Chapter 365: The Brawl

Li Youfu's wife arrived with the child, and she doesn't plan to return tonight.

But recalling that yesterday Li Youfu held hands with a girl and was caught red‑handed by his wife, it's likely they're fighting again today.

Zheng Guoping, standing nearby, tried to soothe, "I say, Boss, why are you crying? Did sister‑in‑law say something harsh?"

On that point, you really should apologize properly to your sister‑in‑law; if you sincerely admit fault and she can forgive you, you mustn't be stubborn now.

It was indeed Li Youfu's fault, and he was caught red‑handed, so there's nothing to argue; he can only bow his head and admit it.

Today Li Youfu did apologize, but his wife still wouldn't let it go.

Li Youfu sat up from the bed, his face streaked with tears: "You don't know, my wife… she's making me drop out and go home to farm."

Hearing the news, Lu Cheng and Zheng Guoping were both startled, and even Wei Shu looked up.

Being recommended to a university, especially this top school in the Capital City, is something many people have dreamed of.

Even if Li Youfu's grades are at the bottom, he could easily get a job in a state‑run unit back home, and even become an official.

That's the current value of a university degree; not only is it prized now, it stayed that way through the '90s—students were the most coveted status.

He's already spent two years at school; with one more year he'll graduate, and Li Youfu is about to soar.

Dropping out now would mean losing everything.

Having lived in the same dorm for two years, Zheng Guoping now has no mind to fuss over the empty wine bottles.

"Boss, how could sister‑in‑law force you to drop out? You can't quit. She's obviously still angry; you should say soft words, promise to change, and swear never to see that girl again."

Li Youfu shook his head sadly, "I've said everything I should, but that woman just lacks humanity…"

With a "Bang," the dorm door was kicked open, startling the few of them.

Turning to look, it was a broad‑shouldered, stout‑waisted middle‑aged woman with short hair and dark skin—she looked unapproachable.

She was indeed unapproachable, opening her mouth to start cursing.

"Dammit, Li Youfu, who do you think lacks humanity!"

Li Youfu, seeing his wife arrive, froze like a mouse seeing a cat and hurried to another bunk.

The angry middle‑aged woman lunged to grab him; the others instantly guessed who she was and reached out to pull her back.

Wei Shu didn't pull; instead, he quickly changed position and clutched his books tightly to his chest.

"Sister‑in‑law, sister‑in‑law, calm down, calm down…"

"I can't stay calm, damn Li Youfu! I've been toiling in the countryside to raise your child, scraping together those meager work points each day, barely affording food and drink, and you're here living carefree, not to mention raising a damn flirty fox…"

The insults were so harsh that Lu Cheng and Zheng Guoping couldn't hold her back.

"Sister‑in‑law, sister‑in‑law, don't act rashly; speak calmly, Li Youfu knows he's wrong…"

"He doesn't know any fault at all—just now he talked back to me! I've worked so hard to fund his university, hoping he'd give our three of us a bright future, and now he's got a lover outside, trying to abandon the three of us!"

"It's not like that, sister‑in‑law; he was just momentarily confused, dazzled by the flashy world, and this time he'll surely see his mistake…"

"No, I've seen it clearly—this big city, this university, there are too many temptations everywhere, full of flirty foxes. He must drop out and come home to farm with me."

Li Youfu's wife stormed into the dorm, shouting and yelling, which immediately drew the other students over; they gathered at the doorway and leaned on the windows, gossiping.

This time Li Youfu truly has no way out; before he was afraid of embarrassment and tried to coax his wife gently, but now he's embarrassingly exposed as if at his grandmother's house.

Li Youfu, instantly mortified and angry, stood on the upper iron bunk and shouted.

"I won't drop out, I won't go back to farm, I'll become an official in the future!"

Li Youfu's wife also erupted, "If I were your grandmother's leg, with conduct like yours, even as an official you'd be a disaster to the Masses."

She realized that a lifetime of farming is best; if Li Youfu actually became an official, he might flirt with countless girls, and then she wouldn't be able to control him at all.

"Dammit, get down here, and go home right now!"

The middle‑aged woman shouted, and seeing Li Youfu refuse to come down, she grabbed a lunchbox from the table and smashed it at him.

The scene made the students outside watch in dismay.

"Hey, sister‑in‑law, that's all braised pork; don't smash it on him, smash it on us."

"Yes, sister‑in‑law, whatever fire you have, throw it at us; we're not afraid of being hit."

The crowd jeered, Lu Cheng frowned, wondering what this had turned into.

"Go, go, go, stop the heckling."

"No worries, big brother, I'm not ashamed today; I'll let everyone see—my husband either drops out and returns home to farm, or we divorce. Let's see who's more shameful!"

Li Youfu's wife went all‑out today, giving her husband no face at all.

In fact, even if they divorced, after today's uproar Li Youfu would have no face left to stay at school.

"You tell me, drop out or divorce? Li Youfu, think carefully—if we divorce, I'll immediately remarry with the child, giving your child another family's surname."

When Li Youfu's wife shouted again, Lu Cheng thought to himself, "That move is too ruthless."

Even if Li Youfu's marriage is over and he agrees to divorce, if the two children take another family's surname, Li Youfu will never be able to return to his village; he'll forever hang his head.

Li Youfu's wife, clearly resolved, is determined not to let her husband stay at school.

Indeed, at this university there are countless young, attractive, educated girls.

Looking at Li Youfu, he says neither drop out nor divorce, just sits on the bed and starts crying.

For him, either choice, whichever he picks, is not what he wants.

But now that things have reached this point, he can only choose one.

Half an hour later, with Lu Cheng and Zheng Guoping's mediation, Li Youfu's wife temporarily steadied her emotions and returned to the Guesthouse.

But before leaving, she gave Li Youfu one night, demanding a decision by tomorrow morning.

Watching Li Youfu lie on the bed silent, even quieter than Wei Shu, Lu Cheng and Zheng Guoping didn't know how to comfort him.

This matter must be decided by Li Youfu himself; whatever the outcome, it's his due.

Lu Cheng still has business to attend to—tomorrow he must take Zheng Guoping and the others to canvass votes for the freshmen.

That night he discussed the canvassing with classmates from other dorms, and the next morning Lu Cheng was woken by birdsong from the woods outside the dorm.

At dawn, on the campus's tree‑lined path, diligent students have already begun reciting their lessons, and under the basketball hoop on the playground someone is dribbling a basketball.

Occasionally a group of girls passes by, laughing and teasing—this is the wonderful, rich campus life.

Unfortunately, Li Youfu has to say goodbye to it all.