Rebirth: He refused to Divorce Again

Chapter 38: Chapter 37: The Light Boat Has Passed Ten Thousand Heavy Mountains

About half an hour later, the phone rang, and the old man picked it up, then happily handed it to Qin Yize.

After listening to the other party, Qin Yize said in a deep voice, “Okay, I got it, I’ll treat you to hot pot at Lao Liu Square another day.”

A rough voice faintly transmitted through the phone, “Young Master Qin, you are too polite, it should be me treating you.”

“I have other matters, we’ll talk another day.”

“Young Master Qin,” the other party said urgently, “Do you need me to send some people to help you?”

“No need.” After saying that, Qin Yize hung up the phone.

He gave the old man ten yuan and strode toward the roadside.

“Young man, wait a moment, I haven’t given you your change yet…” the old man called out as he poked his head out.

Unfortunately, before he had finished speaking, Qin Yize had already got into a taxi and then disappeared in the traffic.

About an hour later, a military jeep sped toward the northern suburbs of the Imperial Capital.

Qin Yize was driving, with Chu Chengfeng sitting next to him.

With the speed too fast, Chu Chengfeng yelled, “Where are you going driving so fast? Don’t you know I get car sick?”

Qin Yize frowned, looked at Chu Chengfeng beside him, “Going to Lihe Village to find Zhu Jianguo.” He then slowed down slightly, slightly displeased he said, “Really should throw you in the Special Preparation Team to toughen up, fix all those bad habits.” @@novelbin@@

Chu Chengfeng waved his hand lazily, “I won’t go, I like my life of luxury and splendor. By the way, you aren’t looking for Zhu Jianguo because of last night’s issue, are you?”

“Yes, Bai Yun and Ning Yuli got a kind of drug from Brother Hao, and the effects were the same as Bai Yun’s reaction. Zhu Jianguo must be one of the instigators, otherwise, he wouldn’t have left so early in the morning.”

“Then why didn’t you go directly to Bai Yun and Ning Yuli?”

“What do you think?” Qin Yize looked at Chu Chengfeng as if he were looking at an idiot.

Chu Chengfeng slapped his forehead as if he suddenly understood, but felt he still hadn’t grasped the whole picture, “Is it because you’re worried about tipping them off or because you fear those two women will cry and make a fuss, refusing to admit anything?”

“Guess it’s both…” After saying that, Qin Yize fell silent, gripped the steering wheel tighter, his eyebrows showed a trace of severity, and he stepped on the gas, turning onto a mountain road on the right.

The swiftly passing wheels kicked up the snow on the ground, and a cold wind blew, scattering it around, as if it were snowing again.

At that moment, a slanting sunset hung in the Qin family’s courtyard on the tip of a crabapple tree, the remaining glow of the sun painted the tree and the large courtyard a magnificent pale golden color.

Though it was the deep of winter, one could seemingly see the hope of spring.

Gu Qiaoqiao looked extremely satisfied with her creation, an exquisitely beautiful and ingeniously crafted nucleus carving.

In one corner of the boat, she engraved seven characters — “The light boat has passed through thousand mountains.”

This was an ancient small boat.

The bow and the stern slightly curved upward.

In the middle was the cabin, with a roof patterned with clear bamboo leaves. A gentleman in a long gown stood facing the wind at the bow, his facial features clear, his eyebrows and eyes graceful.

On both sides of the cabin were four windows, two of which could be opened and closed freely.

The window patterns were intricately cloud-shaped, and the cabin interior was also unique, featuring a tiny tea table the size of a green pea, beside which sat a woman, her hair lightly twisted into a bun, skewered with a wooden hairpin, her arched eyebrows and the corners of her mouth bearing a hint of a smile.

Her left hand held a book, seemingly reading to a pair of children sitting across the tea table.

At the stern, an old man was merrily holding the oar, his head slightly tilted back, as if checking whether the weather would bring rain.

Though Gu Qiaoqiao did not want to be proud, she was indeed very pleased.

Her nucleus carving’s figures were lifelike, each sitting or standing with their own posture.

It seemed even better than those in the textbooks.

However, Gu Qiaoqiao was not confident because she really wasn’t clear about whether nucleus carving had a place in the antique market of 1986.

But she would know by tomorrow.

Gu Qiaoqiao glanced at the time; it was time to cook.

However, there were still some details that needed fine tuning, and she needed to decide on a name for herself.

She stood up, placing the engraving tools and the nucleus carving in the closet.

She didn’t want Qin Yize to see them.

After tidying up, Gu Qiaoqiao went to cook.

Since the thirtieth, when she first entered the kitchen, Gu Qiaoqiao had generally taken over all three meals a day for the Qin family. She didn’t mind, and she neither enjoyed nor wanted to eat the meals prepared by Shen Manru.

In the kitchen, Shen Manru was washing vegetables.

Usually, she and Shen Manru each did their own thing.

They occasionally exchanged a few words, merely inquiring about something.

When Shen Manru saw Gu Qiaoqiao come in, her expression momentarily froze, but quickly returned to normal.

Gu Qiaoqiao tied her apron; the Qin family’s kitchen was spacious, and she went about her work as if she hadn’t seen Shen Manru at all.

Shen Manru glanced at Gu Qiaoqiao, her coldness over the past six months expressing her dissatisfaction.

She felt that only by acting this way could she find some emotional balance.

Yet, she still couldn’t deny that this girl from the countryside had become her daughter-in-law.

Like a fishbone stuck in her throat, it could neither be swallowed nor spat out.

She had no choice but to slowly digest it.

Yet her feelings remained difficult to settle.

Sometimes, seeing her distressed, aggrieved appearance and the unease in her eyes made her feel guilty, but every time she thought about her son’s future tied with her, she felt it was self-inflicted.

The blisters on one’s feet are from the paths one chooses themselves.

People are selfish, and she was no exception.

She had no say over her son’s future and marriage, so at least her attitude and thoughts were hers to control, right?

She had thought Gu Qiaoqiao would cling to her son for a lifetime.

But when Gu Qiaoqiao stated the word “divorce” indifferently, without a hint of emotion, there was no joy, only fury.

Why bother in the first place!

She was a person extremely concerned with face. Marrying Gu Qiaoqiao had already been humiliating, and then getting a divorce less than half a year later, how could she hold her head up in front of her colleagues?

Moreover, those gossipy people would say she was being pretentiously virtuous, despising poverty and loving wealth.

Shen Manru harbored hatred in her heart, but what could she do now?

She put two plates on the dining table, suppressing the churning thoughts in her heart, and said lightly, “Let’s make minced meat with eggplant tonight. I’ve already prepared the eggplant and minced meat; your grandmother loves it.”

“Okay, just leave it there, I’ll get to it in a bit,” Gu Qiaoqiao said without looking up.

Shen Manru remained silent.

Gu Qiaoqiao glanced dismissively at the sullen-faced Shen Manru and asked, “Is there anything else?”

Shen Manru paused for a moment, a hint of coldness touching the corners of her mouth, before finally voicing her question, “Gu Qiaoqiao, you are clearly capable and a good cook, so why was everything a mess before this?”