Volume One, Chapter Four: You Want a Divorce? Sorry, I Don't Have Time

“Good! Well done, Nan Zhi!” Wei Guoxiong frowned deeply, feeling truly insulted.

Seeing the kitchen he had dirtied yesterday left untouched without a single sign of cleaning, his chest heaved with anger.

But Lou Nanzhi treated Wei Guoxiong as if he were invisible. She ladled the steaming millet porridge from the pot, even adding two boiled eggs, then placed the bowl on the dining table and began eating by herself.

Lifting the lid of the steamer, seeing nothing left, Wei Guoxiong stormed over to her.

“Your mother asked you to prepare some millet porridge with brown sugar, yet you started eating it yourself? Both your mother and I have given you a chance to save face, but you shamelessly refuse it. If you make a scene, it won’t end well.”

Hearing Wei Guoxiong’s fiery words, Lou Nanzhi remained calm and unhurried.

She blew on the spoonful of porridge, took a sip, then looked up at the man she had once served humbly for thirty years, and said with contempt:

“Wei Guoxiong! We are getting a divorce. Your mother asked me to cook for the mistress? I think you should take her to a psychiatrist and see if she’s lost her mind.”

“You, Lou Nanzhi?”

In thirty years, Lou Nanzhi had always been a downtrodden presence, rarely raising her voice, let alone arguing back.

This sudden change left Wei Guoxiong momentarily stunned.

Still, in his heart, he was unwilling to divorce. It wasn’t just about pride; he couldn’t imagine life without her. After all, he had grown accustomed to her round-the-clock care, something even his own mother couldn’t provide.

So, he retracted the fist he had raised above his head, clenching his back teeth in anger.

“If you want a divorce, fine—but I don’t have time today!”

With that, Wei Guoxiong grabbed his briefcase, slammed the door shut, and left without looking back.

This was exactly what Lou Nanzhi had expected.

She knew Wei Guoxiong too well. He had maintained the image of a good husband for thirty years; she had been a free maidservant all that time, while an obvious mistress quietly existed. Who would willingly let go of such a setup?

But one cannot have their cake and eat it too.

Besides, in Lou Nanzhi’s heart, Wei Guoxiong no longer deserved to be called a man.

---

After finishing the porridge, Lou Nanzhi threw the pots and pans directly into the kitchen sink.

Not washing the dishes felt surprisingly liberating.

She then returned to her bedroom to pack her belongings. Tomorrow, she would officially start work; no one was to stand in the way of her brilliant second act.

At the hospital.

Her mother-in-law, Song Ying, arrived early and had called Wei Guoxiong several times before he finally showed up.

Wei Guoxiong, still simmering with anger at home, didn’t want Song Ying to sense it at the hospital, so he stopped at a few stores by the roadside before finally buying some millet porridge with brown sugar.

Before he could catch his breath, Song Ying began nagging.

“Son, you must know pregnant women hate being hungry the most. Xiao Qing’s morning sickness has been severe; when I arrived, she was vomiting continuously, bile and all. You’re busy with work every day, and at my age, I can’t keep up. I think it’s best to ask Nan Zhi to come take care of her. She’s raised three children and no one is better at being a nanny than her!”

“Auntie, isn’t that a bit inappropriate?” Xiao Qing covered her mouth with a handkerchief, a little embarrassed but inwardly hopeful.

Wei Guoxiong had thought about this too. After only three days of following her around, he was already worn out; age was catching up with him.

He had hoped Lou Nanzhi would recover today and eagerly awaited her usual attentive care. Instead, he was met with disappointment early in the morning.

“Xiao Qing, there’s no need to be embarrassed. We’re family. Let Guoxiong handle these matters.”

Song Ying opened the takeout container of porridge. “Here, eat quickly; don’t let my two precious grandchildren go hungry.”

But as soon as the container was opened, her expression soured.

She had wondered why the porridge was in a takeout box, and now she understood—it wasn’t made by her daughter-in-law.

Lou Nanzhi always made porridge with various ingredients and would even add some goji berries at the end.

“Guoxiong! Has Nan Zhi not come home?”

Wei Guoxiong awkwardly turned his head.

“She did, but we ran out of millet at home, so she didn’t have time to make it. This one I bought is pretty good.”

Xiao Qing sensed something and quickly took the porridge, drinking it.

“Auntie, I’m not picky; as long as there’s food, it’s fine.”

---

“Xiao Qing, you’ve suffered enough. I’ll cook some meat for you when I get home at noon.”

Song Ying could easily tell if her son was lying. She didn’t blame him but thought her daughter-in-law was becoming insolent.

“This daughter-in-law of mine is acting up, playing the old social strike game. Does she think the family will fall apart without her? Guoxiong, you should divorce her, make her leave empty-handed, especially since she can’t even bear a son. If this were the past, she’d have been packed up and kicked out long ago. I want to see how she’ll beg us on her knees in the end.”

Lou Nanzhi had been a daughter-in-law in the Wei family for thirty years. On days when she didn’t smile, this woman wielded some power, to the point where one might forget her own identity. Once she was gone, and with Xiao Qing having a child, the family would surely thrive more vibrantly.

“Mother!”

Wei Guoxiong drew a long breath and winked at Song Ying. He wasn’t ready to divorce yet; at the moment, he just wanted a son. With all his wealth, he didn’t want to divide it all among daughters and let the son-in-law benefit.

“Don’t worry about this. I’ll handle it myself. If things don’t work out soon, we can order meals from the postpartum care center—they cater specifically to pregnant women. Give Nan Zhi some time, and she’ll come around.”

As he thought about dividing property, an idea suddenly struck him.

He still had three daughters. If Lou Nanzhi wanted a divorce, did she think this family belonged to her alone? If the children found out they were to have a little brother, perhaps they would understand their old father’s feelings.

Lost in thought, Wei Guoxiong grew restless in the hospital room.

“Mother! You look after Xiao Qing for a bit; I’m going out to make a phone call.”

Watching Wei Guoxiong leave, Xiao Qing felt an unexplainable twinge of worry.

She had once run away with a foreign businessman, hoping for a better life, only to find that after decades of struggle, they had no children and the businessman died of a heart attack.

Alone abroad, she accidentally saw news about Wei Guoxiong. She never expected the meek, meek man she knew to have transformed into an entrepreneur. So, she sold her overseas assets and returned home.

It was as if heaven had closed one door and opened another.

Through countless schemes and chance encounters, she had established a relationship with Wei Guoxiong in just two years—and unexpectedly, she was pregnant despite her age.

So all of this should have been hers, including all the Wei family’s property.

That Lou Nanzhi was nothing but an unnecessary obstacle.