Chapter 620: Different Paths of Good and Evil

Xu Damao's face sank instantly, and he stared at her with a sinister look, "If you dare to divorce me, I'll go find Chen Xueru and tell her what you used to do. I'll also tell her that you only followed her back then because you wanted to use her."

Xiaomei sneered, tears still hanging at the corners of her eyes, but she wasn't afraid at all: "If Manager Xueru can let me be a BranchManager, it shows she trusts me. Whatever you say, she'll only think you're slandering me. Besides, if she tells He Yuzhu that you're fooling around with women outside, do you think your job will still be safe?"

"Are you fucking threatening me?" Xu Damao's eyes widened, "Let me tell you, I have plenty of ways to deal with you!"

Xiaomei raised her hand to wipe away her tears, gritting her teeth as she said: "Xu Damao, if you want to drag us both down, I'll tell Manager Xueru everything you've done—no, I'll go find Tian Dan, Deputy Bureau Chief Tian. I know her now anyway."

"Damn it, a little whore like you dares to ride on my head!" Xu Damao was furious; he grabbed the broom handle by the kang and went to strike Xiaomei.

Xiaomei's eyes suddenly widened, and she said: "Xu Damao, try hitting me one more time? I'll have you thrown in jail tonight!"

The broom handle hung in mid-air, and Xu Damao's hand froze stiffly.

He knew clearly in his heart that Xiaomei knew too many of his dirty deeds—instigating Yan Jiefang and Liu Guangtian to steal things, and engaging in those profiteering rackets. If this really came to a falling out, he would definitely be the one to suffer the consequences.

Xu Damao slammed the broom onto the kang, sat heavily on the official's hat chair, pulled at his hair with both hands, and panted heavily.

The room was quiet for a long while before he spoke in a muffled voice: "Fine, if you want to divorce, then divorce. But I bought this courtyard before I got married, so don't even think about living here."

Xiaomei sneered: "I don't even care for your crappy courtyard. To tell you the truth, Manager Xueru has already assigned me a house."

"Stinking bitch!" Xu Damao stood up abruptly, "So you had it all calculated, right? Think about how miserable you were when you were a back-alley prostitute; if it weren't for me, you would have died eight times over!"

Xiaomei looked at him neither humbly nor arrogantly: "I've been with you for so many years without any status, and after we got married, you went around looking for widows. Neither of us owes the other anything."

Xu Damao waved his hand: "Get out! I don't want to see you for even a minute."

Xiaomei didn't say anything more and turned to pack her things efficiently. Clothes, bedding, and a few miscellaneous items were folded one by one and stuffed into two bundles. Once packed, she shouldered the bundles and left the house without looking back.

The moment she walked out of the courtyard gate, tears gushed out, and no matter how she wiped them, they wouldn't stop.

She hadn't walked far when Yan Jiefang emerged from the shadows and trotted to catch up: "Sister Xiaomei, where are you going?"

Xiaomei's throat tightened, and she said in a hoarse voice: "This courtyard... I won't be coming back."

Yan Jiefang wanted to ask more, but Xiaomei had already walked quickly to the bus stop, stepped onto a bus, and the doors clanged shut.

Yan Jiefang stood there blankly for a while, then turned and ran into Xu Damao's room.

As soon as Xu Damao saw him, his anger flared up, and he glared and cursed: "You fucking reformed, so why are you still coming to find me?"

Yan Jiefang approached with a cheeky grin: "Brother Damao, isn't it better now that you're divorced? With your conditions, finding a young virgin wouldn't be a problem at all!"

When Xu Damao heard this, his eyes narrowed into slits, "Heh, you're right! Once divorced, I'm a golden bachelor. I'll go find Matchmaker Wang tomorrow and have her introduce me to a lively young girl!"

Shichahai, Liuyin Street.

Liu Guangtian and three small thugs had their feet propped on the ground, sitting on their bicycle seats, hiding at the corner of the hutong, waiting for someone to arrive.

A few days ago, Liu Guangtian had been beaten up on this street by a group of guys—most of them were from military compounds.

He couldn't swallow this insult and was determined to find the leader.

After asking around, he found out that the kid lived on Liuyin Street and was a sophomore at The High School Affiliated to Normal University.

They had been squatting here for over two hours.

Each of them had a chain wrapped around their waist; although they didn't dare use knives, if this thing were swung, it would be enough to make someone suffer.

Ever since Yan Jiefang turned over a new leaf and stopped doing those petty thieving jobs, Liu Guangtian had felt like he had lost his soul.

Plus, with Xu Damao spending all his time in the village fooling around with widows and not bothering to pay attention to him, he had started hanging out with the riffraff in society, wandering around aimlessly every day.

Liu Haizhong wanted to buy him a proper job, but he refused to go no matter what.

He had earned quite a bit of money following Yan Jiefang over the years, and he really didn't look down on a monthly salary of a few dozen yuan.

Suddenly, a young man in an old military uniform rode a bicycle and zoomed into the hutong.

He looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.

Just as he reached the mouth of the hutong, Liu Guangtian seized the opportunity and kicked the bicycle—

The bicycle swerved and crashed into the wall, and the front tire was dented on the spot.

The young man fell in a heap, his arms and legs scraped and covered in blood.

But the kid had a tough spirit; he scrambled up and ran.

After running only two steps, two people rushed out from the opposite side and blocked his path.

Liu Guangtian and the other two swarmed up, swinging their chains and striking him head-on.

The young man covered his head, curled into a ball, and didn't make a sound.

After a long while, Liu Guangtian got tired and stopped, panting heavily.

He raised his foot and kicked the young man hard in the leg—

"Crack!" A sound rang out; the leg was broken.

The three of them didn't say a word, hopped on their bikes, and disappeared into the depths of the hutong in a flash.

At the entrance of the Ninety-five Courtyard.

He Yuzhu was coming home from work when he caught sight of someone squatting at the gate.

The person looked to be around fifty, with a hunched frame, extremely thin, and a stooped back, leaning against the wall to soak in the sun.

He Yuzhu stopped and took a few extra looks.

The man seemed to recognize him, raised his head, and squeezed out a smile: "Is that Factory Director He? I am Luo Jiangtao."

He Yuzhu had a good memory and immediately remembered that he was Xu Damao's stepfather.

Back in the day, this man had been full of spirit, looking like a young man in his twenties even at thirty-seven or thirty-eight.

Who would have thought that after spending years in prison, he would come out looking twenty years older, a literal little old man.

He was so thin he was unrecognizable, and his height only made his hunched back look more pronounced.

He Yuzhu nodded and smiled in greeting: "Oh, Uncle Luo is out."

Luo Jiangtao waved his hand, his tone quite open-minded: "I underwent serious reform inside, had my sentence reduced by a few years, and the government let me go. It's not like I was doing anything but eating for free in there."

Hearing him say this, He Yuzhu felt the man was quite broad-minded. He asked: "Uncle Luo, have you reunited with Cui Shenzi, or?"

Luo Jiangtao's eyes turned red instantly: "What reunion? I really had nowhere else to go. I didn't expect my junior sister to still be willing to take me in..." As he spoke, tears began to fall.

Seeing a man in his forties crying like this, He Yuzhu did not feel good either; he patted his shoulder and said, "Uncle Luo, I won't hide it from you, I am now the Factory Director of the Rolling Mill. If there is any hurdle you cannot overcome, tell me, and I will certainly help if I can."

Upon hearing this, Luo Jiangtao's tears welled up again.

He was, after all, in the arts; his emotions came quickly.

He wiped away his tears and said with a choked voice, "I know I cannot get into a big factory like yours. Factory Director He, could you help me ask if there is any work to be done at the neighborhood office? I don't want to drag down my junior sister. It is not easy for her at the Lou Family's place right now either; I heard the Lou Family is having a hard time, and people often go there to cause trouble..."

He Yuzhu's heart stirred.

He remembered the promise he had made to Lou Zhenhua back then, that if anything happened to his family, he would definitely help.

It was just that he had been too busy these past few years and had never had a serious chat with Lou Zhenhua.

"No problem," He Yuzhu nodded, "You are literate, I will go ask Wang Xia; she should give me this face."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the urgent sound of a bicycle bell rang out.

Liu Guangtian pedaled his bike and braked at the entrance of Courtyard No. 95 as if flying.

Looking up and seeing He Yuzhu, his eyes froze for a moment, then he lowered his head and called out in a low voice, "Brother Zhuzi."

He Yuzhu waved his hand at him, which counted as a greeting.

Liu Guangtian did not say anything more; he pushed his bike and lowered his head as he entered the courtyard.