In the dead of night, looking at the man sleeping soundly beside her, Shen Xue's face was filled with tenderness. She reached out her fair hand and gently caressed Chen Yang's profile. He had tanned and lost weight during this period.
But he was like a completely different person, inside and out. His personality and complexion were becoming more and more like a country man.
Watching the slight muscles that Chen Yang had developed from moving fish these past few days, Shen Xue felt an indescribable emotion.
He was clearly getting better and better, becoming more and more of a husband and father, yet she couldn't be happy.
How long had it been since he last read a book?
The last time was only because she had forced him, and he had reviewed for a while.
He had to get up before dawn every day to collect fish, then sell them, and come back to help with the construction of the house, which couldn't be done without him.
If this continued, would Chen Yang still be able to get into university?
Shen Xue was not foolish, but she had chosen to selectively ignore the issue because life had been getting better and Chen Yang had deliberately avoided these questions.
Because these past few days, she had been truly happy.
He knew how to cherish her and dote on their daughter, and she really didn't want to think about Chen Yang going to university.
But she had overheard Liu Maosheng and Zheng Weiguo's words this evening: educated youth returning to the city!
These four words were like a cold slap, jolting her back to reality from the recent happiness.
Chen Yang had refused without hesitation. She knew that although the policy outwardly forbade it, in reality, Chen Yang had not considered these things at all.
He wasn't going back, entirely because of her and their daughter. Even if the policy allowed it, he wouldn't have gone back!
It was just that this fool, he had made such a great sacrifice for her and their daughter without telling her.
Although Chen Yang had never told her about his family situation, she had heard bits and pieces from Zheng Weiguo and the others.
She knew that Chen Yang was the only son in his family, and he had an older sister and a younger sister. As the only male heir, he had stepped forward to go to the countryside.
He couldn't go back. What would happen to his family?
Even though she had never met her in-laws, she could empathize. The elderly couple had only one son.
After Chen Yang went to the countryside, he hadn't returned for several years. When he married her, his parents had disagreed, and they hadn't even come to witness their wedding.
Now, if they knew Chen Yang couldn't return to the city, they would be heartbroken. Chen Yang was their only son.
"Daddy, my Daddy is a big hero."
At that moment, their daughter, Dudu, mumbled in her sleep, waving her little hands. Shen Xue, who was already full of worries, heard her daughter's dream talk.
She couldn't hold back anymore.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
She loved Chen Yang and couldn't bear to be apart from him for even a moment.
But she also felt wronged for him. He was the only son, and he was from Jinling City. He could have easily lived a comfortable life as a city dweller, eating state-subsidized grain and receiving a national salary.
His children could have been city dwellers from birth!
But for her and their daughter, he had given all of this up without hesitation.
Was this fair to Chen Yang?
Moreover, in order to give them a better life, he was almost giving up his last chance to escape by going to university, spending every day busy with business.
He had sacrificed so much for her, could she really selfishly enjoy it all while pretending not to know anything?
Shen Xue's heart was filled with complex emotions.
She loved Chen Yang too much, so she had overlooked herself and their daughter. She only saw what Chen Yang had given up, without considering what he had gained.
Shen Xue didn't know what to do, and she had no one to discuss it with.
Under this immense pain and psychological torment, Shen Xue herself didn't know when she had dozed off in a daze.
Early in the morning, Chen Yang woke up.
Looking at the woman who was clinging to him like a kitten, the older man felt a warmth spread through his body, a sense of restless desire.
But the next moment, seeing Shen Xue's red eyes and the dried tear tracks at the corners of her eyes, the older man panicked.
As he moved, he also startled the sleeping Shen Xue awake.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm here, everything is with me."
Chen Yang held Shen Xue in his arms, her little head resting on his chest. He gently patted Shen Xue's back, wanting to give her some comfort.
But to his surprise, when Shen Xue felt his actions, she cried even harder, her tears flowing like a pear blossom.
"Chen Yang, let's get a divorce."
The better Chen Yang treated Shen Xue, the deeper her sense of guilt became.
She didn't want him to be wronged, and she didn't want him to give up what rightfully belonged to him for her.
"What? Wife, you must have had a nightmare. What nonsense are you talking about?"
Hearing Shen Xue's words, Chen Yang's heart trembled violently. At this moment, the older man was truly panicked.
He had no idea what had happened.
But she was his everything!
Shen Xue didn't want him anymore!
"I'm not joking."
"As your business grows, you'll eventually look down on me, a country woman. It's better to end it early, so I won't be kicked out of the house by you later."
"I'll take Yanyan with me, and I don't need you to build a house anymore."
Shen Xue, enduring the pain in her heart as if it were being cut by a knife, coldly tried to break free from Chen Yang's embrace.
"I'm sorry, wife, I'm sorry."
"I know I've neglected you these past few days because I've been busy with business. I'll change, I'll definitely change. I beg you, don't leave me."
"I won't do this business anymore, and I don't want the money. I beg you, don't leave me."
"Without you and Yanyan, I would die."
Hearing Shen Xue's request for a divorce, Chen Yang's mind went blank.
He had no idea what had happened.
He had been reborn, wanting to give Shen Xue and their daughter a complete family!
He owed them too much in his past life, and in this life, he wanted to make amends.
He had never imagined that Shen Xue would one day leave him and want a divorce.
If he lost her and their daughter, what would be the meaning of his reborn life!
"No need. This is the divorce letter."
"I will explain to the village elder later."
But Shen Xue completely ignored him. She got up and took out a piece of paper from under the pillow, which she had written long ago and was now crumpled.
Although Shen Xue's grandfather had donated the winery, her father had studied with a private tutor when he was young, and Shen Xue was literate. The divorce letter was written logically and reasonably.
"I disagree!"
But Chen Yang didn't care. He snatched the divorce letter and tore it to shreds without even looking at it.
The veins on his forehead bulged angrily. He realized that this foolish woman still hadn't given up that idea.
To hell with being a city person, to hell with university. He, Chen Yang, didn't care.
Without the mother and daughter, even with Tsinghua and Peking University, and a Beijing household registration, he, Chen Yang, wouldn't care at all.
"Shen Xue, listen to me clearly."
"In this life, you are my Chen Yang's person when you are alive, and my Chen Yang's ghost when you die. If you want a divorce from me, it will be only when I am dead."
Chen Yang gritted his teeth tightly. He had thought that he had changed this foolish woman's one-sided idea these past few days, but unexpectedly, she was still so stubborn!
"Wuwuwu."
"Daddy, don't yell at Mommy."
"Daddy, Mommy, don't fight. Yanyan is scared."
The little girl was woken up by the noise and, seeing the two arguing, began to cry in fear.