Volume One, Chapter 13: Becoming a Trending News Story

To avoid showing any cracks, Fu Kun could only say casually, "It’s not much, just transfer me 200."

Lou Nanzhi had no idea that renting a dump truck like that outside cost around eighteen thousand yuan.

If she had known that the gleaming coins were actually hundreds of thousands of real bills that Fu Kun’s son had just exchanged at their own bank, she would have been utterly shocked.

Fortunately, Fu Kun had a quick thought and claimed they were props borrowed from a friend.

Regardless, having crushed that Wei’s arrogance, Fu Kun felt at ease.

After the morning’s turmoil passed, Lou Nanzhi and Fu Kun each returned to their respective posts.

After all, it was Lou Nanzhi’s first official day at work, and luckily she hadn’t encountered any members of the Fu family.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t even know how to explain it.

“Nanzhi! Are you alright?”

Just as she and Fu Kun walked into the lobby one after the other, Sister Wu approached.

“I just finished tidying the guest rooms, and then they said something happened outside. I hurried down but still came too late!”

Sister Wu roughly knew about Lou Nanzhi’s family troubles and felt quite sorry for her after hearing the story. At this age, with such things happening at home, there was nowhere to return to.

“I’m fine, Sister Wu. Let’s keep working! It wouldn’t be good if Mr. Fu saw us like this.”

Sister Wu knew Lou Nanzhi was forcing herself to stay calm. After all, this was a public place, and after her husband’s outburst, who could be at ease? They were adults—everyone cared about their dignity.

But Lou Nanzhi had helped Sister Wu so much last time; without her, Sister Wu’s own job would probably be at risk.

So, Sister Wu leaned in close and whispered, “Nanzhi, I’m not good with words, but you really need to settle things at home quickly. After all, if he came once, he might come again. He’s at fault, but now we’re all constantly on edge, having to watch out for him?”

Lou Nanzhi understood Sister Wu’s meaning and was grateful for it.

Having lived in the Wei family for nearly thirty years without finding someone to confide in was truly a sad life.

From dawn till dusk, she had worked non-stop for thirty years for the sake of her entire family, only to end up with such a conclusion.

Growing old and not only betrayed by her husband but also living a miserable later half of life six years later.

“Sister Wu, I know what you mean. I will handle this as soon as possible.”

Seeing Lou Nanzhi’s response, Sister Wu said no more. After all, they were both people of considerable age.

...

The entire morning passed in a hurried flurry of learning, though Lou Nanzhi tried her best to restrain herself from thinking about Wei Guoxiong’s matter.

Yet her colleagues’ glances constantly reminded her of it.

Just as Sister Wu said, this couldn’t go on; who knew when Wei Guoxiong might lose his mind and come again?

So she decided to go home after work that evening and clear things up.

But just after lunch, during the morning shift,

Sister Wu hurriedly found her in the lobby.

She pulled Lou Nanzhi to a corner, and seeing no one around, took out her phone and handed it to her.

“Take a look. I don’t know who the scoundrel is, but they recorded this morning’s incident and posted it online.”

Lou Nanzhi’s hands trembled as she struggled mentally for a few seconds before looking at the phone screen.

Though over fifty, online news was nothing new to her.

After all, her three daughters were young, and every time she spent time with them, they talked about all sorts of gossip on the internet.

Especially her eldest daughter, who was now a fairly well-known streamer and often shared news about small internet celebrities with the family.

Back then, it was all just for fun since no one knew each other.

But she never expected that one day she herself would become a hot topic on the internet and the focus of local attention.

“Nanzhi! Don’t be too anxious. Look, you and Old Fu are both pixelated for some reason—you can’t even see your faces. But your ex-husband’s ugly face is totally exposed, and the comments underneath are all cursing him, and they’re quite harsh!”

Hearing this, Sister Wu even smiled.

Seeing her face deliberately blurred in the video somewhat eased Lou Nanzhi’s pounding heart.

In their neighborhood, a friendly old neighbor’s daughter had gotten involved with a married man and became a mistress. She was exposed online and, unable to bear the cyberbullying, jumped to her death.

Since then, Lou Nanzhi never saw that old couple again.

Neighbors said they were constantly harassed, their front door repeatedly sprayed with paint, and shouted at whenever they went out. In the end, they had no choice but to hide away in the countryside.

So Lou Nanzhi understood all too well the cruelty of online violence.

Her hands clenched tightly as she stared fixedly at the video on the phone, contemplating what to do next.

Just then, the phone in her suit pocket rang.

She pulled it out and saw it was Wei Guoxiong calling.

As soon as Lou Nanzhi pressed the answer button, before even bringing the phone to her ear, a furious, dog-like roar came from the other side.

“Lou Nanzhi!”

Wei Guoxiong’s voice seemed to tear through his throat, causing Lou Nanzhi to instinctively pull the phone away.

“Are you trying to ruin me? Don’t you know we’re not divorced yet? Posting videos like that online—what good does that do for Xiongfeng Daily Chemical?

You have no sense of propriety at all! How does this benefit you? With your logic, you want a divorce and to make a name for yourself? You’re ridiculous!

Lou Nanzhi, you can hate me, but have you thought of the three children? I’m ordering you to come back immediately!”

Before Lou Nanzhi could respond, Wei Guoxiong hung up.

Even without seeing his face, she knew he must be so furious his blood pressure was off the charts.

But!

She hadn’t done any of this.

From start to finish, she had only one request, yet it seemed so difficult: a fair divorce splitting shared assets was only natural.

Had Lou Nanzhi, who had worked hard in the Wei family for thirty years, not earned this?

By today’s average wage standards, how much would hiring a nanny cost?

After divorce, Wei Guoxiong not only brought his mistress, with whom he had a son, back to the Wei household, but he could continue his lucrative daily chemical business, earning nearly a million yuan in net profit annually—wasn’t that enough to support the entire family?

Lou Nanzhi only wanted half of the existing assets; she hadn’t even insisted on pursuing his infidelity or demanding he leave with nothing.

What more did the Wei family want from her?

Didn’t they understand the wisdom of both sides stepping back for a broader horizon?