Chapter 270: Xu Daming: I Want to Divorce Lou Xiaoe 1

Heaven has its sunny and cloudy sides.

People have fortune and misfortune.

The Lou family son‑in‑law's status not only fails to help the Xu family in the days ahead, but becomes the biggest hidden danger threatening Xu family safety.

Xu Fugui recently talked privately with Xu Daming, urging him to find the excuse that Lou Xiaoe cannot bear children, quickly divorce Lou Xiaoe, and then clearly separate from the Lou family.

Long nights bring many dreams.

Delay brings change.

Better early than late.

If it's late, there's no point in rushing.

Xu Daming was deeply troubled, not understanding why Xu Fugui insisted he divorce Lou Xiaoe.

They're all pregnant.

The one who originally arranged for him to marry Lou Xiaoe was Xu Fugui.

Now the one urging him to divorce Lou Xiaoe is still Xu Fugui.

Thanks to Shazhu's friendship with Xu Daming, which inadvertently changed some of Xu Daming's original habits, his marriage to Lou Xiaoe is much better than in his previous life.

He felt uneasy inside.

He felt a bit reluctant to part with Lou Xiaoe, thinking he had let the Lou family down and was unworthy of being human.

His heart was filled with anxiety.

Xu Fugui told Xu Daming what he had seen and the conclusions he'd drawn, giving reasons why Xu Daming must divorce Lou Xiaoe.

Xu Daming was persuaded.

Tonight's drink.

Rather than saying Xu Daming invited Shazhu for a drink, it's more like Xu Daming wanted to use the alcohol to vent his inner gloom to Shazhu.

There were many people.

But only one person was truly trustworthy.

That was Shazhu.

Xu Daming now faces an either‑or choice: divorce Lou Xiaoe and offend her and her family, or keep her and have Xu Fugui and his wife cut off father‑son ties with him. To keep a wife, he must give up his parents; to keep his parents, he must give up his wife.

Worried, Xu Daming didn't know what to say and hadn't slept well for several days.

He looked at Shazhu.

He let out a sigh.

"Ah!"

"Boiled?"

"Being boiled would be fine; you know what kind of man my father is—even Yi Zhonghai fears him three points. Lately he's been telling me I must divorce Lou Xiaoe, or else he won't consider me his son, and we'll have to go to the neighborhood office to sever ties outright. Isn't that forcing me?"

Shazhu went numb.

Whether Xu Daming divorces Lou Xiaoe is still Xu Fugui's idea.

In his previous life.

It seems there was no such thing.

He vaguely recalled Qin Huairu scheming against him, saying she'd find him a wife, then bringing her sister Qin Jingru to the Siheyuan and deliberately pulling Qin Jingru to see Xu Daming, using Xu Daming's hands to ruin Shazhu's blind date with Qin Jingru; afterward Qin Jingru and Xu Daming ended up together.

Because of this, Lou Xiaoe divorced Xu Daming; she was then taken by Long Laotaitai to cook for Lou Xiaoe, they grew close and had a child. Xu Daming believed he was taking revenge, he slaughtered the Lou family, then had a senior leader help him retrieve the Lou family and send them to the south.

Ten years later he returned to contend with Qin Huairu over himself, but he was ineffectual; after listening to Yi Zhonghai, an angry Lou Xiaoe took her son south, and even after he was driven from his home by Bangeng to freeze and starve to death, they never met again.

Could it be that I've been reborn, altering some people's courses?

What He Yushui told him about that so‑called butterfly effect.

Think about it.

If Lou Xiaoe really divorces Xu Daming, it's good for both of them; they're both freed.

One avoids disaster.

One can go south ahead of time.

Because no one understands the upcoming situation better than Shazhu.

It's far beyond what a single word 'tragic' can describe.

Leaving would also be fine.

Lou Xiaoe is fine.

Xu Daming is fine.

"Xu Daming, as a friend I should by rights advise you—old saying goes, better to tear down ten temples than destroy one kin—but from Xu Shu's standpoint I really dare not advise you; you know what kind of man Xu Shu is, being his son you're sure to know, he never fights without certainty, so having you divorce likely means the Xu family's safety is truly at risk."

Xu Daming glanced at Shazhu.

He silently downed the white liquor in his cup.

"Tigers don't eat their young; Xu Shu, as your father, couldn't possibly harm you, Xu Daming—of course, this decision is still yours to make."

"I just feel sorry for the moth."

They're all smart people.

What sort of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio trick are they playing?

Xu Daming's remark already shows his stance on the divorce.

"Divorce!"

"Otherwise he'll say how I'm to face my parents."

"Xu Daming, just make up your own mind."

"Shazhu, you've made me look up to you again; before today I thought you were just a decent cook who got along with me, Xu Daming, but now you're not lacking at all—you're flawless. Do you know why I say that?"

Xu Damao gave a bitter smile.

Xu Damao ate a few peanuts.

"I thought you would advise me not to divorce Lou Xiaoe, saying things like 'a day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of kindness, and so on,' but you didn't."

"Every family has its own difficult sutra; I'm just having a drink with you, nothing's wrong. If I give you random advice, I'd be stuck between the Lou family and Uncle Xu, it'd be a dilemma; better we don't worry about it."

"Shazhu, actually I didn't want to divorce at first, but my father gave me a bunch of reasons. He said Yagangchang is going to change; previously the Lou family's status was honor, now it will be disgrace. I, Xu Damao, as the Lou family's son-in-law, bear these words on my head; wherever I go, nothing good will happen. My father said the plan for now is to, while Yagangchang hasn't yet gone chaotic, divorce Lou Xiaoe early."

Xu Damao pointed to the south.

"Lou Xiaoe has a brother; you probably don't know, right?"

Shazhu furrowed his brows.

"Don't think that, having lived two lives, in his previous life he and Lou Xiaoe were already a married couple."

"As for the Lou family's affairs, he really doesn't know."

"Lou Xiaoe's brother."

"Isn't she an only daughter?"

"I only just found out as well; it's what my father told me. He said Lou Xiaoe's brother is to the south, and once Yagangchang undergoes turmoil, the Lou family will be the first to suffer; what was originally a backup retreat has become a knife aimed at the Lou family, oh."

"A sigh."

"Many emotions."

"All kinds of emotions are fully revealed."

"When will we handle the paperwork?"

"My father's intention is to do it as soon as possible; I think it'll be in these few days." Xu Damao looked at Shazhu and reminded him, "You also need to be careful; the people in our courtyard may flatter you to your face, but who knows how they'll scheme behind your back, especially that person opposite—if they really go all out, you'll suffer, and I've heard they're going to send you peanuts."

"I know, so today I shared melon seeds with the neighbors, and last night when I came back, in front of the neighbors I washed my lunch box at the Zhong Yuan water tap, letting them know my lunch box is empty."

"I was thinking of having you owe me a favor, and you've already paid in advance, Shazhu—I still say the same thing: we've already said this, and we must absolutely not let outsiders know."

"I know, let's drink!"

"That's the last point; after drinking, we'll sleep."