Chapter 21: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 21: Mountain Gully Village 21

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

On the way home from the Village Committee, endless darkness pervaded the night road; Li Xiulan felt as if she would be swallowed by this darkness and never escape, feeling dazed and disoriented, her whole body spinning downward as she fell.

"Mom, Mom, don't divorce Dad, don't..."

The crying of her eldest son Wang Dashan came to her ears, making Li Xiulan's heart ache as if cut by a knife, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

Her youngest son Wang Erhai, carried on her back, also began to cry.

Both sons might not yet know what divorce was, but they could intuitively feel that divorce was definitely not a good thing.

"Dashan, I don't want to either, but your father doesn't believe me!"

Li Xiulan squatted down, hugged Wang Dashan, and cried uncontrollably.

Just then, cold rain began to fall under the pitch-black night sky.

The rain grew heavier and heavier.

Li Xiulan no longer cared about her own grief; she quickly took the children to the eaves of a nearby ruined house to shelter from the rain.

Because she did not want the two children to fall ill from getting caught in the rain.

"Crack!"

Thunder sounded in the sky, and the rain poured down harder and harder.

The night grew colder and colder.

Li Xiulan quickly took off her outer coat and draped it over her two sons, while she herself stood with her arms crossed, shivering and curling up to resist the cold.

No one knew when this rain would stop.

At this moment, how she wished Wang Zhanggen could bring an umbrella for her and her two sons, but she dared not hope for it; after all, they were about to divorce, so why would anyone still care about her?

Just then, a figure approached from afar holding an umbrella; a hint of joy appeared on Li Xiulan's face, thinking Wang Zhanggen had come to pick her up.

But when the person drew near, the joy on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a dark expression and undisguised disgust.

Because the person coming was not Wang Zhanggen, but He Dazhu.

"He Dazhu, what are you doing here?"

Tonight He Dazhu had slandered Li Xiulan in front of everyone at the Village Committee, causing Li Xiulan to lose the last shred of old affection she had for He Dazhu; only hatred and disgust remained.

"Xiulan, it's raining hard now; why don't I take you home?"

Gentleness flashed in He Dazhu's eyes; he himself did not know how he managed to be so shameless.

Having just slandered Li Xiulan's chastity, he now acted as if nothing had happened and came to care for Li Xiulan.

"I don't need you to take me home; go away!"

Li Xiulan refused directly; she would not give He Dazhu any more chances.

"Xiulan, I know you're still angry; I admit what I said at the Village Committee tonight was wrong and caused you great harm; I apologize to you, but this isn't entirely my fault either—I was forced into it, wasn't I? I can't admit I'm an incapable man, otherwise I'd become a laughingstock for the whole village, so I had to wrong you a little. Besides, Wang Zhanggen believes the few words of an outsider like me and doesn't believe you are innocent; based on that alone, it's enough to prove he never truly loved you and is utterly unworthy of you! If he divorces you, it's also a kind of liberation for you; rest assured, after you divorce Wang Zhanggen, I will wholeheartedly take care of you and your children!"

He Dazhu's face was full of sincerity; he truly did not feel he had done anything wrong, and now that he had come to apologize, what more did he want?

"Even if I divorce Wang Zhanggen, I will not be with you!"

After tonight's events, Li Xiulan finally saw He Dazhu's true colors.

So now, she no longer hesitated at all, decisively made her stance clear; she would not give He Dazhu any more chances.

"Why? Why won't you give me one chance?"

He Dazhu clutched his head in anguish, believing he deserved a chance by rights.

Li Xiulan's face was cold; she knew well what trouble giving He Dazhu a chance would bring her, so she would use the harshest words to make He Dazhu give up:

"Want to know the reason? The reason is simple: because you're no good, because you suffer from impotence and premature ejaculation, because you're not a man, because I don't want to spend the rest of my life guarding a living widow! Are you satisfied with such a reason!"

Li Xiulan actually had little need for sex; in the years Wang Zhanggen had been away working, their marital relations had not exceeded ten times a year, but she did not feel anything was wrong with that.

The only reason she said such harsh words was simply to drive He Dazhu away and make him no longer harbor any illusions about her.

Hearing these words, He Dazhu's heart nearly broke.

His eyes turned bloodshot, and he found it hard to accept this fact.

"Xiulan, we were once so loving; why have we become like this? I don't mind that you've been married and had children, so how can you mind that I suffer from impotence and premature ejaculation?"

In He Dazhu's view, he and Li Xiulan were much the same; neither should look down on the other.

Li Xiulan had borne two children, and now she was pregnant with another; which man in the world would be willing to take her on?

"Xiulan, won't you give me one more chance? I will truly treat you well!"

He Dazhu suddenly became emotionally agitated and stepped forward to forcibly embrace Li Xiulan.

Li Xiulan quickly struggled:

"He Dazhu, what are you doing? Let go of me, let go!"

Alas, no matter how she struggled, He Dazhu would not let go.

Li Xiulan felt she was about to suffocate; she had never felt He Dazhu so terrifying, so disgusting, so nauseating.

Perhaps because she was held too tightly, or because of emotional fluctuation, at this moment Li Xiulan felt the fetus in her belly move, then a very uncomfortable sensation surged over her like a tide, making her face turn pale and leaving her gasping weakly.

"He Dazhu, let go of me..."

Li Xiulan's voice grew weak, breathing with difficulty; the pain had already robbed her of the strength to struggle.

But He Dazhu did not release her, because he felt Li Xiulan had stopped struggling and thought she had been conquered by him.

He said gently:

"Xiulan, I really love you, do you know?"

Li Xiulan did not answer again; she had already grown so weak she collapsed limp in He Dazhu's arms.

And right at this moment, another figure emerged from the night rain.

It was none other than Wang Zhanggen arriving with an umbrella.

Wang Zhanggen had originally intended to set aside all past grievances for now, and come to bring Li Xiulan and the child home first before talking further.

After all, it was late night and raining, and Li Xiulan and the child had still not returned home; he could not help but feel some worry in his heart.

But what he never could have imagined was that, carrying an umbrella and shining a flashlight while walking toward the Village Committee, he would see Li Xiulan and He Dazhu embracing each other halfway there!

Just like that, quietly embracing each other!

In the hazy night, Li Xiulan still had her eyes closed, looking as if she were enjoying it!

In that moment, Wang Zhanggen seemed frozen in the night rain.

The umbrella he held in his hand slipped uncontrollably onto the muddy ground, and his whole body felt a bone-deep chill.

He had still harbored a sliver of hope — perhaps his wife had been slandered by He Dazhu?

But now it appeared that this sliver of hope was also shattered.