Chapter 1000: Black-Bone Chicken and Turtle Soup

Gu Zhihao did not go out.

He stood at the doorway, his face flushed red; he must have drunk a lot of alcohol.

He was swaying even while just standing there, and he grinned broadly at Shi Yuke. "Wife, do you look down on me? I know you look down on me. If a person looks down on someone, everything they do is wrong, even breathing is wrong..."

"You've had too much to drink. Drink less. There are guests downstairs; if people hear you like this, they'll laugh at us."

Not only did he not lower his voice, he spoke even louder: "No, I haven't had too much. I'm very clear-headed right now, I only had a little bit!"

"If I didn't drink a little, I wouldn't dare to question you, hehe..."

He giggled, swaying even more violently, yet his train of thought remained very clear: "I'm not afraid of others knowing. Anyway, I, Gu Zhihao, have already lived to become a joke in this residential complex. Everyone says you aren't stupid, that I'm the truly stupid one, wholeheartedly good to you only to be kicked to the curb soon..."

Shi Yuke did not want to keep listening to him, so she said sharply: "Don't be unreasonable. There are so many people downstairs; I'm giving you face and not stooping to your level. Get out!" Shi Yuke chased him away once again.

In reality, she felt a bit guilty, because although Gu Zhihao was drunk, everything he said was the truth.

"I'm not going out."

He slurred his words and pressed further: "Tell me, do you look down on me? Do you despise me for being a country bumpkin who isn't good enough for you? Do you despise me for having no prospects, for not being as capable as the men you were with before? But even though they were so good, they didn't want you; only I wanted you..."

If these words were said under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have dared to say them even if he were lent a hundred guts, but today he had been drinking!

Alcohol bolsters a coward's courage.

And so, the words just slipped right out.

Shi Yuke's face turned red with anger. The past felt like a previous life to her, but it was a stain on her life, the kind that could never be erased.

It became a label, stuck onto her.

No matter what she did, she probably wouldn't be able to tear it off in this lifetime.

That was the shame of her life, and now it was being blurted out by Gu Zhihao.

"Gu Zhihao, if you have the guts, say what you just said one more time!"

He slurred his words and said it again: "Shi Yuke, don't think I don't know. You look down on me because you're comparing me to other men."

"I'm poor, I have no ability, no talent, I'm not as good as those men you've seen..."

"Right, I do look down on you. Let's get a divorce." Two lines of clear tears flowed down her cheeks. The thought of divorce had been with her ever since she regained her memory.

But she hadn't brought it up because the man had indeed been very good to her, but today, his ability to say such things made her firm in her decision to separate.

Living a whole life with someone whose values are so severely incompatible is too painful.

"Alright, Shi Yuke, so you've finally said the truth, haven't you?"

"You've wanted to divorce me for a long time, right? No way. I'm telling you, it's not happening. I've already asked around; a woman cannot file for divorce while in the lactation period."

Shi Yuke:...

It is true that a woman cannot file for divorce during the lactation period, but the requirement is that the *man* cannot file for divorce, not that the woman is forbidden from doing so.

He hadn't even figured out the Marriage Law, yet he smugly thought he had found a "backer." It was truly laughable.

"You've had too much to drink. I don't want to argue with you. Go out; we'll talk when you're sober."

"I won't. Shi Yuke, let everyone judge this. How have I treated you? Even a stone would have warmed up if held in one's arms for this long, wouldn't it? Is your heart made of iron, woman? No matter how well I treat you, it's useless..."

The argument upstairs soon alarmed the guests downstairs.

Several people went up, coaxing and persuading him away.

Then a few middle-aged women and older sisters came in to comfort Shi Yuke.

"Yuke, don't stoop to his level. Men are all the same when they've finished drinking; they have no filter and say whatever comes to mind. But tomorrow when he's sober, he'll regret it terribly and come to apologize to you."

"That's right, don't take drunken words seriously. Don't take it to heart, and definitely don't get angry. If you get angry, your breast milk might dry up."

"Yes, Yuke, we women are born to suffer; everyone is the same. Besides, your Zhihao is already good enough to you; he's never hit you..."

Everyone was saying kind words, but she didn't want to hear these so-called kind words. She coldly refused: "Thank you all. Could you please go out? I want to be alone for a while."

This cold, standoffish attitude made the middle-aged women and older sisters very unhappy.

But everyone still went out. Without the host, the banquet soon broke up.

Hospital.

Ji Yingjie woke up, and her first words were: "Where is the baby? Let me see."

Shi Youxuan smiled and said: "They are in the newborn nursery; you'll be able to see them in a few days."

"Dad knew you'd be anxious to see the children as soon as you woke up, so he took a few photos of Baobao. Take a look."

The photos were pulled up, and she flipped through them one by one.

The little ones, just born, were not very good-looking; their skin was pink and wrinkled.

But Ji Yingjie couldn't take her eyes off them as she looked, saying happily: "They're so beautiful. I've never seen such pretty children. They're too beautiful, how can they be this beautiful?"

"Xuanxuan, tell me, aren't they beautiful?"

Where were they beautiful?

But as her niece, she certainly couldn't say otherwise. She echoed: "Yes, they're too beautiful. I've also never seen such good-looking children. They look a lot like you."

"Mm-hmm, right, they look like me. They're too beautiful. Not only beautiful, these two children look wise at a glance; they will surely stand out from the crowd in the future..."

Ji Yingjie gave all the most pleasant words, the most beautiful praises, and the most sincere blessings she had ever spoken in her life to her own children.

After praising them for a long time, she suddenly changed the subject: "Which one is the girl?"

Her preference for girls over boys was too severe; even at a time like this, she was still thinking about the girl.

Shi Youxuan looked carefully for a while and shook her head: "It's hard to tell, they look too much alike..."

The two children were identical fraternal twins; their appearances were almost exactly the same, and it was impossible to tell which was the boy and which was the girl.

"Where is the children's father? He should be able to tell them apart." Ji Yingjie remembered her husband at this moment.

Nianyin's expression stalled, and she became a bit nervous.

Shi Yucheng had gone home to see his eldest daughter. The Shi Family was holding a full-month banquet today, and it just happened to coincide with his wife giving birth; everything had piled up at once.

Since his wife had already safely given birth, he seized the time to go over and take a look.

"What, he went to see Yuke, didn't he?" Ji Yingjie guessed correctly.

Shi Youxuan did not change her expression or skip a beat: "Dad went home to stew black-bone chicken and soft-shelled turtle soup for you. Dad said you have worked hard and contributed much, having borne him a son and a daughter, so he must personally brew this soup for you to make up for his shortcomings toward you, even if only a little."

Ji Yingjie was very pleased; such words sounded good, and she liked hearing them.

She said happily: "That's called black-bone chicken and soft-shelled turtle soup; what 'turtle soup,' that sounds awful."

"Yes, I was wrong, black-bone chicken and soft-shelled turtle soup. You just wait to drink the soup; it's very nourishing."

Ji Yingjie was already a geriatric mother, and giving birth had nearly cost her half her life; she was easily fatigued, and after saying only a few words, she became drowsy again.

The two of them closed the door and came out of the Hospital Ward.

Nianyin admired her: "Big Sister is truly amazing, making up lies as soon as you open your mouth. Father clearly went to the Shi Family, yet you said he went home to brew soup. If he doesn't bring it, how will you wrap this up?"