Chapter 3: She Refuses to Accept Her Fate

Xie Yunshu didn’t indulge her either. She let out a cold snort and said mockingly, “Zhou Xinyue, open your eyes and look clearly! That bowl wasn’t broken by me—it was your dear brother who broke it!”

Her tone was dripping with sarcasm, and Zhou Xinyue’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. She looked to Lu Zhixing for help. “Brother Zhixing…”

Lu Zhixing pressed his lips together. “Xinyue, you should go back first.”

Just now, when Yunshu mentioned divorce, it had indeed thrown him off. Getting Xinyue involved at a time like this would only make things worse. But he believed Yunshu was just too angry from losing her job and didn’t mean it when she said those words.

He didn’t believe she would actually want a divorce. They had been married for over a year and had a good relationship. He had gotten used to having her around the house. And he could clearly feel Yunshu’s love for him.

She loved him—how could she bear to divorce him?

Zhou Xinyue’s eyes flickered. She nodded obediently. “Alright. You two should talk things over properly. Please don’t let this become a bigger issue because of me! Sister-in-law, Brother Zhixing is already under so much stress—please don’t argue with him anymore.”

Xie Yunshu sneered. If Zhou Xinyue really knew she was the cause of conflict, then why would she always run to Lu Zhixing over every little thing? Was he the only living person in the world?

Zhou Xinyue slowly backed toward the door, dragging her feet. She hadn’t yet left the courtyard when a loud-voiced woman rushed in, flustered. “Xinyue! You’d better go home quick! Little Wei just fell in the yard—his knee’s bleeding badly! Poor thing, he’s so young and already hurt so bad!”

“Little Wei!” Zhou Xinyue gasped and immediately turned to Lu Zhixing with tear-filled eyes. “Brother Zhixing, what should I do? Little Wei’s hurt…”

Lu Zhixing frowned and strode out. “Don’t worry, I’ll go take a look.”

Zhou Xinyue looked at him with complete trust and nodded firmly. “Thank you, Brother Zhixing. I don’t know what I would do without you!”

Just as Lu Zhixing reached the gate, he remembered Xie Yunshu. He hesitated, then turned back and said, “Xinyue can’t handle this alone. I’ll take the kid to the hospital first. We’ll talk about our matter when I get back.”

Without waiting for Xie Yunshu’s response, he left without looking back. Zhou Xinyue glanced over her shoulder at Xie Yunshu before leaving too. The eyes that were full of pity just a moment ago now clearly glinted with triumph.

Watching them leave, Xie Yunshu thought: anyone seeing their backs would think them a perfect pair—deeply in love, well-matched.

She let out another bitter laugh and turned back into the house to start packing.

She knew getting a divorce wasn’t something that could be done with a single sentence. But right now, she couldn’t spend even one more minute living under the same roof as that man! The most important thing now was to take the money and get as far away from those two scumbags as possible!

The bedroom was very tidy. A 1.8-meter-wide double bed sat in the center, neatly made with a red bedspread embroidered with mandarin ducks. On the nearby vanity sat a plastic-framed mirror and a wooden comb. In the back stood a solid wood wardrobe.

That was part of her dowry. Her mother had scraped together everything she could to send her off with a decent dowry—because she feared Yunshu would suffer from marrying “up.” Tears welled up in Xie Yunshu’s eyes at the thought.

She came from a single-parent family. Her father died in a factory accident when she was just sixteen and her little brother only ten. Her mother had struggled to raise them. To help the family, the factory allowed her to take over her father’s job early.

She had worked that job for five years—until Lu Zhixing, with just a few careless words, cost her the job her father had died for.

How could she not hate him?

The pain from her dreams still felt fresh. She had no job, no money. Every penny she spent had to come from Lu Zhixing. Though he never said anything harsh, that condescending look in his eyes was enough to crush her self-esteem.

Especially after Zhou Xinyue was promoted to head nurse—she felt even more worthless in comparison.

They quarreled constantly. Eventually, Lu Zhixing stopped coming home altogether. She was left drowning in her own emotional mess, like a madwoman. She rarely even went home to see her mother. If her mother ever learned she had died, would she grieve the loss of such a disappointing daughter?

Wiping her tears hard, Xie Yunshu pulled out a neatly stacked pile of cash from under the wardrobe. It totaled 170 yuan—all the monthly allowance Lu Zhixing had given her since their marriage. She hadn’t spent a single cent of it.

Looking back now, she thought—what a fool she had been.

She packed a few clothes and tucked the hospital’s misdiagnosis certificate into her bag. With a bundle slung over her shoulder, she strode out the door.

She hadn’t seen her mom or brother in a long time. Let Lu Zhixing and Zhou Xinyue go be happy together. Her top priority now was to make money and divorce Lu Zhixing.

After such a vivid dream, she now understood: your fate lies in your own hands. Only with money could she find her footing in this world—only then could she look down on those who once looked down on her.

But instead of going straight home, Xie Yunshu headed to the packaging factory to demand an explanation from the director.

In the dream, she was fired for being “mentally ill.” Even though the misdiagnosis was later corrected, her job was gone. Lu Zhixing never stood up for her. She tried to raise a fuss herself, but it only seemed to confirm her “mental illness” in everyone’s eyes.

In the end, the matter was left unresolved.

Later, she learned the real reason her job was filled so quickly: the factory director had been eager to get his niece hired. Official jobs like that were one-in, one-out—even the director had to wait for an opening.

With her labeled as “unfit,” and with no one to speak up for her, it was the perfect opportunity for him.

This time, Xie Yunshu refused to swallow the injustice. She marched straight toward the factory gates. The security guard looked uncomfortable when he saw her. “Xie Yunshu? Why are you here? You’ve been let go already…”

“I’m here to demand an explanation!” Xie Yunshu pulled the misdiagnosis certificate from her bag and said firmly, “I’m not sick. Even if you want to fire me, this can’t be the reason!”

The guard had known her for a while and knew she wasn’t a troublemaker. Feeling sympathetic, he let her in but warned gently, “Talk things through. Don’t make a scene—it’ll only make things worse for you.”

Xie Yunshu gave him a grateful look. She knew he meant well. After all, in the dream, her yelling and arguing had gotten her nowhere.

But this time was different—she didn’t plan on getting the job back.

In the packaging factory’s office, Director Li sipped from a large tea mug and spoke with the air of an old bureaucrat. “Comrade Xie, it’s not that I don’t want to help. But this matter’s already settled. I can’t just drive out the new hire, can I? You made such a scene, and with a label like ‘mentally unstable,’ there’s no way we can keep someone like that on.”

Xie Yunshu calmly placed the misdiagnosis certificate on the desk. “Director Li, this was a misdiagnosis.”

He didn’t even look at it. He just waved dismissively. “I don’t understand this stuff. Anyway, the dismissal was handled properly and by the book. There’s nothing more I can do.”

In other words, he was telling her to accept her fate.