Chapter 399: If You Had Known Today, Why Act That Way Back Then

"What did you say?" Zhou Rong couldn't believe it, turned her head abruptly, and stared fixedly at Feng Huacheng.

Feng Huacheng didn't dodge, his tone calm and resolute: "Let's get a divorce!"

"Yueyue is still so young, how can you say that? Do you have a conscience toward her?"

"Look, isn't your meaning also very clear? We are now just staying together reluctantly for the sake of the child, what meaning does that have? Now that the house is allocated, your life should be quite good. And isn't there still Cai Xiaoguang? It just so happens his wife died in a car accident last year. I know, and you know, all these years, he has never forgotten you. You also always say he is this good and that capable, now you can have your wish. As for Yueyue, I don't think you'll let her follow me, that's fine, I'll be alone again and live my own life."

"Feng Huacheng, you bastard! Is that human language? Huh? Me and Cai Xiaoguang..." Zhou Rong's tears were already falling. She explained that she hadn't done anything with Cai Xiaoguang, proving her innocence. Seeing Feng Huacheng remain silent, she said: "I want to know when you had this idea?"

Feng Huacheng said that mentioning Cai Xiaoguang was just something that happened to come to mind, and he hadn't held his tongue. He brought up the divorce, and he was also nervous inside, because this was a major decision that affected both sides and the child. If he could say it again, he certainly wouldn't mention Cai Xiaoguang, because that made him look very classless, even though what he said was the truth.

"The idea has been there for a long time, it was only yesterday that I made up my mind. There's no affection between us, we're just maintaining it for the sake of the child. Yueyue is twelve this year, not small anymore, she understands what she should understand and knows what she should know. Instead of arguing endlessly every day, it's better to live our own lives, which can be considered a kind of freedom. Zhou Rong..." Feng Huacheng sighed and said: "I'm sorry..."

Zhou Rong wiped her tears: "What do you mean?"

"After all, we've lived together for so many years, back then for my sake, you ran alone to the mountains of Qian Province..."

"Everyone has a time when they are young and ignorant, it's fine. I was just nineteen at the time, strictly speaking, still a child. I was impulsive and wasted so many years for both of us."

"You and me, was it just a mistake made because we were young and ignorant?"

"You could say that."

"Never loved?"

"I thought it was love at the time, young people are easily deceived and lost in some seemingly beautiful vanity, thinking they are the ones favored by heaven."

Feng Huacheng stared steadily into Zhou Rong's tear-filled eyes and let out a "Heh": "Strictly speaking, all these years, you have always been a child."

After saying that, he stood up: "Wait for me to pack up, let's go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to handle the procedures. You and Yueyue stay here for now, it just so happens I'll go out for a walk for a while. As for Dad and Mom... I won't go over there, it's me, Feng Huacheng, who is a bastard, I'm sorry to the two elders."

Watching Feng Huacheng go out to wash up, Zhou Rong turned back and continued combing her hair in front of the mirror, but the tears wouldn't stop. Only after parting did she know the goodness of being together, only after losing did she understand how to cherish. Before, she saw Feng Huacheng as useless in every way, but now that they were really going to divorce, all that flashed in her mind were the happy scenes of them together...

The divorce was quick, the stamp of the Civil Affairs Bureau clerk was very decisive. It was a time when the economy was rising, new things were emerging one after another, and people's lives were changing with each passing day. The rapid development brought about the dazzle of new things, and the parting of a ten-year marriage; this was determined by material things, desires, and the human heart.

Of course, Zhou Rong and Feng Huacheng didn't think their marriage was like that, they just didn't love each other anymore.

Feng Huacheng left, leaving resolutely. He went to the Civil Affairs Bureau with his luggage, and after registering, he turned and left without a word of goodbye, bought a train ticket heading south, to see the glittering world, to pursue his poetry and the distance.

Zhou Rong was idle and had nothing to do. She had asked for leave early, and even if she hadn't, she wouldn't have the heart to go to work. At the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, she watched her former lover walk away with teary eyes until he disappeared. Her heart felt empty, and she sighed as she walked aimlessly on the street. She walked on the street without Feng Huacheng, Jichun was so big...

In fact, Jichun wasn't big now. She walked without realizing it, and when she came to her senses, the sign "Jichun City Drama Theater" was extremely eye-catching. "I know, and you know, all these years, he has never forgotten you." Feng Huacheng's words from the morning echoed in her ears again. She was a bit embarrassed to go in, but since she was already here, and she had no friends to talk to, she couldn't help but resent Feng Huacheng for being narrow-minded and lacking the magnanimity of a man. Without further thought, she walked straight in...

Cai Xiaoguang, who was rehearsing a program, turned his head following the gaze of the actors on stage and saw the helpless Zhou Rong standing there blankly. He turned his head back and said: "Alright, you guys ponder it yourselves, find the feeling."

After finishing, he walked toward Zhou Rong: "Zhou Rong, why did you come over? No class today?"

Not until he walked up to her did he see Zhou Rong's tear-reddened eyes and the sorrow coming toward him. He asked hurriedly: "What happened? Why are you crying like this?"

Zhou Rong sobbed: "I divorced Feng Huacheng, just finished the procedures."

"How did that happen? Weren't you doing quite well, why did you suddenly divorce?" Cai Xiaoguang frowned and looked at her: "Come, let's go to my office and talk properly about what happened."

Cai Xiaoguang pulled Zhou Rong to his office and poured another glass of water for Zhou Rong, who was crying like a pear blossom in the rain: "Tell me, why did you suddenly divorce?"

"Just yesterday, I got a house allocated... and then this morning, as soon as he got up, he told me to divorce."

After a long silence, Cai Xiaoguang said: "Do you still love him?"

Zhou Rong cried and laughed: "Where is there any love left? It was argued away long ago."

"Then what are you crying for? The marriage is already divorced, what's the use of crying? Worship is the foundation of love, I said that before. In the few years since returning to Jichun, you two have always been arguing. Huacheng has drunk quite a bit with me, do you know what he told me the most?"

"What is it?"

"That you look down on him."

"I didn't."

Cai Xiaoguang shook his head and smiled: "What did you say when he was begging people and sending gifts? What did you do? When his poetry wasn't selected and he was disheartened, what did you say? What did you do? This time when the house was allocated, what did you say? And all these years when you two argued, what else did you say? I don't need to say these, right?"

"But what I said was the truth."

"Can you say everything that's the truth? Zhou Rong, at a certain time, using a certain method, one achieves a certain accomplishment. After achieving a certain accomplishment, in turn, using a certain method, at a certain time, one helps others achieve their accomplishments; this is the rule. No one will believe they are the one who breaks the rule. What we can do is obey it and use it.

I've read Huacheng's poems. From my personal artistic cultivation, his poems are fine, even excellent. Wasn't it these that attracted you to him in the first place? I've also read those award-winning works, and in Huacheng's words, they are worthless and nonsensical, but they won the award. Literati also need to eat.

To a certain extent, Huacheng is a pure person. The method he could think of to get a house was to gain a certain position in the Writers' Association through his poetry, and then go get a house. If it were before, I think he absolutely wouldn't do that, but look at him in recent years, sending gifts here and begging there, what was it for? Wasn't it to give you and the child a spacious home?"

Zhou Rong understood, but also didn't understand. She didn't speak, and her tears flowed even more profusely. She was crying for the realization she had just come to.

Cai Xiaoguang sighed: "Alright Zhou Rong, it's already come to this step, what's there to cry about? If Huacheng came back now and asked you to remarry him, I'm afraid you wouldn't be willing, right?"

Zhou Rong wiped her tears: "I just feel wronged, if there was to be a divorce, it should have been me who said it first, I didn't expect him to beat me to it."

"Hey, this is the Zhou Rong I know, a woman's body with a man's heart, that's exactly this kind of spirit." Cai Xiaoguang smiled and handed over a roll of paper: "What are your plans for the next step?"

"What else can I do? Just let it be. It's better to be divorced, anyway, the house will be down next month, it'll be spacious for Yueyue and me to live in." Zhou Rong wiped her tears and looked fixedly at Cai Xiaoguang: "What about you? What are your plans?"

"What else can I do? Just let it be." Cai Xiaoguang imitated the way Zhou Rong spoke just now and smiled: "Me, I can be considered a person with marital experience. It's not that marriage is bad, it's very good, and there was no problem with our feelings. After she died in a car accident, I couldn't recover for a long time. But, people are afraid of comparison. I compared the days with a wife and the days without a wife, and found, hey, it's still better to be alone, free. You know? Freedom is the hardest to come by. But if it were you, I might still think about being tied down."

"Go on, just talking nonsense." Zhou Rong was actually quite happy inside, but of course, she couldn't show it, after all, they had just divorced.

Cai Xiaoguang didn't care, looking at her with a smile: "Haven't eaten all morning, right? It's noon already, come, I'll take you to eat something delicious."

"What delicious thing?"

"You'll know when you get there, hey, let's go, hurry up..."

"What? Divorced?" Li Suhua stared wide-eyed at Zhou Rong, who was eating, and then looked at Feng Yue, who was also not taking it seriously to the side. She looked at the others present and asked: "Then what about Yueyue?"

"Grandma, I'm already so big, it's fine. Besides, they argue all day long, I think it's quite good like this now."

Feng Yue waved her hand carelessly, speaking without a care. She was quite realistic, and it was indeed the same logic. She didn't become this way or that way because her parents divorced, which showed she had indeed had enough of her parents' endless arguing...

Zhou Bingyi pondered: "Zhou Rong, what was the reason for you and Huacheng? Everything was fine, why did you suddenly divorce?"

"Nothing much, just couldn't live together anymore. After arguing for all these years, the affection is gone, it's better to divorce, it's better for both of us." Zhou Rong didn't intend to hide it, after all, Feng Huacheng had already left, so there was no way to hide it, she would have to say it sooner or later.

"You..." Li Suhua let out a long breath, pointed at her head in frustration, and reached out to cover her own heart: "You're going to be the death of me..."

Zhou Bingyi patted his old mother's back to comfort her: "Mom, don't be angry, Zhou Rong and Feng Huacheng have already divorced, it's useless to be angry."

Zhou Bingkun followed up: "That's right, Mom, don't you always say children and grandchildren have their own blessings? My sister is already divorced, and that Feng Huacheng has left, what's the point of saying all that?"

"How can I not be angry? You tell me, now that they're divorced, then what was the point of her secretly running to the mountains of Qian Province back then?"

Zhou Rong waved her hand: "Mom, the path was walked by myself, no one forced me. You, just take care of your old age healthily, don't worry about me, I'm doing just fine."

"Go back and write a letter to your dad yourself. This time I won't interfere. The child is grown up, I can't manage it." Li Suhua sighed long: "You guys eat, I'm not eating."

After finishing, she stood up and left, not wanting to look at this daughter. Zheng Juan quickly put down her rice bowl, followed her out, and comforted her mother-in-law.

Wang Yan sat there without saying a word. He had long known they would divorce; after all, even the best feelings couldn't withstand arguing all day long. Truth be told, divorcing early without Feng Huacheng cheating was something he had a hand in promoting. But in the final analysis, it was still their own problem, mainly Zhou Rong's problem.

The essential reason for the beginning lay in the child affecting their living space. Following that, the gap between Feng Huacheng, a poet with only a name but no real abundant life, and Zhou Rong's inability to accept it, led to suspicion and denial of everything about Feng Huacheng. This was a huge blow to Feng Huacheng, because Zhou Rong denied his value of existence.

To tell the truth, being able to live until now was the result of Feng Huacheng sacrificing his face to maintain it.

As for the question of right and wrong regarding Feng Huacheng's cheating in the original drama. If one only looks at the result, it was certainly wrong. But the inducement still lay in Zhou Rong's constant denial of him. At this time, there was a young girl who admired him and shared his interests, which was truly a ray of light in his gloomy marriage; it wouldn't be easy for anyone.

And Feng Huacheng was indeed resolute and realistic, not engaging in any antics like keeping a mistress outside. After discovering his true heart, he proposed divorce without a second word, which wasn't bad. After all, looking at it from that time, if Feng Huacheng had really been messing around outside, with Zhou Rong being such a self-centered person, it was highly likely she wouldn't have discovered it for a while.

Zhou Bingkun looked at his good brother who wasn't speaking and asked: "Brother, is Mom okay?"

Wang Yan shook his head: "She's fine, this anger will pass."

Zhou Rong picked up a piece of food: "Mom is really something, Yueyue is already so big, why is she still worrying so much."

"Look at what you're saying." Zhou Bingyi glanced at Zhou Bingkun and said unhappily: "You should think about it, you're already so big, and you still don't let Mom have peace of mind. Zhou Rong, you need to reflect on your mistakes. Also, how do you plan to tell Dad? You say it caused such a big scene back then, and you didn't contact home for several years, and now you're divorced, what will Dad think?"

"What else can I say? Just say it directly. When I get home, I'll write a letter and tell him the whole story. If he wants to hit or scold, it's up to him. Anyway, we're already divorced, what else can happen?"

"What kind of temper Dad has, you know. Back then because you ran to Qian Province to find Feng Huacheng, that was three years without contact. Now that the child is so big, and you're divorced again, who knows how Dad will be. Forget it, it's all up to you, we can't manage that much."

Zhou Rong pursed her lips and didn't speak again. She was also panicking inside, but she felt that her father couldn't do anything, just like back then. After all, he was at such an age, where could he still manage things?

This meal was naturally not very good. After eating hastily, Zhou Rong didn't stay long and took Feng Yue back home.

"Your sister isn't living well either, don't be angry with her, Bingkun."

Zhou Bingkun was kneading his mother's shoulders: "Don't worry, Mom, I didn't take it to heart. She might have just come over after having a fight at home. I really don't know why she and Feng Huacheng are like that? How can they fight like that? You say she secretly ran to the mountains of Qian Province back then just to be with Feng Huacheng, what's going on now? They were so good and loving before, but now, they have a small fight every three days and a big fight every five days..."

"Which couple doesn't fight? Your dad and I didn't fight less."

"Zheng Juan and I haven't fought in all these years, look how good we are."

"You still have the nerve to say that. With that temper of yours, isn't it Juan who is yielding to you? If it's good, it's because Juan is good, it has nothing to do with you."

"Being able to marry Zheng Juan back, that's also my ability, isn't it..."

When Zhou Rong brought Feng Yue back to their small home in the residential building, Feng Huacheng was already lying on the bed fast asleep, with the remaining food and dishes left on the table.

Looking at the empty wine bottle, Zhou Rong let out a snort, urged Feng Yue to do her homework, and she busied herself with cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks. She had cooked so many dishes, but hadn't eaten much, and now it was summer, so it wouldn't keep, and who knew if it would all go bad by tomorrow.

After a busy time, Feng Yue finished her homework and lay down on the bed, which had been added with a second layer, to sleep. As for Zhou Rong, watching Feng Huacheng, who was sleeping like a dead pig, she let out a long breath and lay down beside him to sleep...

The next day, Feng Huacheng rubbed his aching head and sat up. Zhou Rong was combing her hair in front of the mirror to the side: "Hmph, you can drink so much all by yourself."

Feng Huacheng rubbed his eyes, picked up his glasses, and put them on: "Where's Yueyue?"

"She went to school early. What are you thinking? Why drink so much wine by yourself? Drowning your sorrows?"

Feng Huacheng ignored her, got up, poured a glass of water, and after moistening his parched throat, sat down on the edge of the bed: "Zhou Rong."

"Hmm?" Zhou Rong responded absentmindedly, not even looking at him.

"Let's get a divorce!"

---Author's Note---

Thanks to (Fei Fei Fei Fei is here), (jyj5918), (404 Afraid or Not) for their continued support.

Daily thanks to the good brothers who voted with monthly tickets.

Thanks to all the brothers who voted with recommendation tickets.

Thanks to the brothers who read silently. ===== CHAPTER 400 =====

In the time after her divorce, her contact with Cai Xiaoguang became close again. From time to time, they would get together for a couple of drinks and talk freely about their worries. Unsurprisingly, in 1986, more than a year after her divorce from Feng Huacheng, she got her marriage certificate with Cai Xiaoguang. They didn't hold a wedding; she just brought Cai Xiaoguang home to sit for a while.

Not to mention Li Suhua, the whole family was speechless. After all, when Cai Xiaoguang had covered for Zhou Rong and told them about her whereabouts back then, he had expressed his love for her without any reservation. As it turned out, after all that tossing and turning, the two of them were together again.

However, despite thinking this way, they still expressed their blessings to the two of them. After all, things had reached this point; what else could they do but offer blessings?

This time, they wrote to Zhou Zhigang again to inform him of the situation, and Zhou Zhigang's reply was still just "Understood."

Zhou Bingkun was worried, so he made a trip to Shancheng to check on Zhou Zhigang's state. Perhaps because he saw someone close to him, Zhou Zhigang finally let out the words he had been holding back for over a year, and he spent a good while cursing Zhou Rong and Feng Huacheng to Zhou Bingkun.

Seeing Zhou Zhigang in high spirits, Zhou Bingkun felt relieved and continued to manage his increasingly massive business empire.

When a company develops to a certain extent, horizontal expansion is inevitable. Unless the main business is high-end, precise, and cutting-edge with an unassailable advantage, the consequence of a single business line is being eliminated by the market.

Without needing Wang Yan to teach him, Zhou Bingkun did it himself, just like the real estate he had always been obsessed with. He established a real estate company in Pengcheng and started doing construction there. Of course, there was no shortage of other industries; anyway, if someone else made money doing something and he thought it looked good and could supplement his own company, he would take a sum of money and follow suit. From mid-1979 until 1988, in nine years, he truly made it big and strong.

In September 1988, Zhou Zhigang, who had delayed his retirement to continue contributing his remaining energy and hadn't been home for seven years, returned...

---Author's Note---

Thanks to the three brothers (Fei Fei Fei Fei Lai Le), (jyj5918), and (404 Pa Bu Pa) for their continued support.

Daily thanks to the good brothers who cast monthly tickets for their support,

Thanks to all the brothers who cast recommendations for their support,

Thanks to the brothers who silently read the book for their support.