Divorce Part 2

To avoid any further complications, Mother Xiao wanted to settle the matter as soon as possible. Once it was settled, if Lin Chengshan regretted it later, it would be his problem, not the Xiao family’s.

“No problem,” Lin Chengshan said, wiping his daughter’s lips with a napkin. “Wait a bit before eating. I need to take care of something, so we’ll go together.”

When Lin Qingqing heard that her father was leaving, her expression dimmed, thinking that her father didn’t want her. But when she heard that they would go together, her face brightened considerably.

“Hurry up,” Mother Xiao urged.

The divorce involved Xiao Man, and Mother Xiao was even more eager than Xiao Man.

Liu Shufeng and the others were still sitting at the nearby table. Liu Shufeng was ready to take action if Lin Chengshan tried anything unusual. He hadn’t expected Lin Chengshan to agree to the divorce so easily and wanted to say that the Xiao family was giving too much money, but he didn’t dare.

Liu Shufeng thought that the best years of Xiao Man’s life had been with Lin Chengshan. Shouldn’t Lin Chengshan compensate Xiao Man?

Liu Shufeng could only think about it. After all, Xiao Man abandoned Lin Chengshan, and didn’t want her biological daughter. The Xiao family, trying to minimize the impact, decided to give this money. Otherwise, why would they be willing to give Lin Chengshan so much? Mother Xiao also felt that Lin Chengshan had coerced her daughter into marrying him, thinking Lin Chengshan wasn’t a good person.

Xiao Man is going to remarry. If Lin Chengshan caused trouble and disrupted Xiao Man’s new marriage, it would be a loss. It was better for the Xiao family to give Lin Chengshan a bit more money. This amount was quite substantial for an ordinary family. Some people earned only twenty to thirty yuan a month, and after expenses, they were left with only a few hundred yuan.

Father and Mother Xiao were willing to give so much money to silence Lin Chengshan. If Lin Chengshan caused trouble, they would have a good excuse to discuss it with others.

In his past life, Lin Chengshan didn’t want this money. He loved Xiao Man and wanted her to be with him. He even said he could earn more money and provide a good life for her, but Xiao Man didn’t care.

No matter how hard Lin Chengshan tried, no matter how much he sacrificed for Xiao Man, in her eyes, it was what Lin Chengshan should do. Having married her, Lin Chengshan should treat her well.

When Xiao Man received the divorce certificate, she found it hard to believe how easily it was processed.

She had expected Lin Chengshan to drag it out and thought she would have to use some tactics to make him realize he wasn’t worthy of her. But Lin Chengshan agreed to the divorce just like that, which felt unreal to Xiao Man.

“The written agreement is in place, and I’ve received the money,” Lin Chengshan said. “From now on, we are no longer related.”

Lin Chengshan left with his daughter, having also collected the money. They needed to stay in a hotel for the night and look at houses the next day, so they could finalize the purchase early.

Xiao Man watched as Lin Chengshan walked away holding Lin Qingqing. Her gaze was complex—was this really Lin Chengshan?

“Stop looking,” Mother Xiao said. “The divorce certificate is processed. That’s the most important thing. From now on, the man and the woman are separate. You have nothing to do with each other.”

“Mom,” Xiao Man said to Mother Xiao, “he doesn’t seem like himself.”

“He’s probably scared,” Liu Shufeng said. “With so many of us here, he knows he can’t compete with us and just wants to take the money and leave. Simply put, he’s trying to get more money for himself and his daughter. He really isn’t a good person.”

“Your cousin is right,” Mother Xiao said, agreeing with Liu Shufeng. “With so much money, they can buy a good house. The houses near Rongcheng University are cheap. For five or six thousand yuan, they can get a two-story house with a yard.”

As long as Lin Chengshan didn’t aim for a particularly luxurious house but opted for a standard one, the money was sufficient.

Lin Chengshan already had three thousand yuan, and he should have some savings of his own.

In fact, Mother Xiao didn’t really want Lin Chengshan to stay, but since he and Xiao Man were divorced, forcing him further might cause more trouble.

“Don’t worry, if necessary, we’ll negotiate the price down for him,” Mother Xiao said. “As long as he doesn’t interfere with your life, that’s all that matters.”

Father Xiao listened to Mother Xiao’s words and looked up at the setting sun.

In the past, Father and Mother Xiao had never met Lin Chengshan. They only knew about him from Xiao Man’s letters, describing him as a shameless person with no culture and many bad habits, and how their daughter couldn’t adapt to him. Today, having met Lin Chengshan, Father Xiao found him to be a man of integrity, not someone who seemed to enjoy taking advantage of others.

Even though Lin Chengshan took the money, Father Xiao didn’t see it as a big issue, considering it compensation for the divorce.

Father Xiao couldn’t help but wonder if he had met Lin Chengshan earlier, would he still think his wife and daughter were right?

But things had turned out this way, and they could only look forward.

In the evening, Lin Chengshan found a restaurant near the hotel for dinner. He didn’t take his daughter far. In those days, without surveillance cameras around, any incident would be useless even if one cried.

After dinner, they returned to the hotel.

“Daddy, don’t cry,” Lin Qingqing said to Lin Chengshan.

“I’m not crying,” Lin Chengshan replied.

“Daddy’s eyes are red,” Lin Qingqing said. When she wanted to cry, people used to say her eyes were red and compared her to a rabbit.

“It’s not crying out of sadness. Daddy is very happy,” Lin Chengshan said. “From now on, you’ll stay with Daddy and not with your mom. We will depend on each other, and Daddy will work hard to give you the best.”

“I…” Lin Qingqing pressed her lips together and looked down slightly.

“What’s on your mind? Qingqing can speak up directly,” Lin Chengshan said.

“From now on, can I not call her ‘Mommy’?” Lin Qingqing asked. “And no grandparents?”

“Yes,” Lin Chengshan said. “If you meet them, don’t call them ‘Mommy’ or ‘Grandpa’ and ‘Grandma’; just treat them as strangers.”

“If we’ve taken the money, can I not call her ‘Mommy’?” Lin Qingqing asked again, still holding on to a small hope.

“Yes, once we’ve taken the money, you can’t call her that,” Lin Chengshan said. “Even before we took the money, they didn’t want you to call them that. Your mom is going to pursue her own happiness now.”

Lin Chengshan really didn’t understand Xiao Man. Was raising a child for another man really that easy? Xiao Man becoming a stepmother might seem glamorous on the surface, but only Xiao Man herself knew what it was really like.

It’s better for Lin Chengshan if Xiao Man becomes a stepmother; she was never a good mother. His daughter didn’t need such a selfish mother.

“If she’s going to marry someone else, calling her ‘Mommy’ would make others think less of her,” Lin Chengshan said.

“Then… what should I call her?” Lin Qingqing asked, feeling a bit melancholy.

“Aunt,” Lin Chengshan said. “You can call her ‘Aunt,’ just like you call other adults ‘Aunt.’ She’s just a stranger, an unfamiliar aunt, not your mother.”

“…” Lin Qingqing didn’t quite understand why things had turned out this way, why she had to call her mother ‘Aunt,’ and why her mother was marrying someone else, making it so she couldn’t call her ‘Mommy’ anymore.

Lin Qingqing’s little mind couldn’t grasp all of this, so she remained silent.

“Don’t be afraid. Even without a mom, Daddy is here,” Lin Chengshan said.

“Mm, there’s Daddy,” Lin Qingqing said.