In a daze, Kong ngjie finally endured until the end of the workday. She hadn’t eaten and rushed back to her dormitory. The two who work the day shift hadn’t returned yet. The night shift colleagues could tell she looked particularly unwell and asked a few concerned questions.
"I’m fine, just a bit dizzy." She lay on the bed facing the wall, waiting until she was alone in the dormitory to let her tears fall.
Why? Why did things co to this?
Do I still have a future? Why did I aim so high in the beginning?
She kept asking herself, the tears flowing more fiercely. But she didn’t even dare to make a sound.
She hated herself in her heart. The first ti was out of necessity, but why did she go along with it the next two tis? She successfully beca a team leader, but sotis she could still feel guilty.
Thinking about Huang Hongwei, she felt a deep hatred, transferring her self-loathing onto him. Why her? Why did he choose her?
A large patch of the pillow was soaked. But there was no sign of the tears stopping.
anwhile, Huang Hongwei was sitting on the bed with a sinister expression, completely ignoring the wife crying beside him.
It had been a whole day, and neither of them had moved, not saying a word since coming ho.
Dong Wenhua was truly afraid. The more silent it was, the more insecure she felt. She had spoken since returning, but the head of the household remained silent.
Huang Hongwei had gone from fear, to anger, to his current silence.
Weighing in his heart the consequences of divorce, he knew he couldn’t bear it. He had struggled to get to his current position; giving it up seed unthinkable.
No, he couldn’t bear to. If he were demoted, he would be nothing, and climbing up again would be impossible.
But he couldn’t let go of Kong ngjie, couldn’t let go of that beautiful girl. He could say he had tasted the forbidden fruit and craved it.
So beautiful, so captivating, now it’s a choice between status and the woman.
It was already dark. He lay on the bed, slling her scent on the pillow. Thinking of this, he suddenly sat up, sitting with legs together, placing the pillow on his lap.
"Dear, my dear, I was wrong, I acted on impulse at the ti. Don’t be mad, I’ll go to Director Jiang and say it was my mistake, that the shirt was my old one and that the hair is mine." Dong Wenhua said, crying as she spoke.
Her words made Huang Hongwei look up at her. "I’ll tell you this now. Don’t co here in the future. If you stay quiet, I won’t divorce you, and I’ll support you and the kids. But if you cause trouble, fine, we’ll divorce, and you can live however you want."
"Wah, dear, you can’t do this to . I’ve been through thick and thin, raising our two sons and daughter single-handedly, and I’ve been dutiful to your family. You can’t treat like this."
"It doesn’t matter what you say now; either we divorce, or you let do whatever and don’t show up here."
"Wah!" Dong Wenhua sat crying beside, feeling as if the sky had fallen.
"Stop crying. Think carefully about what you want." He said before taking the pillow to the west room.
Seeing his actions, Dong Wenhua knew he truly cared for the woman outside. She wasn’t dumb; that pillow must have been used by the other woman.
Even if she agreed not to cause trouble now, divorce would still happen in the future.
But right now, the children were still young, and she couldn’t support them alone. She still needed to rely on him.
If she could hold out for a few years until the kids were older, she wouldn’t be afraid of divorce.
With her thoughts clear, Dong Wenhua wiped her tears and went to make a fire for cooking.
She had lost hope, completely lost hope in this man. She didn’t want vanity anymore, just wanted to raise the children.
But if Huang Hongwei wanted to seek outside, it had to be clear how much allowance he would give monthly.
Without a man, a woman had to keep the money.
Sweet potato flour and white flour blended noodles, ten eggs brought from ho, she steeled herself to use two.
"Dear, dinner’s ready."
Huang Hongwei, though he liked Kong ngjie, still felt guilty towards his hardworking wife.
If she had caused a scene, he could have hardened his heart, but the way she was behaving now, he couldn’t ignore it.
They sat down to eat. Huang Hongwei saw his bowl full of noodles with two eggs, while his wife’s bowl was just soup.
His heart felt heavy; this was the wife who had endured hardships with him.
"Wenhua, I’m sorry."
"Dear, you don’t need to say anything. I understand. Since you like it, let’s just leave it at that."
"Wenhua, I won’t let you and the kids suffer. I’ll give you fifteen yuan monthly. The supplies and benefits will also be half yours."
"Rest and raise the children at ho, I’m still your husband."
Dong Wenhua nodded without speaking, afraid she couldn’t hold back tears. When a man’s heart is with you, your tears are his love; when he’s no longer into you, your tears are an annoyance to him.
They lay on the sa bed, but far apart.
The next morning, Dong Wenhua got up to make breakfast, still making two eggs for Huang Hongwei. "Dear, I’m going ho today."
"Okay, here’s thirty yuan for you. Make sure the kids study well; they need education."
Dong Wenhua took it. "I’ll go ahead and clear things up with Director Jiang at the factory. It won’t affect you. Even if you don’t love anymore, you’re still the pillar in my heart."
"Wenhua."
"Alright, don’t say more. I’ll clean the house, then find Director Jiang."
Huang Hongwei felt quite uncomfortable but nodded and went to work.
Dong Wenhua really cleaned the entire house, inside and out. Finally, she took one last look at the pillow and walked out.
Standing in the courtyard for a while, she tried hard to put on a smile.
Jiang Xinyu had just finished her chores and sat down when the phone rang, "Director Jiang, Director Huang’s wife is here looking for you."
"Okay, have her wait a mont, I’ll be there soon."
"That poor woman," she muttered.
"Director Jiang, I’ve co to clear up yesterday’s misunderstanding. It was my mistake. That piece of clothing was mine, and the hair on the pillow was also mine."
"Alright, since Sister-in-law Huang has clarified, that’s good."
"Director Jiang, I was too impulsive yesterday, and Old Huang scolded when I got ho. I ca specially today to tell you."
"It’s okay, as long as the misunderstanding is cleared up. If there are any job openings at the factory in the future, I’ll think of you. Maybe not for everything, but you can do cleaning and cooking."
Upon hearing Jiang Xinyu’s words, Dong Wenhua almost cried. If she truly had this opportunity, she wouldn’t need to depend on Huang Hongwei.
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