Chapter 55

The atmosphere took a sharp turn as no one expected Cheng Youmin to be so direct!

Everyone paused their eating to look at Cheng Yue. Cheng Yue put down his chopsticks and calmly answered, “We’re not divorcing.”

The family was stunned and immediately turned to look at Su Qianqian. Cheng Xiuxiu’s words about the situation replayed in their minds.

Su Qianqian was equally surprised. What? Not divorcing now?

“Cheng Yue, weren’t you the one who initiated the divorce? The application was already submitted!” she said, exasperated, feeling like she was starting to doubt herself.

“I was impulsive before,” Cheng Yue explained. “These past few days, I’ve thought it through and decided not to divorce. I’ve already withdrawn the application.”

The Cheng family let out a collective sigh of relief. Not divorcing, that’s good. That’s very good. They resumed eating, secretly relieved that they’d still get to enjoy Su Qianqian’s delicious cooking.

Zhu Tianfang, however, maintained her sense of reason and asked, “What’s going on with you? One moment you want a divorce, the next you don’t. Don’t you realize how much this affects a woman’s reputation?” The entire village had been gossiping about this, and she hadn’t been able to defend Su Qianqian properly, not knowing the full story. If Cheng Yue hadn’t stirred things up, she could’ve denied it outright.

“At first, I thought about how our marriage wasn’t my choice to begin with, and after hearing about her actions in the village over the past five years, I figured divorce was the best option. But then I realized she has genuinely changed, so I decided against it.”

Previously, Cheng Yue couldn’t understand why his soldiers would miss their partners. He’d thought it unnecessary to pine for someone—life went on. But during the few days Su Qianqian was away, he realized how wrong he’d been. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, feeling restless and miserable.

“Not divorcing is good, very good,” Zhu Tianfang said, visibly relieved. She had been against the divorce. If it were the old Su Qianqian, divorce might have been the better choice for the kids. But now, with the three children healthy and thriving, looking like chubby dolls, divorce seemed unnecessary.

Just as the Cheng family was rejoicing, Su Qianqian dropped a bombshell:

“From the start, I was the one clinging to you. Youdidn’t like me. It’s time to correct that mistake. I think divorce is the right choice.”

“Erbao’s mom, you…” Zhu Tianfang was left reeling by the emotional rollercoaster, exclaiming that she couldn’t keep up.

Cheng Yue, knowing he was at fault, said, “Let’s finish eating first. Later, Qianqian and I will talk this over properly.” This was something the two of them needed to settle behind closed doors.

Su Qianqian didn’t press further, though she was puzzled by Cheng Yue’s sudden change of heart. What’s going on with him? Why the sudden reversal?

She had already envisioned her future as a wealthy and carefree woman: plenty of money, free time, kids, and no husband. How perfect is that!

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That evening, the village secretary came to call Cheng Yue, and he stepped out.

Meanwhile, Wu Yuexiang sneaked over to Su Qianqian and asked, “Qianqian, are you really planning to divorce my brother-in-law?”

“Living with someone you don’t love is very uncomfortable. Besides, he’s quite disdainful of me. I don’t think it’s necessary to stay married,” Su Qianqian replied.

“While I know my brother-in-law is a great catch, if you really want a divorce, then go ahead,” Wu Yuexiang said. “But you should be prepared for gossip. Divorces are still rare these days.”

Su Qianqian was surprised by Wu Yuexiang’s perspective. Most people in this era would think like Wu Sufen—adamantly against divorce. “You actually support me?”

“Like in the movies, being with someone you truly love must feel different. This is a new era, and I think you should be brave.”

“Thank you, Sister-in-law!” Su Qianqian was genuinely touched by Wu Yuexiang’s open-mindedness. “By the way, Sister-in-law, do you love my brother?”

Wu Yuexiang blushed slightly. “Back then, we married because we had a mutual liking for each other.”

“That’s great, that’s great,” Su Qianqian said with a smile.

The Cheng family really was quite decent, far better than the Su family.

To allow everyone some time to prepare, the welcome banquet for Cheng Yue was scheduled for the day after tomorrow. Otherwise, it would be too rushed.

Zhu Tianfang had already tidied up the house.

She found the three little ones and said, “Daya, how about you sleep with your siblings tonight? Let your dad and mom sleep together.”

“Mom doesn’t want to sleep with Dad,” Daya pouted. “Dad’s bad, and Mom’s still angry at him.”

“Daya, tell Grandma, did Dad and Mom have a fight?” Zhu Tianfang knew she wouldn’t get much out of the adults, so she decided to ask the kids.

Daya shook her head. “They didn’t fight, but Dad’s bad. Mom was telling us stories, and he said we were too noisy. Mom wanted to massage your injured leg, but he refused and was really rude about it.”

Zhu Tianfang frowned. This brat!

“Anything else?”

Erbao and Sanya also came over, and the three little ones exchanged glances, as if hesitating to share more.

Finally, Erbao made up his mind. “Grandma, there’s a bad auntie who likes Dad and says bad things about Mom. That bad auntie seems pretty rich.”

Zhu Tianfang was stunned. A surge of anger flared up within her. Is this some kind of Chen Shimei situation? Absolutely not!

When Cheng Yue came back later, he barely stepped through the door before being met with Zhu Tianfang’s fury.

“You brat! You’ve been single for five years, and now you’re acting all high and mighty? Complaining about your wife and kids being noisy? What, do you think you’re some golden prince from a rich family now? Just a few days in the city, and you think you’re too good for us?” She swung her feather duster at him relentlessly.

Cheng Yue dodged around the room. “Mom, stop! What’s going on?”

“I know everything now! She’s been taking care of you wholeheartedly, and you just complain and nitpick? No wonder she wants a divorce! Fine, go ahead and live single for the rest of your life!” Zhu Tianfang huffed, glancing over at Su Qianqian in the distance, hoping that scolding her son might ease Su Qianqian’s anger.

“Mom, I was wrong, I was wrong,” Cheng Yue admitted, pleading.

Su Qianqian hadn’t expected any of this. She had no prior experience dealing with a mother-in-law, but Zhu Tianfang turned out to be quite a good one.

Logically, with a son as successful as Cheng Yue, many mothers-in-law would encourage their sons to divorce and marry someone of equal social standing. But Zhu Tianfang hadn’t done that. Instead, she scolded her son on behalf of her daughter-in-law.

However, the onlookers from the village couldn’t help but chime in.

“Hey, Dasong’s mom, now that Cheng Yue is so successful, how could he possibly end up single? Plenty of women would marry him. Su Qianqian isn’t even good enough for him anymore. Wouldn’t it be better for him to divorce and marry a city girl?”

“Exactly! I mean, Su Qianqian really had sharp eyes back then. She clung to him, and now as long as she doesn’t divorce, she’ll be living the good life.”

Most of the villagers in Tianshui Village were decent, but a handful of them enjoyed stirring up trouble. Now that Cheng Yue was doing so well, he naturally attracted envy—some directed at him, and some at Su Qianqian.

Suddenly, someone shouted, “Su Qianqian, if Cheng Yue doesn’t want you, I’ll take you!” The voice was rough and loud.

By now, it was dark, and with so many people gathered, no one could tell who had yelled.

“Who said that?” Cheng Yue’s face darkened, his eyes sharp and icy as he scanned the crowd. His commanding aura silenced everyone instantly, and no one dared to speak.