Extra 3.4

After waiting for a long time, the middle-aged couple inside finally completed filing their divorce.

As they came out, the middle-aged woman saw two people, and, noticing that they were also there for a divorce, she wanted to mock them. However, when she met Li Xiao’s cold gaze, she immediately shut her mouth.

She turned her head and vented her frustration on the man behind her, scolding him for being useless. To her surprise, the usually silent man directly pushed her away and left.

The middle-aged woman was stunned for a moment and, without thinking, chased after him, hurling curses. “Liu Changgen, you worthless coward…”

In the end, she did not catch up and ended up throwing a tantrum and crying outside the door.

Jiang Rou and Li Xiao went inside, where the marriage registrar gave them a surprised look. It was probably unexpected for such a young couple to be getting a divorce.

Jiang Rou and Li Xiao handed over their documents and relevant materials.

The registrar took the papers, glanced at them, and then explained the conditions for registering a divorce. Finally, he asked if both parties were willing.

Jiang Rou nodded in agreement, and after a brief pause, Li Xiao also confirmed with a “yes.”

The registrar asked additional questions regarding children and property. After confirming that they had resolved these issues, he brought out the “Application for Divorce Registration Declaration Form,” asking them to sign their names.

Jiang Rou and Li Xiao then filled out the “Divorce Registration Review Processing Form” and the divorce certificate.

In the end, their marriage certificate was stamped with a cancellation mark.

After receiving the divorce certificate, Jiang Rou and Li Xiao went outside. Jiang Rou looked at the certificate with curiosity, finding it quite interesting.

As they reached the door, Jiang Rou suddenly remembered something. “Oh, by the way, can you do me a favor?”

Li Xiao turned his head to look at her, his face expressionless.

Jiang Rou, unsure of his intentions, gathered her courage and said, “It seems like your ex-wife has a younger sister. Could you help me find her?”

At this point, Jiang Rou frowned. The dream she had left a deep impression on her; she still remembered several people from it as if they had actually existed.

In the dream, she had saved her own younger sister, who initially had a difficult life but, with her help, eventually got into a prestigious university and married someone she loved.

She was also familiar with that person, but Jiang Rou couldn’t recall who they were at the Moment.

The reason Jiang Rou made this request was not only out of curiosity about whether the dream was real but also because she wanted to help that younger sister, in case it was indeed true.

Li Xiao wondered why she suddenly wanted to find “Jiang Rou’s” sister. If he remembered correctly, “Jiang Rou” did have a younger sister, but that sister had been sent away when she was young.

In his previous life, “Jiang Rou’s” sister had been sold by her adoptive parents to a bachelor. Li Xiao remembered this clearly because it was mentioned by her elder sister when she came over to celebrate the New Year. At that time, “Jiang Rou” hadn’t paid much attention to it and even told her elder sister to mind her own business, saying that once the sister was sent away, she was no longer their responsibility.

Li Xiao had always found it odd how, despite being indifferent people, both he and “Jiang Rou” had such a kind-hearted child as Xiao Feng.

He looked at Jiang Rou and saw her frowning deeply, seemingly worried about a sister who had little connection to her.

Feeling a slight stir in his heart and understanding her intentions, he said, “I’ll go check it out now.”

Jiang Rou was genuinely pleased and quickly replied, “That would be great.”

After Li Xiao left, Jiang Rou went straight home.

—o—o—o—

In the afternoon, at 3:30, Jiang Rou went to the kindergarten to pick up the child. After bringing the child back, she went to the kitchen to prepare dinner while Xiao Feng sat at her new desk by the door, drawing.

When she saw her father come home, she cheerfully shouted, “Daddy——”

Then she eagerly added, “I got a little red flower today.”

Her face was glowing with a bright smile.

When Li Xiao entered the yard and saw her smiling face, and the white smoke rising from the kitchen chimney, he felt a slight swelling in his chest. It was as if he had a home now.

—o—o—o—

In the evening, Jiang Rou cooked three dishes and a soup: stir-fried beef with potatoes scrambled eggs with shrimp, oil-braised eggplant, and tofu with vegetable soup.

Xiao Feng had a big appetite; she not only ate a full bowl of rice but also drank a bowl of soup.

During the meal, Jiang Rou took the initiative to ask, and Li Xiao finally spoke, “Your sister is currently in a juvenile detention center.”

Jiang Rou was stunned by this news and looked at Li Xiao in surprise.

Li Xiao was not used to being looked at so intently. He lowered his eyes to avoid her gaze and after a Moment said, “A few years ago, she was sold by her adoptive parents to a single man in a mountainous area. Later, she accidentally killed that man.” The man’s family had been few, and the girl was thirteen at the time. Her adoptive parents, fearing the bad reputation in the village, reported her age falsely and sent her to a juvenile detention center.

Jiang Rou was at a loss for words because, in her dreams, that younger sister was not like this. She had been admitted to a prestigious university and had an infinitely bright future.

Li Xiao calmly said, “She should be out soon.”

Jiang Rou remained silent for a while before asking, “Can I help her?”

Li Xiao glanced at her, then lowered his head to continue eating. “It’s up to you.”

However, he added, “My friend is studying abroad, and his house is empty. There is only an elderly grandmother at home. If you want to help, you can let her stay there. You can spend some money to let her continue her education.”

Although he had said “It’s up to you,” he had arranged everything for Jiang Rou.

However, he did not allow her to move into his own home. After all, having accidentally killed someone and spent time in a detention center, Li Xiao could not let her live under the same roof as Jiang Rou and Xiao Feng.

In his view, Jiang Rou’s sense of judgment was only slightly better than Xiao Feng’s. People could be overly naïve, with a kind of fearless and ignorant righteousness.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t still be willing to interact with him, knowing he was “Li Xiao” and even be willing to take on the responsibility of caring for Xiao Feng.

Jiang Rou knew that Li Xiao was not a particularly kind-hearted person. His actions were likely for her benefit, but whatever the reason, Jiang Rou was very grateful.

She picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and placed it in his bowl, saying ingratiatingly, “You should eat more.”

Li Xiao’s hand holding the chopsticks paused.

He looked up at Jiang Rou and saw the woman opposite him with eyes shining brightly from her smile.

He lowered his gaze with indifference, trying to ignore the unusual warmth in his chest.

Jiang Rou was not bothered by his indifferent attitude.

Xiao Feng beside her saw her mother serving her father and quickly held out her bowl, wanting some as well.

Jiang Rou did not give her any. “You’ve already eaten so much. Aren’t you afraid of overfilling your little belly?”

Xiao Feng, feeling dejected, withdrew her bowl. She was not upset, however, and thoughtfully served vegetables to her parents.

—o—o—o—

At night, Li Xiao still slept with the mother and daughter. However, now, he not only had to get up in the middle of the night to cover his daughter with a blanket but also had to cover the person who loved to kick off her blanket.

Jiang Rou slept very dominantly; she would roll up the blanket when cold and kick it off when feeling hot. She occupied two-thirds of the bed all by herself.

Though they had only been together for a few days, Li Xiao seemed to have gotten used to it, calmly rescuing his daughter from under Jiang Rou’s arm.

When lifting the woman’s pale and soft arm, Li Xiao’s fingers tightened involuntarily. He could not help but glance at the face of the woman sleeping inside.

—o—o—o—

The next day, Li Xiao went out at noon.

On the way back from gathering information for Jiang Rou the previous day, he ran into an old friend who had invited him to dinner today.

Li Xiao informed Jiang Rou and went out.

When he arrived at the agreed-upon location, Zhu Qiang and Wang Tao were already there, having ordered a large spread of dishes.

Seeing the two friends as he walked in, Li Xiao felt a tinge of nostalgia.

For Zhu Qiang and Wang Tao, it was merely a reunion with an old buddy they had not seen for a while. But for Li Xiao, they were old friends he had not seen for over a decade.

He knew that, regardless of what had happened to him over the years, these old friends had silently supported him after they learned of his troubles.

Zhu Qiang and Wang Tao, seeing him arrive, expressed both envy and a hint of resentment, saying he had made a lot of money. They then started pouring drinks for him.

The dinner was lively, and Li Xiao said little, mostly listening to Zhu Qiang and Wang Tao talk. Wang Tao worked with Zhu Qiang at a hotel and did not earn much, but it was decent enough.

Throughout the meal, Wang Tao clumsily flattered Zhu Qiang.

Li Xiao found it amusing, drinking and watching them boast.

As they parted ways at the door, Zhu Qiang suddenly pulled Li Xiao aside and quietly reminded him, “Bro… I think, well, it’s good to make money, but you should also take care of your family. I’m busy in the hotel kitchen and can’t pay too much attention, but your wife is so beautiful. I heard many people have been asking about her…”

The words were rather indirect. Some time ago, there had been rumors in the hotel that the sister-in-law wanted to elope with someone. It had really shocked him, and he had even gone out to look for her.

Fortunately, it turned out to be a misunderstanding. However, the sister-in-law was quite willful. It was unclear what grievances she had suffered, but she had returned home and did not come back, causing him to get scolded by the hotel manager.

Li Xiao murmured, “She is fine, don’t worry.”

Indeed, there was no need to worry. Jiang Rou and “Jiang Rou” were not the same.

Seeing that Li Xiao had said so, Zhu Qiang did not say anything further.

However, he was quite surprised inside. Li Xiao had never commented on Jiang Rou like this before and had praised her so highly.

Li Xiao did not return directly home but went to the juvenile detention center in the city.

By the time he got back home, it was already mealtime. Just as he reached the door, Zhou Jian called him again and said that Brother Chang Yong was looking for him every day.

Li Xiao mentioned that there were some family matters. He had worked with Chang Yong for ten years, helping him handle many issues. If it hadn’t been for Xiao Feng’s incident, he might never have left. Unexpectedly, not long after he left, Chang Yong’s brother-in-law’s family went bankrupt.

This time, Li Xiao did not plan to return to G Province; it was too far from his hometown, especially since Zhou Jian would get into trouble the next year.

Hearing that Li Xiao had family matters, Zhou Jian thought it might be a child’s illness and did not inquire further.

Upon returning home, Li Xiao told Jiang Rou, “Your sister will be released the day after tomorrow. Do you want to go pick her up?”

Jiang Rou looked up at him and, after some thought, said, “I’ll go take a look.”

Li Xiao took a bite of his meal. For some unknown reason, he added, “I won’t be returning to G Province in the future. I plan to go to S City. When I’m settled there, I’ll ask Auntie next door to help take care of the children. Once I’m established, I’ll bring you all over.”

At this point, his tone was somewhat uncertain, as he did not know if Jiang Rou would be willing to go with him at that time.

But in his heart, he wanted her to go. As for the reason, Li Xiao himself was somewhat unwilling to think too deeply about it.

Jiang Rou looked up at him in surprise. “Go to S City?”

Li Xiao nodded. “G Province is too far from here. It’s inconvenient to come back.”

Jiang Rou agreed with a nod. Indeed, unlike S City, which had direct buses, arriving in G Province would be a lengthy and cumbersome journey.

“I used to stay in S City for a few years, so I am more familiar with it,” Li Xiao added.

On the other hand, he had not returned to G Province since then.

Especially now that Xiao Feng had grown up, the language barrier in G Province made it difficult for her to integrate.

This was also why he hadn’t taken An An to G Province before. When he got busy, he could hardly take care of himself, let alone a child. At that time, he had thought that Xiao Feng would be more comfortable in their familiar hometown environment.

Jiang Rou nodded. “You decide what you think is best. I’m also preparing for the college entrance exam. I’ll apply to universities in S City, so it will be easier to take care of An An.”

She sighed deeply, feeling distressed at the thought of the upcoming college entrance exam.

Seeing her dejected expression, Li Xiao’s eyes showed a hint of amusement.

Xiao Feng, not understanding, asked her mother what was wrong.

Jiang Rou patted her little head. “Mommy is just envious of you. You’re so happy now. Make sure to cherish your kindergarten days.”

Xiao Feng didn’t quite understand, but she enjoyed her mother’s head pats and smiled with her eyes squinted.

Suddenly, Jiang Rou thought of something and quickly asked Li Xiao, “Can I change the child’s name?”

Li Xiao was puzzled by her sudden shift in focus. Just a moment ago, she was worried about the college entrance exam, and now she was talking about changing the child’s name. He asked reflexively, “What’s the matter?”

Jiang Rou complained, “Don’t you think the name is a bit outdated? At first, I thought it was ‘Xiao Feng,’ like the wind in ‘wind kite’ or ‘Maple Leaf,’ which is okay. But ‘Feng’ as in ‘Phoenix,’ isn’t that a name from the 60s or 70s? It makes me think of names like Cuihua or Chunxia… Hahaha…”

She started laughing at her own joke.

Xiao Feng, not understanding anything, saw her mother laughing and giggling too.

Jiang Rou continued, “This name wouldn’t happen to be the one you chose, would it?”

Seeing that he remained silent and struggled to suppress a smile, Jiang Rou half-heartedly reassured him, “Actually, it’s not that bad, haha…”

And with that, she couldn’t help but laugh again.

Li Xiao gave her a glance and continued eating his meal quietly.

Jiang Rou pushed her luck further. She dipped her hand into the tea cup and wrote a name on the table. She remembered that in her dream, her daughter was named “Li Qingshu.”

After writing it down, she deliberately asked, “How about this name? I came up with it.”

Li Xiao glanced at it and said in a calm tone. “Are you sure it’s not just two pleasant-sounding characters forced together?”

Jiang Rou was momentarily taken aback—finding his comment somewhat familiar.

However, before she could ponder it further, someone called out to Li Xiao from outside the door.

When Zhu Qiang arrived, he heard lively conversation coming from inside and was surprised. Unable to resist, he walked into the courtyard and saw the family of three sitting together for a meal. The light above was dim, but the atmosphere was exceptionally warm.

He stood in the courtyard for a while, silent, as he realized that what he had always thought about his big brother and sister-in-law’s unhappy marriage was a mistake. In just the few minutes he had been there, his brother had glanced at his sister-in-law several times.

When his sister-in-law spoke with a smile, his brother’s eyes also held a smile.

Such a warm scene, which was absent in his own home, was something he had never experienced. Despite the outward appearance of a good life—his uncle being a hotel chef, his own promotion, and his wife being a small head in the hotel—his home was only filled with arguments.

Seeing that their conversation had quieted down, Zhu Qiang finally dared to speak.

Li Xiao got up to greet him, having not noticed when Zhu Qiang arrived while he was talking to Jiang Rou.

Zhu Qiang had come to bring some food. He had just finished his shift at the hotel and brought several dishes. Hearing that his sister-in-law wasn’t very good at cooking, he thought it would be nice to bring some extra food for his brother since he was back home.

However, upon entering, he saw that the meal on the table was quite good, and most of the dishes had already been eaten.

He suddenly realized that his mother might not have been entirely correct. Jiang Rou might not be as simple as he thought. Mei Zi often spoke poorly of his sister-in-law, saying she was involved with wealthy people, that she couldn’t cook and was lazy… She spoke this way in front of him, and he wondered how she spoke of her to others.

Li Xiao invited him to stay for dinner.

Zhu Qiang called out to the sister-in-law and then, smiling declined the invitation. “The meal is already ready at my place. I’ll eat later. I need to head out now.”

Li Xiao accompanied him to the door.

At the entrance to the hall, Zhu Qiang told him not to see him off, so Li Xiao didn’t. After standing at the door for a few seconds, he turned back and sat down to continue his meal.

At the courtyard entrance, Zhu Qiang couldn’t help but look back. He saw the family of three happily unpacking the dishes he had brought. The sister-in-law even said, “If we had more friends like this, it would be wonderful.”

He saw his brother’s face light up with a smile.

The scene was warm and harmonious. It made Zhu Qiang feel a twinge of envy.