She was fed up with such remarks, with the looks from Qian’s mother and Qian Lisheng, and their half-joking comments.

She had had enough.

Lin Xia suddenly felt incredibly light, as if she had shed a massive burden from her heart.

It felt like the sky had brightened a little.

She looked at Qian Lisheng, and with a calm and detached demeanor, she said, “Qian Lisheng, let’s get a divorce!”

Qian Lisheng was stunned.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Even the wind seemed to have stopped.

Lin Xia was calm and collected, while Qian Lisheng was utterly shocked.

His face turned ashen, his whole body trembling, and his lips quivering. “W-wife, what are you saying? How can you be so heartless? What have I done?”

His voice suddenly rose. “Are you trying to kill me? I don’t agree!”

Seeing his agitation, Lin Xia instinctively took a step back, watching him warily. “Calm down.”

Qian Lisheng growled, “I can’t calm down! I don’t want to live anymore!”

He suddenly realized Lin Xia was serious.

She wasn’t just threatening to divorce him out of anger; she really wanted to leave him.

She must have found out something.

She was disgusted with him!

She wanted to abandon him!

“Ah—” He screamed and suddenly lay down on the ground, lying stiffly and unmoving.

Lin Xia was startled and quickly crouched down to check on him. “Qian Lisheng, what are you doing?”

Qian Lisheng clenched his teeth, closed his eyes, and looked like a wooden puppet.

Lin Xia was at a loss. “What are you doing?”

Soon, others came over to watch, asking what was going on.

Having experienced the embarrassment of the failed election at the workers’ meeting and the ridicule for being less capable than his wife, Qian Lisheng felt like a switch had been flipped inside him.

He was no longer ashamed, especially after being seen by Lin Xia in the office and surrounded during their argument.

It was as if his shame had been stripped away.

He gave up.

He was shameless now!

He was once a man who cared deeply about his dignity.

It was pitiable how he had become so shameless, driven to this state.

Who wouldn’t sympathize with him?

Chen He said, “Sister-in-law, what did you do to make my master like this? Isn’t he having a breakdown? Quickly, take him to the medical office!”

He moved to carry Qian Lisheng.

Qian Lisheng weakly said, “Don’t bother with me. Let me die.”

Lin Xia was stunned.

She had never seen Qian Lisheng like this before.

There was such a shameless side to him; he really refreshed her perception of him.

Fu Xiumei and others came over to persuade Lin Xia, “Master Lin, what’s going on with you? How can you just end things like that? Is divorce something you can just casually talk about?

“Yeah, it’s so embarrassing.

“Master Lin, what exactly did you say? Look at how you made Master Qian so angry. He’s such a proud and clean man, and now he’s lying on the ground.”

“Master Lin, you’ve gone too far. How can you take advantage of Master Qian’s kindness and bully a decent person like this?”

“Besides, you got this job from Aunt Qian. After taking the job and getting promoted, you’re just kicking them to the curb and divorcing them?”

“That’s so ungrateful.”

“Ah, country folks…”

During this time, some people spoke up for Lin Xia but were suppressed by Fu Xiumei and others and couldn’t say anything.

Lin Xia suddenly understood that Qian Lisheng was deliberately putting on this act to… make people criticize her.

She felt a bit upset but was even more determined.

She smiled and said, “Yes, so I’m giving the job back to him.”

Tong Ailian also came over.

Upon hearing that Lin Xia was going to divorce Qian Lisheng, she thought she was crazy.

“Lin Xia, don’t be foolish. A man like him is hard to find even with a lantern.”

Lin Xia: “If he’s so great, then you can take him if you want.”

She finally understood that living together was just as her third sister said—like drinking water, you know whether it’s cold or warm yourself.

Others envied her without knowing her suffering.

Why couldn’t she have children? Because he was unhygienic, leading to serious gynecological issues for her.

But she couldn’t blame him because he said, “Everyone’s like this. Why are you the only one who has to be different?” Or he’d say, “Isn’t it because I cherish you so much, I just couldn’t wait.”

“Lin Xia, without a job after the divorce, where will you go?”

Tong Ailian was anxious; she was genuinely concerned for Lin Xia.

Lin Xia hadn’t thought about it before because she hadn’t really considered divorce.

It was today, and all the trivial matters of these years had finally accumulated to the point where they burst from her heart and could no longer be suppressed.

From the moment she realized her mother-in-law had never considered her a part of the family and that Qian Lisheng hadn’t truly considered her a family member, she was completely disheartened.

If she continued to entangle herself with Qian Lisheng, the future was clear.

He would constantly give her the cold shoulder, she would work hard at her job and then come home to his cold face, his mother would criticize her for not taking care of the man and not being virtuous, and demand a third of her salary.

Fortunately, there were no children. What if there were children?

So she’s even more miserable.

This is a family matter, but what about the factory?

The neighbors are waiting for a show.

They won’t blame Qian Lisheng for his sudden change in temperament; they’ll say it’s Lin Xia’s fault for provoking such a good man like Qian Lisheng into this state.

It must be Lin Xia’s fault; otherwise, a man wouldn’t act this way.

In their eyes, when a man goes bad, it’s always the woman’s fault.

The woman didn’t teach him, didn’t manage him, didn’t stop him.

The woman wasn’t gentle, wasn’t virtuous, didn’t understand him.

It’s the woman’s fault for provoking him to go bad.

Lin Xia couldn’t defend herself.

No matter how she explained, if people decided it was her fault, they wouldn’t listen to her.

They had already judged her, and there was no way they’d believe in her innocence.

Lin Xia had been diligent at the factory for years, and she had been kind to colleagues and neighbors.

But at this moment, she realized that sometimes it didn’t matter what you did.

It doesn’t matter who you are; it only matters what your status is.

If you’re a country bumpkin who stole their daughter’s chance to marry a good man like Qian Lisheng or took away a possible job opportunity, then you’re guilty.

Now that you dare to dislike Qian Lisheng, they’ll pounce on you and tear you apart.

And Qian Lisheng hides behind these people, watching with cold eyes and savoring the satisfaction of revenge.

Lin Xia stepped back, wanting to go home. Her father, mother, and third sister wouldn’t treat her like this.

“What’s going on? What are you doing!” Old Lady Jiang, carrying a bag of big steamed buns, hurried over, fuming. “Qian Lisheng, you’re a big man, lying on the ground pretending to be dead? Get up! What a useless sight!”

Fu Xiumei defended Qian Lisheng, “Old Lady Jiang, you don’t know the full story. Just stay out of it. Lin Xia got promoted and now wants to divorce Qian Lisheng.”

Old Lady Jiang said, “What’s this? In the old society, there was still the possibility of divorce, and in the new society, isn’t it allowed? Get out of here. Don’t think just because I’m an old woman without education, I don’t know what you’re doing. This is called bullying!”

Soon, the young men from the electrical team arrived to support Lin Xia.

Fu Xiumei was aggressive, “If you don’t return the job to Qian Lisheng, you can’t stay at our steel factory.”

Old Lady Jiang said, “The steel factory belongs to you? Lin Xia can come live with me!”

A young man from the electrical team, who was blunt and spoke aggressively, said, “Lin Xia, don’t be afraid of him. Marry me, and you can stay at the steel factory.”

He was just talking in a fit of anger, but it angered Qian Lisheng.

Oh, Lin Xia, you have many connections with men!

This seemed to remind Old Lady Jiang, and she looked at Lin Xia with shining eyes.

Ah, young man, you’re smart. You’ve given me a great idea.

Lin Xia is such a good girl.

If she divorces Qian Lisheng, wouldn’t she be a perfect daughter-in-law for me?

It’s settled.

She immediately pulled Lin Xia and said, “Girl, come with me. I have no daughters or daughters-in-law. I’m lonely. You can keep me company.”

Soon, Jiang Weidong, the women’s director, and several workshop directors arrived.