daycare. I have to go pick them up."
Jiang Ling looked at Qi Miao.
Qi Miao also shook her head and said, "Sister Ling, I'm not going either. My things are all at the daycare."
Jiang Ling nodded: "Okay, I'll go now. My students are waiting for dinner."
Jiang Ling hurriedly left with her lunchbox, while Fang Qiao linked arms with Qi Miao and they walked together toward the daycare center.
Xiao Lei hesitated for a moment, then chased after him from behind.
“Miaomiao…”
Fang Qiao and Qi Miao turned around together.
Qi Miao looked at him warily: "What do you want?"
"I..." Xiao Lei felt bitter inside, and his mouth was full of bitterness.
He pulled a roll of money out of his pocket.
There was a lot of money, all ten-yuan bills, at least five of them.
He handed the money to Qi Miao and said, "I know you don't have much money, but you can take this and use it first."
Qi Miao coldly refused, "No need."
Xiao Lei said, "Take it. It's the money you deserve in the divorce settlement."
"No need. I never saw your money when we got married, and I need it even less now that we're divorced. I don't want to cause trouble for yourself if your mother finds out."
Qi Miao was direct and didn't give Xiao Lei any face. After speaking, she took Fang Qiao's arm and left.
Xiao Lei watched Qi Miao's figure disappear at the end of the path, his body stiff. He closed his eyes, his drooping eyelids concealing the deep pain within.
*
When they returned to the nursery, Wang Yun was leading Chuan Chuan and Yue Yue on the swings in the yard.
The other children had all been picked up by their parents, leaving the yard empty.
"Chuan Chuan, Yue Yue, come quick! Mom is here to take you home!"
Upon seeing Fang Qiao, joy instantly shone in Chuan Chuan and Yue Yue's eyes.
"Mother!"
"Mother!"
The two children jumped off the swing one after the other, startling Wang Yun. She quickly spread her arms to protect them, saying, "Be careful, don't fall."
Chuan Chuan and Yue Yue rushed into Fang Qiao's arms, repeatedly calling out "Mom".
Fang Qiao raised her hand to pat their heads, then grabbed one of them with each hand.
Wang Yun smiled and looked at them, then turned to Qi Miao and asked, "Did their family give you any trouble?"
Qi Miao shook his head and said, "No."
"That's good."
After exchanging pleasantries, Wang Yun went home first, and Fang Qiao told the two children to say goodbye to her.
After saying goodbye to Wang Yun, Fang Qiao turned to Qi Miao and said, "Miao Miao, it's getting late. It'll be lonely for you to go to the cafeteria alone. Why don't you come home with me for dinner?"
Qi Miao waved her hand and declined, "No, no..."
"Let's go, let's go. My family cooks a lot of lunch, it's just a matter of adding an extra set of bowls and chopsticks."
Fang Qiao spoke sincerely, and Qi Miao couldn't refuse. Furthermore, seeing that Fang Qiao's words didn't seem like mere politeness, she reluctantly agreed. She planned to buy some fruit and deliver it to her another day.
Fang Qiao's home is not far from the daycare center; it's just a few minutes' walk away.
Just as Xiaojing reached her front door, she came out of the yard with a tall man.
Upon seeing Fang Qiao, Xiao Jing smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you're back."
The man also called out "sister-in-law".
Fang Qiao looked closely and recognized him as one of the men who had come to her house yesterday to build a house for the white tiger cub. She smiled and greeted him, "Oh, it's Xiao Zhang. It's getting late. Don't leave yet, have dinner at home."
"No need, sister-in-law, I have other things to do," Xiao Zhang said, and left in a hurry.
Fang Qiao glanced at his retreating figure, then turned to Xiao Jing and asked, "The main structure of the house is finished, shouldn't it take a few days to air out before plastering? Why is Xiao Zhang here today?"
Xiao Jing explained, "Niao Niao was fighting with the tiger cubs and broke several tiles on the roof. Just then, Xiao Zhang came to deliver something to Minister Chen and ran into her at the door. After chatting for a bit, he volunteered to replace the broken tiles."
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