Chapter 7: Just Want to Leave

Si Rong sat on the sofa, shook her head, and looked somewhat surprised at the same time, "Has she finally figured it out?"

After graduating from university, she and Ming Zi married one after the other; only Li Xuan remained single.

It was as if she had absolutely no interest in men.

Now that she is nearly forty, has she finally figured it out?

"I find it a bit suspicious," Ming Zi said, first brewing a pot of tribute chrysanthemum tea for Si Rong. "Last time I passed by your place, I remembered I hadn't brought my wallet and planned to go find you to get some money, but there was no one at your house, so I went to Li Xuan's place. Guess what I saw as soon as I walked in?"

"What?"

Si Rong asked curiously.

"A man's shoes. Didn't Li Xuan cut ties with her patriarchal parents years ago and have no contact with them? So it couldn't have been her family."

"The most intriguing part was Li Xuan's reaction," Ming Zi speculated. "After I saw those shoes, her eyes were very flustered, as if she were very afraid of me knowing something."

"If she were in a normal relationship with a boyfriend, why would she be so evasive with me? She could have introduced him openly and honestly. So I suspect the person she's seeing now must be someone who can't be brought into the light."

Si Rong didn't think so. "Li Xuan has a strong-willed personality; perhaps you misunderstood her."

After all, these two often bickered; perhaps Li Xuan just chose not to say anything because she was worried that Ming Zi would mock her for dating at her age.

"Maybe," Ming Zi said. She knew that Si Rong considered Li Xuan a friend, so she didn't say anything more, but she always felt that with someone like Li Xuan, she might even be a mistress.

Back when they lived in the same dormitory, Li Xuan had once been caught by her reporting a girl who was competing with her for a scholarship, and only then did the scholarship fall to her.

That girl was directly expelled from school.

But later, she discovered that the girl's so-called two-timing was actually orchestrated by Li Xuan behind the scenes.

In any case, that person had a character flaw.

She couldn't do anything good.

For dinner, Ming Zi's three children were not eating at home, and her mother-in-law followed a health regimen of not eating after noon, so Ming Zi cooked dinner for the two of them herself.

She stir-fried a plate of garlic spicy crayfish.

After the oil was hot, she added the oil and millet chili to stir-fry until fragrant, put in the crayfish, and then added seasonings and half a bottle of beer to simmer for fifteen minutes.

The aroma of the crayfish drifted out.

She also stir-fried a simple spiced beef, served with shredded cucumber and shredded carrots.

"Your cooking skills are growing!"

Si Rong tasted the shrimp Ming Zi handed over and praised.

"Right? Can't help it, I'm excellent, I learn everything quickly."

Ming Zi said narcissistically.

Seeing the corner of Si Rong's mouth twitch slightly, the gloom in her own heart also dissipated a little.

Past forty, having a close friend is a very lucky thing.

"By the way, I want to ask you, during marriage, how can one buy a house so that it belongs to oneself alone?"

Ming Zi raised an eyebrow. "You want to buy a house?"

Si Rong nodded.

It was Shen Lan who wronged her first; before the divorce, she had to think more for herself.

"Time is truly cruel, even the little princess has started to grow a mind of her own."

Ming Zi had studied marriage law for several years, so she quickly thought of a method for her.

"Buy the house in your parents' names, then have them write a will stating that this property is gifted only to you."

Si Rong nodded. "Good, accompany me to look at houses tomorrow!"

Ming Zi nodded, feeling a bit of heartache.

Why are men all so cheap? Always loving the new and loathing the old.

Damn Shen Lan!

Although Si Rong looked calm on the surface now, she knew that Si Rong's heart must be bleeding.

Twenty years of marriage.

There was a bit too much crayfish, and Ming Zi's gossiping heart had nowhere to rest. "How about we call Li Xuan over to eat together?"

"Mm."

Ming Zi added, "Better not tell her about you and Shen Lan yet; she's the type who always likes to laugh at people behind their backs."

Soon, Li Xuan arrived.

The three of them sat around together.

Ming Zi placed a bottle of beer in front of each of the three of them.

"Let's have a good gathering today."

Half a bottle of beer down, Ming Zi asked, "Li Xuan, aren't you going to introduce your boyfriend to us?"

"What boyfriend?" Li Xuan shook her head and looked at Si Rong with a smile. "I'll probably be single for the rest of my life!"

She rolled her eyes at Ming Zi. "That pair of men's leather shoes you saw at my door last time belonged to the parent of a student who came to my house for tutoring."

This explanation had no problems at all; it was even perfect.

Li Xuan was a Dance Teacher at an art school in Huaiyang; her job was respectable, her income was stable, and she was deeply loved by her students.

"That student's parent must be quite wealthy, wearing Derby shoes. I remember they aren't cheap; there's only one shoe store in our county that has them. Si Rong, don't you always buy shoes for Shen Lan at that store?"

Li Xuan's face turned pale for a moment. "I think you've had too much to drink!"

"Alright, let's eat first."

Si Rong smoothed things over; these two had been bickering since they were young and were almost old now, yet they were still like children.

After eating, Li Xuan found an excuse and left.

"You too, always bickering with her. If she doesn't want to say, maybe she feels it's not the time to talk yet."

Si Rong felt that every time Ming Zi sparred with Li Xuan, Ming Zi herself did not feel much better.

"I just want to tear off her hypocritical mask; she acts all high and mighty all day long, and even told our classmates at the reunion that I'm a gold digger. She'd like to be one herself, but could she even manage it?"

So that was what it was about.

Si Rong tidied up the dining table briefly, then helped Ming Zi to the bedroom.

"Alright, you really drank quite a lot today, let's get some rest."

Ming Zi turned around and hugged Si Rong, "How about this, just do what I do and don't divorce Shen Lan yet. He's currently using the influence of your Si Family to serve as Deputy County Magistrate; if you divorce him now, that mistress will take your place and get such a huge bargain for nothing."

"Just drag it out and don't divorce, hold onto your position as the County Magistrate's wife, and treat Shen Lan like a long-term laborer who earns money."

Si Rong knew she meant well, so she touched her face, "Xiao Zi, I am not the same as you."

If, as the phone call said, Shen Chi and Shen Yuan were both ingrates, then continuing this marriage would be a joke.

She was already thirty-nine years old this year, and she did not want to spend the rest of her life looking at someone who betrayed her with mutual loathing every day.

When she loved, she loved bravely, and when she no longer loved, she could pull away at any time.

"I am not as brave or as strong as you; right now, I just want to leave Shen Lan."

Before that, she had only one obsession left: to see exactly what kind of woman was with Shen Lan.

"Right, I suddenly thought of someone."

Ming Zi pulled open the bedside drawer, "Don't you want to know who the woman messing around with Shen Lan is? Actually, there's no need to wait for Shen Lan to go on a business trip; this person is named Sun Qiang, and he can help you find out who that woman is."