Volume 1, Chapter 2: Without This Family, She Is Worse Than a Beggar

Faced with Lou Nanzhi’s interrogation, Wei Guoxiong’s face was full of rage.

Before he could speak, Xiaoqing looked at Lou Nanzhi with tearful eyes.

“Sister-in-law! Please forgive me!” Xiaoqing sobbed, “I swear I never meant to break up your family…”

She raised her right hand, holding up three fingers, then suddenly clutched her chest and gasped for breath.

“Qing, don’t get too worked up!”

The mother-in-law immediately rushed to the bedside, spitting harshly onto the floor.

“No swearing allowed! There’s a seed of the old Wei family in your womb. If anything happens to you, this old lady will follow my grandson in death!”

“Lou Nanzhi, have you made enough trouble?”

Wei Guoxiong gently patted Xiaoqing’s back with one hand while glaring fiercely at Lou Nanzhi.

In that hospital room, Lou Nanzhi felt as if a new world had opened before her eyes. The mother-in-law, always sharp and cruel, and her cold husband—both had shown such tenderness.

“Nanzhi, since you already know about this, I might as well tell you. You wanted to know when they would be okay, right?”

Song Ying adjusted her clothes, sat up straight, and looked at Lou Nanzhi.

“Xiaoqing met Guoxiong when she was eighteen. To put it bluntly, you’re the third party. If not for their accident back then, you wouldn’t have married into the Wei family. You might have been gone along with your arrested parents. By that calculation, your life belongs to the old Wei family.”

She’s the third party?

They were childhood sweethearts?

Lou Nanxi was slow to realize.

“Wei Guoxiong! So you’ve been in contact all these decades? And you say you’re busy with work? Turns out you spent half the month meeting your lover!”

“Lou Nanzhi, don’t slander me. We only met in recent years. I didn’t tell you for your own good,” Wei Guoxiong defended himself.

He felt no guilt. Wanting a son was his personal wish. At his age, finally having Xiaoqing pregnant—she didn’t demand status, and Lou Nanzhi could still be Mrs. Wei. Wasn’t this the best of both worlds?

Hearing her unfaithful husband’s righteous words, Lou Nanzhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

This was the home she had believed was happy and perfect for thirty years? The family she had given everything to maintain?

A wave of despair surged in her heart like a flood.

“If I’m the third party, then Wei Guoxiong, let’s get a divorce!”

The moment she said the word “divorce,” Wei Guoxiong visibly lost his composure.

With a stern face, he strode to Lou Nanzhi’s side and ordered, “Take back your words. I’ll pretend you never said that!”

“This is the first time in thirty years I’ve mentioned divorce. You should know I’m serious,” Lou Nanzhi retorted, her face calm and unreadable.

Seeing Lou Nanzhi stubbornly insist and dare to bring up divorce, Song Ying, sitting beside Xiaoqing, shouted angrily.

“Divorce! Guoxiong, divorce her and make her leave empty-handed! At her age, she thinks she’s still an eighteen-year-old girl? No job, no savings—once she leaves the Wei family, she’ll be worse than a beggar. She’ll starve on the streets in days. If she’s not afraid to die, let her leave!”

After scolding her daughter-in-law, Song Ying’s expression softened. She grabbed Xiaoqing’s hand and spoke quietly.

“Xiaoqing is good—obedient and carrying our old Wei family’s heir! Look, I already changed the deed of the old house to your name this morning. Your task now is to rest and nurture the baby. After the child is born, Guoxiong promised to buy you a villa!”

As she spoke, Song Ying pulled a bright red deed from her bag and placed it in Xiaoqing’s hand.

“Auntie! Isn’t this a bit much?”

Xiaoqing looked embarrassed but didn’t let go.

“What’s the harm? I’ve watched you grow up—you’re like a daughter to me!”

Lou Nanzhi could no longer bear it. This was utterly worldview-shattering.

“Wei Guoxiong, be at the civil affairs bureau with your documents at nine tomorrow morning. Don’t be late!”

Without waiting for his reply, Lou Nanzhi turned and left. The moment she closed the hospital door behind her, she felt an unprecedented lightness.

Meanwhile, lying in the hospital bed, Xiaoqing watched Lou Nanzhi’s retreating figure with great satisfaction. She had thought convincing Wei Guoxiong to divorce would be difficult, but it turned out effortless. She always knew how a housewife couldn’t compare to a dancer like herself.

“Hmph! Guoxiong, you blame me for speaking sharply, but if no one kept your wife in check, she’d have flipped the world by now. Born into a capitalist family, always spirited—if not for me, you’d probably be wearing a green hat already.”

For some reason, after Lou Nanzhi left, Wei Guoxiong felt restless.

But he looked at Song Ying with absolute certainty.

“Mom! Don’t worry. She can’t leave me. In less than three days, she’ll regret ever saying those words!”

He knew his wife best: her life revolved around the same three points—washing, cooking, and home. If she had to re-enter society and start over, it would be a dream.

“Yes, Mom! At her age, what divorce? Plus, Guoxiong is a big leader. If news got out, it would affect the company. I still say, I don’t fight or compete. I just want the children to be born healthy.”

“Xiaoqing understands. She’ll regret it tonight. Tomorrow, have her bring some millet and red date porridge for Xiaoqing. Those store-bought things aren’t good for her.”

After giving instructions, the old lady left.

The whole family paid no mind to Lou Nanzhi’s talk of divorce.

…

Having left the hospital, Lou Nanzhi had no desire to return home. That home was already a shell after today. But she didn’t know where else to go.

Though she had three daughters, each had their own lives.

The eldest was twenty-nine, married for three years, livestreaming jewelry sales with her husband, very busy. They had a lovely son cared for by grandparents, which left Lou Nanzhi some free time.

The second daughter, twenty-five, was a kindergarten teacher sharing a rented place with colleagues. She had a boyfriend ready for marriage but rarely came home these past two years.

The youngest, nineteen, was studying political law at university in another city. She was the most filial, often sending food and clothes home and excelling academically.

Lou Nanzhi felt that telling any daughter about the divorce would only burden them. Since it was inevitable, better to get it over with. At fifty, even if she lived to seventy, she still had twenty years ahead.

She firmly resolved not to waste any more time on the Wei family.

After much inner struggle, Lou Nanzhi took a bus to the commercial street, hoping to find a suitable job. After divorce, she’d need an income source. Besides, a woman with a job had confidence.

The commercial street was still bustling. Lou Nanzhi walked several blocks in order, carefully reading every recruitment notice outside the shops.

Suddenly, she stopped in front of a music store.