Volume One, Chapter Seventeen: Are You Still Insisting on a Divorce?

Although the eldest daughter's attitude had softened considerably compared to before, Lou Nanzhi could easily discern the meaning behind her words. Even though Wei Yan'er already knew that their father was at fault in this matter.

Seeing that her mother still did not respond, Wei Yan'er took Lou Nanzhi’s hand. “Mom! Can we go inside and talk for a bit?”

Wei Yan'er knew that asking like this would hurt her mother’s feelings deeply.

But life had to go on; her mother was already quite old, and she herself had a family but lacked education—her life was only just beginning.

Lou Nanzhi smiled faintly and followed Wei Yan'er into the room.

She hadn’t spent time alone chatting with her daughter in who knew how many years—at least seven or eight. Regardless of how this conversation would end, Lou Nanzhi simply wanted to savor the moment.

At the moment, sitting on the sofa, Wei Guoxiong watched as Lou Nanzhi went inside with their eldest daughter. Relief washed over him like a calming pill.

He always knew that the three little cotton-padded jackets he had nurtured since childhood would never disappoint him.

“Mom, Dad did wrong, but if you divorce now, it’s actually the worst thing for you!”

Lou Nanzhi wanted to hear her eldest daughter’s true feelings.

“How is it the worst?”

Seeing her mother’s softened attitude, Wei Yan'er sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand.

“Mom! You might not know, but ever since I can remember, Grandma has been coming to our house every month asking Dad for money. When I was little, I didn’t understand, but now I realize it’s because Grandma is guarding you and transferring the assets away.”

Hearing this, Lou Nanzhi’s heart tightened.

That sinking feeling was not about money, but disappointment.

It turned out that from the very beginning, the old lady had treated Lou Nanzhi as an outsider, transferring the assets away and yet refusing to divorce—wasn’t that just wanting her to be a free housekeeper?

The Wei family’s calculations were really precise!

Had this been the Lou Nanzhi of old, she would have been furious. But after everything that had happened in recent days, she had grown indifferent.

She looked at her eldest daughter with eyes full of affection, gently stroking her hand and patting it.

“Yan'er! I don’t care about how much money I can get. I’m just tired of living like this.”

Lou Nanzhi spoke calmly.

These words instantly shattered the last bit of hope in Wei Yan'er’s heart.

She had thought that Lou Nanzhi would be furious upon hearing about the money and would strategize with her.

But…

Her mother was already prepared to get a divorce.

“Mom, I know what Dad did hurt you deeply, but I think you should also consider us. If you divorce Dad, won’t the three of us have nowhere to go back to? If that woman really moves in and has his child, won’t all Dad’s hard work in his career belong to those two? Wouldn’t our whole lives be spent making a dowry for someone else?”

Wei Yan'er’s emotions flared again.

Lou Nanzhi felt that her daughter’s words were not entirely without reason.

But not all things could be changed by her refusing to divorce.

For the first half of her life, she had depended on Wei Guoxiong, always asking him for money for food and clothing. Though she had complaints, she endured it for the sake of a happy family.

But now that the happy family was shattered, what reason did she have to stay?

If only she had faced the class differences between her parents bravely back then, perhaps her life would have taken a different path.

So, lacking courage in the first half, she resolved never to live meekly or swallow her pride silently in the latter half.

“Yan'er! Mom—”

Lou Nanzhi was about to share her thoughts with her eldest daughter directly.

Unexpectedly, just as she opened her mouth, her daughter’s phone rang.

Wei Yan'er glanced at the screen showing the caller’s name, then looked back at Lou Nanzhi.

“Mom! I’ll take this call outside.”

She hurried out of the room.

Lou Nanzhi sat alone in her daughters’ room, stroking the soft quilt and recalling all the once-beautiful moments.

“Do you think I want to? But Mom’s attitude is so resolute. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have to come back and persuade me. What’s the use of hiding outside? I’m not the only child in this family!”

Suddenly, Lou Nanzhi heard her eldest daughter shouting from the living room.

It was a call from the second daughter. The reason she hadn’t come home was because she and her mother had quarreled over the divorce issue last time.

Wei Ying’er had even sworn that if their parents really divorced, she would become a nun.

Among the three daughters, Wei Ying’er was the quietest and least articulate. Normally taciturn, by today’s social standards, she was somewhat socially anxious.

Now that her video with Wei Guoxiong had been exposed, it was likely that her boyfriend’s family also knew about it.

While Lou Nanzhi was lost in thought, Wei Yan'er returned after the call.

“Mom! It was Ying’er on the phone. She said she and her boyfriend are now at odds. They were about to get married, but now they’re probably breaking up.”

Though she had anticipated it, hearing it from her eldest daughter’s lips still weighed heavily on Lou Nanzhi’s heart.

Should she really endure it all for her three children?

But even if she didn’t divorce, the mistress and the child in her belly were undeniable facts.

Wei Guoxiong’s infidelity was an unchangeable truth.

Why did her children keep clinging to her?

Was holding onto a hollow shell of a family supposed to be happiness?

Seeing Lou Nanzhi lower her head, Wei Yan'er thought her mother must be wavering.

So she continued.

“Mom! If you impulsively divorce, Ying’er might lose her love. You know how she is—so quiet and reserved. If something serious like depression comes from this, we’ll regret it forever.

Besides, I’m just starting to make a name for myself in live streaming. If negative rumors like this come out, it would be a fatal blow to me! Our little family of three is counting on this.”

Her eldest daughter’s words stabbed deeply at Lou Nanzhi’s heart.

What did this mean? That if she divorced, her two daughters couldn’t survive?

But had anyone ever thought about whether she could survive?

She was fifty years old—was she not allowed a future?

Now that her children were grown and had their own lives, they had become independent individuals who naturally considered themselves first when making choices.

Lou Nanzhi finally understood: in their hearts, she wasn’t even worth a finger of their father.

Despite all his vile deeds, the image of their father remained towering in their minds.

After all, the one who proposed divorce and broke this happy family was Lou Nanzhi!

“Mom! I’ve laid out all the pros and cons for you. Things have come to this point—are you really still determined to divorce?”