noffsinger Chapter 154 Reconciliation, Farewell
Chapter 154 Reconciliation, Farewell
Xu Hemei walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau with a flourish, holding her divorce certificate.
When Uncle Liu and Xu Hui saw her come out, they both threw away their cigarettes and went to greet her.
Uncle Liu took a sip of Red Bull. "So, is it all done?"
Xu Hemei held up the divorce certificate in her hand. "Yes, it's done. Thank you, Uncle Liu. It's almost time anyway, so let me treat you to a meal."
Xu Hui took her divorce certificate and glanced at it.
Uncle Liu waved his hand, "Oh, why bother with a meal? It was just something I did. Alright, I'll head back now. If you need anything in the future, just call me."
Xu Hui didn't linger with her any longer, handing the divorce certificate back. "It's all settled. Dad will wait for your news."
Xu Hemei nodded, "Okay."
"Then your Uncle Liu and I will head back first." Xu Hui waved to her.
"Ah."
After saying goodbye to them, Xu Hemei got into her car. Sitting inside, she saw Duan Fei emerge from the Civil Affairs Bureau looking disheveled.
Just as she was about to start the car, she saw her former mother-in-law, Wu Man, running towards Duan Fei while wiping away tears.
Parents' hearts are always full of love and worry. When Wu Man saw Duan Fei looking dejected and like he had lost his soul, she felt so sorry for him that she hugged him and cried.
"Son, let's go back. This place is no place for humans, no place for humans. The people here aren't human, they're man-eating demons..."
"It's terrible that they've tormented such a good person like this. Let's sell the house, go back to our hometown, and start over, okay?"
Duan Fei remained silent for a long time, lying on Wu Man like a corpse whose soul had left its body. Wu Man grew anxious and patted him, "Son, say something! Don't scare your mother, okay...?"
After a long pause, Duan Fei managed to squeeze out a hoarse "Okay".
Wu Man helped him up from her lap. Seeing his lifeless appearance, she felt heartbroken. While supporting him, she wiped away her tears. "Okay, okay, let's go back and start over."
Duan Fei subconsciously turned his head, glancing at a car parked across the street, lost in thought.
Following his gaze, Wu Man saw Xu Hemei sitting in the car and glared at her fiercely.
It's all Xu Hemei's fault. If it weren't for her, her son wouldn't be in this situation!
She wiped away her tears, took Duan Fei's hand, and said, "Let's go!"
Duan Fei yanked Wu Man's hand away and said weakly, "Mom, I can walk by myself."
Wu Manlian agreed, "Okay, you can go by yourself."
Duan Fei walked step by step to Xu Hemei's car and gently knocked on the window twice.
Xu Hemei hesitated before rolling down the car window and asked coldly, "What do you want?"
Duan Fei forced an awkward smile and said calmly, "Don't be afraid, I've come to say goodbye."
Actually, after hearing her words and receiving the divorce certificate, he seemed to feel relieved and understood many things.
The marriage ended hastily, and the biggest reason was his own actions. He was not prepared at all and just followed the crowd into marriage, which led to this tragedy.
The bigger reason, however, is his own broken and ugly family of origin. Perhaps, someone like him, who doesn't even understand himself, doesn't deserve to have a marriage.
Xu Hemei didn't understand, and frowned slightly, "What farewell?"
Images of suicide involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
Duan Fei seemed to see right through her, and smiled, saying, "Don't worry, I won't kill myself. I just want to go out for a walk. I don't want to live like this anymore. Maybe I'll never come back."
For more than twenty years, he has lived under the pressure and pain brought on by himself and the outside world, which has led him to become so calculating, harming himself and others, and creating the current irreparable situation.
Xu Hemei was stunned for a while before she came to her senses and finally managed to squeeze out, "Then I wish you a safe journey."
Duan Fei revealed a genuine smile, one of the few he'd shown in over twenty years. "Well, I also wish you success in getting into Professor Shen's doctoral program."
"Finally, I would like to apologize to you. I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time."
His sudden reaction left Xu Hemei at a loss, and she felt inexplicably uneasy, a vague and uncomfortable feeling.
"I've said everything I wanted to say. So, goodbye forever."
After speaking, he turned to leave.
Xu Hemei called out to him, "Wait a minute."
He turned around. "Hmm?"
Xu Hemei bit her lower lip and spoke after a long while, "I should also apologize to you. I'm sorry, I really went too far with the live stream. It made you suffer from cyberbullying and... you can no longer work in the medical field."
Duan Fei smiled and said, "You don't need to blame yourself too much. The sky's the limit."
Xu Hemei smiled and said, "Mm."
Duan Fei waved his hand. "I'm leaving."
"Ah."
Xu Hemei watched his departing figure and, for some reason, breathed a sigh of relief.
Reconciled.
They actually managed to reach a settlement.
It's amazing how people can be at odds one moment and then calmly resolve their misunderstandings face to face.
Great.
No need to worry about him retaliating anymore.
But the course of this relationship has been winding and full of twists and turns; it may take her a very long time to recover...
When Wu Man saw her son walk back with a relaxed expression, she felt uneasy, afraid that they had made up again. She immediately grabbed Duan Fei anxiously, "Son, what did you say to her?"
Duan Fei pulled Wu Man's hand away and said calmly, "I didn't say anything, Mom. Let's sell the house and buy a house back in the county town."
Wu Man immediately smiled and nodded, "Great, great, of course it's great. Houses in the city are ridiculously expensive, and the monthly payments are outrageous. With this down payment, we can buy a bigger and more beautiful house in the county town outright, and we'll probably still have a lot of money left over."
Finally, she added, "Of course, if you can figure it out, that's the best outcome. Let's contact the real estate agent right now and sell it immediately."
"Well, let's go back."
"Okay, by the way, what did you say to her just now?"
"I didn't say anything, just said goodbye."
"What's there to say goodbye to? Really."
Duan Fei just smiled and said nothing more.
Xu Hemei slowly drove the car away, and as she passed them, she lightly pressed the accelerator, leaving them far behind.
Keep moving forward, and stay alert.
*
That noon, after finishing her work, He Qiaoyun called her daughter.
"Xiaomei, how did the divorce go today?"
Xu Hemei: "Yes, Dad and Uncle Liu took Duan Fei to the Civil Affairs Bureau for me, and it went quite smoothly."
He Qiaoyun raised an eyebrow, "Liu Biao is out?"
Liu Biao was a mutual friend of hers and Xu Hui. The three of them were very close back then. However, a few years ago, Liu Biao was cheated in business and lost a lot of money, losing all his savings, while the other person got away scot-free.
Liu Biao had a violent temper. He lost control and beat the man so badly that he ended up in the ICU, where he spent several years.
Xu Hemei: "Hmm, Uncle Liu hasn't changed at all. He's still the same as before, with a pretty bad temper. He's more than enough to deal with Duan Fei."