Chapter 821: If It

Shi Yuke was just about to agree, but her father pulled her back, not letting her speak, and said himself: "It's like this, my family bought a new refrigerator, so we don't want the old one anymore. It's too much in the way at home. We haven't seen Gu for a few days, so we came over to take a look."

He considered things comprehensively, wanting to protect his daughter's reputation.

The landlord said: "You should wait a couple of days. Gu and his wife went back to get a divorce several days ago. If there are no accidents, he should be back soon."

"Divorce, why?" Shi Yucheng was very surprised.

The landlord went on and on, starting to gossip: "Oh my, you don't know yet? The man from before, whom the woman Gu married was with, came looking for her. The couple hugged and cried, and the children rushed over calling him 'Daddy.' They are the real family; no matter how good Gu was to those two children, it was useless..."

They understood the general meaning.

The woman's original husband had come to her door, the woman wanted to remarry her ex-husband, and the children wanted their own father, so Gu Zhihao decided to fulfill their family's wishes and went back to his hometown to get a divorce.

As the father and daughter walked back, Shi Yuke asked: "Daddy, what is a divorce?"

Shi Yucheng: "Divorce means not living together anymore."

"Really? That's great! Then can I live with him?"

Shi Yucheng:...

Seeing his daughter suddenly full of joy, he regretted telling her.

He admonished his daughter: "Divorce is not a good thing; it is a very sad thing for people. You shouldn't act so happy when you hear this word."

"Also, a girl should be reserved. This kind of thing should be brought up by a man; a woman cannot bring it up."

"Why?"

Shi Yucheng:...

He didn't know why either, but in the era of his youth, it was always like that.

Arriving at the door of their home.

The father and daughter discovered that Gu Zhihao, who had disappeared for several days, had appeared. He was pacing right at their doorstep, looking as if he wanted to knock but didn't dare.

It was truly a coincidence.

When Shi Yuke saw him, she wanted to call out happily, but was stopped by her father's sharp gaze, so she didn't dare.

"Do you have business here?" Shi Yucheng said coldly.

Gu Zhihao, caught off guard by hearing someone speak from behind, was so startled he couldn't stand steadily and almost fell.

He turned around and discovered the father and daughter, so he became even more flustered: "No, nothing, I was just, just coming to take a look." He kicked the steps under his feet uneasily, wearing an expression of having something to say but being very conflicted, not knowing how to say it.

Shi Yuke really wanted to ask—are you here to see me?

But her father was right beside her, so she didn't dare to ask.

Shi Yucheng said deliberately: "If you've finished looking, then leave. Don't come here again in the future, lest your wife finds out and misunderstands; that wouldn't be good."

"I, we got a divorce."

Shi Yucheng feigned anger: "Oh! You got a divorce and came to find my daughter—what is the meaning of this? Although my daughter isn't smart, she is still the treasure I hold in the palm of my hand. She is not trash, not something you can have when you want it and discard when you feel like it."

He was doing this on purpose; he couldn't just hand her over easily because his daughter was simple-minded. If something is obtained too easily, it won't be cherished.

That Gu Zhihao and his daughter didn't end up together back then wasn't entirely due to this side; a large part of it was due to Gu Zhihao himself.

He had been wronged, but if he had explained a little, put in some effort, and let Shi Yucheng see his sincerity, he wouldn't have been without a chance.

But he didn't.

Being questioned made him very angry; he even fled as if out of shame and annoyance.

As a result, the wife he had hastily married ran off after only a few days, and he turned back around to find Yuke. Even if his daughter was simple-minded, she was not lowly; she remained Shi Yucheng's treasure.

He could support his daughter for a lifetime, but he could not let her be bullied in the slightest.

"I'm sorry, I'm leaving."

Gu Zhihao said he was leaving, but he was very slow, looking back every step of the way.

Shi Yuke also kept looking back. Her father pulled her to go back, but she wouldn't, just looking at him longingly.

Not breaking free to run out was already Shi Yuke's greatest restraint.

"Go back. Can't you have a little backbone?"

"Daddy, let me take one look, just one last look."

Though he said it was the last look, they actually looked many more times. The two of them didn't speak, just exchanging glances, which was enough to be heart-wrenching—reluctant to part, full of lingering attachment.

It was as if they were lovers, while Shi Yucheng was the villain breaking up a pair of lovers.

Shi Yucheng sighed.

He said to Gu Zhihao: "Come in."

"Huh?" He couldn't quite believe it.

Shi Yucheng's expression was displeased: "If you don't want to, then forget it."

"I want to, I want to." He agreed hurriedly and followed him inside.

The Shi Family living room.

Gu Zhihao recounted his experiences over the past few days; it felt just like a dream.

The woman he had newly married watched him very closely. He thought it was because she valued him, because she loved him too much, but in reality, it wasn't.

It was a flaw she had developed from being hurt in a previous relationship!

The woman originally had a very good relationship with her husband, and the two of them had two children.

The man worked as a mason away from home, while she stayed home to raise the children, farm the land, and take care of the elderly. The family had originally lived very happily, but later, the money the man sent home became less and less, and in the end, it stopped altogether.

With the man not sending money home, there were all sorts of rumors in the village.

They said the man had another woman outside and didn't want his "yellow-faced wife" at home anymore, and so on.

She didn't believe it the first time she heard it, but after hearing it so much, she became half-believing.

She prepared to go to the city to find the man, but just then, the man returned—not alone, but bringing a flamboyant woman back to demand a divorce.

The woman was also a person of spirit; she did not pester him and divorced the man.

But she had no way to make a living raising two children alone, and when others introduced Gu Zhihao to her at that time, one was eager to find a woman to replace the position of another woman in his heart.

The other was eager to find a new partner to support the children, and also to move on from the emotional trauma.

The two hit it off immediately, and seeing that there were no issues upon their first meeting, they went to get their marriage certificate.

But fate plays tricks on people.

The woman her ex-husband was with outside was a swindler; after cheating him out of all his money, she kicked him to the curb, and the man, having nowhere else to turn, remembered the good in his own wife, only to discover upon returning that she had remarried just days after their divorce.

He was unwilling to accept this, so he found out the address, came over, and demanded a reconciliation.

At first, the woman ignored him, but after all, the two had a foundation of many years of affection and two children, so after a few encounters, the balance in the woman's heart tilted.

Gu Zhihao decided to fulfill their wishes and returned to his hometown to get a divorce.

People don't experience things, and without comparison, it is never easy to distinguish who is good and who is bad.

Through this incident, Gu Zhihao clarified his own heart; he wanted to be with Shi Yuke and would cherish her more.

Shi Yuke did not quite understand these words like "divorce" and "affair"; she only knew that Gu Zhihao had come to see her, and she was so happy!

She hoped he could come again tomorrow.

Sure enough, he came again the next day, and upon arriving, he started working without a word.

He swept the courtyard of the house until it was spotlessly clean, and after finishing, he went to collect recyclables as usual.

When asked by others, he answered generously: "She ran off; the children's father came back for her, so she went back to live her life."

He seemed to have become a joke in the residential complex; people, especially older women, liked to gossip, but after discussing him, they also sympathized with him and enthusiastically helped him look for the next one.

"Don't be sad, Little Gu; we can't keep a woman who has children, so let her go; big sister will help you find someone better, what kind do you want?"

"I think the daughter of the Shi Family is not bad; although she is a bit silly, she is now very well-behaved under the education of Old Shi, and she can manage a household."

"But will the foolishness be passed on to the children?"

"No, it's not congenital idiocy."

The neighbors enthusiastically played matchmaker, and soon this matter was brought to the table for discussion.