Faced with a wife's infidelity, should one seek revenge or retaliate with poison? Two true stories I heard at a dinner party.

page views:1 Publication date:2023-03-23

Last September, my wife was hospitalized at a top-tier hospital in our area to have uterine fibroids removed. After the surgery, my wife's sister-in-law and I took turns staying with her at the hospital; I stayed with her during the day, and she stayed

with her at night. It was probably the second day after the surgery. In the evening, after explaining the precautions to my wife's sister-in-law, I was about to leave when my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was an older brother of mine—Old Zhang. We met through a friend and hit it off immediately. He works for a state-owned enterprise and is a leader in his unit. He's five or six years older than me and has a very generous personality. Because we get along so well, we often get together, and he usually invites me to his private drinking parties. He went to a sanatorium for a while recently, and we hadn't drunk together for two or three weeks.

I answered the phone, "Hey, Brother Zhang, you're back."

A hearty laugh came from the other end. "Just got back today, landed this morning, my cousin picked me up. Where are you? Let's get together."

"At the hospital. You decide where we are. If we're going to drink, I won't drive, I'll just take a taxi. I'll give you a proper welcome-back dinner tonight."

"Hospital? Who's sick?"

"Oh. Xiao Wang (my wife) had surgery the day before yesterday, she's fine now."

"Which hospital are you at? We'll be right there, you wait there

." "Brother Zhang, never mind, she's fine now."

"No, I have to go see her, it's only proper."

"## Hospital, sixth floor, gynecology department."

"Okay, we'll be there in about half an hour, meet us at the elevator."

Half an hour later, I met Lao Zhang at the elevator. Besides him, there was another man about my age. Lao Zhang introduced him: "This is my cousin—Han Jun (pseudonym). He went to Shanghai to start a company these past few years, he's back to visit my mother. This is Xiao Chen (me), my brother." I shook hands with Han Jun. They were carrying quite a few bags, and I politely led them into the ward.

Unexpectedly, as soon as we entered, Old Zhang's face changed drastically upon seeing my wife's bed. He grabbed me nervously, repeatedly saying, "Are you kidding me? How can she stay in this bed? Change her immediately, change her immediately..."

Han Jun and I were both puzzled. What was going on?

At first, I thought he felt the ward wasn't comfortable enough (my wife was in a large ward directly opposite the nurses' station with six beds and an extra bed in the middle, so it was quite crowded and messy). I quickly reassured him, "It's okay, Brother Zhang, it's just for a few days, you'll get through it."

His face was still very grim. "No, you have to change beds immediately. I'll explain why later, but find someone to change beds right now."

I was in a dilemma. Seeing him like this, I knew something was wrong; otherwise, given his personality, he wouldn't make this request without reason. But with so many people around, I couldn't press him. I could only say, "How about tomorrow? The doctors have all gone home."

Unexpectedly, he insisted, "It's okay, I'll find someone for you, you have to change beds immediately." He then pulled out his phone and started searching for contacts.

At this moment, Han Jun also stepped forward and asked, "Brother, what's going on?"

Brother Zhang looked at Han Jun, then around, and whispered, "Have you forgotten about Xiao Cui?"

Han Jun lowered his head and thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up. "Your driver? Is this the bed?"

Brother Zhang nodded.

Han Jun looked enlightened, while I was completely bewildered.

Han Jun stopped Zhang Ge's hand, which was about to make a call, and said, "Let me do it. You two talk to your wife for a while." He

then took out his phone and walked out of the ward. Zhang Ge's expression softened. "Oh right, how could I forget him? He has better connections in this matter."

I couldn't help but wonder, "Isn't Han Jun from out of town? How come he has more connections here than you?"

"He's a local. He only went to Shanghai last year. Don't let his status as a businessman fool you; his network is wider than mine, even as an official."

"Oh."

At this moment, my wife also got up to greet us. So, we chatted politely by the bedside for about ten minutes before Han Jun led a doctor in.

The doctor shook hands with us. After a few words, he asked a nurse to move my wife to a small ward next door. After settling in, the doctor said goodbye and was about to leave. Han Jun chased after him down the corridor, trying to put something in the doctor's hand, but the doctor repeatedly refused, saying, "No, no, this was arranged by Dean Zhao himself." In the end, the doctor didn't accept it.

After leaving the hospital, the three of us drove straight to a restaurant we used to frequent. Zhang Ge had a somber face the whole way and barely spoke, so I didn't ask too many questions. I just chatted with Han Jun about Shanghai's customs and culture. But Han Jun seemed a little distracted.

When we arrived at the restaurant and sat down in a private room, the atmosphere improved somewhat. As Zhang Ge and I drank, we chatted about his recuperation. Han Jun, who was driving, kept us company with a soft drink. Seeing that everyone's mood had improved, I couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Zhang Ge, why did you insist on changing beds earlier? Is something wrong? Can you tell me?"

Zhang Ge put down his glass, sighed, and said, "It's a pretty tragic thing. Let me tell you, just as a story..."

For ease of narration, I will now tell Zhang Ge's story in the first person.

I (Zhang Ge) was discharged from the army in 1998 and returned to my hometown to work for a state-owned enterprise. In 2002, I was transferred from a grassroots unit to the head office's environmental protection department as director. After arriving at the new unit, due to work reasons, the company assigned me a car and driver.

Xiao Cui was my personal driver. The young man was born in 1982 and had only recently started working. Later, I learned that his parents were actually former employees of my old workplace. They knew me too, and the elderly couple were known as kind and good people. Because of this connection, Xiao Cui privately called me "Uncle Zhang."

My first impression of Xiao Cui was good. Although he was tall and strong, I could tell at a glance he was very introverted and shy. I still remember the way he scratched his head and grinned sheepishly in front of me during our first meeting.

During the years he drove for me, I saw many virtues in him that are lacking in today's young people: he was diligent, filial, kind, and family-oriented. He didn't have any of the vices like smoking, drinking, or gambling. When we went to meetings, while other drivers either slept or played cards, he would always be smiling as he cleaned the car or quietly reading a book; my car was always spotless. After every dinner, he would collect the leftover cigarettes and alcohol and take them home to his father. Sometimes, he would immediately take the conference gifts I gave him to his parents. At work, he was always there for anyone, whether it was for work or personal matters. He wasn't talkative, always smiling, and had a good temper with everyone. So when he had his accident, no one could believe he could have such a violent side.

What moved me most was his kindness. Once, when we were out, there was a car accident ahead, and our car was stuck in traffic. When he saw an elderly person who was also injured, he immediately got out of the car, carried the elderly person, and ran three kilometers to get them to the hospital. When others praised him, he still just scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

PS: When Brother Zhang told this story, I could clearly see tears welling up in his eyes.

One day in April 2005, Xiao Cui came to me with a happy face and told me that he was getting married on May Day and hoped I would be his witness. I readily agreed and asked about the woman's situation. It turned out that because Xiao Cui was introverted, his parents felt that few girls in the city would be willing to marry someone like him. So they asked someone from their rural hometown to introduce him to a woman surnamed "Ma" (when Brother Zhang first mentioned this woman, I could clearly feel his anger and disdain). Xiao Cui met her a few times and had a good impression of her. Both sets of parents were also quite satisfied. Moreover, Xiao Cui's parents promised to find Ma (let's use this name to refer to her) a job in the city after the marriage. And so the marriage was arranged.

At Xiao Cui's wedding during the May Day holiday, I met Ma. Although she came from the countryside, she was quite beautiful, no wonder Xiao Cui was so happy. It was just that her eyes made me uncomfortable; she didn't seem like a stable person to me. And her family didn't seem like kind people either, but on such a joyous occasion, I couldn't say much, only offering my blessings.

At the wedding banquet, I sat next to Xiao Cui's parents. Through conversation, I learned that the elderly couple had almost spent their entire life savings on Xiao Cui's wedding. The engagement and dowry alone amounted to over ten thousand yuan. Fortunately, they didn't need to buy a house (the state-owned enterprise provided subsidized housing; Xiao Cui is an only child, so the three of them pooled their housing provident funds for the down payment and then took out a housing provident fund loan to buy a three-bedroom apartment).

Another incident happened at the wedding banquet: a young woman from my workplace, surnamed Wang, a typist, got very drunk and started crying uncontrollably. That's when we learned that she had long liked Xiao Cui, but he was too quiet and she too reserved. And so we missed our chance. Later, news of Xiao Cui's accident came, and Xiao Wang, now a wife, broke down in tears in her office. If any of us had seen through it back then and tried to bring them together, perhaps the tragedy wouldn't have happened.

After the marriage, Xiao Cui's parents first got Ma "employee dependent" status, and then asked someone to arrange a job for her in the company cafeteria. I also specifically spoke to my former colleague's successor about this, and things went smoothly.

In August 2006, Xiao Cui's child was born, a boy. I even personally went to congratulate him on his one-month birthday. That year, Xiao Cui smiled more often. We were all happy for him.

At the end of that year, Xiao Cui came to my office, looking hesitant. After I pressed him repeatedly, he finally explained his purpose. It turned out that Ma was working in the cafeteria, earning little money and doing a lot of work. After her maternity leave, she didn't want to go back to work and insisted on opening a clothing store. Xiao Cui had no choice but to ask me for help. So I did something I'll regret for the rest of my life: I helped Xiao Cui.

PS: At this point, Brother Zhang slammed his wine glass to the ground.

Through my connections, I helped Xiao Cui secure a shop, obtain the business and tax certificates, and even found suppliers. Han Jun also helped with this. (PS: Han Jun nodded in agreement.)

Two other things happened during the process. Once, when Xiao Cui handed over the documents, I couldn't help but ask, "The money was all borrowed from your parents, so why is your wife listed as the legal representative? You need to be more careful." He just chuckled sheepishly. "Uncle Zhang, it's okay, we're all family." Later, my worries proved true.

Another time, I found a vasectomy slip in Xiao Cui's household registration book. I showed him the slip and asked what happened. He blushed and repeatedly said he'd forgotten to take it out. Finally, he told me that Ma felt uncomfortable wearing condoms, and he was afraid of the pain of getting an IUD, so Xiao Cui had to get a vasectomy. I was speechless and could only shake my head repeatedly.

In early 2007, the clothing store opened.

After the store opened, I clearly noticed that Xiao Cui lacked energy at work and looked haggard. I asked him what was wrong, and he repeatedly apologized. It turned out that Ma was so focused on the shop that he sometimes didn't even come home at night. Xiao Cui's mother helped take care of the child during the day, but Xiao Cui insisted on taking

care of the child alone at night to avoid tiring his parents. I criticized Xiao Cui for the first time, telling him that it's very dangerous for a driver to drive while fatigued if he doesn't get enough rest. The consequence of this criticism was that Xiao Cui's father took early retirement to help take care of the child. But Xiao Cui smiled less. Perhaps the burdens of life had matured this once cheerful young man.

Later, as the child grew older, Xiao Cui's burden lessened, and he smiled more often. But I could still see the weariness behind his smiles.

By March 2009, the smile on Xiao Cui's face had completely disappeared, replaced by red eyes and a face full of sorrow. I repeatedly pressed him for answers, but all he did was cry and shake his head. Once, I even saw bandages wrapped around his arm. When I asked him about it, he remained silent. In his eyes, I seemed to see despair and a sense of giving up.

Because my workplace was preparing for an inspection from the department, and there was a lot of work, I decided to visit his home after I finished these few days. Unexpectedly, the incident happened the very next day.

That evening, after dinner, I didn't call a taxi and walked to work overtime. Just as I sat down in my office, my phone rang. I saw it was Xiao Cui. I answered, and Xiao Cui's voice was hoarse, "Uncle Zhang, I've killed someone. I killed the horse, I cut off its head. I'm definitely not going to live. Please help me with the work, and please take care of my parents. I will repay your kindness in my next life..." (

Note: Zhang's tears finally fell, and his story stopped. The private room was silent except for the sound of Zhang drinking heavily.

) (Note: Zhang couldn't speak for a long time, seemingly unwilling to continue. I drank several more glasses with him before he calmed down and slowly began to speak again.)

Listening to Xiao Cui's incoherent words on the phone, I felt a storm raging inside me, a chill running down my spine. I thought, "This is it, something terrible must have happened.

" Xiao Cui kept repeating himself on the other end, not giving me a chance to interrupt. I could clearly sense that he had completely lost control of his emotions. I steadied myself and yelled into the phone, "Shut up! Tell me where you are? What happened?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end. I was frantic. "Speak! Speak! Xiao Cui, speak!"

"Uncle Zhang, I'm finished. I don't know how this happened. I really don't know what will happen to Mom and Dad, what will happen to Mao Mao (Xiao Cui's child)? Uncle Zhang, you have to help me take care of them. I have no siblings, and I don't know how to get along with people, so I have no good friends. I can only beg you..." His voice choked with sobs; he was crying as he spoke.

“Xiao Cui, calm down. No matter what’s wrong, Uncle Zhang will definitely help you, but you need to tell me what happened.”

“Don’t ask, Uncle Zhang, don’t ask. I have some things to do now, I don’t have much time.”

“Where are you?”

The phone went dead. I tried again, but it was switched off.

I was trying to calm myself down when my phone rang again. I picked it up and saw it was Lao He from the “Security Department.” As soon

as I answered, I heard Lao He’s urgent voice, “Director Zhang, your driver has killed someone, come quickly!”

“Where are you?”

“At ## Hospital. I just happened to be visiting someone and ran into him.” (ps: I understand now.)

“Where is he?”

“He came downstairs covered in blood, I don’t know where he went.”

I hung up and ran downstairs.

Half an hour later, when I arrived at the hospital, the police were already there. I followed a large group of police officers to the sixth floor, where the scene had been cordoned off.

Just as I was getting anxious and couldn't get in, I suddenly saw Lao Wei. Lao Wei was my comrade-in-arms from when we were in the army, and we later transferred back to civilian life together. Now he's the political commissar of the public security bureau. He was directing operations at the scene, so I quickly called him over, pulled him aside, and whispered the situation to him.

As Lao Wei led me into the scene, he whispered to me, "It's too horrific inside. That kid reported it himself, but when we got here, he ran away again. Another group is heading to his house."

I've been in the army, experienced life and death, and seen dead people more than once, but when I saw the scene in the ward, I was still shocked

. Bloodstains were everywhere, a headless corpse lay face down on the bed, and a head rolled under another bed. A kitchen knife lay in the middle of the ward, and even with my good eyesight, I could see the curled blade.

Looking at all this, my heart sank, and my mind went blank. I just kept muttering, "How could this happen? How could this happen...?"

Lao Wei answered a phone call, glancing at me repeatedly as he spoke. After hanging up the phone, he kept staring at me. Finally, he pulled me out of the ward, handed me a cigarette, lit it, and then slowly said, "We just got a message from over there."

"Did they catch him?"

"He jumped from the fifth floor of his apartment. When our people arrived, he was already confirmed dead."

"Ah!" I turned to leave, but Lao Wei grabbed me. "I'll take you there."

I turned to look at him, and he shook his head. "I saw that young man when I was at your place. He seemed like a very honest person. How could he..."

PS: At this point, I completely understood why Brother Zhang insisted on changing beds.

When we arrived downstairs at Xiao Cui's apartment, Xiao Cui had already been put into a body bag by the funeral home and was about to be carried away. Lao Wei stepped forward to stop him, then opened the body bag and gestured for me to take a look. By the light from upstairs, I carefully examined the face

I had known day and night. The familiar,憨笑 (simple and honest smile) was gone from his face; the lines were so hard, and his wide-open eyes stared silently at the night sky.

I reached out and gently touched his eyelids, feeling how cold they were.

As I gently stroked his eyelids, I whispered, "Don't worry, I'll take care of them for you."

A few minutes later, with my final gentle touch, he finally closed his eyes.

After Xiao Cui was carried away, I sat on the steps, and Lao Wei silently kept me company while I smoked. Soon after, a policeman came to report. It turned out that Xiao Cui had come home to organize his valuables and place them in a conspicuous place so his parents could find them.

Over the next few days, through the accounts of Xiao Cui's parents, and the information Lao Wei gathered through statements (this is crucial) and witness testimonies, I learned the truth.

Xiao Cui's parents were kind-hearted people who taught him from a young age to be kind and tolerant. Over time, this fostered Xiao Cui's introverted yet kind personality. Although not good at socializing, he longed for closeness. In his mind, everyone who was willing to be close to him was a good person, and he wanted to repay them many times over.

Marrying Ma, in Xiao Cui's eyes, meant gaining another close person besides his parents. He was willing to give everything to be good to Ma; not good at expressing himself, he could only prove it through his actions.

After marriage, Xiao Cui took on almost all the housework. According to neighbors, Xiao Cui not only washed Ma's underwear but also frequently washed her feet. Ma loved shrimp, so Xiao Cui bought it for her every few days. Once, a neighbor witnessed Xiao Cui peeling and placing all the shrimp in Ma's bowl on a large plate. Ma eventually stopped eating, and Xiao Cui only ate a few shrimp heads.

Ma was initially content, and they were happy until their child was born. However,

while Ma was in postpartum confinement, her younger brother came to borrow money for his wedding, asking for 50,000 yuan. Xiao Cui scraped together 30,000 yuan, but Ma's brother was dissatisfied. As a result, Ma's parents called and complained to her.

This sparked Ma's desire to earn money. This is why she decided to open a shop.

It must be admitted that Ma is a very capable woman. With her hard work and the help of some friends, she did earn some money in just over two years. After the incident, according to the police, the shop's accounts and inventory totaled over one million yuan, and she had even bought a Hyundai sedan.

During this time, Xiao Cui continued to take care of her family and support her, but Ma's heart gradually drifted away from home. She would always throw tantrums when she returned, and eventually wouldn't let Xiao Cui handle the shop's accounts. Xiao Cui didn't mind, assuming Ma was just tired from working outside, and always comforted her.

In early 2008, things changed. A thug set his sights on Ma. This man, surnamed Gu, was around thirty years old, unemployed, and had been imprisoned for theft. After his release, he relied on his parents for support, spending his days scamming people for food and drink.

One day, Gu saw Ma while accompanying someone shopping for clothes. Seeing that she was beautiful and had money, he wanted to seduce her. After that, he frequently came to the shop under various pretexts to find Ma. At first, Ma ignored him. So Gu devised a plan, arranging for some of his cronies to cause trouble at the shop, which he then used to stage a "hero saves the damsel in distress." (This is all from Gu's confession afterward.)

Because of this incident, the two became friends. After they started dating, Gu used all the tricks he had learned from society and television to woo women on Ma. He would send her sweet text messages one day and flowers the next, and Ma quickly fell for him. The two became lovers.

Gu's sweet words made Ma dizzy. She not only bought Gu clothes and a cell phone, but also frequently gave him money. According to Gu's confession, during the year they were together, Gu took at least 200,000 yuan in cash from Ma.

During this time, Xiao Cui had to work during the day and take care of the children at night, so she didn't have much energy to pay attention to Ma and didn't notice anything unusual about her.

After tasting the sweetness of Ma's life, especially after learning about Ma's approximate assets, Gu was no longer satisfied with just making some money. He decided to completely possess Ma and her money. After getting to know Xiao Cui's temperament and personality, he became even more determined.

So Gu started demanding a divorce from Ma. Unable to withstand Gu's relentless nagging, Ma filed for divorce from Xiao Cui after the 2009 Spring Festival, citing irreconcilable differences. Initially, Xiao Cui thought she was in the wrong and refused, repeatedly apologizing. At this point, Ma, seeing the children, seemed to regret his actions. Gu, realizing Ma was considering returning, personally intervened, describing the wonderful future together to solidify Ma's resolve, while simultaneously calling Xiao Cui to tell her about their affair. Xiao Cui then realized

the truth. Despite her immense pain upon learning the truth, Xiao Cui made a final effort to win Ma back for the sake of the children. But this only made Ma more contemptuous.

Having already broken off relations, Ma and Gu became even more brazen. Not only did Ma cause trouble at home daily, but the two of them also frequently went to Xiao Cui's house together, pressuring her to divorce him. The division of property was even more outrageous. Aside from the company-provided apartment, all other assets, including the car and shop, were to go to

Ma. Even the family savings (which were Xiao Cui's personal savings; Ma never contributed money from the shop) were to be split equally. These demands were recorded in the "divorce agreement" later found by the police. To keep Ma in the game, Gu even orchestrated her pregnancy.

Ma's pregnancy drove Xiao Cui to despair, and he agreed to all of Ma's demands. They also agreed to go through the divorce proceedings.

Although painful, things hadn't reached a dead end. However, Ma's hospital checkup results changed everything.

It revealed an ectopic pregnancy. This woman brazenly demanded that Xiao Cui accompany her to the surgery and care for her in the hospital, claiming that the divorce proceedings weren't finalized and that Xiao Cui was a good caregiver.

His wife was pregnant with another man's child, and he was expected to care for her. Xiao Cui felt incredibly humiliated, yet he couldn't bear to abandon her. Although he agreed, he was in so much pain that he had nowhere to vent his anger, so he took a kitchen knife and slashed his own arm. His parents, who had come to visit, witnessed this. The elderly couple took the knife from him and bandaged his arm. Faced with this situation, the old couple could only weep, unable to offer any words of comfort. Before leaving, fearing that Xiao Cui might do something foolish again, his mother took the kitchen knife with her. But she probably didn't realize that her action would make the situation even more irreversible.

After Ma was hospitalized, he needed to be observed for a few days before surgery, so Xiao Cui was responsible for delivering his meals. That afternoon, after getting his meal from the company cafeteria, Xiao Cui drove to the hospital to deliver it. Passing a hardware store, he remembered that his mother had taken the kitchen knife. He was afraid of worrying his mother if he went to get it, but it was inconvenient to cook without it, so he went in and bought a new kitchen knife, putting it in his bag. After leaving, he felt very guilty for causing his parents so much worry, so he called his father, comforted him, and told him that he had bought another kitchen knife but would never do anything foolish again.

After taking care of Ma at the hospital and finishing her meal, Xiao Cui was peeling an apple for Ma by the bedside when Gu swaggered in.

As soon as Gu entered, she and Ma began flirting and cuddling, oblivious to everyone else. It was as if Xiao Cui didn't even exist. The other people in the ward and the nurses were stunned by the relationship between the three. Xiao Cui's face flushed red; she wanted nothing more than to leave. Ma then ordered Xiao Cui to offer Gu a seat, pour water, and get fruit. It was truly baffling whether this woman had any heart. Xiao Cui forced herself to obey Ma's orders.

Seeing Xiao Cui's submissive demeanor, Gu became even more smug, disregarding the presence of onlookers, and began to mock Xiao Cui, "You'd better put in more effort and get her well so we can go live together."

"I'll take good care of her out of consideration for our marriage. We'll go through the paperwork once she's discharged," Xiao Cui tried to maintain her last shred of dignity.

"I asked you to take care of her out of pity. Cherish this opportunity; it's your best chance to be together."

"In these past few years of marriage, I've given her almost my entire heart, and she treats me like this. She'll treat you the same way in the future."

Gu scoffed, "Do you think everyone is like you, unable to keep your wife? You're a complete coward."

Those around them, understanding their relationship from their conversation, looked at them with strange eyes. Ma, feeling embarrassed, urged Gu to leave. Gu left with the words, "Come back tomorrow," and swaggered away.

At that moment, Xiao Cui's mind was filled with Gu's words, "Unable to keep your wife, a complete coward," and the strange looks from those around him made him afraid to even lift his head.

Where there are many people, there are many gossips. In no time, almost everyone in the ward knew about it, and many people from other wards also rushed to the door to see what was going on. Low murmurs echoed down the corridor.

Seeing this, Ma simply lay down on the bed and pretended to be asleep. Xiao Cui stood by the bed with his head down, and no one knew what he was thinking.

When he finally raised his head, his bloodshot eyes met the eyes of two nurses who were curiously peering in from the doorway. The curious, pitying, disdainful, and even contemptuous looks in other people's eyes stung him again. After the nurses turned and ran away, the mocking laughter coming from the nurses' station and the pointing and whispering of others finally snapped his last thread of reason. He pulled a kitchen knife from his bag and viciously slashed at Ma's neck.

After Ma's head rolled to the ground, Xiao Cui stood in the center of the ward, knife in hand, glaring fiercely at everyone. He shouted, "Who dares to laugh at me for being a coward?"

Everyone present was stunned. Someone wanted to call the police, but "Nobody's allowed to call. I

'll handle this myself." Old Wei told me about what happened in the ward and about Gu after the case was closed. After recounting the events, Old Wei sighed deeply, "I understand why he acted so impulsively back then. It's like when we were in recruit camp, the instructors would yell at us all the time. Extreme humiliation can unleash a person's hidden bloodlust and bestiality. You know, according to eyewitness testimonies and the forensic examination, Xiao Cui slashed once. How much force did he use? With a small kitchen knife, he chopped off a person's head in one stroke..."

After Old Wei left, I sat alone in my office, lost in thought. I imagined that slash. I think I can understand. Any man, no matter how introverted, kind, or shy, has a thirst for revenge within him. That slash was filled with indignation at the humiliation, a resolute rejection of shame, and a denial of his past beliefs. That's why that strike was so ruthless.

I know he wasn't trying to get revenge on anyone; otherwise, he would have chosen to chop Gu instead of Ma. He was just desperately trying to regain some dignity to keep himself from collapsing. After exhausting his last bit of courage, he realized that regaining dignity couldn't give him the courage to live, because he had lost all will to live, so he chose death.

PS: Brother Zhang finally finished speaking.

The table fell silent. Brother Zhang was processing his emotions, while I was silently reflecting.

After a while, Han Jun, perhaps because he already knew about this, was the first to come to his senses. Seeing the somber atmosphere, he spoke first, "Alright, it's all in the past, let's not talk about it anymore. If you ask me, Xiao Cui was impulsive. No matter how much courage you have, you can't lose your mind. There are many ways to get revenge on someone, why drag yourself down with him?"

Brother Zhang glared at him fiercely, "I said, he wasn't trying to get revenge on anyone, he just..."

"Okay, okay, okay, brother, you're right. We came out to have fun, let's not talk about sad things." Han Jun repeatedly admitted his mistake.

"Why don't you tell us your sad story, let us have a laugh, and let my brother see what's going on. It'll show us that a rational jerk is the scariest."

Han Jun thought for a moment, then got up, took off his coat, and called the waiter for drinks and glasses.

"It's been years, nothing to be sad about anymore. Xiao Chen doesn't seem like a stranger, so let's talk about it. But we need to have a drink. Let's make it clear the car can't be driven; we'll all take taxis home later."

After a few drinks, Han Jun began his story.

I should have written about Han Jun's story, but I didn't know how to begin. His story wasn't as tragic as Xiao Cui's, but it was much more complicated. Because it was told by the person involved, the process was even more fascinating. Since I had drunk quite a bit while listening, and so much time had passed, I'd forgotten many details. I'll try to recall them carefully and try to make the story more engaging.

PS: I'll still use the first person to tell Han Jun's story.

My cousin just called me a "rational jerk." Actually, that's how I would describe myself. What is "rationality"? According to the dictionary, it's: a person's ability to recognize, understand, think, and make decisions. But I interpret these concepts separately. "Reason" means being reasonable, though often this reasoning might just be my own, or even flawed. But that doesn't matter; as long as there's reason, I can act with conviction. "Wisdom" means acting with intelligence; as long as the goal is achieved, any means necessary. These two points should explain why I'm a scoundrel, right?

My personality is partly due to my family background. I was born in 1970, and my parents were engineers with technical backgrounds. They taught me from a young age to be organized and planned, to analyze problems before solving them, and to be kind and generous.

Unfortunately, I only learned their methods, not their principles of conduct. You could say my personality is somewhat obsessive.

In 1988, I entered a university in Beijing. The following year, 1989, I was expelled from school for participating in the political turmoil of May and June, but thankfully it wasn't recorded in my file.

In 1990, I returned to my alma mater to repeat my senior year of high school, where I met my future wife, Mei. We sat at desks next to each other and didn't interact much. Our main conversations were about university life, which she often asked me.

That same year, I was admitted to a university in Qingdao. During my second year of university, in the winter break of 1992, I met Mei again while visiting my teachers for the Spring Festival. I learned that she had only been admitted to a local ordinary junior college.

After this encounter, we began corresponding. A year later, Mei graduated first. Through her parents' connections, she was assigned to the personnel department of a second-tier unit of a state-owned enterprise. A year later, I also graduated and was assigned back to my hometown. My workplace was another second-tier unit of the same state-owned enterprise, very close by, but I started as a technician at the grassroots level.

That year, Mei and I also started dating.

After several years of dating, we got married in 1998, and in 1999 we had our daughter—Shuangshuang. Life continued peacefully until 2005. After starting a family, I spent all my time at home except for work. Because I've always thought that this is a social unit I built with my own hands, a place I'll spend the rest of my life in, and when I look back on my life in old age, this will be my proudest achievement.

During this time, Mei's job remained unchanged, while I, due to my outstanding work, joined the Party, and the Organization Department had spoken with me several times, planning to transfer me to a higher position. Both sets of parents retired and went home, and Mei's younger brother, after graduating from university, worked and got married in Jinan. The most important thing was that my older brother resigned in 1998 to start a business. He needed 500,000 yuan in registered capital, and my parents took out all their savings, raising 300,000 yuan, and asked for 40% of the shares. They explained to my brother that these shares were to be left to me in the future. (My parents couldn't help but love their youngest son). My brother, through his studies and work...

Thanks to the interpersonal relationships I cultivated, the company grew rapidly within a few years, reaching tens of millions in assets by the time of my divorce. However, I didn't tell Mei about the shares. At the time, I felt it wasn't honorable to take money from my parents, and besides, it would be a pleasant surprise when I actually inherited it, so I kept quiet. But this decision gave me the means to retaliate.

My—or rather, "our"—good days came to an end in April 2005.

It was a Wednesday afternoon, near the end of the workday, when my colleague Xiao Wu, having won several thousand yuan in the lottery, insisted on taking everyone out for dinner and karaoke to celebrate. I asked around and found out the place was close to my parents' house, so I called Mei to tell her I was going home tonight to stay with them and see my daughter (my parents have been helping take care of her since they retired, only bringing her home on weekends). She asked when I was coming home, and I said I could only go back tomorrow night (they work for dual-income families in state-owned enterprises, and housing is allocated based on the wife's workplace, so our house is very close to her workplace, only a five or six-minute walk, but it's farther from mine, a twenty-minute motorcycle ride, so I usually don't go home for lunch).

After drinking that night, my stomach felt very uncomfortable. I forced myself to stay out with everyone until I got home to my parents' house, then collapsed onto the bed. The pain started in the middle of the night, but I didn't want to disturb my parents, so I gritted my teeth and endured it until dawn.

When I got to work, the pain got worse, so I had to ask for leave. Little did I know that this unexpected trip home would be a major turning point in my life.

When I finally reached my door, clutching my stomach, it was already past nine in the morning. I took out my key to open the door. Hmm. Why won't it turn? Is it locked from the inside? "Is Mei home?

" Mei's voice came from inside. "Who is it?"

"It's me, open the door." I was impatient because of my stomachache.

"Ah, wait a minute, I'm in the bathroom."

About five or six minutes later, just as I was about to bang on the door again, it opened. Mei looked flustered. "Why are you back now? Aren't you at work?"

"I took the day off because of my stomachache. Why aren't you at work? Why did you lock the door?"

"I came back to get something, and I guess it's a habit, I just locked the door. Should I take you to the hospital now?"

"No need, I've already bought medicine. Don't worry about it, just lie down for a bit."

I went to the bedroom to lie down, only to find the blankets on the bed still messily spread out. "Why didn't you make the blankets?"

"Oh, I overslept this morning. Go to the sofa first, I'll tidy it up."

"Never mind, I'll just lie down for a bit, I'll talk to you when I get up."

My stomachache made me forget everything else, and I collapsed onto the bed. When I reached under the blankets, I was stunned. Wait, why are the blankets warm?

Just as I was trying to figure it out, several shouts suddenly came from outside the window: "What are you doing? What are you doing up there?"

Then I heard a short "Ah!" from the window, followed by a series of crashes downstairs, and finally a person's groan of pain.

I jumped out of bed, pulled back the curtains and opened the window (I live on the second floor, and because it's a self-built community by my workplace, the security is good, so we didn't install security bars on the windows). I peeked out and saw a man lying almost shirtless in the courtyard downstairs, groaning while hugging one leg. Hmm? He wasn't wearing shoes. The flowers planted on the first floor were also smashed and scattered around. There were also a few pieces of clothing and shoes lying nearby. Looking out of the courtyard, I saw two or three old men wearing red armbands looking up. Seeing me peek out, they shouted, "There was a guy outside your window, one foot on the windowsill, both hands hanging from your air conditioner. We yelled and he fell down. Was he a thief?"

I looked down again to see who it was. Hmm, I recognized him. I'd seen him when I went to Mei's workplace to pick up New Year's goods. He was a section chief who'd been transferred there last year; I'd forgotten his last name.

I glanced at Mei, who was squeezed next to me, peering down. She looked at me too, her face pale, her eyes darting around. I understood immediately.

My stomach was hurting even more, damn it. I was drenched in sweat and felt like I couldn't even stand. I yelled downstairs, "Call the police!"

Mei quickly grabbed my clothes, "No, please don't call the police."

The stomach pain was making it impossible for me to think. I collapsed onto the bed, curled up in a ball, and with my last bit of strength said, "Get out."

I heard Mei open the door and run out, and then I seemed to fall into a coma. In my hazy state, I vaguely heard a lot of noise outside, the sound of an ambulance, then someone calling me, and then someone carrying me...

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a hospital room. Xiao Wu and Xiao Yang from my workplace were beside me. Seeing that I was awake, Xiao Wu quickly helped me up. "I'm sorry, Brother Han, I really shouldn't have let you drink so much last night."

"It's not your fault, it's because I haven't been sleeping well these past few days. How did you get here? How did I get here?"

"Your wife called us. When we got to your house, you were unconscious, which scared us, so we quickly carried you to the clinic."

"Carried you here?" I asked, looking around.

"Yes, thankfully it's not far. You should find your wife. She said there was an emergency at work, and after you got your injection, she asked us to stay with you."

I checked my watch; it was already noon. I tried it; my stomach still hurt, but I could bear it. Seeing that the IV drip was finished, I got out of bed and called to Xiao Wu and Xiao Yang, "Come on, let's go eat."

"Brother Han, no, we went out to eat earlier. The doctor said you can only eat liquids now. I brought you some porridge; eat it while it's hot. There's also the prescribed medicine."

I slowly finished the porridge, feeling much better. I said goodbye to the doctor and asked them to take me home. They dropped me off at my door and then rushed off to work.

I opened the door and went inside. No one was home. There was a note on the living room table. I picked it up: "Han Jun, you already know, right? I'm going to stay at a friend's house for a couple of days. Let's both calm down. Mei."

I sat down on the sofa. Calm down. I needed to calm down. I had encountered a life-changing event; I couldn't panic. I tried to remain calm and closed my eyes to think.

The situation was clear. I had encountered the thing every man dreads most.

What was the cause? I didn't know; I needed to investigate.

Now that I knew, what should I do? Two choices: endure it? Or not? Well, no matter the reason, I absolutely cannot endure it. That's my principle.

Okay, if I can't endure it, then divorce is the only option. What needs to be addressed in a divorce?

There are probably two aspects: people and property.

Let's think about the people first, the adulterer. We'll make a decision after the investigation is complete. As for family, we'll talk to Mei's family after she returns, and we need to appease our own family first. We must find a way to keep our daughter.

As for property, I've always controlled the family finances, so I'm not worried. Let's figure out the reasons first and then see their attitude.

What else? Right, the impact. This matter has already blown up. In a couple of days, everyone at work will know. I consider myself very proud. Can I bear the strange looks from others and continue going to work? It seems I need to think of a way out. This is also good preparation for dealing with the adulterer in the future. Once I take action, I can't let myself be restrained. Fortunately, I can go to my brother's company.

So what do I need to do immediately? Hmm, notify my parents, keep our daughter, and secure our money.

I opened my eyes, got up, and first called my father, "Dad, go to the kindergarten right now and pick Shuangshuang up. Don't let Mei take her. I'll explain why when I get home."

Then I called my workplace and asked for three days off. After that, I opened the closet, packed up my bankbooks, receipts, and documents, put them in my bag, got up, and left.

I closed the door and started walking down the stairs. After descending three steps, my body involuntarily stopped. It felt like something was slipping away from my heart, as if I had left something very important at home. What was it?

I stood there blankly for a moment, then turned back and gently opened the door. From the entryway, through the kitchen, bathroom, children's bedroom, our bedroom, balcony, living room… I wandered slowly through the house, my eyes scanning the surroundings, my hands stroking the furniture…

Everything here was something I had painstakingly arranged, piece by piece. It was the culmination of years of hard work, the anchor of my spirit, my haven, my entire life, the place I wanted to cherish for the rest of my life… I knew I was about to lose it.

When my gaze finally settled on the family photo on the wall, the sadness I had been suppressing finally broke free. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I stared at the three smiling faces for a long time, their smiles blurred yet clear through the tears… "

Make another choice," I silently told myself.

Dignity or love? To give up or to try to hold on?

To make a choice, I had to ask myself honestly: Can I overcome this hurdle of inner shame? Is happiness achieved by abandoning dignity still happiness? Can a salvaged relationship still last? Will there still be trust and sincerity between us in the future? ...

I asked myself these questions again and again, but the answer to every single one was no.

It seemed I only had one choice. I couldn't hesitate any longer. I wouldn't hesitate any longer.

I clenched my fists. Since life had played a joke on me, I would let it play even bigger. I would make everyone involved experience the harshness of life in this joke.

I knew the stubborn side of my personality had erupted, but I wouldn't restrain myself anymore.

This time, I walked out resolutely, without looking back .

The sun was shining brightly outside, but I couldn't feel it. The only thing I could feel was the gathering darkness within my heart...

When I arrived at my parents' house, my father had already brought his daughter back. Both of them looked anxious, but their tense expressions relaxed slightly when they saw me calmly walk into the house.

Looking at the concerned expressions on the elderly couple's faces, I truly didn't know how to begin, how to make them accept the truth.

I led my daughter to the small room and let her draw there.

Returning to the living room, the elderly couple were already sitting nervously on the sofa, their faces full of inquiry, yet they dared not ask, only staring intently at me.

I took a deep breath and sat down in front of them.

"Dad, Mom, I want a divorce."

"Why? What conflict can't be resolved? Did you do something outrageous?" My mother began to question me, while my father stared intently at me.

I lowered my head, covered my face with my hands, and slowly told them what had happened that morning.

After I finished, they were silent for a long time, both looking shocked. I knew it was hard for them to accept this fact. In their eyes, our family of three had always been happy, and Mei was a good daughter-in-law. Moreover, both families were quite traditional, and their relationship was excellent. In their minds, such a messy thing would never happen in their own family. When my brother went into business, their biggest worry wasn't losing money, but that my brother would go astray and affect the family. They never expected that my brother's family would remain stable, while the family they trusted most had changed.

After a long pause, my mother cautiously asked, "Is there some misunderstanding here? Xiaomei isn't that kind of person, is she?"

I didn't answer. My mother nudged my father, who took out a cigarette and took two deep drags. "Do her parents know?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, they probably don't. I haven't told them."

My father silently smoked again, pondered for a moment, and stared at me again. "Is there any possibility of turning back? Even for Shuangshuang's sake?"

I knew my father was asking about my attitude. If I still had any thoughts of reconciliation, he would immediately go to Mei, to Mei's parents, to help his son and granddaughter save their home.

I met his gaze with the same firmness. "It's impossible. I thought it through repeatedly before coming here. I will definitely stay with Shuangshuang."

My father saw determination in my bloodshot eyes. He seemed to lose all his spirit, his face turned ashen, he took a deep drag of his cigarette, and then coughed violently. I quickly got up to pat his back, while my mother busied herself getting water.

After he finished coughing, he drank some water, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes to rest. I stood beside him with my head down. After a while, he opened his eyes. "Xiaojun, you're still sick. Go

lie down for a bit. I'll call your brother back now. We'll discuss it when he gets back." I went to my daughter's room, hugged and kissed her, then lay down on her crib. Smelling her milky scent, exhausted, I fell asleep.

When my brother woke me up, my mother had already prepared dinner. I saw my sister-in-law and nephew at the table.

After dinner, my nephew took my daughter to play games, and we sat around in the living room.

After I recounted the events, my mother and sister-in-law started trying to persuade me, while my father and brother drank tea and thought it over.

Seeing that she couldn't persuade me, my sister-in-law pulled my brother aside, wanting him to say something too.

My brother looked at my father, and seeing that he didn't respond, he spoke up: "Don't try to persuade me anymore. I support Xiaojun's divorce."

My sister-in-law was furious, glaring at my brother. My brother waved his hand at her, signaling for quiet, and then continued, "I'm not saying this because Xiaomei made a mistake and I don't want to give her a chance. It's because this woman's heart isn't in the family anymore. That's why I support Xiaojun's divorce."

"How do you know her heart isn't in the family?" my sister-in-law retorted.

"Then let me ask you, when her husband was sick, who did she care about first? When her husband was still unconscious in the hospital, where was she? Has she even made a single phone call to ask about her husband's condition? Has she even made a single phone call to ask about her daughter's condition?"

Everyone fell silent, but I felt as if I had been stabbed twice more in the heart.

My brother then asked me, "Xiaojun, what do you plan to do?" "

Divorce. I want to keep Shuangshuang, get revenge, and not let them get away with it. Besides, I'm too ashamed to go to work anymore. I want to go to your place," I said, enunciating each word clearly.

“Fine, I support you. No one can get away with insulting my family, and no one can build their happiness on our family’s suffering. The company is half yours, so come if you want. If it weren’t for your promising career, I would have brought you here long ago,” my brother said indignantly.

“Alright, Xiaojun, if you don’t want to work anymore, go work for your brother and help him out,” my sister-in-law chimed in.

My mother hesitated, saying, “Xiaobing, Xiaojun, you two should think it over carefully.”

My brother waved his hand. “Dad, Mom, Xiaojun and I are adults. We know what we’re doing. Let’s handle our generation’s affairs ourselves. Don’t worry about it anymore. Get some rest. We’re going back now. Xiaojun, come to the company tomorrow morning, and I’ll discuss it with you in more detail.”

My parents sighed and fell silent.

Okay, with my brother’s help, the issues of appeasing my parents and finding a way out were resolved. Now it was my turn to take charge.

At night, as I lulled my daughter to sleep, I knelt beside her bed, gently stroking her head. My child, my little princess! Do you know the pain your father is going through? How can I ever make up for your suffering?

My daughter quietly felt my touch. Finally, she whispered, "Daddy, Uncle and Auntie came today, why didn't Mommy come?"

I was speechless. Okay, since the pain was inevitable, I'll try to lessen it with other emotions, even if it's a tragedy of human relationships. It's not my fault, it really isn't my fault. But why do I feel so heartbroken? Is it because I'm about to rob my daughter of her innocent childlike nature?

"Mommy won't be coming anymore."

"Why? Is it because Shuangshuang was naughty?"

"No, Shuangshuang is very good. It's because Mommy and bad people did things that hurt Daddy and Shuangshuang."

"What things? Were they bad?"

"They were bad things, very, very bad things. So bad that even Daddy can't forgive her."

"Then why did Mommy do them? Didn't she know she shouldn't do bad things?"

"She stayed with bad people and became a bad person too, that's why she did bad things. If we stay with Mommy, we'll become bad people too. Does Shuangshuang want to be a bad person?" "

Shuangshuang doesn't want to be a bad person, Shuangshuang wants to be a good person."

"Then let's not stay with Mommy anymore, okay? From now on, stay with Daddy, and Daddy will teach you to be a good person."

"What if Shuangshuang misses Mommy?"

"Treat her like a big bad guy, hate her, and you won't miss her."

What am I doing? What am I doing?

I'm depriving my daughter of her yearning for maternal love. I'm stifling her nature, I'm teaching her to despise her own mother.

My tears flowed uncontrollably.

My daughter saw my tears and, frightened, started crying too. Her little hands wiped away my tears. "Daddy, don't cry, Daddy, don't cry. Mommy hurt Daddy, Mommy is a big bad guy. Shuangshuang doesn't want Mommy anymore, Shuangshuang doesn't want Mommy anymore, Shuangshuang only wants Daddy."

I pressed my daughter's little hands to my face. "Baby, Daddy will always love you. You've lost Mommy. Daddy will love you twice as much."

"I love Daddy too, I want to love Daddy twice, no, many, many times more."

"Baby, thank you. From now on, it's just the two of us. We both have to be strong. Will you learn to be strong?"

"Shuangshuang wants to learn to be strong. Daddy will teach Shuangshuang."

"Okay, Daddy will teach you now. Being strong means that no matter how sad you are inside, even if you're still crying, you still have to smile on your face." As I spoke, I tried to force a smile.

My daughter also smiled. On two tearful smiling faces, one was confused, the other was determined.

"Ah, how ugly." I tickled her with my hand, and my daughter's giggles eased my pain tonight.

My daughter fell asleep, and I continued to gaze at her little face for a long time.

My angel, perhaps you are the only sunshine in my life from now on. I hope your presence can pull me back before I go completely mad.

When I looked up, I saw my mother standing in the doorway. I don't know how long she had been standing there. She looked at me silently, then gestured for me to come out. I followed my mother into the living room. My father had already gone back to his room to sleep. I wondered if he would be able to sleep tonight. Thinking of this, I felt another pang of sorrow.

My mother looked at me for a while longer before speaking: "You are teaching Shuangshuang to hate. You are teaching Shuangshuang to hate her mother."

“Yes, when that woman forgot her responsibilities as a mother and betrayed her family, her maternal love for Shuangshuang turned into harm, and Shuangshuang’s love and dependence on her became the source of her pain. I can only teach Shuangshuang to use hatred to protect herself from harm.”

I took a breath and continued, “Besides, in everyone’s growth, in addition to learning positive things like love, gratitude, and resilience, one must also learn negative things like hatred, jealousy, and compromise. Only in this way can one become a person who adapts to society. I don’t want her to learn these things so early, but what has happened now forces me to teach her now, otherwise I will lose her.”

My mother stared at me, “Xiaojun, do you really have to seek revenge like this? Don’t you think you’re being too extreme?”

I sneered, “Mom, how am I extreme? You taught me principles of conduct from a young age, told me the bottom line of morality, and now I’m upholding and maintaining these principles, how is that being extreme? Does abandoning principles of conduct, going along with those rotten people, or lowering the bottom line of morality and accepting the ugliness of the world mean I’m not being extreme?”

“I didn’t ask you to do that, I just wanted to say that one should have a tolerant heart.”

“I’m a Party member, I don’t believe in Buddhism or Jesus, so I don’t have a compassionate or tolerant heart, much less the grace to swallow insults. I’m just an ordinary person, not a saint. Therefore, if others treat me well, I will repay them with my conscience; if others treat me badly, I will repay them with equal malice. Anyone who tries to push me into the abyss, I will grab their legs and go down with them,”

my mother looked at me deeply, then shook her head and left.

I turned off the light, leaned back on the sofa, and stared blankly at the streetlights outside the window, loneliness enveloping me until dawn.

Before leaving, I repeatedly told my parents to leave Shuangshuang at home and not to go out yet.

When I arrived at the company, my brother was already waiting for me in the office.

When I came in, my brother saw I looked haggard and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Didn't you sleep all night? Do you want to rest?"

"It's nothing, I just couldn't sleep."

"You can't be like this. You need to find a way to adjust. There's no hurdle you can't overcome. How about I handle it? You just stay home and take care of the kids. These past few years I've had some peace and quiet, and now someone's actually bullying me

. I think they've forgotten that even when a lion is asleep, it's still a lion, and when it wakes up, it will bite." My brother used to be the leader of the local gangsters, and according to his friend, he was quite famous in the underworld. But after getting married, he immediately became a devoted family man.

"Brother, thank you, but no need. I already have a plan, and I want to do it my way. After all, to a large extent, it's my personal matter. You just need to handle some things for me. If I really can't handle it, I'll come to you again, okay?"

The brother thought for a moment, "Alright, I'll do it your way, but you must remember that we are brothers who share the same blood, and I will always be your support."

Our parents taught us to love each other from a young age, and the concept of family affection has long been ingrained in our bones.

"Okay, brother, thank you so much. I came today because I have a few things I'd like you to handle."

"Go ahead."

"First, my situation is definitely going to escalate. If Mom and Dad are still here, they'll be worried and upset, and Shuangshuang will be affected too."

"What are your thoughts?"

"Try arranging a trip for them, or if that doesn't work, let them go back to their hometown for a month." "

Okay, I'll arrange it. Qin Si (my brother's friend) runs a travel company, so just let him handle it. Try to get them gone by tomorrow. They can come back after this is over." "

Also, Shuangshuang is starting school in September, and I'd like her to study in another city." My

brother thought carefully. "Your sister-in-law's parents are in Shanghai, and I have a house there too. Let Mom and Dad take Shuangshuang there first. I'll find someone to help with the school. In a couple of years, when the company expands its business there, you can go too."

"That works too. I'll go and resign in the next few days and come over. What do you think I can do?"

"First, you can take on the title of vice president, get familiar with things by working with me, and then I'll hand over the business to you."

“Okay, let’s make it clear first. I won’t be able to come to work right now. We’ll start properly after I finish this. By the way, how much is my salary?”

“The company owns half of it. Theoretically, as long as it doesn’t affect operations, you can use whatever amount you want.”

“That’s not what I meant. My regular income is related to my plans. I need to know so I can make arrangements. Just treat me like an outsider. How much should I be paid for this position?”

“Then let’s start with a monthly salary of 20,000, with bonuses at the end of the year. If it’s not enough, just let me know.”

“That’s settled then. Can I borrow your car? I need to run some errands.”

My brother tossed me the keys, saying, "You haven't rested well, drive slowly."

With everything settled at home, it was time for me to find out what had happened.

I drove to Mei's office building, parked, and slowly strolled inside. It was rush hour, a bustling scene. I looked around, finally arriving at the "Government Information Disclosure Board" in the lobby.

I quickly found what I was looking for. Hmph, so the beast's name was "Wang Peng." His position? Section Chief. Age? Born in 1964, so he's 41. Looks like that's all the information I have.

I walked out of the lobby, leaned against a pillar by the entrance, and smoked. After a while, I finally saw a familiar face.

"Xiao Hou," I greeted a young man who had just come out of the office building. He was a colleague of Mei's from the same department and had even come to visit during the New Year.

Xiao Hou turned around, saw me, his expression changed, he looked around, and quickly walked over.

"Brother Han, what are you doing here?"

"Do you have time? I want to ask you something."

Xiao Hou looked around again. "Brother Han, how did you get here?"

I pointed to my car. "Drive." "

Drive to the back of the building first, wait for me in the car, I'll come find you in a bit." Xiao Hou said and turned to go back into the building.

I drove to the back of the office building, found a secluded spot to park, and smoked in the car.

About ten minutes later, Xiao Hou opened the car door and got in.

"Brother Han, I know what you want to see me about, but after all, you're my boss, I can't help you much." It seems he already knows; these kinds of things definitely spread quickly.

"Don't overthink it. I just know a few things. I won't make things difficult for you."

"Brother Han, try to think positively. This kind of thing is too common now. If you can't make it work, just get a divorce. Don't be too impulsive. Think about the child. Besides, your wife and he both took the day off."

"Don't worry. If I weren't calm, I would have rushed in with a knife by now. I just want to understand what happened." I patted Xiao Hou on the shoulder and handed him a cigarette.

Xiao Hou took the cigarette, lit it, and took a few puffs. "Okay, I'll tell you what I know. I've been fed up with that bastard for a long time, but don't tell anyone I told you."

"No problem, I understand. After all, you still have to work here."

"It's good that Brother Han understands. Actually, I don't know much. I heard about it yesterday afternoon, and I was thinking, 'So this kind of thing still happened.'"

"So you had some suspicions before?"

"Not really. I just noticed something was off about them, but I didn't have any concrete evidence, just guesses, so I couldn't spread it around."

"What was off?" "

After the old section chief retired last year, this Wang Peng was transferred from head office to become the section chief. At the time, there were rumors that he was transferred here because of some misconduct. This guy is obviously no good. He's always lecherous, often saying sweet words to female colleagues, and sometimes even touching them inappropriately. Once, he flirted with Wu Ying from the social security section next door and got a good scolding from her."

"Then how did he get together with Xiao Mei?"

"I don't know, I just know that starting from the end of last year, Wang Peng kept going to my sister-in-law's office, and the two of them were always chatting and laughing. Later, he kept calling my sister-

in-law to his office, and the two of them would often stay there for most of the day. At that time, people downstairs started gossiping, and Wu Ying and I even advised my sister-in-law to keep her distance from him. But my sister-in-law said she knew her limits and told us not to overthink it." "Then why didn't you mention it to me when you visited my family for the New Year?"

"Brother Han, before the New Year, apart from spending a lot of time together at work, there really wasn't anything wrong between them. I can't let these unfounded rumors affect your relationship, can I?"

"Then when did things start to go wrong?"

"After the New Year, the two of them would often say they had something to do and go out while they were at work, and their expressions were very strange. That's all I know."

"Okay, thank you."

"Nothing. I'll head back now."

After Xiao Hou left, I smoked two more cigarettes in the car. Then my brother called. "Xiao Jun, I've arranged for Mom and Dad's trip. They're going to Hainan first, their flight is tomorrow at noon. Go back and help them pack."

On my way home, I called my cousin who works at the head office. After a few pleasantries, I went straight to the point and asked, "Do you know someone named Wang Peng?"

"Wang Peng (Peng)? The one with the bird in his name or not?"

I was stunned. "With what bird?"

My cousin explained with a laugh, "We have two people here. One is named Wang Peng, the 'Peng' in 'friend,' without the bird in his name, and the other is named Wang Peng, the 'Peng' in 'roc,' with the bird in his name, but he's been transferred."

"The one who was transferred. Can you help me investigate his information, including his family, the more detailed the better?"

"What happened to him?"

"Don't ask, I need it."

"Okay, I'll let you know when it's done."

That afternoon, I went to my cousin's place and got Wang Peng's information.

Late at night, under the lamp, I was scribbling down my revenge plan on paper, occasionally letting out a smug chuckle. Suddenly, my mother's voice sounded behind me, "Xiaojun, adjust your mindset. Look at yourself now, you look like a psychopath."

I turned around and saw the deep worry in my mother's eyes.

On Saturday, I saw my parents and daughter off, and in the afternoon, I went to see my classmate who's a lawyer to ask some legal questions. That evening, I wrote the "divorce agreement." Then I went to sleep.

When I woke up on Sunday, it was already noon. After lunch, I knew that my mindset and spirit were ready, and it was time to face and resolve this marriage completely.

I called Mei, "I think it's time for us to resolve this face-to-face. Go home tonight. I'll have dinner ready for you."

"Okay, Jun,"

I immediately hung up the phone, not wanting to hear a single word. If there's anything to say, say it face to face. I fiddled with the voice recorder in my hand.

P.S.: This is the most difficult part to write, about the conversation between Han Jun and Mei. Han Jun talked on and on, and now I can't remember much of it, or even any of it at all. Expressing this disjointed content in a coherent way is very challenging, but I'll try my best.

I only understood why Han Jun recounted this conversation in such detail after hearing what happened next. He was both justifying his actions beforehand, which aligns with his understanding of "rationality," and seeking solace afterward. Because revenge is harm—harming those he hates, innocent people, those he loves, those who love him, and himself.

After getting to know Han Jun better, I once asked him how he felt after taking his revenge. His answer was: "Refreshing!" It's the word "refreshing"—"pain" comes before "pleasure," "suffering" comes before "pleasure."

That afternoon, I bought groceries and returned to my temporary home.

I slowly packed my things into my suitcase before starting to cook.

At 5:30, I had just finished preparing a meal when Mei opened the door and came in. Although her face was expressionless, I could still see that she looked somewhat haggard.

"Wash your hands and eat first," I said calmly.

We didn't speak during the meal. She tried to speak several times, but I stopped her with a look.

After dinner, we tidied up and sat down in the living room. After a moment of silence, I spoke first.

"Why did you do this?"

"No reason."

"I think we've reached a point where, no matter what happens in the future, what we need now is to lay everything out in the open. It'll be better for both of us."

"I really don't know what to say. I still don't understand why things turned out this way. It's like a dream."

"Then I'll ask, and you answer. Is there anything I've done wrong, or anything I haven't done well enough?"

"No, you're very good. I'm the one who's sorry."

"Then what are you dissatisfied with? With me? With the family? With life?"

"Yes, after getting married, life has been monotonous every day. Going to work and coming home, the same routine, no passion whatsoever. It's so bland and depressing it's driving me crazy. After all these years

, I'm really fed up." "Why don't you tell me about your troubles?"

"What's the point of telling you? Can you change anything?"

"Maybe I can't change anything, but at least I can be your outlet for your frustrations. We can try to change some aspects of our lifestyle, we can try participating in some activities."

"Maybe you're right, I just don't have the courage to change you."

"Then you have the courage to hurt me?"

"I didn't intend to hurt you,"

"You already have. In doing so, you're also hurting our daughter."

"I'm sorry to you all."

I stood up irritably, took out a cigarette and took several puffs to calm myself down.

"So what are your plans?"

"It's up to you, I have no objection."

Looking at Mei's indifferent expression, I finally couldn't suppress my anger.

"My plans? When you do this kind of thing, do you even look at me? You think that married life with me lacks passion and happiness, fine, then let's get a divorce. As long as you bring it up, I will never cling to you.

After knowing you for so many years, don't you understand me? If you feel that you can't stay with me for life and want to give up, I will never resent you at all, but you chose to choose betrayal and deception, which is something I can never forgive.

Besides, even if you found someone decent to cheat with, I would feel better, but look at the kind of person you found! Don't you think this is an insult to me?

You can come home from work and do this kind of thing, what will people say about you? Are you that thirsty? Do you even know what shame is?..." I couldn't help but roar loudly.

"Han Jun, you don't need to be so aggressive." Mei seemed to be angered by my insults as well. "I apologized just now only because I hurt you, but I don't think I did anything wrong. I'm not your appendage. I have my own independent economic ability and don't depend on you for survival. Therefore, I have my own independent personality, my own emotional space, and the right to pursue my own feelings. So don't label me as a traitor.

Don't think too highly of yourself either. You think others are inferior to you, that's your personal opinion. I don't think he's inferior to you in any way. At least he makes me happy.

So what if I'm shameless? That's my personal business. Let others say what they want, I'm still myself..."

"Do you have any moral bottom line? Do you have any sense of family responsibility? Do you still have any affection for your family?" I questioned her.

"Don't try to portray yourself as so noble. Haven't you done anything outside? You've done your part in maintaining the family, and so have I. If it can't be sustained, it's not solely my fault, is it?

Speaking of family, let me ask you this: are you so angry because of your family ties with me, or because of your own pride?"

"I don't deny that I've encountered temptations outside, but my sense of responsibility has kept me from crossing the line. I know that some things, once done, can't be undone.

I don't deny that my anger stems from a loss of dignity, but more so from the anger of impending loss of family ties.

As a man, I may not be good at expressing my emotions, but can't you feel what I've done to you and our daughter?"

"You can't impose your moral standards on others. I'm an adult too, with my own morals, values, and beliefs."

"Your morals and values are wrong. Can't societal ethics, family responsibilities, and marital values restrain your behavior?"

"Yes, I'm a sentimental woman. Morality, responsibility, and marriage can't limit my thoughts. Only emotions that stir my heart can influence my feelings and actions."

Our argument escalated. She had her theories about love, and I had my principles. I experienced Mei's sharp tongue for the first time; she showed no remorse or apology.

Perhaps this was exactly what I wanted.

(P.S. I've finally finished this part, but I still haven't fully captured the conflict between their ideologies. Sigh, my abilities are limited. Please bear with it.

The rest is the narrative, which should be faster.)

Late at night, I lost interest in arguing. Even if I won the debate, what difference would it make?

Didn't she know she was wrong? No, she did. Anyone living in a normal environment knows it's wrong.

Her arguing with me was merely an attempt to justify her mistakes, and my arguing with her was just an attempt to find reasons for future actions and build psychological defenses. It was time to end it.

I stopped the argument. "Let's stop. Since our ideas are completely opposite, living together will only be painful. Let's talk about how to separate so I can get on with my own things."

"I said it, you decide. Whatever you want."

"Okay, then take a look at this." I handed her the divorce agreement I had written.

Then I leaned back on the sofa, slowly smoking, quietly waiting for her shocked expression.

The agreement contained two main points: First, I would have custody and guardianship of Shuangshuang, while Mei would only have visitation rights and wouldn't have to pay child support.

Second, all property, including the house, savings, and securities, would belong to Mei.

In other words, I would leave with nothing but my daughter.

(P.S.: "What? You're leaving with nothing? Are you crazy?" I couldn't help but ask Han Jun this when he first explained the contents of the agreement.

"I'm not crazy. This is the beginning of my revenge. To me, Mei only betrayed me emotionally, not financially. So I'll give her double the compensation financially, so I can take double the emotional revenge on her with a clear conscience.

How could she not feel guilty for doing something like this? If I make her leave with nothing, it will definitely lessen her guilt. Therefore, I absolutely cannot let her feel good; I will make her feel even worse.")

Besides, think about it. If you were an outsider and discovered that a woman who had cheated on her husband actually received all the assets in the divorce, what would you think of her? How would you view this situation? Wouldn't your first impression be: This woman is shameless! She made a mistake and then tried to seize the family property through underhanded means. Of course, she might explain that I gave it to her voluntarily, but if I don't clarify, who will believe her? They will only despise her more. In this way, in the eyes of others, especially her future daughter, she will be a standard bad woman, and she will never be able to turn her life around. In addition, I have set other traps in the agreement, the main purpose of which is to separate her from her daughter's relationship. Ha, ha!" Han Jun laughed smugly, while I felt a chill in my heart.

Sure enough, Mei looked shocked after reading the agreement. "Why?"

"First, I don't want my daughter to learn to be a shameless person from you. I must have custody of my daughter, and I don't need your dirty money from who-knows-where to raise her.

Second, I have a cleanliness obsession. Apart from our daughter, I consider everything we have shared dirty. I will leave it all to you, and you can do with it as you please." "I answered her calmly.

"Okay, I want it. I'll give it all back to her when our daughter grows up." Mei blushed as I spoke, and finally said through gritted teeth.

"No need. I'll raise our daughter to be a clean freak too. Don't disgust us with these dirty things."

"Our daughter will understand when she's old enough to understand."

"Alright, as long as you're confident, sign if you have no objections."

After signing, I put away my copy and placed the bankbook, securities, and other valuables in front of Mei. "Check them. I'll be waiting for you at the Civil Affairs Bureau at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Monday. Don't forget to bring your documents." Then I took out a voice recorder from under the cushion, got up, dragged my suitcase out of the bedroom, and walked out.

When I got to the door, I put on my shoes, took the key to this house from the keychain, and put it on the shoe rack.

I put my hand on the handle, then put it down, turned around, and said to Mei, who was still sitting blankly on the sofa, "I think that since two people have become husband and wife, they should take responsibility for this marriage from this moment on." Using the lack of feelings as an excuse to have an affair is a desecration of this responsibility.

I believe that the passion between two people died when they got married, and the foundation of the family should be responsibility, not passion! Abandoning responsibility under the pretext of passion is betrayal.

And I will never tolerate betrayal, nor will I let go of the person who has desecrated my feelings. So from now on, we are no longer family, nor strangers, but enemies. You'd better watch yourself.”

After saying that, he opened the door and strode away.

The next day, Mei and I went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to complete the divorce procedures. We were both very calm during the process. We just silently filled out the forms and signed them. I was trying hard to control my emotions. As for her? I don't know…

After walking out the door, I said to Mei, “I'll take the household registration book first. I'll send it to you after I move Shuangshuang's and my registration in a few days.”

“No rush. When can I go see Shuangshuang?”

“Anytime, but she's in Hainan now. If you want to see her, go. I can tell you her address, but you have to go quickly. If you're too late, she might have gone somewhere else.”

“Why did she go to Hainan? Why didn't you tell me?” "

You can't stop the grandparents from taking the child on trips, can you? Tell me, who knew where you were calming down back then?"

"When are you coming back?"

"I don't know, maybe until September, then I'll go straight to school in Shanghai."

"It's written in the agreement that I have the right to visit the child at any time."

"I don't deny it, you can go anytime, I won't restrict you, as long as you don't feel tired."

"I don't agree to Shuangshuang going to school in Shanghai." "

I'm sorry, it's also written in the agreement that I have the obligation and right to provide the child with a better education. You don't think the quality of education in Shanghai is worse than here, do you?"

"I understand, you don't want the child to see me."

"You're right, do you even deserve to be a mother?"

"You bastard." Mei slapped me hard.

I touched my face, "Although I already consider you an enemy, my principle is not to hit women, so I'll remember this slap. I'll repay you in another way. I advise you not to increase my hatred any further."

After saying that, I turned and left, and Mei cursed behind me: "Han Jun, you're not human." I stopped, turned around, and stared at Mei, saying each word clearly, "

Although I hold grudges and am petty, I know shame and responsibility, so I'm still a human being. But you're not. A whore like you, cheating on your husband and daughter with a married man during work hours, do you even deserve to be called human?"

The onlookers started gossiping. Mei covered her face and fled.

I drove to Mei's workplace, went straight to Wang Peng's office on the second floor, kicked the door open, and entered. Hmm, she was inside.

Wang Peng's face immediately turned pale when he saw me. He quickly stood up, "Is this Xiao Han? Please sit down, please sit down. I was just thinking of talking to you these next few days."

I sat down in the chair opposite his desk, casually putting my feet on the desk, and leaned back in the chair looking at him.

He hurriedly closed the door and found a glass of water. His leg was a little limp; it seemed he had fallen that day.

"Don't bother. You know why I'm here. Mei and I are divorced." "Saying this, I threw the divorce certificate on the table.

He came over, picked it up, looked at it, and handed it to me with both hands. 'Sigh, how could this happen? I really didn't expect it. It 's all my fault. What are your thoughts and requests now? Just tell me. As long as I can do it, I will definitely do it.'

I didn't speak, but looked him over. He became even more nervous and guilty.

'Why don't you name a price, and I'll try my best to satisfy you.'

'I don't want your money. I just want you to do one thing.'

'Tell me, tell me.'

I got up and went to the window, pointing to the square outside. 'This mess has spread far and wide, hasn't it? You've made me suffer the greatest shame as a man. You have to get it back for me. See that flagpole? It's right there. Kneel in front of me for half an hour.'

Wang Peng's face changed drastically. 'Xiao Han, are you joking? This is impossible.'

'I'm not discussing this with you. I'm demanding it of you. From now on, I'll wait for you by the flagpole for five minutes. If you don't come, I might not come even if you beg me in the future.'" "After saying that, I checked my watch and turned to leave.

As I reached the door, he called out from behind, 'You can't do anything to me, you have no evidence.'

I turned around and stared coldly at him. 'What's between us is clear to everyone. So I don't need evidence, and I won't look for any. I only need a reason to take action against you, and for you, it's a gamble whether I have the means to make you submit.'

As I walked out of Wang Peng's office, I saw Xiao Hou looking at me from the doorway of the next office. I gestured towards the back of the building with my eyes and whispered as I passed by, 'Off work.' Xiao Hou nodded slightly.

I stood by the flagpole, slowly smoking, occasionally glancing up at Wang Peng's office. I finished my cigarette, and he still hadn't come. Very well, he won't admit it until he sees the coffin, huh? Well, let's settle the score slowly. Let's see who regrets it in the end.

I drove my car to the back of the building and parked it where I had last time. Soon it was time to leave work. As soon

as Xiao Hou got in the car, he excitedly asked me, 'What did you do to that bastard just now?'" When I left work, he looked almost deathly pale. "

I didn't do anything to him, just told him I was divorced, officially informing him that I was going to start dealing with him."

"Okay, so how do you plan to deal with him? That bastard is a real piece of work."

"Let's go eat first, we can talk while we eat."

Xiao Hou and I found a secluded restaurant and sat down. After the food arrived, I said to Xiao Hou, "How do you plan to deal with him? I've already planned it out. Since you're still under his control, don't get involved. I'm asking you for a couple of small favors."

"Okay, go ahead."

"Although Mei and I are divorced, we were still husband and wife, so I'm still a little worried. Could you keep an eye on things for me? If anything seems amiss, let me know."

"Don't worry, that's definitely no problem. I'll be very careful."

"Also, if your company has any big events, especially like an inspection team coming from above, let me know in advance."

"Brother Han, what are you going to do?"

"Never mind, just wait and see."

We ate and chatted. When it was time for work in the afternoon, we exchanged phone numbers, and Xiao Hou took a taxi and left. I headed to my workplace.

As soon as I entered the office, I noticed, perhaps it was just my imagination, that everyone was looking at me strangely. Sigh, it seems resigning was the right thing to do; otherwise, I don't know if I'd go crazy if this continued every day.

I found my supervisor and handed in my resignation letter. Although my supervisor tried to persuade me to stay, I didn't waver. My supervisor reluctantly agreed, signing it and telling me to wait for further notice to complete the formalities.

Seeing that I still had some time, I decided to face the two people I didn't want to hurt, but had to.

I drove to Mei's parents' house. Downstairs, I gave myself a long pep talk. Mei's parents are both teachers, dedicated to educating and nurturing students their whole lives. They are upright people who have treated me very well since we got married, and they are especially loving towards Shuangshuang. If it weren't for this, I really wouldn't want them to become tools for my revenge, and I wouldn't want them to suffer because of it.

After giving myself a good pep talk, I went upstairs and knocked on the door. Mei's mother opened the door. Seeing me, she quickly ushered me inside. "Xiaojun's here! Why didn't you bring Shuangshuang over on Sunday? Your father and I were just about to go see her."

Inside, Mei's father was also there, reading the newspaper. He put it down and gestured for me to sit, telling his wife to make tea, but I quickly stopped him. "Dad, Mom, don't bother. I'm here to tell you something. I think this is the last time I'll visit you both, and the last time I'll call you Mom and Dad."

The old couple were stunned, putting down what they were holding and staring at me. "What happened to Xiaojun? Did he fight with Xiaomei? If she did something wrong, please be understanding and tell us. We'll discipline her, but don't ruin the family. Shuangshuang is still so young..."

Looking at their anxious expressions, I gritted my teeth and hardened my heart, saying, "We finished the formalities this morning. You can ask Mei for the specific reasons, but you can listen to this first." I handed the recorder to Mei's father.

The old woman took the phone but didn't speak, still processing the news she'd just heard.

"I have to go now," I said, taking my leave.

"Ah, Xiaojun, what's this?"

"It's the reason Mei doesn't want to live with me. You can judge who's right and wrong. I still don't understand who taught her these theories." ...

That night, I received a call from Mei's mother. As soon as the call connected, I heard the old woman crying. "Xiaojun, I'm sorry, our family has wronged you. We just called Mei back and found out what happened. Her father beat her with a stick and drove her away. I tried to stop him, and he hit me too!" (The old man's roar came through the phone: "I don't have this shameless daughter! I can't bear the shame! I'll publish a notice in the newspaper tomorrow to sever ties! Old woman, I'm telling you, if you dare to interfere with her again, I'll jump off the building right now!") Sigh, we've spent our whole lives working in education, but we haven't even raised our own daughter properly. Xiaojun, tell me the truth, can't you really forgive Mei just this once?"

I held the phone, speechless.

"Xiaojun, just say 'I forgive you,' and I promise I'll teach her a lesson and help her live a good life from now on. I'm begging you."

I sighed. "Mom, how can I forgive her? Is there anything I can forgive her for?"

This time, she was speechless.

"Auntie, oh, I'm sorry, I should change my address now. This isn't over yet. I won't let that man off the hook. When I confront him, it might affect Mei, and it might affect you all. I'm saying this in advance, I'm sorry."

I hung up the phone and sat blankly on the sofa again, loneliness and frustration welling up inside me.

The next day, I got up early and drove to the "labor market."

I slowed down, scanning the crowd waiting for work on the roadside, looking for a suitable target.

Hmm, this is interesting. I saw a burly man sitting on the roadside holding a "Laborer" sign.

I stopped the car, rolled down the window, and waved to him. He immediately got up and ran over. "Boss, there's work! I'm strong enough to do the work of two men."

I sat in the car and sized him up. He was probably around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, wearing a worn-out camouflage uniform, with a buzz cut, broad shoulders, a thick waist, and a face full of menacing features. If he weren't smiling obsequiously, he would definitely look like a fierce demon. Okay, not bad looking. I

tossed him a cigarette, took one out and put it in my mouth. He quickly pulled out a lighter and lit mine first. Good, he knows how to handle things. "How tall are you?" "1.9 meters. " " What's your surname? " "Lu, the abbreviation for Shandong." "Where are you from?" "Liangshan." "So you're a descendant of Lu Zhishen." "You're joking. That man was a monk; he didn't have any descendants. I can't claim that kind of kinship." After a few words, I could tell he was a clever guy. He'd take me. I laughed out loud, "Have you had breakfast? If not, get in the car and we can talk while we eat." "Thanks in advance, I'm starving. But just so you know, I have a big appetite, so don't worry about me eating too much." At the breakfast shop, I finished eating first, smoking a cigarette while waiting for Lu Bo (whose name I asked after getting in the car) to finish eating. "Boss, tell me what you need to do first, I'll listen while I eat." "Lu Bo, have you ever been to a detention center?" "Yes, last time the city management came to confiscate my things, I knocked over two items, and I was locked up for five days. Besides not being allowed out and not getting enough to eat, there wasn't much else in there." "That's good. Let me make it clear first. What I'm asking you to do, although simple and not a crime, is somewhat illegal. But if you get caught, you'll only be detained for a few days at most. I can pay you by the day during your detention. Think about it, are you in or not?" At this moment, Lu Bo finished eating, lit the cigarette I offered, and took a couple of puffs. "If it's convenient, boss, please tell me more details." "To put it simply, I have a grudge against someone, and I want to hire someone to scare him and his family, plus harass him with a loudspeaker." "That's all?" "What else do you want? Do you dare kill him?" "If the price is right, we can discuss it." “There’s no need. This simple method is the one that costs me the least and makes him the most miserable. I will be like a leech, making sure that he and his family can’t have a peaceful life.” “If you may, may I ask what grudge you have against him?” I looked at him coldly. “He slept with my wife.”

"Damn, you're still sitting here so calmly? You should learn from my ancestor's brother—Wu Song! Find a knife and go chop up the adulterers. If you can't bring yourself to do it, talk to me about the price. If it's reasonable, I guarantee I'll get it done quickly."

"Get lost! Are you in or not?"

"Yes, but let's talk about the price first. Also, this can't be paid like a laborer, it has to be paid like a skilled worker, and it has to be settled on a per-job basis."

"Fifty for one hour, less than an hour is counted as an hour. If I get in, it's one hundred a day. Also, travel expenses, costumes, props are on me. If it's mealtime, I'll provide meals, one meat and one vegetable."

"Deal. The boss is a decent guy."

"Also, you can't do this alone. Go to the market again this morning and find two more people based on your appearance. The pay will be the same as yours. Bring them to the pedestrian street entrance at noon."

"Based on my appearance? You mean you want the honest, reliable type?"

"Have you no shame? It's a shame you're not a bad guy. The kind of person the police would stare at twice on the street. Oh, and it would be best if you were as shameless as you."

"Boss, can you give me some face? But don't bother looking anymore. I have two other guys from my village who are even less attractive than me. They're usually too scared to come out looking for work, afraid of scaring people away. I usually find work first and then call them."

"That's perfect. Take them there at noon. I have some things to take care of first. Give me your number so I can contact you."

After parting ways with Lu Bo, I first found Wang Peng's house according to the information my cousin gave me. I circled around his building twice, and then went to the middle school where Wang Peng's daughter went. It was a school for the children of employees of our state-owned enterprise. My cousin's child went to school there.

I sneaked into the school under the pretense of looking for my cousin's child. During class, I got my cousin's child out through the teacher.

"Xiao Ke, do you know Wang Yan?"

"We're in the same grade, eighth grade, of course I know her."

"Okay, point her out to me after class."

After class, I met Wang Peng's daughter. I stared at her, memorizing her face, then told Xiao Ke to keep it a secret before leaving.

At noon, I went to the pedestrian street and found Lu Bo. When I saw the two he brought, I was shocked. They really didn't need makeup to play bandits; one of them even had a scar on his face. Just standing there on the street, they automatically kept pedestrians within a ten-meter radius away.

Perfect, that's the effect I wanted.

I took the three of them to a clothing store. The salesgirl was almost crying when we entered, but the owner forced a smile and greeted us. I patted the owner, "Don't be afraid, we're just here to buy clothes. Dress them up however you want to look fierce."

The owner looked miserable. "Hey guys, what are you planning to do? Leave some room for the masses!"

After buying clothes, I took them to buy sunglasses, shave their heads, and when we passed a tattoo shop, I bought a bunch of temporary tattoos so they could roll up their sleeves and stick them on their arms...

In short, the final effect was that wherever these three menacing figures went, strangers avoided them.

In the evening, I took the three of them to the school. I parked the car not far from the school gate and waited. After a while, the students started to leave.

"See that girl? That's her. You go over with a straight face and ask her if her name is Wang Yan and if her father's name is Wang Peng. Then turn around and walk away. The three of you follow her within twenty meters, all the way to her home. After she goes upstairs, you walk around downstairs for ten minutes before leaving. Remember, if anyone dares to come up and ask what you're doing, take off your sunglasses, stare at them, and don't say anything," I said to the scarred-faced one of them.

The three of them got out of the car and went straight to Wang Yan. In the end, Wang Yan practically ran all the way home, while the three menacing figures followed leisurely behind. ...

At one in the morning, in the dead of night, Lu Bo and Scarface, carrying megaphones, arrived at Wang Peng's apartment building and his parents' building respectively.

"Wang Peng, wake up! The debt collectors are here!"

"Who are Wang Peng's parents? They gave birth to this bastard! Why didn't they raise him properly?"

Once all the lights in the building were on, the two of them took off running...

Meanwhile, I lay in bed, my mind racing: I spent 3,200 yuan on shopping today, but that could be considered a one-time investment.

Paying 300 yuan for labor was a bit high. It seems I can't do this every day. Every other day? Still a bit expensive. Hmm, let's try three days in a row, see the effect, and then make arrangements. I'll try to keep this expense under 1,500 yuan per month, leaving more money for other plans...

For the next two days, I worked on other plans while arranging for Lu Bo and his gang to continue their intimidation and harassment.

But what surprised me was that Wang Peng didn't react at all. Shouldn't he have called to question me? Otherwise, how could I continue? Had I misjudged him? Was he really such a cunning person?

That night, I sat at my desk, silently pondering.

Sigh, what a mess this is. I used to be such an upright person, and now I'm staying up all night scheming against people.

Right, firstly, this bastard has offended too many people; secondly, he got information from Mei and thought I wouldn't use such despicable methods against him. Besides, he didn't expect me to act so quickly, so he didn't expect it to be me. Looks like I need to teach him a lesson.

I called Lu Bo, "Tomorrow morning, get dressed and wait for me."

In the morning, I picked up Lu Bo and the others first, then went to a toy store and bought three toy knives, wrapped them in newspaper, and gave them to carry. They looked like gangsters ready to chop someone up.

Around nine o'clock, we arrived in front of the office building. While talking to Lu Bo and the others, I pretended to point and gesture at Wang Peng's office. Soon, we attracted the attention of those around us.

A moment later, Xiao Hou called, "Brother Han, you're not going to come up and chop him up today, are you?"

"Nothing, I'm in a good mood today, just wanted to scare him a little."

"Haha, you scared him half to death! He just dragged Sister Mei to the security office."

A while later, Wang Peng called, "Han Jun, is that you? What do you want?"

"Nothing, just suddenly missed you and came to see you. Why don't you come down, we can talk."

"Don't do anything rash, or I'll call the police."

"Call the police? I didn't do anything, can't the police even stand here?"

"By the way, wasn't it you who stalked my daughter and harassed my house and my parents' house in the middle of the night?"

"Guess?"

"If you have a problem, come at me. They have nothing to do with this, they're innocent."

"Innocent? Isn't my daughter innocent? Aren't my parents innocent? Why should my family suffer while your family is safe? As long as they're connected to you, you bastard, there's no such thing as innocence."

"What exactly do you want?"

"I told you, get down here and kneel before me for half an hour."

"Impossible."

"Fine, let's continue. Let me tell you, this is just the beginning. Before, my time was all about work and family. All my income went to my family. You ruined my family, and I quit my job. So I'll use all my time and all my income to deal with you, until you're dead. The worst thing for you is that my income has increased several times over, and I have more financial resources to play with you."

"Don't push me too far. If you push me too far, I'll fight you to the death."

"Yes, I'm forcing you now, forcing you to fight me to the death. If it weren't for the fear of being branded a murderer and the potential harm to my daughter's future, I would have already killed your whole family. Now that you're here to fight me, that's perfect. You'd better bring a knife. If I kill you, it's self-defense; if you kill me, it's premeditated murder. Even if I die, I'll ruin your life. I'm waiting for you right here. Come down now. Your name has 'bird' in it; as a man, you should have 'bird' too. Don't make me look down on you."

"You're crazy, you've gone mad."

"Don't get agitated, or should I come up to see you?"

"Don't come up, I won't see you."

"Sigh, this is too unfriendly. Fine, I'll come to your house to play sometime when I'm in a good mood."

I hung up the phone and left with my men.

When I parted ways with Lu Bo, I told them to stop their harassment and not get caught in the act. I also made an agreement with them that for 400 yuan a month, one of them would go around the school and Wang Peng's house every day.

After dinner, Mei called. I thought about it for a moment, but answered anyway.

"I was right there when you were talking to Wang Peng today, Han Jun. I never imagined you'd become this kind of person." Mei's tone was surprisingly self-righteous.

"You're wrong. I've always been this way. Heh, hearing that, I suddenly understand a lot of things. You've never truly understood me. The reason you married me wasn't because you had deep feelings for me, but because I happened to be a suitable marriage partner when you needed one. Just like you said, you didn't understand love when you chose marriage. But why should I and my family bear the consequences of your wrong choice?"

Mei was silent on the other end.

"Speak, what do you want?" I said, getting impatient.

"I want to ask you, what exactly do you want?"

"I can tell you plainly, I want to make you all turn your backs on everyone and ruin your reputations."

"What gives you the right?"

"What gives me the right? I can tell you that too. When you were doing those things, you thought the laws of the world couldn't punish you, social norms couldn't control you, and public opinion couldn't hurt you. Besides, that's how society is, so you two adulterers could act with impunity.

But you forgot one thing: you violated my principles and bottom line. Since the law, customs, and public opinion can't touch you, then I can only punish you in my own way, to let you know that there is still justice and retribution in this world."

"Don't make it sound so nice. Are you saying what you did was legal and just?"

"It doesn't matter, as long as the purpose is just."

"Don't go too far. I'll just leave."

"Fine, you don't need to discuss this with me." I decisively hung up the phone.

Leave? Are you willing to do that? I left you all my assets to keep you tied down, to prevent you from running away and to make you obediently wait for your punishment. I refuse to believe you'd give up something you've already got.

I checked the calendar; tomorrow's the weekend. After these past few days of pressure and today's confrontation, Wang Peng shouldn't be able to hold on any longer. He should go home and confess to his family. But knowing his character, he'll definitely shift the blame to Mei, saying she was after his status and seduced him.

From what I know, Wang Peng's wife and mother aren't pushovers. After learning that the harassment and fear they've endured these past few days were entirely due to Wang Peng and Mei's affair, they'll be furious, their anger reaching its peak. I expect they'll cause a huge scene; the next couple of days will be quite a show.

My actions have fueled their hatred. Now it's their turn to do what I can't do, disdain to do, and am too embarrassed to do, but absolutely want to do.

Sure enough, over the weekend, Wang Peng's wife and mother, along with their family, caused a huge scene at Mei's house and Mei's parents' house.

On Monday morning, I received a message from Xiao Hou. He told me that Wang Peng came to work with a bruised face, and then, during the company's weekly meeting, Wang Peng's wife led a group of people to storm in, verbally and physically assaulting Wang Peng and Mei for the entire morning.

Good, that's the result I wanted. They're now at each other's throats. From now on, as long as I occasionally have Lu Bo put some pressure on them, they'll turn their intimidation into anger and cause a huge scene. They won't be able to have any peace then.

Since their lives have already been disrupted, the next step is to target their work.

For the next two weeks, I waited for an opportunity while also familiarizing myself with the company's operations with my brother. At the same time, I occasionally arranged for Lu Bo to take action. Each time, the result was a hysterical outburst from Wang Peng's wife. Thinking about it, this woman is quite pitiful; she probably would have divorced him long ago if it weren't for her daughter.

Several other things happened during this time.

First, after Wang Peng's wife caused a scene, Mei's parents felt ashamed to face their acquaintances and left the city for Jinan, where Mei's younger brother lives. It's said they'll never return. This was told to me by Mei's younger brother over the phone. At the end of the call, he also told me that the elderly missed Shuangshuang very much and hoped that I could take Shuangshuang to visit them when I had time. I didn't reply, only saying that I was very busy recently and would talk about it when I had time.

The second thing was that Wang Peng reported to the police that I had stalked, intimidated, and harassed his family, and the police station notified me to handle it.

At the police station, I readily admitted what I had done and explained the reasons to the officers. Finally, I told the officers that they could handle it however they wanted, fined or detained, but as long as I got out, I would come back again. The officers were speechless and could only advise me to handle the situation calmly and not to do anything rash.

After that, I would go to the police station every few days, using the pretext of reporting the situation to get close to the officers. When I had nothing to do, I would take them out to eat after work. Before long, I became friends with everyone at the police station. Once, after Lu Bo finished harassing someone, Wang Peng came to report the case again. When he entered the door, he saw me sitting at the desk chatting and laughing with the officers, and his face turned green.

Another thing is that when Wang Peng saw that the police couldn't do anything to me, he sent a few people who were supposedly involved in organized crime to negotiate with me.

That noon, I was about to go to lunch when I suddenly received a call from an unfamiliar number. I answered it.

"Are you Han Jun?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"My friends call me Xue San. I want to talk to you about something."

"I don't know you. What do we have to talk about?"

"It won't take up much of your time. You'd better come over, otherwise it won't be good for anyone."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I suppose so. Are you coming or not?"

"Okay, tell me where."

When I arrived at the agreed restaurant, I was led into a private room as soon as I entered. I saw four or five people sitting at the table, all staring at me. I found a seat, crossed my arms, and looked at them coldly in return.

Finally, the leader, seeing that I wasn't afraid, spoke up: "Han Jun? Right?"

"That's me. You must be Xue San. What do you want?"

"Heh, pretty arrogant."

"I don't remember owing you money. Do I need to be so humble?"

"Fine, you've got guts. Then I'll be blunt. You know Wang Peng, right? Did he offend you? He asked us to come and mediate, hoping you'll give me face and let it go. Of course, we'll also give you some compensation."

I laughed twice, staring at Xue San. "I'll call you Third Brother. Third Brother, I want to ask you a question: What is the greatest grudge in this world?"

"What do you think?"

"Killing one's father and stealing one's wife is an irreconcilable feud. You're here to mediate? Do you even know what grudge I have against Wang Peng?"

Xue San glanced at someone beside him, then looked at me without speaking.

"You don't know, do you? Let me tell you, that bastard cheated on me. If it were you, could you let him go? I'm giving you face, but do I have any? That bastard destroyed it long ago. We're now mortal enemies. Anyone who gets in my way is my mortal foe. I'm not afraid to fight anyone to the death. Even if it's an iron man, I'll fight tooth and nail to leave a few teeth marks on him."

Xue San couldn't sit still any longer. He glared fiercely at the person from before. The person was sweating profusely and quickly lowered his head, saying, "Brother San, I don't know what happened. He just said it was a work-related conflict. That's why I agreed to find him..." yours. . "

Xue San stopped him, and then said to me: "I'm sorry, brother, I was careless about this. I hope you won't be offended. I will apologize to you here. Don't worry, I won't interfere in this matter. "

I also walked down the steps and said, "It's okay. Third brother, he who doesn’t know is not guilty.

Xue San turned around and told the man, "Go back, refund the money, and tell him not to disgust us with this kind of thing."

Finally, Xue San stood up and stretched out his hand, "Brother, I can tell from one glance that you are a courageous person. If you don't dislike me, I will make a friend in the future."

I also stood up and shook hands with him, "No problem, I'll call my brother later and we'll sit together."

"Your brother?" "

"Xicheng Han soldiers.

"Han Bing?" "A cloud in the west city" Han Bing? Han Jun, Han Bing, are you brothers? Damn it, fat man, don’t give back the money. Ask that bastard if he wants to harm others? I can't tell if I'll kill him. "Xue San was shocked...

According to Xue San later, not only did he not refund Wang Peng's five thousand yuan (he thought he had agreed to ten thousand yuan, but gave half of it first). Instead, they extorted another 10,000 yuan from him.

It was May, and during the May Day holiday, I flew to Hainan to spend a few days with my daughter. Upon returning, I received a message from Xiao Hou, who told me that May was "Safety Production Month," and in five days, an inspection team from the ministry would be coming to inspect our work.

After receiving this news, I knew my chance had arrived. On one hand, I had Lu Bo intensify his harassment efforts; on the other hand, I began frantically preparing: running to hospitals, borrowing cars and equipment, surveying the terrain, modifying equipment, conducting experiments…

After three or four busy days, everything was finally ready.

On that day, I rushed to the office building as soon as I arrived, sat in my car, and waited. Around 9:30, after watching the leaders welcome the inspection team inside, I got out of the car and called Wang Peng.

"I'm downstairs, come down for a second."

"What do you want now?"

"I really have nothing to say this time, I just want to talk to you. If you want to embarrass yourself in front of the boss, I can come up."

"Don't do anything rash, what exactly do you want?"

"I already said, I just want to talk to you about something, mainly to resolve this. Don't worry, I'm very calm today, I promise I won't do anything to you."

"You're not going to force me to kneel, are you?"

"No, it's just to talk business.

Never mind, I'll go upstairs." "Wait a minute, I'm coming down now."

A moment later, Wang Peng came out, looked around to make sure I was really alone and didn't seem like he was there to cause trouble, then slowly approached.

I handed him a cigarette, and we stood by the car smoking. He looked at me nervously as he smoked, and I didn't say anything. After a while, he cautiously asked me, "Um, Xiao Han, you came today..."

I glanced at him. "Old Wang, how have you been lately?"

"Sigh, I regret it so much now. You know, there's no peace at home or at work. Please let me off the hook. If I weren't so ashamed, I would kneel down to you right now."

"Go to hell! You still have the nerve to say that? Look at me! Do I even look human?" I pointed at my face and shouted. I hadn't shaved for five or six days, my eyes were bloodshot from deliberately staying up late last night, and my hair was a mess. Overall, I looked very haggard.

"Don't get angry, please don't get angry. It's all my fault. You can do whatever you want." Wang Peng saw that I was getting emotional again and quickly bowed, begging me to lower my voice while glancing around to make sure someone noticed us.

I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. "This isn't convenient. Let's find a place to sit down and discuss how to resolve this, so we don't all feel uncomfortable."

After getting in the car, Wang Peng led the way, and we arrived at a teahouse. I had measured the distance before getting out of the car. Hmm, it was two streets away from the office building, so the noise wouldn't carry over. The straight-line distance was about 700 or 800 meters, which was suitable.

We went up to a private room on the second floor. Wang Peng obsequiously ordered a pot of good tea,

and we sat down facing each other. "Um, Xiao Han, now that we're sitting here calmly, let's try to resolve this properly. Tell me your thoughts first. I think it's best to resolve it with money."

I looked at him listlessly. "Do you know why I suddenly want to reconcile with you?"

"I guess you're not doing well either. You acted impulsively when the incident first happened, but now that your anger has subsided, you've come to terms with it. Just like you said, this whole mess is painful for everyone. You agree, right?"

I waved my hand at him. "Wait a minute, I need to do something. I need to make a call first. Damn it, you've made me forgetful."

I picked up the phone and, under his suspicious gaze, dialed a number right in front of him.

"Hello, it's me. Is the car installed over there? Is everything alright? Okay, I have something to do. I'll go inspect it when I'm done. Don't mess it up, or I'll dock your pay..."

I hung up the phone, casually placed it on the table, and nodded to Wang Peng. "Go on."

Wang Peng stared at the phone for a moment, and only after confirming that it was indeed hung up did he speak: "Why don't you tell me first?"

"Fuck you, do you think I really want to let you off so easily? My original plan was to torment you to death, but you're lucky. I have to let you go now."

"Huh? Why?"

“Take a look at this,” I said, taking a medical record from my briefcase and tossing it in front of him.

He picked it up, flipped through it, and looked at me with a puzzled expression. “What does this mean?”

“It means I’ve gone insane.”

“Ah! How could that be?”

“Why not? After this mess, I haven’t been able to eat or sleep properly, and I’m constantly thinking about how to torment you. The worst part is that the thought of losing my home makes me miserable. I’m naturally obsessive, so how could I not have mental problems? The day before yesterday, my family couldn’t stand it anymore and forced me to see a psychiatrist.

That’s when I realized how serious it was.” “What did the doctor say?”

I took the medical record, pointing to the entries. “Well, the doctor said that if I continue like this, I’ll definitely develop a mental breakdown and have severe violent tendencies. I’ll either commit suicide or kill someone.”

As I spoke, I stared at him fiercely. His gaze made him lower his head guiltily.

"Oh, is there any hope for treatment?"

"If it weren't for my daughter, I wouldn't want to get treatment at all. I'd just kill you all and then kill myself."

"No, no, no, for the sake of the child, you have to think positively."

I sipped my tea angrily and stopped talking.

Wang Peng quickly came over to pour me water. "Xiao Han, you still need to get treatment. Don't ruin your life over something like this. Tell me, how much does the treatment cost? I'll cover it all." "

Actually, the simplest way to cure me is for you and that bitch to die together. As long as you're dead, my illness will be cured immediately."

"Ah, Xiao Han, please don't say things out of anger. I can tell you don't mean it that way." "

Alright, I won't beat around the bush with you. The first compensation is definitely a must, but let's put that aside for now. The main reason I came to see you today is about my treatment." As I spoke, I pointed to the records in my medical record for him to see. “Look at this. The doctor said that medicine alone won't work for my illness. The key is to resolve my inner conflict. And no one else can help; only you and that bitch can. That's why I came to you. I'll talk to you first, and then I'll go find that bitch later.”

“No problem. What do you want me to do? I'll do anything to cure you. Consider it my atonement.”

“Look at this too. The doctor said that after hypnotherapy, they discovered two reasons why my inner conflict is unresolved. One is my stubborn personality; when I don't know the truth, I tend to overthink and exaggerate the facts through my imagination. So I request that you tell me the truth about what happened, so I don't overthink things.”

“Okay, I've been wanting to tell you what happened for a while. You really can't blame everything on me alone. Is there anything else?”

“Let's finish this first, then we'll go one thing at a time.”

"Okay, let me tell you what happened first."

So, Wang Peng, from his perspective, recounted how he and Mei got together. Basically, Mei had feelings for him, actively approached him, helped him with his work, cared about his life, confided in him, and gradually developed a romantic relationship. She then started seducing him, and he couldn't resist. Finally, one day after work, they ended up sleeping together in the office... In short, he lacked willpower and couldn't resist Mei's temptation, which forced him to make a mistake.

After listening, I looked at him with disbelief and angrily retorted, "Don't try to shift all the blame onto Mei just to shirk responsibility. I've lived with her for so many years, I know she's not that kind of person. Look at this." I pointed to the medical record and showed it to him. "The doctor also said that because Mei has always been pure and perfect in my heart, I find it even harder to accept this fact. Moreover, the doctor also said that even afterward, I didn't truly hate Mei, otherwise I wouldn't have left all my property to her. He said I was just disappointed in her, while you, the one who destroyed that purity and perfection, are the one I truly hate and want to kill."

I finished speaking and glared at him through gritted teeth.

"Hey, hey, bro, don't get worked up. I'm just telling the truth. Looks like you really don't understand this woman. Once you knew how she behaved when we slept together, you wouldn't keep saying she's pure."

"Then tell me the hell, what exactly did she do in bed?" I slammed my medical record down. "I'm not afraid of looking bad. The doctor said that as long as I can destroy her pure and perfect image of her in my mind, I'll be halfway through my troubles. Tell me everything that happened in bed, in detail, otherwise, if I don't resolve this, I don't know what I might do."

With that, I got up and paced around the room agitatedly, then smashed a teacup. I glared at Wang Peng again, my eyes flashing with malice, and said, word by word, "Since we've come this far, you'd better tell me everything in detail, make me disappointed in her, and resolve my inner conflict. Otherwise… Also, you'd better tell the truth. If you dare to make things up, hmph…"

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk, bro, calm down, sit down first. I promise I’m telling the truth. If I utter a single falsehood, may I be hit by a car and die as soon as I step outside,”

Wang Peng began to recount with a lewd expression after dismissing the waiter who had come to investigate.

“The first time was in the office. The second time was at your house. The third time was also at your house.”

To destroy Mei’s pure image, Wang Peng spared no effort in describing Mei’s lewd behavior in bed. If it were transcribed into words, it could be published directly on a pornographic website.

I listened expressionlessly, inwardly sneering.

He probably never dreamed that at this moment, his performance was being broadcast live in the office building’s plaza.

He talked for nearly an hour, finally finishing his dirty story, and then stared at me expectantly.

I couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out laughing, clapping loudly for him.

He stared at me dumbfounded. I picked up the phone and called Lu Bo while still laughing. "How's the effect over there?"

"It's amazing! This guy's so talented. Listening to him is more exciting than watching porn. It's got me rock hard. But you'd better come back soon. The police are here, they're going to dismantle the car, and your ex-wife is going crazy."

Since I was on speakerphone, Wang Peng next to me heard everything clearly. He immediately stood up and pointed at me. "What did you do?"

"Nothing much, I just broadcast everything you just said."

"You were lying to me?"

I slowly tore up the medical record. "You're so clever. I was lying to you. Am I too bad? Why don't you scold me?"

After learning that an inspection team was coming, I first went to the hospital to register, bought a medical record book, and then found a friend who was a surgeon to write the medical record according to my instructions. There was no other way; only a doctor could imitate a doctor's cursive handwriting.

I borrowed a pickup truck converted into an armored truck, then went back to my original workplace and borrowed a "vehicle-mounted cordless phone," a "vehicle-mounted amplifier," and a speaker from the vehicle fleet and the publicity department. Finally, I found a friend who was an expert in radio to help me modify and debug the equipment. We installed all the equipment on the truck, especially the speaker, which was installed in the trunk. In short, unless the truck was smashed open, no one could stop the equipment.

Of course, the most crucial thing was the receiving equipment. After testing, the "cordless phone" had an effective range of 1,500 meters in the city. To avoid being exposed, I had my friend remove the receiving function from the "daughter unit," leaving only the transmitting function. I also added an external microphone. When using it, I hung the "daughter unit" on my waist, and the microphone was fixed to my wrist with a cable.

To make my story believable, I deliberately didn't wash my hair or shave for four or five days, and I even stayed up all night the night before I went there. The purpose was to make Wang Peng believe that I wasn't doing well and that I really had mental problems.

Wang Peng wouldn't have easily believed these words, but on one hand, I had put him under considerable pressure recently, and now he had a chance to ease the tension, plus the medical records as evidence, so he relaxed. On the other hand, to gain his trust, I let him choose the location for the negotiation, which further lowered his guard. Of course, if he chose an unsuitable location, I would find a reason to change it. Before the formal talks, the phone call I made was actually to Lu Bo, using a pre-arranged code to check his reception. Lu Bo and his team arrived at the office building early in the morning in an armored truck with me. I had them park the truck outside the compound and point the loudspeaker at the office building. After receiving my call, they started playing it at a high volume.

To be honest, my initial goal was to get Wang Peng to confess to the leaders about their affair, but I didn't expect him to be so weak-willed. I provoked and intimidated him, and to absolve himself of responsibility, he dared to say anything. It seems their so-called friendship was worthless.

According to Xiao Hou and Lu Bo's later accounts, when the loudspeaker first started playing, no one understood what was going on. Later, as they gradually understood, they all pressed their faces against the windows or gathered in the square, listening and discussing. They listened with particular fascination when Wang Peng talked about things in bed, to the point that the leaders' meeting couldn't continue, and they frantically searched for people to understand the situation.

Halfway through, Mei rushed over and started kicking and hitting the car, but she couldn't stop the playback. Eventually, a larger crowd gathered, and two people from their office couldn't stand it anymore and pulled her away.

Strangely enough, no one called Wang Peng to tell him for so long; I guess everyone has a penchant for gossip.

When the superiors' attempts to stop them failed, they had no choice but to call the police. I had anticipated this; the day before, I specifically treated the police officers to dinner. At the dinner, I told them I was going to cause trouble that day, and they could handle it however they pleased. But I concluded by telling them to remember that police officers "protect the safety of the public's property, not destroy it." So, when faced with the superiors' demand to smash the car, they used the same phrase.

After understanding what was going on, Wang Peng was speechless.

I slowly packed my things, teasing him as I turned on the air conditioner, "Old Wang, you're famous now. Even the leaders in the department know about your womanizing. Tell me, how are you going to thank me? I've been busy with this for days..."

He looked at me with a defeated expression. "Making such a big fuss like this, aren't you afraid of losing face? Don't forget, you're the one who's the cuckold."

I laughed loudly, "Fuck you! If I were the cuckold and had to keep putting up with it, that would be truly shameful, a disgrace. Since I've already lost face, let's all lose face together and see who suffers the most in the end!"

"You're too ruthless."

"You should have thought about the consequences when you did those despicable things. You should be thanking my parents now. If they hadn't taught me to have a basic moral compass, I would have made you understand the ancient saying, 'He who defiles another's wife and daughter will have his wife and daughter defiled by others.' Do you think it's difficult for me to find someone to harm your daughter? Soft or hard, I have plenty of ways."

A look of terror appeared on his face.

"That's enough for today. You should go clean up your mess; you don't need to keep me company."

He quickly got up and walked out, but I stopped him at the door. "Stop."

"What else do you want?"

I picked up my cup and took a sip of tea. "The tea is good, thank you. Don't forget to settle the bill."

He glared at me viciously for a moment, then turned and left.

Damn it, I just wanted to infuriate him.

After Wang Peng left, I first called Lu Bo and asked him to drive to the police station with the officers, telling him I would go right away.

I then called Xiao Hou, who was excited but also worried about Mei's ability to cope. I asked him to find two colleagues to accompany her.

At the police station, I was scolded by the officers and fined 1,000 yuan. Sigh, I went over budget.

The next afternoon, I received another call from Xiao Hou. He told me that yesterday's incident had embarrassed his boss, who was then furious. As soon as I got to work today, I called Wang Peng in and gave him a good scolding. Before noon, I dismissed him from his post, demoting him to a low-level gatekeeper position. He was ordered to report for duty tomorrow. Apparently, after the investigation, he faces further disciplinary action from the Party and the government. As for Mei, since she didn't come to work, her fate will be decided after the organization speaks with her, but it's basically settled that she'll be sent to the sanitation team.

That night, I suddenly had an urge to drink, to get completely drunk. For almost a month since the incident, I haven't dared to get drunk, because I know that if I lose my temper, the tearing pain in my heart will be unbearable. I've been deliberately trying to forget.

I keep scheming, keep running around for revenge, using hatred to cover up the pain. No one knows that this family tragedy has ripped a huge piece from my soul and life—an unbearable pain. Every time I think about it unintentionally, it's excruciating. Perhaps I'm filling the void in my life with malice.

I got drunk easily after less than a bottle of wine. I didn't know who to confide in, and in my daze, I called my mother. When I heard her voice, I couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears, clutching the phone. My mother gently comforted me on the other end of the line. She said a lot, but I can't remember

any of it except for one sentence: "Xiaojun, you always wrap yourself up with reason. This way, your wounds won't heal. You need to find a way to get through this." After hanging up, I howled and roared like a wounded beast, tears and pain streaming down my face. Even the police couldn't stop me until my brother arrived and calmed me down.

As dawn broke, still hungover, I received another call from Xiao Hou.

"Brother Han, something's happened. Last night, Wang Peng's wife found out he'd been punished by being a gatekeeper, and went to confront Sister Mei in the middle of the night. Sister Mei initially ignored her, but the wife kept yelling at her downstairs. Maybe her insults were too offensive, because one of Sister Mei's two female colleagues wasn't watching her closely enough, and Sister Mei rushed down and started fighting with her."

"Are you alright?" I asked, rubbing my head.

"They pulled them apart, but as soon as Sister Mei went upstairs, before she even entered the house, Wang Peng's wife grabbed a bottle from somewhere and chased after her, hitting her on the head from behind. Sister Mei fell down the stairs and hasn't woken up since. I heard it's serious. You should go check on her quickly. Also, I heard from people who came back that she got a large cut on her face from the glass when she fell; she's probably disfigured."

I stood there blankly, unaware that my phone had fallen to the ground.

It seems I really am not a god; things have gone beyond my expectations.

I stood outside the ICU, silently watching Mei, who lay unconscious inside.

I had once dreamed of sharing life and death, of supporting each other through thick and thin

. But from now on, I would no longer be a part of your life. If I were, it would be an object of hatred.

It turns out your desires and my hatred could easily erase the beauty of the past.

Looking at you like this, perhaps I should let go.

I can't forgive, but I will forget, completely forget. No hatred, no love, from now on, we will be strangers.

Mei remained in a coma for a week. Wang Peng's wife was sentenced to three years in prison for serious assault. They had divorced before the sentencing. Wang Peng continued to work as a gatekeeper, living in the guardhouse. His daughter didn't acknowledge him.

Mei's mother passed away the following year. Mei's father didn't allow Mei to attend the funeral. Han Jun took Shuangshuang instead.

Six months later, I saw Mei again one morning. I was waiting for the company car to pick me up by the roadside. A woman pushing a sanitation cart walked past me in the thin mist. When our eyes met, we both froze. Even though she was wearing a mask, I could still see the striking scar on her face. After a moment, she lowered her head and pushed the cart away. I watched her walk away.

After that meeting, Han Jun used his connections to transfer Mei to the logistics department of another unit, but he had Xiao Hou do it on her behalf so Mei wouldn't know. Finally finished writing !

Sigh, I'm usually such a shameless person, but because I wrote slowly, you all made me blush with embarrassment. Next time I want to write something, I'll definitely finish it first before publishing it.

Last September, my wife was hospitalized at a top-tier hospital in our area to have uterine fibroids removed. After the surgery, my wife's sister-in-law and I took turns staying with her at the hospital; I stayed during the day, and she stayed at night. It

was probably the second day after the surgery. In the evening, after explaining the precautions to my wife's sister-in-law, I was about to leave when my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and it was an older brother of mine—Old Zhang. We met through a friend and hit it off immediately. He works in a state-owned enterprise and is a leader in his unit. He's five or six years older than me and very generous. Because we get along well, we often get together, and he usually invites me to his private drinking parties. He went to a sanatorium for a while, and we hadn't had a drink together for two or three weeks.

I answered the phone, "Hey, Brother Zhang, you're back."

A hearty laugh came from the other end. "Just got back today. I landed this morning, and my cousin picked me up. Where are you? Let's get together."

"At the hospital. You decide where we are. If we're going to drink, I won't drive; I'll just take a taxi. I'll give you a good welcome-back dinner tonight."

"Hospital? Who's sick?"

"Oh. My wife (Xiao Wang) had surgery the day before yesterday, and she's fine now."

"Which hospital are you at? We'll be right there. You wait there."

"Brother Zhang, never mind, she's fine now."

"No, I have to go see her, it's only polite."

"## Hospital, sixth floor, gynecology department."

"Okay, we'll be there in about half an hour. Meet us at the elevator."

Half an hour later, I met Old Zhang at the elevator. Besides him, there was another man about my age. Old Zhang introduced him: "This is my cousin—Han Jun (pseudonym). He went to Shanghai to run a company these past few years, and he's back to visit my mother. This is Xiao Chen (me), my brother." I shook hands with Han Jun. They were carrying a lot of bags and packages, and I politely led them into the ward.

Unexpectedly, as soon as we entered the ward, Old Zhang's face changed drastically when he saw my wife's bed. He grabbed me nervously, repeatedly saying, "Are you kidding me? How can she stay in this bed? Change it quickly, change it quickly..."

Han Jun and I were both puzzled. What was going on?

At first, I thought he felt the ward wasn't comfortable enough (my wife was in a large ward directly opposite the nurses' station with six beds and an extra bed in the middle, so it was quite crowded and messy). I quickly reassured him, "It's okay, Brother Zhang, it's just for a few days, you'll get through it."

His face was still very grim. "No, you have to change beds immediately. I'll explain why later, but find someone to change beds right now."

I was in a dilemma. Seeing him like this, I knew something was wrong; otherwise, given his personality, he wouldn't make this request without reason. But with so many people around, I couldn't press him. I could only say, "How about tomorrow? The doctors have all gone home."

Unexpectedly, he insisted, "It's okay, I'll find someone for you, you have to change beds immediately." He then pulled out his phone and started searching for contacts.

At this moment, Han Jun also stepped forward and asked, "Brother, what's going on?"

Brother Zhang looked at Han Jun, then around, and whispered, "Have you forgotten about Xiao Cui?"

Han Jun lowered his head and thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up. "Your driver? Is this the bed?"

Brother Zhang nodded.

Han Jun looked enlightened, while I was completely bewildered.

Han Jun stopped Zhang Ge's hand, which was about to make a call, and said, "Let me do it. You two talk to your wife for a while." He

then took out his phone and walked out of the ward. Zhang Ge's expression softened. "Oh right, how could I forget him? He has better connections in this matter."

I couldn't help but wonder, "Isn't Han Jun from out of town? How come he has more connections here than you?"

"He's a local. He only went to Shanghai last year. Don't let his status as a businessman fool you; his network is wider than mine, even as an official."

"Oh."

At this moment, my wife also got up to greet us. So, we chatted politely by the bedside for about ten minutes before Han Jun led a doctor in.

The doctor shook hands with us. After a few words, he asked a nurse to move my wife to a small ward next door. After settling in, the doctor said goodbye and was about to leave. Han Jun chased after him down the corridor, trying to put something in the doctor's hand, but the doctor repeatedly refused, saying, "No, no, this was arranged by Dean Zhao himself." In the end, the doctor didn't accept it.

After leaving the hospital, the three of us drove straight to a restaurant we used to frequent. Zhang Ge had a somber face the whole way and barely spoke, so I didn't ask too many questions. I just chatted with Han Jun about Shanghai's customs and culture. But Han Jun seemed a little distracted.

When we arrived at the restaurant and sat down in a private room, the atmosphere improved somewhat. As Zhang Ge and I drank, we chatted about his recuperation. Han Jun, who was driving, kept us company with a soft drink. Seeing that everyone's mood had improved, I couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Zhang Ge, why did you insist on changing beds earlier? Is something wrong? Can you tell me?"

Zhang Ge put down his glass, sighed, and said, "It's a pretty tragic thing. Let me tell you, just as a story..."

For ease of narration, I will now tell Zhang Ge's story in the first person.

I (Zhang Ge) was discharged from the army in 1998 and returned to my hometown to work for a state-owned enterprise. In 2002, I was transferred from a grassroots unit to the head office's environmental protection department as director. After arriving at the new unit, due to work reasons, the company assigned me a car and driver.

Xiao Cui was my personal driver. The young man was born in 1982 and had only recently started working. Later, I learned that his parents were actually former employees of my old workplace. They knew me too, and the elderly couple were known as kind and good people. Because of this connection, Xiao Cui privately called me "Uncle Zhang."

My first impression of Xiao Cui was good. Although he was tall and strong, I could tell at a glance he was very introverted and shy. I still remember the way he scratched his head and grinned sheepishly in front of me during our first meeting.

During the years he drove for me, I saw many virtues in him that are lacking in today's young people: he was diligent, filial, kind, and family-oriented. He didn't have any of the vices like smoking, drinking, or gambling. When we went to meetings, while other drivers either slept or played cards, he would always be smiling as he cleaned the car or quietly reading a book; my car was always spotless. After every dinner, he would collect the leftover cigarettes and alcohol and take them home to his father. Sometimes, he would immediately take the conference gifts I gave him to his parents. At work, he was always there for anyone, whether it was for work or personal matters. He wasn't talkative, always smiling, and had a good temper with everyone. So when he had his accident, no one could believe he could have such a violent side.

What moved me most was his kindness. Once, when we were out, there was a car accident ahead, and our car was stuck in traffic. When he saw an elderly person who was also injured, he immediately got out of the car, carried the elderly person, and ran three kilometers to get them to the hospital. When others praised him, he still just scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

PS: When Brother Zhang told this story, I could clearly see tears welling up in his eyes.

One day in April 2005, Xiao Cui came to me with a happy face and told me that he was getting married on May Day and hoped I would be his witness. I readily agreed and asked about the woman's situation. It turned out that because Xiao Cui was introverted, his parents felt that few girls in the city would be willing to marry someone like him. So they asked someone from their rural hometown to introduce him to a woman surnamed "Ma" (when Brother Zhang first mentioned this woman, I could clearly feel his anger and disdain). Xiao Cui met her a few times and had a good impression of her. Both sets of parents were also quite satisfied. Moreover, Xiao Cui's parents promised to find Ma (let's use this name to refer to her) a job in the city after the marriage. So the marriage was arranged.

At Xiao Cui's wedding on May Day, I met Ma. Although she came from the countryside, she was quite attractive, no wonder Xiao Cui was so happy. But her eyes were unsettling; she didn't seem like a stable person. And her family didn't seem like kind people either, but on such a joyous occasion, I couldn't say much, only offering my blessings.

At the wedding banquet, I sat next to Xiao Cui's parents. Through conversation, I learned that the elderly couple had almost spent their entire life savings on Xiao Cui's wedding. The engagement and dowry alone amounted to over ten thousand yuan. Fortunately, they didn't need to buy a house (the state-owned enterprise provided subsidized housing; Xiao Cui was an only child, so the three of them pooled their housing provident funds for the down payment and then took out a housing provident fund loan to buy a three-bedroom apartment).

Another incident happened at the wedding banquet: a young woman from my workplace, surnamed Wang, a typist, got very drunk and started crying uncontrollably. That's when we learned that she had long liked Xiao Cui, but he was too quiet, and she was too reserved. And so they missed their chance. Later, when news of Cui Yongyuan's accident came, Wang, who was already married, broke down in tears in her office. If any of us had seen through their mistake and tried to bring them together, perhaps this tragedy wouldn't have happened.

After the marriage, Xiao Cui's parents first obtained "employee dependent" status for Ma, and then asked someone to arrange a job for her in the company cafeteria. I also specifically contacted my former employer's successor about this matter, and things went smoothly.

In August 2006, Xiao Cui's child was born, a boy. I personally went to congratulate him on his one-month birthday. That year, Xiao Cui smiled more often. We were all happy for him.

At the end of that year, Xiao Cui came to my office, looking hesitant. After I pressed him repeatedly, he finally explained his purpose. It turned out that Ma was working in the cafeteria, earning little money and doing a lot of work. After her maternity leave, she didn't want to go back to work and insisted on opening a clothing store. Xiao Cui had no choice but to ask me for help. So I did something I will regret for the rest of my life: I helped Xiao Cui with this favor.

PS: Brother Zhang slammed his wine glass on the ground as he finished telling this story.

Through my connections, I helped Xiao Cui secure a shop, obtain the business and tax certificates, and find suppliers. Han Jun also helped with this. (ps: Han Jun nodded in agreement.)

Two other things happened during the process. Once, when Xiao Cui handed over his documents, I couldn't help but ask, "The money was all borrowed from your parents, so why is your wife listed as the legal representative? You need to be more careful." He just chuckled sheepishly. "Uncle Zhang, it's okay, we're all family." Later, my worries proved true.

Another time, I found a tubal ligation slip for Xiao Cui in his household registration book. I showed him the slip and asked what happened. He blushed and repeatedly said he'd forgotten to take it out. Finally, he told me that Ma felt uncomfortable wearing condoms, and he was afraid of the pain of getting an IUD, so Xiao Cui had to get a tubal ligation. I was speechless and could only shake my head repeatedly.

In early 2007, the clothing store opened.

After the store opened, I clearly noticed that Xiao Cui lacked energy at work and looked haggard. I asked him what was wrong, and he repeatedly apologized. It turned out that Ma was so focused on the shop that he sometimes didn't even come home at night. Xiao Cui's mother helped take care of the child during the day, but Xiao Cui insisted on taking

care of the child alone at night to avoid tiring his parents. I criticized Xiao Cui for the first time, telling him that it's very dangerous for a driver to drive while fatigued if he doesn't get enough rest. The consequence of this criticism was that Xiao Cui's father took early retirement to help take care of the child. But Xiao Cui smiled less. Perhaps the burdens of life had matured this once cheerful young man.

Later, as the child grew older, Xiao Cui's burden lessened, and he smiled more often. But I could still see the weariness behind his smiles.

By March 2009, the smile on Xiao Cui's face had completely disappeared, replaced by red eyes and a face full of sorrow. I repeatedly pressed him for answers, but all he did was cry and shake his head. Once, I even saw bandages wrapped around his arm. When I asked him about it, he remained silent. In his eyes, I seemed to see despair and a sense of giving up.

Because my workplace was preparing for an inspection from the department, and there was a lot of work, I decided to visit his home after I finished these few days. Unexpectedly, the incident happened the very next day.

That evening, after dinner, I didn't call a taxi and walked to work overtime. Just as I sat down in my office, my phone rang. I saw it was Xiao Cui. I answered, and Xiao Cui's voice was hoarse, "Uncle Zhang, I've killed someone. I killed the horse, I cut off its head. I'm definitely not going to live. Please help me with the work, and please take care of my parents. I will repay your kindness in my next life..." (

Note: Zhang's tears finally fell, and his story stopped. The private room was silent except for the sound of Zhang drinking heavily.

) (Note: Zhang couldn't speak for a long time, seemingly unwilling to continue. I drank several more glasses with him before he calmed down and slowly began to speak again.)

Listening to Xiao Cui's incoherent words on the phone, I felt a storm raging inside me, a chill running down my spine. I thought, "This is it, something terrible must have happened.

" Xiao Cui kept repeating himself on the other end, not giving me a chance to interrupt. I could clearly sense that he had completely lost control of his emotions. I steadied myself and yelled into the phone, "Shut up! Tell me where you are? What happened?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end. I was frantic. "Speak! Speak! Xiao Cui, speak!"

"Uncle Zhang, I'm finished. I don't know how this happened. I really don't know what will happen to Mom and Dad, what will happen to Mao Mao (Xiao Cui's child)? Uncle Zhang, you have to help me take care of them. I have no siblings, and I don't know how to get along with people, so I have no good friends. I can only beg you..." His voice choked with sobs; he was crying as he spoke.

“Xiao Cui, calm down. No matter what’s wrong, Uncle Zhang will definitely help you, but you need to tell me what happened.”

“Don’t ask, Uncle Zhang, don’t ask. I have some things to do now, I don’t have much time.”

“Where are you?”

The phone went dead. I tried again, but it was switched off.

I was trying to calm myself down when my phone rang again. I picked it up and saw it was Lao He from the “Security Department.” As soon

as I answered, I heard Lao He’s urgent voice, “Director Zhang, your driver has killed someone, come quickly!”

“Where are you?”

“At ## Hospital. I just happened to be visiting someone and ran into him.” (ps: I understand now.)

“Where is he?”

“He came downstairs covered in blood, I don’t know where he went.”

I hung up and ran downstairs.

Half an hour later, when I arrived at the hospital, the police were already there. I followed a large group of police officers to the sixth floor, where the scene had been cordoned off.

Just as I was getting anxious and couldn't get in, I suddenly saw Lao Wei. Lao Wei was my comrade-in-arms from when we were in the army, and we later transferred back to civilian life together. Now he's the political commissar of the public security bureau. He was directing operations at the scene, so I quickly called him over, pulled him aside, and whispered the situation to him.

As Lao Wei led me into the scene, he whispered to me, "It's too horrific inside. That kid reported it himself, but when we got here, he ran away again. Another group is heading to his house."

I've been in the army, experienced life and death, and seen dead people more than once, but when I saw the scene in the ward, I was still shocked

. Bloodstains were everywhere, a headless corpse lay face down on the bed, and a head rolled under another bed. A kitchen knife lay in the middle of the ward, and even with my good eyesight, I could see the curled blade.

Looking at all this, my heart sank, and my mind went blank. I just kept muttering, "How could this happen? How could this happen...?"

Lao Wei answered a phone call, glancing at me repeatedly as he spoke. After hanging up the phone, he kept staring at me. Finally, he pulled me out of the ward, handed me a cigarette, lit it, and slowly said, "We just got news from over there."

"Did they catch him?"

"He jumped from the fifth floor of his apartment. When our people arrived, he was confirmed dead."

"Ah!" I turned to leave, but Lao Wei grabbed me. "I'll take you there."

I turned to look at him, and he shook his head. "I saw that young man when I was at your place. He seemed like a very honest person. How could he..."

PS: At this point, I completely understood why Brother Zhang insisted on changing beds.

When we arrived downstairs at Xiao Cui's apartment, Xiao Cui had already been put into a body bag by the funeral home and was about to be carried away. Lao Wei stepped forward to stop him, then opened the body bag and gestured for me to take a look. By the light from upstairs, I carefully examined the face

I had seen every day. The familiar,憨笑 (simple smile) was gone. The lines were so hard, and a pair of wide-open eyes stared silently at the night sky.

I reached out and gently touched it, feeling its icy coldness.

As I gently stroked his eyelids, I whispered, "Don't worry, I'll take care of them for you."

A few minutes later, with my final gentle touch, he finally closed his eyes.

After Xiao Cui was carried away, I sat on the steps, and Lao Wei silently kept me company while I smoked. Not long after, a policeman came to report. It turned out that Xiao Cui had come home to organize the family's valuables and place them in a conspicuous place so that his parents could find them.

In the following days, through the accounts of Xiao Cui's parents, and the information Lao Wei gathered through statements (this is the key point) and witness testimonies, I learned the truth.

Xiao Cui's parents were both kind-hearted people. They taught Xiao Cui from a young age to be kind to others and to be tolerant in all things. Over time, this fostered Xiao Cui's introverted yet kind personality. Although he wasn't good at socializing, he longed for closeness with others. In his mind, everyone who was willing to be close to him was a good person, and he wanted to repay them doubly.

In Xiao Cui's eyes, marrying Ma meant gaining another closest person besides his parents. He was willing to give his all to treat Ma well; not good at expressing himself, he could only prove it through actions.

After their marriage, Xiao Cui took care of almost all the housework. According to neighbors, Xiao Cui not only washed Ma's underwear but also frequently washed her feet. Ma loved shrimp, so Xiao Cui would buy it every few days. Once, a neighbor witnessed Xiao Cui peeling and placing all the shrimp in Ma's bowl on a large plate. He only ate a few shrimp heads after Ma stopped eating.

Ma was initially very content, and they were quite happy until their child was born.

While Ma was in postpartum confinement, her younger brother came to borrow money for his wedding, asking for 50,000 yuan. Xiao Cui scraped together 30,000 yuan, but Ma's brother was dissatisfied. As a result, Ma's parents called and complained to her.

This sparked Ma's desire to earn money. This is why she decided to open a shop.

It must be admitted that Ma was a very capable woman. With her hard work and the help of some of my friends, she did indeed earn some money in just over two years. After the incident, according to the police, the store's accounts, including inventory, totaled over a million yuan, and she even bought a Hyundai sedan.

During this time, Xiao Cui continued to support her family, but Ma's heart gradually drifted away from home. She would always throw tantrums when she returned, and eventually, she wouldn't let Xiao Cui handle the store's accounts at all. Xiao Cui didn't complain, simply assuming Ma was tired from working outside, and always comforted her.

In early 2008, things changed. A thug set his sights on Ma. This man, surnamed Gu, was around thirty years old, unemployed, and had been imprisoned for theft. After his release, he relied on his parents for support, spending his days swindling food and drink.

Once, Gu met Ma while accompanying someone shopping for clothes. Seeing that Ma was beautiful and had money, he wanted to seduce her. After that, he frequently came to the store under various pretexts to find Ma. At first, Ma ignored him. So Gu devised a plan, arranging for some of his cronies to cause trouble at the store, which he then used to stage a "hero saves the damsel in distress" scene. (This is all from Gu's confession afterward.)

Because of this incident, the two became friends. After they started dating, Gu used all the tricks he had learned from society and television to woo women on Ma. He would send her sweet text messages one day and flowers the next, and Ma quickly fell for him. The two became lovers.

Gu's sweet words made Ma dizzy. She not only bought Gu clothes and a cell phone, but also frequently gave him money. According to Gu's confession, during the year they were together, Gu took at least 200,000 yuan in cash from Ma.

During this time, Xiao Cui had to work during the day and take care of the children at night, so she didn't have much energy to pay attention to Ma and didn't notice anything unusual about her.

After tasting the sweetness of Ma's life, especially after learning about Ma's approximate assets, Gu was no longer satisfied with just making some money. He decided to completely possess Ma and her money. After getting to know Xiao Cui's temperament and personality, he became even more determined.

So Gu started demanding a divorce from Ma. Unable to withstand Gu's relentless nagging, Ma filed for divorce from Xiao Cui after the 2009 Spring Festival, citing irreconcilable differences. Initially, Xiao Cui thought she was in the wrong and refused, repeatedly apologizing. At this point, Ma, seeing the children, seemed to regret his actions. Gu, realizing Ma was considering returning, personally intervened, describing the wonderful future together to solidify Ma's resolve, while simultaneously calling Xiao Cui to tell her about their affair. Xiao Cui then realized

the truth. Despite her immense pain upon learning the truth, Xiao Cui made a final effort to win Ma back for the sake of the children. But this only made Ma more contemptuous.

Having already broken off relations, Ma and Gu became even more brazen. Not only did Ma cause trouble at home daily, but the two of them also frequently went to Xiao Cui's house together, pressuring her to divorce him. The division of property was even more outrageous. Aside from the company-provided apartment, all other assets, including the car and shop, were to go to

Ma. Even the family savings (which were Xiao Cui's personal savings; Ma never contributed money from the shop) were to be split equally. These demands were recorded in the "divorce agreement" later found by the police. To keep Ma in the game, Gu even orchestrated her pregnancy.

Ma's pregnancy drove Xiao Cui to despair, and he agreed to all of Ma's demands. They also agreed to go through the divorce proceedings.

Although painful, things hadn't reached a dead end. However, Ma's hospital checkup results changed everything.

It revealed an ectopic pregnancy. This woman brazenly demanded that Xiao Cui accompany her to the surgery and care for her in the hospital, claiming that the divorce proceedings weren't finalized and that Xiao Cui was a good caregiver.

His wife was pregnant with another man's child, and he was expected to care for her. Xiao Cui felt incredibly humiliated, yet he couldn't bear to abandon her. Although he agreed, he was in so much pain that he had nowhere to vent his anger, so he took a kitchen knife and slashed his own arm. His parents, who had come to visit, witnessed this. The elderly couple took the knife from him and bandaged his arm. Faced with this situation, the old couple could only weep, unable to offer any words of comfort. Before leaving, fearing that Xiao Cui might do something foolish again, his mother took the kitchen knife with her. But she probably didn't realize that her action would make the situation even more irreversible.

After Ma was hospitalized, he needed to be observed for a few days before surgery, so Xiao Cui was responsible for delivering his meals. That afternoon, after getting his meal from the company cafeteria, Xiao Cui drove to the hospital to deliver it. Passing a hardware store, he remembered that his mother had taken the kitchen knife. He was afraid of worrying his mother if he went to get it, but it was inconvenient to cook without it, so he went in and bought a new kitchen knife, putting it in his bag. After leaving, he felt very guilty for causing his parents so much worry, so he called his father, comforted him, and told him that he had bought another kitchen knife but would never do anything foolish again.

After taking care of Ma at the hospital and finishing her meal, Xiao Cui was peeling an apple for Ma by the bedside when Gu swaggered in.

As soon as Gu entered, he and Ma began flirting and cuddling, oblivious to everyone else. It was as if Xiao Cui didn't exist. The other people in the ward and the nurses were stunned by the relationship between the three. Xiao Cui's face flushed red; she wanted nothing more than to leave. Ma then ordered Xiao Cui to offer Gu a seat, pour him water, and get him fruit. It was truly baffling whether this woman had any heart. Xiao Cui forced herself to obey Ma's orders.

Seeing Xiao Cui's submissive demeanor, Gu became even more smug, completely unconcerned about the onlookers, and even began to mock Xiao Cui, saying, "You should put in more effort and get her well so we can go live together."

"I'll take good care of her out of consideration for our marriage. We'll go through the paperwork once she's discharged," Xiao Cui said, struggling to maintain her last shred of dignity.

"I asked you to take care of her out of pity. Cherish this opportunity; it's your best chance to be together."

"In these past few years of marriage, I've given her almost my entire heart, and she treats me like this. She'll treat you the same way in the future."

Gu scoffed. "You think everyone's like you, unable to keep your wife? A complete coward."

Those around them, understanding their relationship from their conversation, looked at them with strange eyes. Ma, feeling embarrassed, urged Gu to leave. Gu left with the words, "Come back tomorrow," and swaggered away.

At that moment, Xiao Cui's mind was filled with Gu's words, "Unable to keep your wife, a complete coward," and the strange looks from those around him made him too ashamed to lift his head.

Where there are many people, there are many gossips. In no time, almost everyone in the ward knew about it, and many people from other wards also rushed to the door to see what was going on. Low murmurs echoed down the corridor.

Seeing this, Ma simply lay down on the bed and pretended to be asleep. Xiao Cui stood by the bed with his head down, and no one knew what he was thinking.

When he finally raised his head, his bloodshot eyes met the eyes of two nurses who were curiously peering in from the doorway. The curious, pitying, disdainful, and even contemptuous looks in other people's eyes stung him again. After the nurses turned and ran away, the mocking laughter coming from the nurses' station and the pointing and whispering of others finally snapped his last thread of reason. He pulled a kitchen knife from his bag and viciously slashed at Ma's neck.

After Ma's head rolled to the ground, Xiao Cui stood in the center of the ward, knife in hand, glaring fiercely at everyone. He shouted, "Who dares to laugh at me for being a coward?"

Everyone present was stunned. Someone wanted to call the police, but "Nobody's allowed to call. I

'll handle this myself." Old Wei told me about what happened in the ward and about Gu after the case was closed. After recounting the events, Old Wei sighed deeply, "I understand why he acted so impulsively back then. It's like when we were in recruit camp, the instructors would yell at us all the time. Extreme humiliation can unleash a person's hidden bloodlust and bestiality. You know, according to eyewitness testimonies and the forensic examination, Xiao Cui slashed once. How much force did he use? With a small kitchen knife, he chopped off a person's head in one stroke..."

After Old Wei left, I sat alone in my office, lost in thought. I imagined that slash. I think I can understand. Any man, no matter how introverted, kind, or shy, has a thirst for revenge within him. That slash was filled with indignation at the humiliation, a resolute rejection of shame, and a denial of his past beliefs. That's why that strike was so ruthless.

I know he wasn't trying to get revenge on anyone; otherwise, he would have chosen to chop Gu instead of Ma. He was just desperately trying to regain some dignity to keep himself from collapsing. After exhausting his last bit of courage, he realized that regaining dignity couldn't give him the courage to live, because he had lost all will to live, so he chose death.

PS: Brother Zhang finally finished speaking.

The table fell silent. Brother Zhang was processing his emotions, while I was silently reflecting.

After a while, Han Jun, perhaps because he already knew about this, was the first to come to his senses. Seeing the somber atmosphere, he spoke first, "Alright, it's all in the past, let's not talk about it anymore. If you ask me, Xiao Cui was impulsive. No matter how much courage you have, you can't lose your mind. There are many ways to get revenge on someone, why drag yourself down with him?"

Brother Zhang glared at him fiercely, "I said, he wasn't trying to get revenge on anyone, he just..."

"Okay, okay, okay, brother, you're right. We came out to have fun, let's not talk about sad things." Han Jun repeatedly admitted his mistake.

"Why don't you tell us your sad story, let us have a laugh, and let my brother see what's going on. It'll show us that a rational jerk is the scariest."

Han Jun thought for a moment, then got up, took off his coat, and called the waiter for drinks and glasses.

"It's been years, nothing to be sad about anymore. Xiao Chen doesn't seem like a stranger, so let's talk about it. But we need to have a drink. Let's make it clear the car can't be driven; we'll all take taxis home later."

After a few drinks, Han Jun began his story.

I should have written about Han Jun's story, but I didn't know how to begin. His story wasn't as tragic as Xiao Cui's, but it was much more complicated. Because it was told by the person involved, the process was even more fascinating. Since I had drunk quite a bit while listening, and so much time had passed, I'd forgotten many details. I'll try to recall them carefully and try to make the story more engaging.

PS: I'll still use the first person to tell Han Jun's story.

My cousin just called me a "rational jerk." Actually, that's how I would describe myself. What is "rationality"? According to the dictionary, it's: a person's ability to recognize, understand, think, and make decisions. But I interpret these concepts separately. "Reason" means being reasonable, though often this reasoning might just be my own, or even flawed. But that doesn't matter; as long as there's reason, I can act with conviction. "Wisdom" means acting with intelligence; as long as the goal is achieved, any means necessary. These two points should explain why I'm a scoundrel, right?

My personality is partly due to my family background. I was born in 1970, and my parents were engineers with technical backgrounds. They taught me from a young age to be organized and planned, to analyze problems before solving them, and to be kind and generous.

Unfortunately, I only learned their methods, not their principles of conduct. You could say my personality is somewhat obsessive.

In 1988, I entered a university in Beijing. The following year, 1989, I was expelled from school for participating in the political turmoil of May and June, but thankfully it wasn't recorded in my file.

In 1990, I returned to my alma mater to repeat my senior year of high school, where I met my future wife, Mei. We sat at desks next to each other and didn't interact much. Our main conversations were about university life, which she often asked me.

That same year, I was admitted to a university in Qingdao. During my second year of university, in the winter break of 1992, I met Mei again while visiting my teachers for the Spring Festival. I learned that she had only been admitted to a local ordinary junior college.

After this encounter, we began corresponding. A year later, Mei graduated first. Through her parents' connections, she was assigned to the personnel department of a second-tier unit of a state-owned enterprise. A year later, I also graduated and was assigned back to my hometown. My workplace was another second-tier unit of the same state-owned enterprise, very close by, but I started as a technician at the grassroots level.

That year, Mei and I also started dating.

After several years of dating, we got married in 1998, and in 1999 we had our daughter—Shuangshuang. Life continued peacefully until 2005. After starting a family, I spent all my time at home except for work. Because I've always thought that this is a social unit I built with my own hands, a place I'll spend the rest of my life in, and when I look back on my life in old age, this will be my proudest achievement.

During this time, Mei's job remained unchanged, while I, due to my outstanding work, joined the Party, and the Organization Department had spoken with me several times, planning to transfer me to a higher position. Both sets of parents retired and went home, and Mei's younger brother, after graduating from university, worked and started a family in Jinan. The most important thing was that my brother resigned in 1998 to start a business. He needed 500,000 yuan in registered capital, and my parents took out all their savings, raising 300,000 yuan, and asked for 40% of the shares. They explained to my brother that these shares were to be left to me in the future. (My parents doted on their youngest son). My brother, relying on the

connections he had built during his school and work years, grew the company into a large enterprise in just a few years. By the time of my divorce, the company's assets were already in the tens of millions. But I didn't tell Mei about the shares. At the time, I thought taking money from my parents wasn't something to be proud of, and besides, it would be a pleasant surprise when I actually inherited it in the future, so I didn't say anything. But it was this decision that gave me the means to take revenge.

My, or rather "our" good days, came to an end in April 2005.

It was a Wednesday afternoon, near the end of the workday, when my colleague Xiao Wu, who had won several thousand yuan in the lottery, insisted on taking everyone out for dinner and karaoke to celebrate. I asked about the place, and it was quite close to my parents' house, so I called Mei to tell her that I was going to stay at my parents' house that night and visit my daughter (my parents had been helping to take care of the child since they retired, only taking her home on weekends). She asked when I was coming home, and I said I could only go back the next night (for dual-income couples working in state-owned enterprises, housing is allocated based on the wife's workplace, so our house is very close to her workplace, only a five or six-minute walk, but it's farther from mine, a twenty-minute motorcycle ride, so I usually don't go home for lunch).

After drinking that night, my stomach felt really uncomfortable. I forced myself to stay out with everyone until I got back to my parents' house, then collapsed onto my bed. The pain started in the middle of the night, but I didn't want to disturb them, so I gritted my teeth and endured it until dawn.

When I got to work, the pain got worse, so I had to take a day off. Little did I know that this unexpected trip home would be a major turning point in my life.

When I finally reached my door, clutching my stomach, it was already past nine in the morning. I took out my key to open the door. Hmm. Why won't it turn? Is it locked from the inside? Is Mei home?

Then I heard Mei's voice from inside, "Who is it?"

"It's me, open the door." I was very impatient because of the stomach pain.

"Ah, wait a minute, I'm in the bathroom."

About five or six minutes later, just as I was about to bang on the door again, it opened, and Mei looked flustered. "Why are you back now? Aren't you going to work?"

"I took the day off because of a stomachache. Why aren't you at work? Why did you lock the door?"

"I came back to get something, and I guess it's a habit, so I just locked the door. Should I take you to the hospital now?"

"No need, I've already bought some medicine. Don't worry about it, just lie down for a bit."

I went to the bedroom to lie down, but found the blankets on the bed were still messily spread out. "Why didn't you make the blankets?"

"Oh, I overslept this morning. Go to the sofa first, I'll tidy them up."

"Never mind, I'll just lie down for a bit, I'll talk to you when I get up."

The stomachache made me not think about anything else, and I lay down on the bed. When I reached under the blankets, I was stunned. Wait, why are the blankets warm?

Just as I was trying to figure it out, several shouts suddenly came from outside the window: "What are you doing? What are you doing up there?"

Then I heard a short "Ah!" from the window, followed by a series of crashes downstairs, and finally a person's groan of pain.

I jumped out of bed, pulled back the curtains and opened the window (I live on the second floor, and because it's a self-built community by my workplace, the security is good, so we didn't install security bars on the windows). I peeked out and saw a man lying almost shirtless in the courtyard downstairs, groaning while hugging one leg. Hmm? He wasn't wearing shoes. The flowers planted on the first floor were also smashed and scattered around. There were also a few pieces of clothing and shoes lying nearby. Looking out of the courtyard, I saw two or three old men wearing red armbands looking up. Seeing me peek out, they shouted, "There was a guy outside your window, one foot on the windowsill, both hands hanging from your air conditioner. We yelled and he fell down. Was he a thief?"

I looked down again to see who it was. Hmm, I recognized him. I'd seen him when I went to Mei's workplace to pick up New Year's goods. He was a section chief who'd been transferred there last year; I'd forgotten his last name.

I glanced at Mei, who was squeezed next to me, peering down. She looked at me too, her face pale, her eyes darting around. I understood immediately.

My stomach was hurting even more, damn it. I was drenched in sweat and felt like I couldn't even stand. I yelled downstairs, "Call the police!"

Mei quickly grabbed my clothes, "No, please don't call the police."

The stomach pain was making it impossible for me to think. I collapsed onto the bed, curled up in a ball, and with my last bit of strength said, "Get out."

I heard Mei open the door and run out, and then I seemed to fall into a coma. In my hazy state, I vaguely heard a lot of noise outside, the sound of an ambulance, then someone calling me, and then someone carrying me...

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a hospital room. Xiao Wu and Xiao Yang from my workplace were beside me. Seeing that I was awake, Xiao Wu quickly helped me up. "I'm sorry, Brother Han, I really shouldn't have let you drink so much last night."

"It's not your fault, it's because I haven't been sleeping well these past few days. How did you get here? How did I get here?"

"Your wife called us. When we got to your house, you were unconscious, which scared us, so we quickly carried you to the clinic."

"Carried you here?" I asked, looking around.

"Yes, thankfully it's not far. You should find your wife. She said there was an emergency at work, and after you got your injection, she asked us to stay with you."

I checked my watch; it was already noon. I tried it; my stomach still hurt, but I could bear it. Seeing that the IV drip was finished, I got out of bed and called to Xiao Wu and Xiao Yang, "Come on, let's go eat."

"Brother Han, no, we went out to eat earlier. The doctor said you can only eat liquids now. I brought you some porridge; eat it while it's hot. There's also the prescribed medicine."

I slowly finished the porridge, feeling much better. I said goodbye to the doctor and asked them to take me home. They dropped me off at my door and then rushed off to work.

I opened the door and went inside. No one was home. There was a note on the living room table. I picked it up: "Han Jun, you already know, right? I'm going to stay at a friend's house for a couple of days. Let's both calm down. Mei."

I sat down on the sofa. Calm down. I needed to calm down. I had encountered a life-changing event; I couldn't panic. I tried to remain calm and closed my eyes to think.

The situation was clear. I had encountered the thing every man dreads most.

What was the cause? I didn't know; I needed to investigate.

Now that I knew, what should I do? Two choices: endure it? Or not? Well, no matter the reason, I absolutely cannot endure it. That's my principle.

Okay, if I can't endure it, then divorce is the only option. What needs to be addressed in a divorce?

There are probably two aspects: people and property.

Let's think about the people first, the adulterer. We'll make a decision after the investigation is complete. As for family, we'll talk to Mei's family after she returns, and we need to appease our own family first. We must find a way to keep our daughter.

As for property, I've always controlled the family finances, so I'm not worried. Let's figure out the reasons first and then see their attitude.

What else? Right, the impact. This matter has already blown up. In a couple of days, everyone at work will know. I consider myself very proud. Can I bear the strange looks from others and continue going to work? It seems I need to think of a way out. This is also good preparation for dealing with the adulterer in the future. Once I take action, I can't let myself be restrained. Fortunately, I can go to my brother's company.

So what do I need to do immediately? Hmm, notify my parents, keep our daughter, and secure our money.

I opened my eyes, got up, and first called my father, "Dad, go to the kindergarten right now and pick Shuangshuang up. Don't let Mei take her. I'll explain why when I get home."

Then I called my workplace and asked for three days off. Next, I opened the cabinet, packed up my bankbooks, receipts, and documents, put them in my bag, got up, went out,

closed the door, and started walking down the stairs. After three steps, I involuntarily stopped. It felt like something was slipping away, as if I had left something very important at home. What was it?

I stood there blankly for a moment, then turned back, gently opened the door, and wandered slowly through the house—the hallway, the kitchen, the bathroom, the children's bedroom, our bedroom, the balcony, the living room… My eyes scanned the room, my hands stroking the furniture…

Everything here was something I had painstakingly arranged, piece by piece. It was the culmination of years of hard work, the anchor of my spirit, my haven, my entire life, the place I wanted to cherish for the rest of my life… I knew I was about to lose it.

When my gaze finally settled on the family photo on the wall, the sadness I had been deliberately suppressing finally broke free, and tears welled up in my eyes. I stared for a long time at the three smiling faces, their smiles both blurred and clear through the tears... "

Make another choice," I silently told myself.

Dignity or feelings? To give up or to try and hold on?

To make a choice, I had to ask myself honestly: Can I overcome this hurdle of inner shame? Is happiness achieved by abandoning dignity still happiness? Can a salvaged relationship still last? Will there still be trust and sincerity between us in the future? ...

I asked myself these questions again and again, but the answer to every question was no.

It seemed I only had one choice. I couldn't hesitate any longer. I wouldn't hesitate any longer.

I clenched my fists. Since life had played a joke on me, I would let it be a big joke. I would let everyone involved experience the harshness of life in this joke.

I knew the stubborn side of my personality had erupted, but I wouldn't restrain myself anymore.

This time, I walked out resolutely, without looking back .

The sun was shining brightly outside, but I couldn't feel it. The only thing I could feel was the gathering darkness within my heart...

When I arrived at my parents' house, my father had already brought his daughter back. Both of them looked anxious, but their tense expressions relaxed slightly when they saw me calmly walk into the house.

Looking at the concerned expressions on the elderly couple's faces, I truly didn't know how to begin, how to make them accept the truth.

I led my daughter to the small room and let her draw there.

Returning to the living room, the elderly couple were already sitting nervously on the sofa, their faces full of inquiry, yet they dared not ask, only staring intently at me.

I took a deep breath and sat down in front of them.

"Dad, Mom, I want a divorce."

"Why? What conflict can't be resolved? Did you do something outrageous?" My mother began to question me, while my father stared intently at me.

I lowered my head, covered my face with my hands, and slowly told them what had happened that morning.

After I finished, they were silent for a long time, both looking shocked. I knew it was hard for them to accept this fact. In their eyes, our family of three had always been happy, and Mei was a good daughter-in-law. Moreover, both families were quite traditional, and their relationship was excellent. In their minds, such a messy thing would never happen in their own family. When my brother went into business, their biggest worry wasn't losing money, but that my brother would go astray and affect the family. They never expected that my brother's family would remain stable, while the family they trusted most had changed.

After a long pause, my mother cautiously asked, "Is there some misunderstanding here? Xiaomei isn't that kind of person, is she?"

I didn't answer. My mother nudged my father, who took out a cigarette and took two deep drags. "Do her parents know?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, they probably don't. I haven't told them."

My father silently smoked again, pondered for a moment, and stared at me again. "Is there any possibility of turning back? Even for Shuangshuang's sake?"

I knew my father was asking about my attitude. If I still had any thoughts of reconciliation, he would immediately go to Mei, to Mei's parents, to help his son and granddaughter save their home.

I met his gaze with the same firmness. "It's impossible. I thought it through repeatedly before coming here. I will definitely stay with Shuangshuang."

My father saw determination in my bloodshot eyes. He seemed to lose all his spirit, his face turned ashen, he took a deep drag of his cigarette, and then coughed violently. I quickly got up to pat his back, while my mother busied herself getting water.

After he finished coughing, he drank some water, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes to rest. I stood beside him with my head down. After a while, he opened his eyes. "Xiaojun, you're still sick. Go

lie down for a bit. I'll call your brother back now. We'll discuss it when he gets back." I went to my daughter's room, hugged and kissed her, then lay down on her crib. Smelling her milky scent, exhausted, I fell asleep.

When my brother woke me up, my mother had already prepared dinner. I saw my sister-in-law and nephew at the table.

After dinner, my nephew took my daughter to play games, and we sat around in the living room.

After I recounted the events, my mother and sister-in-law started trying to persuade me, while my father and brother drank tea and thought it over.

Seeing that she couldn't persuade me, my sister-in-law pulled my brother aside, wanting him to say something too.

My brother looked at my father, and seeing that he didn't respond, he spoke up: "Don't try to persuade me anymore. I support Xiaojun's divorce."

My sister-in-law was furious, glaring at my brother. My brother waved his hand at her, signaling for quiet, and then continued, "I'm not saying this because Xiaomei made a mistake and I don't want to give her a chance. It's because this woman's heart isn't in the family anymore. That's why I support Xiaojun's divorce."

"How do you know her heart isn't in the family?" my sister-in-law retorted.

"Then let me ask you, when her husband was sick, who did she care about first? When her husband was still unconscious in the hospital, where was she? Has she even made a single phone call to ask about her husband's condition? Has she even made a single phone call to ask about her daughter's condition?"

Everyone fell silent, but I felt as if I had been stabbed twice more in the heart.

My brother then asked me, "Xiaojun, what do you plan to do?" "

Divorce. I want to keep Shuangshuang, get revenge, and not let them get away with it. Besides, I'm too ashamed to go to work anymore. I want to go to your place," I said, enunciating each word clearly.

“Fine, I support you. No one can get away with insulting my family, and no one can build their happiness on our family’s suffering. The company is half yours, so come if you want. If it weren’t for your promising career, I would have brought you here long ago,” my brother said indignantly.

“Alright, Xiaojun, if you don’t want to work anymore, go work for your brother and help him out,” my sister-in-law chimed in.

My mother hesitated, saying, “Xiaobing, Xiaojun, you two should think it over carefully.”

My brother waved his hand. “Dad, Mom, Xiaojun and I are adults. We know what we’re doing. Let’s handle our generation’s affairs ourselves. Don’t worry about it anymore. Get some rest. We’re going back now. Xiaojun, come to the company tomorrow morning, and I’ll discuss it with you in more detail.”

My parents sighed and fell silent.

Okay, with my brother’s help, the issues of appeasing my parents and finding a way out were resolved. Now it was my turn to take charge.

At night, as I lulled my daughter to sleep, I knelt beside her bed, gently stroking her head. My child, my little princess! Do you know the pain your father is going through? How can I ever make up for your suffering?

My daughter quietly felt my touch. Finally, she whispered, "Daddy, Uncle and Auntie came today, why didn't Mommy come?"

I was speechless. Okay, since the pain was inevitable, I'll try to lessen it with other emotions, even if it's a tragedy of human relationships. It's not my fault, it really isn't my fault. But why do I feel so heartbroken? Is it because I'm about to rob my daughter of her innocent childlike nature?

"Mommy won't be coming anymore."

"Why? Is it because Shuangshuang was naughty?"

"No, Shuangshuang is very good. It's because Mommy and bad people did things that hurt Daddy and Shuangshuang."

"What things? Were they bad?"

"They were bad things, very, very bad things. So bad that even Daddy can't forgive her."

"Then why did Mommy do them? Didn't she know she shouldn't do bad things?"

"She stayed with bad people and became a bad person too, that's why she did bad things. If we stay with Mommy, we'll become bad people too. Does Shuangshuang want to be a bad person?" "

Shuangshuang doesn't want to be a bad person, Shuangshuang wants to be a good person."

"Then let's not stay with Mommy anymore, okay? From now on, stay with Daddy, and Daddy will teach you to be a good person."

"What if Shuangshuang misses Mommy?"

"Treat her like a big bad guy, hate her, and you won't miss her."

What am I doing? What am I doing?

I'm robbing my daughter of her yearning for maternal love. I'm stifling her natural instincts, I'm teaching her to despise her own mother.

My tears streamed down my face.

Seeing my tears, my daughter was frightened and started crying too. She wiped my tears with her little hands, "Daddy, don't cry, Daddy, don't cry. Mommy hurts Daddy, Mommy is a big bad guy, Shuangshuang doesn't want Mommy anymore, Shuangshuang doesn't want Mommy anymore, Shuangshuang only wants Daddy."

I pressed my daughter's little hands to my face, "Baby, Daddy will always love you. You don't have Mommy anymore. Daddy will love you twice as much."

"I love Daddy too, I want to love Daddy twice, no, many, many times more."

"Baby, thank you. From now on, it's just the two of us. We both have to be strong. Will you learn to be strong?" "

Shuangshuang wants to learn to be strong, Daddy will teach Shuangshuang."

"Okay, Daddy will teach you now. Being strong means that no matter how painful it is inside, even if you're crying, you still have to smile on your face." As I spoke, I tried to force a smile.

My daughter smiled too. On two tearful smiling faces, one was confused, the other was determined.

"Ah, how ugly." I tickled her, and my daughter's giggles eased the pain of the night.

My daughter fell asleep, but I lingered, gazing at her little face.

My angel, perhaps you are the only sunshine in my life from now on. I hope your presence can pull me back before I go completely mad.

When I looked up, I saw my mother standing in the doorway. I don't know how long she had been standing there. She looked at me silently, then gestured for me to come out. I followed my mother into the living room. My father had already gone back to his room to sleep. I wondered if he would be able to sleep tonight. Thinking of this, another wave of pain washed over me.

My mother looked at me for a while longer before speaking: "You are teaching Shuangshuang to hate. You are teaching Shuangshuang to hate her mother."

“Yes, when that woman forgot her responsibilities as a mother and betrayed her family, her maternal love for Shuangshuang turned into harm, and Shuangshuang’s love and dependence on her became the source of her pain. I can only teach Shuangshuang to use hatred to protect herself from harm.”

I took a breath and continued, “Besides, in everyone’s growth, in addition to learning positive things like love, gratitude, and resilience, one must also learn negative things like hatred, jealousy, and compromise. Only in this way can one become a person who adapts to society. I don’t want her to learn these things so early, but what has happened now forces me to teach her now, otherwise I will lose her.”

My mother stared at me, “Xiaojun, do you really have to seek revenge like this? Don’t you think you’re being too extreme?”

I sneered, “Mom, how am I extreme? You taught me principles of conduct from a young age, told me the bottom line of morality, and now I’m upholding and maintaining these principles, how is that being extreme? Does abandoning principles of conduct, going along with those rotten people, or lowering the bottom line of morality and accepting the ugliness of the world mean I’m not being extreme?”

“I didn’t ask you to do that, I just wanted to say that one should have a tolerant heart.”

“I’m a Party member, I don’t believe in Buddhism or Jesus, so I don’t have a compassionate or tolerant heart, much less the grace to swallow insults. I’m just an ordinary person, not a saint. Therefore, if others treat me well, I will repay them with my conscience; if others treat me badly, I will repay them with equal malice. Anyone who tries to push me into the abyss, I will grab their legs and go down with them,”

my mother looked at me deeply, then shook her head and left.

I turned off the light, leaned back on the sofa, and stared blankly at the streetlights outside the window, loneliness enveloping me until dawn.

Before leaving, I repeatedly told my parents to leave Shuangshuang at home and not to go out yet.

When I arrived at the company, my brother was already waiting for me in the office.

When I came in, my brother saw I looked haggard and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Didn't you sleep all night? Do you want to rest?"

"It's nothing, I just couldn't sleep."

"You can't be like this. You need to find a way to adjust. There's no hurdle you can't overcome. How about I handle it? You just stay home and take care of the kids. These past few years I've had some peace and quiet, and now someone's actually bullying me

. I think they've forgotten that even when a lion is asleep, it's still a lion, and when it wakes up, it will bite." My brother used to be the leader of the local gangsters, and according to his friend, he was quite famous in the underworld. But after getting married, he immediately became a devoted family man.

"Brother, thank you, but no need. I already have a plan, and I want to do it my way. After all, to a large extent, it's my personal matter. You just need to handle some things for me. If I really can't handle it, I'll come to you again, okay?"

The brother thought for a moment, "Alright, I'll do it your way, but you must remember that we are brothers who share the same blood, and I will always be your support."

Our parents taught us to love each other from a young age, and the concept of family affection has long been ingrained in our bones.

"Okay, brother, thank you so much. I came today because I have a few things I'd like you to handle."

"Go ahead."

"First, my situation is definitely going to escalate. If Mom and Dad are still here, they'll be worried and upset, and Shuangshuang will be affected too."

"What are your thoughts?"

"Try arranging a trip for them, or if that doesn't work, let them go back to their hometown for a month." "

Okay, I'll arrange it. Qin Si (my brother's friend) runs a travel company, so just let him handle it. Try to get them gone by tomorrow. They can come back after this is over." "

Also, Shuangshuang is starting school in September, and I'd like her to study in another city." My

brother thought carefully. "Your sister-in-law's parents are in Shanghai, and I have a house there too. Let Mom and Dad take Shuangshuang there first. I'll find someone to help with the school. In a couple of years, when the company expands its business there, you can go too."

"That works too. I'll go and resign in the next few days and come over. What do you think I can do?"

"First, you can take on the title of vice president, get familiar with things by working with me, and then I'll hand over the business to you."

"Okay, let's get this straight, I won't have the energy to come to work right now. We'll start properly after I finish dealing with this. By the way, how much is my salary?"

"The company owns half of it. Theoretically, as long as it doesn't affect operations, you can use whatever you want."

"That's not what I meant. My regular income is related to my plans, and I need to know so I can make arrangements. Just treat me like an outsider. How much should I be paid for this position?"

"Then let's say a monthly salary of 20,000, with bonuses at the end of the year. If it's not enough, just let me know."

"That's settled then. Let me use your car; I need to run some errands."

My brother tossed me the keys: "You haven't had a good rest, drive slowly."

With things settled at home, it's time for me to find out what happened.

I drove to Mei's workplace office building, parked the car, and slowly strolled into the building. It was rush hour, a bustling scene. I looked around and finally arrived at the "Government Information Disclosure Board" in the lobby.

I quickly found what I was looking for. Hmph, so the beast's name is "Wang Peng." Position? Section Chief. Age? Born in 1964, that's 41. Looks like that's all the information I have.

I walked out of the lobby and leaned against a pillar by the door, smoking a cigarette. After a while, I finally saw a familiar face.

"Xiao Hou," I greeted a young man who had just come out of the office building. He was a colleague of mine from the same department, and had even come to visit during the Spring Festival.

Xiao Hou turned around, saw it was me, his expression changed, he looked around, and quickly walked over.

"Brother Han, what are you doing here?"

"Do you have time? I want to ask you something."

Xiao Hou looked around again. "Brother Han, how did you get here?"

I pointed to my car. "I drove."

"Drive to the back of the building first, wait for me in the car, I'll come find you in a bit." Xiao Hou said and turned to go back into the building.

I drove to the back of the office building, found a secluded spot to park, and smoked in the car.

About ten minutes later, Xiao Hou opened the car door and got in.

"Brother Han, I know why you wanted to see me, but after all, you're my boss, I can't help you much." It seemed he knew everything, and this kind of thing definitely spreads quickly.

"Don't overthink it, I just know a few things. I won't make things difficult for you."

"Brother Han, think positively, this kind of thing is too common now. If you can't make it work, just get a divorce. Don't be too impulsive, think about the child. Besides, your wife and he both took the day off."

"Don't worry, if I weren't calm, I would have already rushed in with a knife. I just want to understand what happened." I patted Xiao Hou on the shoulder and handed him a cigarette.

Xiao Hou took the cigarette, lit it, and took a few puffs. "Okay, I'll tell you what I know. I've been fed up with that bastard for a long time, but don't tell anyone I told you."

"No problem, I understand. After all, you still have to work here."

"It's good that Brother Han understands. Actually, I don't know much. I heard about it yesterday afternoon, and I was thinking, 'So this kind of thing still happened.'"

"So you had some suspicions before?"

"Not really. I just noticed something was off about them, but I didn't have any concrete evidence, just guesses, so I couldn't spread it around."

"What was off?" "

After the old section chief retired last year, this Wang Peng was transferred from head office to become the section chief. At the time, there were rumors that he was transferred here because of some misconduct. This guy is obviously no good. He's always lecherous, often saying sweet words to female colleagues, and sometimes even touching them inappropriately. Once, he flirted with Wu Ying from the social security section next door and got a good scolding from her."

"Then how did he get together with Xiao Mei?"

"I don't know, I just know that starting from the end of last year, Wang Peng kept going to my sister-in-law's office, and the two of them were always chatting and laughing. Later, he kept calling my sister-

in-law to his office, and the two of them would often stay there for most of the day. At that time, people downstairs started gossiping, and Wu Ying and I even advised my sister-in-law to keep her distance from him. But my sister-in-law said she knew her limits and told us not to overthink it." "Then why didn't you mention it to me when you visited my family for the New Year?"

"Brother Han, before the New Year, apart from spending a lot of time together at work, there really wasn't anything wrong between them. I can't let these unfounded rumors affect your relationship, can I?"

"Then when did things start to go wrong?"

"After the New Year, the two of them would often say they had something to do and go out while they were at work, and their expressions were very strange. That's all I know."

"Okay, thank you."

"Nothing. I'll head back now."

After Xiao Hou left, I smoked two more cigarettes in the car. Then my brother called. "Xiao Jun, I've arranged for Mom and Dad's trip. They're going to Hainan first, their flight is tomorrow at noon. Go back and help them pack."

On my way home, I called my cousin who works at the head office. After a few pleasantries, I went straight to the point and asked, "Do you know someone named Wang Peng?"

"Wang Peng (Peng)? The one with the bird in his name or not?"

I was stunned. "With what bird?"

My cousin explained with a laugh, "We have two people here. One is named Wang Peng, the 'Peng' in 'friend,' without the bird in his name, and the other is named Wang Peng, the 'Peng' in 'roc,' with the bird in his name, but he's been transferred."

"The one who was transferred. Can you help me investigate his information, including his family, the more detailed the better?"

"What happened to him?"

"Don't ask, I need it."

"Okay, I'll let you know when it's done."

That afternoon, I went to my cousin's place and got Wang Peng's information.

Late at night, under the lamp, I was scribbling down my revenge plan on paper, occasionally letting out a smug chuckle. Suddenly, my mother's voice sounded behind me, "Xiaojun, adjust your mindset. Look at yourself now, you look like a psychopath."

I turned around and saw the deep worry in my mother's eyes.

On Saturday, I saw my parents and daughter off, and in the afternoon, I went to see my classmate who's a lawyer to ask some legal questions. That evening, I wrote the "divorce agreement." Then I went to sleep.

When I woke up on Sunday, it was already noon. After lunch, I knew that my mindset and spirit were ready, and it was time to face and resolve this marriage completely.

I called Mei, "I think it's time for us to resolve this face-to-face. Go home tonight. I'll have dinner ready for you."

"Okay, Jun,"

I immediately hung up the phone, not wanting to hear a single word. If there's anything to say, say it face to face. I fiddled with the voice recorder in my hand.

P.S.: This is the most difficult part to write, about the conversation between Han Jun and Mei. Han Jun talked on and on, and now I can't remember much of it, or even any of it at all. Expressing this disjointed content in a coherent way is very challenging, but I'll try my best.

I only understood why Han Jun recounted this conversation in such detail after hearing what happened next. He was both justifying his actions beforehand, which aligns with his understanding of "rationality," and seeking solace afterward. Because revenge is harm—harming those he hates, innocent people, those he loves, those who love him, and himself.

After getting to know Han Jun better, I once asked him how he felt after taking his revenge. His answer was: "Refreshing!" It's the word "refreshing"—"pain" comes before "pleasure," "suffering" comes before "pleasure."

That afternoon, I bought groceries and returned to my temporary home.

I slowly packed my things into my suitcase before starting to cook.

At 5:30, I had just finished preparing a meal when Mei opened the door and came in. Although her face was expressionless, I could still see that she looked somewhat haggard. "Wash your hands and eat first," I said calmly. We didn't speak during the meal. She tried to speak several times, but I stopped her with a look.

After the meal, we tidied up and sat down in the living room. After a moment of silence, I spoke first. "Why did you do this?" "No reason." "I think we've reached a point where, regardless of what happens in the future, what we need now is to be open and honest about everything. It'll be better for both of us." "I really don't know what to say. I still don't understand why things turned out this way. It's like a dream." "Then I'll ask, and you answer. Is there anything I've done wrong, or that I haven't done enough?" "No, you're great. I'm the one who's sorry." "Then what are you dissatisfied with? With me? With the family? With life?" "Yes, after getting married, life has been monotonous every day. Going to work and coming home, the same routine, no passion whatsoever. It's so bland and depressing it's driving me crazy. After all these years , I'm really fed up." "Why don't you tell me about these troubles?" "What good would it do to tell you? What can you change?"

“Maybe I can’t change anything, but at least I can be your outlet for your frustrations. We can try changing some aspects of our lives, we can try participating in some activities.”

“Maybe you’re right, I just don’t have the courage to change you.”

“Then you have the courage to hurt me?”

“I didn’t intend to hurt you.”

“You already have, and in doing so, you’re also hurting our daughter.”

“I’m sorry.”

I stood up agitatedly, took out a cigarette and took several puffs to calm myself down.

“So what are your plans?”

“It’s up to you, I have no objections.”

Looking at Mei’s indifferent expression, my anger finally reached its breaking point.

"Watch me? When you do this, do you even watch me? You think your married life lacks passion and happiness? Fine, then let's get a divorce. As long as you bring it up, I won't cling to you.

After all these years, don't you know me? If you feel you can't stay with me for life and want to give up, I won't resent you at all. But you chose betrayal and deception, and that's something I can never forgive.

Besides, even if you found someone decent to cheat with, I'd feel better. But look at the kind of person you've found! Don't you think this is an insult to me?

You're at work, and you can come home and do this kind of thing. What will people say about you? Are you that desperate? Do you even know what shame is?..." I couldn't help but roar.

"Han Jun, you don't need to be so aggressive." Mei seemed to be angered by my insults as well. "I apologized just now only because I hurt you, but I don't think I did anything wrong. I'm not your appendage. I have my own independent economic ability and don't depend on you for survival. Therefore, I have my own independent personality, my own emotional space, and the right to pursue my own feelings. So don't label me as a traitor.

Don't think too highly of yourself either. You think others are inferior to you, that's your personal opinion. I don't think he's inferior to you in any way. At least he makes me happy.

So what if I'm shameless? That's my personal business. Let others say what they want, I'm still myself..."

"Do you have any moral bottom line? Do you have any sense of family responsibility? Do you still have any affection for your family?" I questioned her.

"Don't try to portray yourself as so noble. Haven't you done anything outside? You've done your part in maintaining the family, and so have I. If it can't be sustained, it's not solely my fault, is it?

Speaking of family, let me ask you this: are you so angry because of your family ties with me, or because of your own pride?"

"I don't deny that I've encountered temptations outside, but my sense of responsibility has kept me from crossing the line. I know that some things, once done, can't be undone.

I don't deny that my anger stems from a loss of dignity, but more so from the anger of impending loss of family ties.

As a man, I may not be good at expressing my emotions, but can't you feel what I've done to you and our daughter?"

"You can't impose your moral standards on others. I'm an adult too, with my own morals, values, and beliefs."

"Your morals and values are wrong. Can't societal ethics, family responsibilities, and marital values restrain your behavior?"

"Yes, I'm a sentimental woman. Morality, responsibility, and marriage can't limit my thoughts. Only emotions that stir my heart can influence my feelings and actions."

Our argument escalated. She had her theories about love, and I had my principles. I experienced Mei's sharp tongue for the first time; she showed no remorse or apology.

Perhaps this was exactly what I wanted.

(P.S. I've finally finished this part, but I still haven't fully captured the conflict between their ideologies. Sigh, my abilities are limited. Please bear with it.

The rest is the narrative, which should be faster.)

Late at night, I lost interest in arguing. Even if I won the debate, what difference would it make?

Didn't she know she was wrong? No, she did. Anyone living in a normal environment knows it's wrong.

Her arguing with me was merely an attempt to justify her mistakes, and my arguing with her was just an attempt to find reasons for future actions and build psychological defenses. It was time to end it.

I stopped the argument. "Stop talking. Since our ideas are completely opposite, living together will only be painful. Let's talk about how to separate so I can get on with my things."

"I said it, you decide. Whatever you want."

"Okay, then take a look at this." I handed her the divorce agreement I had written.

Then I leaned back on the sofa, slowly smoking, quietly waiting for her shocked expression.

The agreement contained two main points: First, I would have custody and guardianship of Shuangshuang, while Mei would only have visitation rights and wouldn't have to pay child support.

Second, all property, including the house, savings, and securities, would belong to Mei.

In other words, I would leave with nothing but my daughter.

(PS: "What? You're leaving with nothing? Are you crazy?" I couldn't help but ask Han Jun this when he first explained the agreement.)

"I'm not crazy. This is the beginning of my revenge. To me, Mei only betrayed me emotionally, not financially. So I'll give her double the financial compensation, so I can take double the emotional revenge on her with a clear conscience.

How could she not feel guilty after doing something like this? Making her leave with nothing would definitely lessen her guilt, so I absolutely cannot let her feel good; I must make her feel even worse.

Besides, think about it: if you were an outsider and found that a woman who cheated actually received all the assets in the divorce, how would you feel about that woman?" How would you view this? Would your first impression be: This woman is shameless, she made a mistake and then tried to seize the family property through underhanded means. Of course, she might explain that I gave it to her voluntarily, but if I don't clarify, who will believe her? They'll only despise her more. In this way, in the eyes of others, especially her future daughter, she will be a standard bad woman, and she'll never be able to turn her life around. Besides, I've set other traps in the agreement, mainly to sow discord between her and our daughter. Ha, ha," Han Jun laughed smugly, while I felt a chill run down my spine.

Sure enough, Mei looked shocked after reading the agreement. "Why?"

"First, I don't want my daughter to learn to be a shameless person from you. I must have custody of my daughter, and I don't need your ill-gotten money to raise her.

Second, I have a cleanliness obsession. Apart from our daughter, everything we've shared is dirty to me. I'll leave it all to you, and you can do with it as you please." I answered her calmly.

"Okay, I want it. I'll give it all back to her when our daughter grows up." Mei blushed as I spoke, finally gritting her teeth as she said this.

“No need. I’ll raise our daughter to be a clean freak in the future. Don’t disgust us with these dirty things.”

“Our daughter will understand when she’s old enough to understand.”

“Okay, as long as you’re confident, sign it if you have no objections.”

After signing the papers, I put away my copy and placed the bankbook, securities, and other valuables in front of Mei. "Check them," I said. "Tomorrow is Monday, 10 a.m. I'll be waiting for you at the Civil Affairs Bureau. Don't forget your documents." Then I took a voice recorder from under the cushion, got up, dragged my suitcase out of the bedroom, and walked out.

Reaching the door, I put on my shoes, took the key to this house from my keychain, and placed it on the shoe rack.

I put my hand on the doorknob, then put it down, turned around, and said to Mei, who was still sitting blankly on the sofa, "I believe that once two people become husband and wife, they must take responsibility for this marriage from this moment on. Using the lack of feelings as an excuse for having an affair is a desecration of this responsibility.

I also believe that the passion between two people dies when they get married. The foundation of the family should be responsibility, not passion! Abandoning responsibility under the pretext of passion is betrayal.

And I will never tolerate betrayal, nor will I let go of those who have desecrated my feelings. So from now on, we are no longer family, nor strangers, but enemies. You'd better watch yourself."

With that, I opened the door and strode away.

The next day, Mei and I went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to complete the divorce proceedings. We were both very calm during the process. We just silently filled out the forms and signed them. I was trying hard to control my emotions; as for her? I don't know...

After walking out the door, I said to Mei, "I'll take the household registration booklet with me. I'll send it to you in a few days after I transfer Shuangshuang's and my registration."

"No rush. When can I see Shuangshuang?"

"Anytime, but she's in Hainan right now. You can go whenever you want, I can tell you her address, but you have to go quickly, otherwise she might have gone somewhere else."

"Why did she go to Hainan? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You can't restrict the child's grandparents from taking her on trips, can you? Tell you? Who knew where you were calming down at the time?"

"When will she come back?"

"I don't know, maybe until September, then she'll go directly to Shanghai for school."

"It's written in the agreement that I have the right to visit the child at any time."

"I don't deny it, you can go anytime, I won't restrict you, as long as you don't find it tiring."

"I don't agree to Shuangshuang going to school in Shanghai." "

I'm sorry, it's also written in the agreement that I have the obligation and right to provide the child with a better education. You don't think the quality of education in Shanghai is worse than here, do you?"

"I understand, you don't want the child to see me."

"You're right, do you even deserve to be a mother?"

"You bastard!" Mei slapped me hard.

I touched my face. "Although I already consider you my enemy, my principle is not to hit women, so I'll remember this slap. I'll get back at you in another way. I advise you not to increase my hatred any further."

After saying that, I turned and left. Mei cursed behind me, "Han Jun, you're not human."

I stopped, turned around, and stared at Mei, saying each word clearly, "Although I hold grudges and am petty, I know shame and responsibility, so I'm still a human being. But you're not. A whore like you, cheating on your husband and daughter with a married man at work, do you even deserve to be called human?"

The onlookers started gossiping. Mei covered her face and fled.

I drove to Mei's workplace, went straight to Wang Peng's office on the second floor, kicked the door open, and entered. Hmm, he was inside.

When Wang Peng saw me come in, his face immediately turned pale. He quickly stood up. "It's Xiao Han, right? Please sit down, please sit down. I was just thinking of talking to you these next few days."

I sat down in the chair opposite his desk, casually putting my feet on the desk and leaning back to look at him.

He hurriedly closed the door and went to get a glass of water. His leg was slightly limping, probably from that fall the other day.

"Don't bother. You know why I'm here. Mei and I are divorced." As I spoke, I threw the divorce certificate on the table.

He picked it up, looked at it, and handed it to me with both hands. "Sigh, how could this happen? I really didn't expect it. It's all my fault. What are your thoughts now? What are your requests? Just tell me. As long as it's within my power, I will definitely do it."

I didn't speak, but looked him over. He became even more nervous and guilty.

“Why don’t you name a price, and I’ll try my best to meet it.”

“I don’t want your money, I just want you to do one thing.”

“Tell me, tell me.”

I got up and went to the window, pointing to the square outside. “This whole mess has spread, hasn’t it? You’ve made me suffer the greatest humiliation a man can bear, so you have to get it back for me. See that flagpole? It’s right there. Kneel in front of me for half an hour.”

Wang Peng’s face changed drastically. “Xiao Han, are you kidding me? That’s impossible.”

“I’m not negotiating with you, I’m demanding it of you. From now on, I’ll wait for you by the flagpole for five minutes. If you don’t come, I might not come even if you beg me in the future.” After saying that, I checked my watch and turned to walk out.

As I reached the door, he called out from behind, "You can't do anything to me, you have no evidence."

I turned and stared coldly at him. "What's between us is clear to everyone. So I don't need evidence, and I won't look for any. I only need a reason to take action against you, and for you, you'll have to gamble on whether I have the means to make you submit."

Walking out of Wang Peng's office, I saw Xiao Hou peering out from the doorway of the next office. I gestured towards the back of the building with my eyes and whispered as I passed, "Off work." Xiao Hou nodded slightly.

Reaching the flagpole, I stood there, leisurely smoking, occasionally glancing up at Wang Peng's office. The cigarette was finished, and he still hadn't come. Very well, he won't admit defeat until he sees the coffin, huh? Well, let's settle this slowly. Let's see who regrets it in the end.

I drove my car to the back of the building, parked where I'd parked before, and soon it was time to leave work.

As soon as Xiao Hou got in the car, he excitedly asked me, "What did you do to that bastard? He looked like he'd died of fright when I got off work."

"I didn't do anything to him, just told him I'm divorced, and officially informed him that I'm going to start dealing with him."

"Okay, how do you plan to deal with him? That bastard is a real piece of work."

"Let's go eat first, we can talk while we eat."

Xiao Hou and I found a secluded restaurant and sat down. After the food was served, I said to Xiao Hou, "How do you plan to deal with him? I've already planned it out. Since you're still under his control, don't get involved. I'm asking you for a couple of small favors."

"Okay, tell me."

"Although Mei and I are divorced, we were still husband and wife, so I'm still a little worried. Could you keep an eye on things for me? If anything seems amiss, let me know." "

Don't worry, that's definitely no problem. I'll be very careful."

"Also, if your company has any big events, especially like an inspection team coming from above, let me know in advance."

"Brother Han, what are you going to do?"

"Never mind, just wait and see."

We chatted while eating, and when it was time for work in the afternoon, we exchanged phone numbers, and Xiao Hou took a taxi and left. I went to my workplace.

As soon as I entered the office, I noticed that everyone was looking at me strangely, whether it was my imagination or not. Sigh, it seems that resigning was the right thing to do, otherwise, I don't know if I would go crazy if this happened every day. I

found my supervisor and handed in my resignation letter. Although my supervisor tried to persuade me to stay, I didn't waver. My supervisor had no choice but to agree, and after signing, told me to wait for notification to complete the formalities.

Seeing that it was still early, I decided to confront the two people I didn't want to hurt, but had no choice but to.

I drove to Mei's parents' house. Downstairs, I gave myself a long pep talk. Mei's parents were both teachers, dedicated to educating and nurturing students their whole lives. They were upright people who had treated me very well after marriage, and doted on Shuangshuang. If it weren't for this, I really didn't want them to become tools for my revenge, and I didn't want them to suffer because of it.

After giving myself a good pep talk, I went upstairs and knocked on the door. Mei's mother opened the door. As soon as she saw me, she quickly led me inside. "Xiaojun's here! Why didn't you bring Shuangshuang over on Sunday? Your father and I were just saying we'd find some time to go see her."

Inside, I saw Mei's father, reading the newspaper. He put it down and invited me to sit down, telling his wife to make tea, but I quickly stopped him. "Dad, Mom, don't bother. I'm here mainly to tell you something. I think this is the last time I'll visit you both, and the last time I'll call you Mom and Dad."

The old man was stunned, putting down what he was holding and staring at me. "What happened to Xiaojun? Did he fight with Xiaomei? If she did something wrong, please be understanding and tell us. We'll teach her a lesson, but don't ruin the family. Shuangshuang is still so young..."

Seeing the old man's anxious expression, I gritted my teeth and hardened my heart, saying, "We already completed the formalities this morning. You can ask Mei for the specific reasons, but you can listen to this first." I handed the recorder to Mei's father.

The old man took it without saying anything, still processing the news he had just heard.

"I have to go now." I said goodbye and walked out.

"Ah, Xiaojun, what is this?"

"It's because Mei doesn't want to live with me. You two can judge who's right and wrong. I still don't understand who taught her these theories." ...

That night, I received a call from Mei's mother. As soon as the call connected, I heard the old woman's sobbing voice. "Xiaojun, I'm so sorry, our family has wronged you. We just called Xiaomei back and found out what happened. Her father beat her with a stick and drove her away. I tried to stop him, and he hit me too!" (The old man's roar came through the phone: "I don't have such a shameless daughter! I can't bear this shame! I'll publish a notice in the newspaper tomorrow to sever ties with her! Old woman, I'm telling you, if you dare to interfere with her again, I'll jump off the building right now!") Sigh, we've spent our whole lives working in education, but we haven't even raised our own daughter properly. Xiaojun, tell me the truth, can't you really forgive Xiaomei just this once?"

I held the phone without saying a word.

"Xiaojun, just say 'I forgive you,' and I promise I'll raise her well and help her live a good life from now on. I'm begging you."

I sighed. "Mom, how can I forgive her? Is there anything about her that I can forgive?"

This time, it was her turn to be speechless.

"Auntie, oh, sorry, I should change my address now. This isn't over yet. I won't let that man get away with it. When I confront him, it might affect Mei, and it might affect you all. I'm saying this in advance, I apologize."

Hanging up the phone, I sat back down on the sofa, loneliness and frustration washing over me.

The next day, I got up early and drove to the "labor market."

I slowed down, scanning the crowd waiting for work, looking for a suitable target.

Hmm, this one's interesting. I saw a burly man sitting by the roadside holding a "Strong Worker" sign.

I stopped the car, rolled down the window, and waved to him. He immediately got up and ran over. "Boss, there's work! I'm strong, I guarantee I can do the work of two men."

I sat in the car and sized him up. He was probably around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, wearing a worn-out camouflage uniform, with a buzz cut, broad shoulders, a thick waist, and a face full of menacing features. If he weren't smiling obsequiously, he would definitely look like a fierce demon. Okay, not bad looking.

I tossed him a cigarette, then took one out and put it in my mouth. He quickly pulled out a lighter and lit it for me first. Good, he knows how to handle things.

"How tall are you?"

"1.9 meters."

"What's your surname?"

"Lu, the abbreviation for Shandong."

"Where are you from?"

"Liangshan."

"So you're a descendant of Lu Zhishen."

"You're joking, that guy was a monk, he didn't have any descendants. I can't claim that kind of kinship."

After a few words, I could tell he was a clever guy. He'd do.

I laughed heartily, "Have you had breakfast? If not, get in the car, I'll make sure you have a place to eat and we can talk."

"Thanks in advance, I'm starving. But just so you know, I have a big appetite, don't worry about me eating too much."

At the breakfast shop, I finished eating first, smoking a cigarette while waiting for Lu Bo (the name I asked after getting in the car) to finish.

"Boss, tell me what you need to do first, I'll listen while I eat."

"Lu Bo, have you ever been to a detention center?"

"Yes, last time the city management came to confiscate my things, I knocked over two items, and I was locked up for five days. Besides not being allowed out and not getting enough to eat, there wasn't much else in there."

"That's good. Let me make it clear first. What I'm asking you to do, although simple and not a crime, is somewhat illegal. But if you get caught, you'll only be detained for a few days at most. I can pay you by the day during your detention. Think about it, are you in or not?"

At this moment, Lu Bo finished eating, lit the cigarette I offered, and took a couple of puffs. "If it's convenient, boss, please tell me more details."

"To put it simply, I have a grudge against someone, and I want to hire someone to scare him and his family, plus harass him with a loudspeaker."

"That's all?"

"What else do you want? Do you dare kill him?"

"If the price is right, we can discuss it."

"No need. This simple method is the one that costs me the least and makes him the most miserable. I'll be like a leech, making sure he and his family can't live or work in peace."

"If possible, may I ask what grudge you have against him?"

I looked at him coldly. "He slept with my wife."

"Damn, you're still sitting here so calmly? You should learn from my ancestor's brother—Wu Song—get a knife and go chop down the adulterous couple. If you can't bring yourself to do it, talk to me about the price. If it's reasonable, I guarantee I'll do it cleanly."

"Get lost, are you in or not?" "

Yes, but let's talk about the price first. Also, this can't be paid like a laborer, it has to be paid like a skilled worker, and it has to be settled per visit."

"Fifty for one hour, less than an hour is counted as an hour. If I get in, it's one hundred a day. Also, travel expenses, costumes, and props are on me. If it happens to be mealtime, I'll provide meals, one meat and one vegetable."

"Deal. The boss is an honest man."

"Also, you can't do this alone. Go back to the market this morning and find two more people based on your appearance. They'll be paid the same as you. Bring them to the pedestrian street entrance at noon and wait for me."

"Based on my appearance? You mean you want the honest, reliable type?"

"Have you no shame? It's a waste if you're not a bad guy. The kind of guy the police will stare at. And ideally, they'd be as shameless as you."

"Boss, have some decency! But don't bother looking. I have two guys from my village who are even less attractive than me. They usually don't dare come out looking for work, afraid of scaring people away. I'm the one who finds the work first and then calls them."

"That's perfect. Bring them over at noon. I have some errands to run. Give me your number so I can contact you."

After breaking up with Lu Bo, I first followed the information my cousin gave me to find Wang Peng's house. I circled his building twice, and then went to the middle school where Wang Peng's daughter studied. It was a school for the children of employees of our state-owned enterprise. My cousin's child went there, so

I sneaked into the school under the pretense of looking for my cousin's child. During class, I got the child out through the teacher.

"Xiao Ke, do you know Wang Yan?"

"We're in the same grade, yes, we know each other."

"Okay, point her out to me after class."

After class, I saw Wang Peng's daughter. I stared at her, memorizing her face, then told Xiao Ke to keep it a secret before leaving.

At noon, I went to the pedestrian street and found Lu Bo. I was shocked when I saw the two people he brought. They really didn't need makeup to play bandits. One of them even had a scar on his face. When we stood on the street, we automatically kept pedestrians within a ten-meter radius away.

Perfect, that's the effect I wanted.

I took the three of them to a clothing store. The salesgirl was almost crying when we entered, and the owner forced himself to greet us. I patted the shop owner on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we're just here to buy clothes. Dress them up however you want them to look fierce."

The shop owner looked miserable. "Buddy, what are you planning to do? Leave some room for the masses!"

After buying the clothes, I took them to buy sunglasses, shaved their heads, and when we passed a tattoo shop, I bought a bunch of temporary tattoos so they could roll up their sleeves and stick them on their arms...

In short, the final effect was that wherever these three menacing figures went, strangers avoided them.

In the evening, I took the three of them to the school. I parked the car not far from the school gate and waited. After a while, the students started to leave.

"See that girl? That's her. You go over with a straight face and ask her if her name is Wang Yan and if her father's name is Wang Peng. Then turn around and walk away. Then the three of you follow her within twenty meters, all the way to her house. After she goes upstairs, you walk around downstairs for ten minutes before leaving. Remember, if anyone dares to come up and ask what you're doing, take off your sunglasses, stare at them, and don't say anything," I said to the scarred-faced one of them.

The three got out of the car and headed straight for Wang Yan. The result was that Wang Yan practically ran all the way home, while the three menacing figures followed leisurely behind. ...

At one in the morning, in the dead of night, Lu Bo and Scarface, carrying megaphones, arrived at the buildings of Wang Peng's house and his parents' house respectively.

"Wang Peng, get up! The debt collectors are here!"

"Who are Wang Peng's parents? They gave birth to this bastard, why didn't they educate him properly?"

Once all the lights in the building were on, the two took off running. ...

Meanwhile, I lay in bed, constantly calculating in my mind: I spent 3,200 yuan on shopping today, but that can be considered a one-time investment. Paying

300 yuan in labor fees is a bit high. It seems I can't do this every day. Every other day? Still a bit expensive. Hmm, let's try three days in a row, see the effect, and then make arrangements. I'll try to control this expense to 1,500 yuan per month, leaving more money for other plans. ...

Over the next two days, I started preparing for other plans. I arranged for Lu Bo and his gang to continue their intimidation and harassment.

But what surprised me was that Wang Peng didn't react at all. Shouldn't he have called to question me? Otherwise, how could I continue? Had I misjudged him? Was he really such a cunning person?

That night, I sat at my table, silently pondering.

Sigh, what a mess. I used to be such an upright person, and now I'm staying up all night scheming against people… Right,

firstly, this bastard has offended too many people; secondly, he got information from Mei and thought I wouldn't use such despicable methods against him. Besides, he didn't expect me to act so quickly, so he didn't expect it to be me. It seems I need to teach him a lesson.

I called Lu Bo, "Tomorrow morning, get dressed and wait for me."

In the morning, I picked up Lu Bo and his gang first, then went to a toy store and bought three toy knives, wrapped them in newspaper, and gave them to carry. They looked like gangsters ready to chop someone up.

Around nine o'clock, we arrived in front of the office building. While talking to Lu Bo and the others, I pretended to point and gesture at Wang Peng's office. Soon we attracted the attention of those around us.

A moment later, Xiao Hou called, "Brother Han, you're not going to come up and chop him up today, are you?"

"Nothing, I'm in a good mood today, just wanted to scare him a little."

"Haha, you scared him half to death! He just dragged Sister Mei to the security office."

A while later, Wang Peng called, "Han Jun, is that you? What do you want?"

"Nothing, just suddenly missed you and came to see you. Why don't you come down, we can talk."

"Don't do anything rash, or I'll call the police."

"Call the police? I didn't do anything, can't the police even stand here?"

"By the way, wasn't it you who stalked my daughter and harassed my house and my parents' house in the middle of the night?"

"Guess?"

"If you have a problem, come at me. They have nothing to do with this, they're innocent."

"Innocent? Isn't my daughter innocent? Aren't my parents innocent? Why should my family suffer while your family is safe? As long as they're connected to you, you bastard, there's no such thing as innocence."

"What exactly do you want?"

"I told you, come down and kneel before me for half an hour."

"Impossible."

"Fine, let's continue. Let me tell you, this is just the beginning. Before, my time was all about work and family. All my income went to my family. You ruined my family, so I quit my job. Now I'll use all my time and all my income to deal with you, until you're dead. The worst thing for you is that my income has multiplied several times over, and I have more financial resources to play with you."

"Don't push me too far. If you push me too far, I'll fight you to the death."

"Yes, I'm pushing you now, forcing you to fight me to the death. If it weren't for the fear of being branded a murderer and the potential harm to my daughter's future, I would have already killed your whole family. Now that you're here to fight me, that's perfect. You'd better bring a knife. If I kill you, it's self-defense; if you kill me, it's premeditated murder. Even if I die, I'll ruin your life. I'm waiting for you here. Come down now! Your name has 'bird' in it; as a man, you should have 'bird' too. Don't make me look down on you."

"You're crazy, you've gone completely mad."

"Don't get agitated, how about I come up to see you?"

"Don't come up, I won't see you."

"Sigh, that's so unfriendly. Fine,

I'll come to your house to hang out sometime when I'm in a good mood." I hung up and left with my men.

When I parted ways with Lu Bo, I told them to stop their harassment and not get caught red-handed. I also made an agreement with them that for four hundred yuan a month, one of them would go out every day to loiter around the school and Wang Peng's house.

After dinner, Mei called. I considered it for a moment and answered.

"I was right there when you were talking to Wang Peng today, Han Jun. I never thought you'd become this kind of person." Mei's tone was still surprisingly self-righteous.

"You're wrong. I've always been this way. Heh, hearing you say that, I suddenly understand a lot of things. You've never truly understood me. The reason you married me wasn't because you had deep feelings for me, but because I happened to be a suitable marriage partner when you needed one. Just like you said, you didn't understand love when you chose marriage. But why should I and my family bear the consequences of your wrong choice?"

Mei was silent on the other end.

"Speak, what do you want from me?" I said, getting impatient.

"I want to ask you, what exactly do you want?"

"I can tell you plainly, I want to make you all turn your backs on everyone and ruin your reputations."

"What gives you the right?"

"What gives me the right? I can tell you that too. When you were doing those things, you thought the laws of the world couldn't punish you, social norms couldn't control you, and public opinion couldn't hurt you. Besides, that's how society is, so you two adulterers could act with impunity.

But you forgot one thing: you violated my principles and bottom line. Since the law, customs, and public opinion can't touch you, then I can only punish you in my own way, to let you know that there is still justice and retribution in this world."

"Don't make it sound so nice. Are you saying what you did was legal and just?"

"It doesn't matter, as long as the purpose is just."

"Don't go too far. I'll just leave."

"Fine, you don't need to discuss this with me." I decisively hung up the phone.

Leave? Are you willing to do that? I left you all my assets to keep you tied down, to prevent you from running away and to make you obediently wait for your punishment. I refuse to believe you'd give up something you've already got.

I checked the calendar; tomorrow's the weekend. After these past few days of pressure and today's confrontation, Wang Peng shouldn't be able to hold on any longer. He should go home and confess to his family. But knowing his character, he'll definitely shift the blame to Mei, saying she was after his status and seduced him.

From what I know, Wang Peng's wife and mother aren't pushovers. After learning that the harassment and fear they've endured these past few days were entirely due to Wang Peng and Mei's affair, they'll be furious, their anger reaching its peak. I expect they'll cause a huge scene; the next couple of days will be quite a show.

My actions have fueled their hatred. Now it's their turn to do what I can't do, disdain to do, and am too embarrassed to do, but absolutely want to do.

Sure enough, over the weekend, Wang Peng's wife and mother, along with their family, caused a huge scene at Mei's house and Mei's parents' house.

On Monday morning, I received a message from Xiao Hou. He told me that Wang Peng came to work with a bruised face, and then, during the company's weekly meeting, Wang Peng's wife led a group of people to storm in, verbally and physically assaulting Wang Peng and Mei for the entire morning.

Good, that's the result I wanted. They're now at each other's throats. From now on, as long as I occasionally have Lu Bo put some pressure on them, they'll turn their intimidation into anger and cause a huge scene. They won't be able to have any peace then.

Since their lives have already been disrupted, the next step is to target their work.

For the next two weeks, I waited for an opportunity while also familiarizing myself with the company's operations with my brother. At the same time, I occasionally arranged for Lu Bo to take action. Each time, the result was a hysterical outburst from Wang Peng's wife. Thinking about it, this woman is quite pitiful; she probably would have divorced him long ago if it weren't for her daughter.

Several other things happened during this time.

First, after Wang Peng's wife caused a scene, Mei's parents felt ashamed to face their acquaintances and left the city for Jinan, where Mei's younger brother lives. It's said they'll never return. This was told to me by Mei's younger brother over the phone. At the end of the call, he also told me that the elderly missed Shuangshuang very much and hoped that I could take Shuangshuang to visit them when I had time. I didn't reply, only saying that I was very busy recently and would talk about it when I had time.

The second thing was that Wang Peng reported to the police that I had stalked, intimidated, and harassed his family, and the police station notified me to handle it.

At the police station, I readily admitted what I had done and explained the reasons to the officers. Finally, I told the officers that they could handle it however they wanted, fined or detained, but as long as I got out, I would come back again. The officers were speechless and could only advise me to handle the situation calmly and not to do anything rash.

After that, I would go to the police station every few days, using the pretext of reporting the situation to get close to the officers. When I had nothing to do, I would take them out to eat after work. Before long, I became friends with everyone at the police station. Once, after Lu Bo finished harassing someone, Wang Peng came to report the case again. When he entered the door, he saw me sitting at the desk chatting and laughing with the officers, and his face turned green.

Another thing is that when Wang Peng saw that the police couldn't do anything to me, he sent a few people who were supposedly involved in organized crime to negotiate with me.

That noon, I was about to go to lunch when I suddenly received a call from an unfamiliar number. I answered it.

"Are you Han Jun?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"My friends call me Xue San. I want to talk to you about something."

"I don't know you. What do we have to talk about?"

"It won't take up much of your time. You'd better come over, otherwise it won't be good for anyone."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I suppose so. Are you coming or not?"

"Okay, tell me where."

When I arrived at the agreed restaurant, I was led into a private room as soon as I entered. I saw four or five people sitting at the table, all staring at me. I found a seat, crossed my arms, and looked at them coldly in return.

Finally, the leader, seeing that I wasn't afraid, spoke up: "Han Jun? Right?"

"That's me. You must be Xue San. What do you want?"

"Heh, pretty arrogant."

"I don't remember owing you money. Do I need to be so humble?"

"Fine, you've got guts. I'll be blunt then. You know Wang Peng, right? Did he offend you? He asked us to come and mediate, hoping you'll give me face and let it go. Of course, we'll also give you some compensation." I laughed twice

, staring at Xue San. "I'll call you Third Brother. Third Brother, I want to ask you a question: What's the greatest grudge in the world?"

"What do you think?"

"Killing one's father and stealing one's wife—unforgivable. You're here to mediate for us? Do you know what grudge I have with Wang Peng?"

Xue San glanced at one of the people beside him, then looked at me, without speaking.

"You don't know, do you? Let me tell you, that bastard cheated on me. If you were in his shoes, would you let him get away with it? I'm giving you face, but what face do I have? That bastard ruined it long ago. We're sworn enemies now. Anyone who gets in my way is my mortal foe. I'm not afraid to fight anyone to the death. Even if it's an iron man, I'll fight tooth and nail to leave a few teeth marks on him."

Xue San couldn't sit still any longer. He glared fiercely at the man again. The man was sweating profusely and quickly lowered his head, saying, "Brother San, I don't know what happened. He just said it was a work-related conflict. That's why I agreed to contact you."

Xue San stopped him and then said to me, "I'm sorry, brother, I was rash in this matter. I hope you won't take offense. I apologize to you. Don't worry, I won't interfere."

I also took the opportunity to back down, "It's alright. Brother San, ignorance is no excuse."

Xue San turned back and instructed the man, "Go back and return the money. Tell him not to use this kind of thing to annoy us."

Finally, Xue San stood up and extended his hand, "Brother, I can tell you're a man of courage. If you don't mind, let's be friends sometime."

I also stood up and shook his hand, "No problem, I'll call my brother next time, let's sit together."

"Your brother?"

"Han Bing from Xicheng."

"Han Bing?" Xicheng Yipianyun. "Han Bing? Han Jun, Han Bing, you're brothers? Damn, Fatty, don't return the money, ask that bastard if he's trying to harm someone. If things don't go well, kill him." Xue San was shocked. ...

According to Xue San later, not only did he not return Wang Peng's five thousand yuan (it was agreed to be ten thousand, and he gave half first), but he also extorted another ten thousand from him.

Time entered May, during the May Day holiday, I flew to Hainan to play with my daughter for a few days. After returning, I received a message from Xiao Hou, who told me that May was "Safety Production Month," and five days later, an inspection team from the department would come to the unit to inspect the work.

After receiving the news, I knew my chance had arrived. On one hand, I instructed Lu Bo to intensify the harassment; on the other hand, I began frantically preparing—running to hospitals, borrowing cars and equipment, surveying the terrain, modifying equipment, conducting experiments…

After three or four busy days, everything was finally ready.

On that day, I rushed to the office building as soon as I arrived, sat in my car, and waited. Around 9:30, after watching the leaders welcome the inspection team inside, I got out of the car and called Wang Peng.

"I'm downstairs, come down for a second."

"What do you want now?"

"I really have nothing to say this time, I just want to talk to you. If you want to embarrass yourself in front of the boss, I can come up."

"Don't do anything rash, what exactly do you want?"

"I already said, I just want to talk to you about something, mainly to resolve this. Don't worry, I'm very calm today, I promise I won't do anything to you."

"You're not going to force me to kneel, are you?"

"No, it's just to talk business.

Never mind, I'll go upstairs." "Wait a minute, I'm coming down now."

A moment later, Wang Peng came out, looked around to make sure I was really alone and didn't seem like he was there to cause trouble, then slowly approached.

I handed him a cigarette, and we stood by the car smoking. He looked at me nervously as he smoked, and I didn't say anything. After a while, he cautiously asked me, "Um, Xiao Han, you came today..."

I glanced at him. "Old Wang, how have you been lately?"

"Sigh, I regret it so much now. You know, there's no peace at home or at work. Please let me off the hook. If I weren't so ashamed, I would kneel down to you right now."

"Go to hell! You still have the nerve to say that? Look at me! Do I even look human?" I pointed at my face and shouted. I hadn't shaved for five or six days, my eyes were bloodshot from deliberately staying up late last night, and my hair was a mess. Overall, I looked very haggard.

"Don't get angry, please don't get angry. It's all my fault. You can do whatever you want." Wang Peng saw that I was getting emotional again and quickly bowed, begging me to lower my voice while glancing around to make sure someone noticed us.

I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. "This isn't convenient. Let's find a place to sit down and discuss how to resolve this, so we don't all feel uncomfortable."

After getting in the car, Wang Peng led the way, and we arrived at a teahouse. I had measured the distance before getting out of the car. Hmm, it was two streets away from the office building, so the noise wouldn't carry over. The straight-line distance was about 700 or 800 meters, which was suitable.

We went up to a private room on the second floor. Wang Peng obsequiously ordered a pot of good tea,

and we sat down facing each other. "Um, Xiao Han, now that we're sitting here calmly, let's try to resolve this properly. Tell me your thoughts first. I think it's best to resolve it with money."

I looked at him listlessly. "Do you know why I suddenly want to reconcile with you?"

"I guess you're not doing well either. You acted impulsively when the incident first happened, but now that your anger has subsided, you've come to terms with it. Just like you said, this whole mess is painful for everyone. You agree, right?"

I waved my hand at him. "Wait a minute, I need to do something. I need to make a call first. Damn it, you've made me forgetful."

I picked up the phone and, under his suspicious gaze, dialed a number right in front of him.

"Hello, it's me. Is the car installed over there? Is everything alright? Okay, I have something to do. I'll go inspect it when I'm done. Don't mess it up, or I'll dock your pay..."

I hung up the phone, casually placed it on the table, and nodded to Wang Peng. "Go on."

Wang Peng stared at the phone for a moment, and only after confirming that it was indeed hung up did he speak: "Why don't you tell me first?"

"Fuck you, do you think I really want to let you off so easily? My original plan was to torment you to death, but you're lucky. I have to let you go now."

"Huh? Why?"

“Take a look at this,” I said, taking a medical record from my briefcase and tossing it in front of him.

He picked it up, flipped through it, and looked at me with a puzzled expression. “What does this mean?”

“It means I’ve gone insane.”

“Ah! How could that be?”

“Why not? After this mess, I haven’t been able to eat or sleep properly, and I’m constantly thinking about how to torment you. The worst part is that the thought of losing my home makes me miserable. I’m naturally obsessive, so how could I not have mental problems? The day before yesterday, my family couldn’t stand it anymore and forced me to see a psychiatrist.

That’s when I realized how serious it was.” “What did the doctor say?”

I took the medical record, pointing to the entries. “Well, the doctor said that if I continue like this, I’ll definitely develop a mental breakdown and have severe violent tendencies. I’ll either commit suicide or kill someone.”

As I spoke, I stared at him fiercely. His gaze made him lower his head guiltily.

"Ah, is there any cure?"

"If it weren't for my daughter, I wouldn't want to get treatment at all. I'd just kill you all and then kill myself."

"No, no, no, for the sake of the child, you have to think positively."

I sipped my tea angrily and stopped talking.

Wang Peng quickly came over to pour me some water. "Xiao Han, you still need to get treatment. Don't ruin your life over this. Tell me how much the treatment will cost, I'll cover it all."

"Actually, the simplest way to cure it is for you and that bitch to die together. As long as you're dead, my illness will be cured immediately." "

Ah, Xiao Han, don't say things out of anger. I can tell you don't mean it that way." "

Alright, I won't beat around the bush with you. The first compensation is definitely a must, but let's put that aside for now. The main reason I came to see you today is about my treatment." As I spoke, I pointed to the records on my medical record for him to see. “Look at this. The doctor said that medicine alone won't work for my illness. The key is to resolve my inner conflict. And no one else can help; only you and that bitch can. That's why I came to you. I'll talk to you first, and then I'll go find that bitch later.”

“No problem. What do you want me to do? I'll do anything to cure you. Consider it my atonement.”

“Look at this again. The doctor said that after hypnotherapy, they discovered two reasons why my inner conflict remains unresolved. First, I have a stubborn personality; when I don't know the truth, I tend to overthink and exaggerate things through my imagination. So I request that you tell me the truth about what happened, so I don't overthink things.”

"Okay, I've been wanting to tell you what happened for a while now. You really can't blame it all on me. Is there anything else?"

"Let's finish this first, then we'll go through it one step at a time."

"Alright, let me tell you what happened."

So, Wang Peng, from his perspective, recounted how he and Mei got together. Basically, Mei had feelings for him, actively approached him, helped him with his work, cared about his life, confided in him, and gradually developed a romantic relationship. She then started seducing him, and he couldn't resist. Finally, one day after work, they ended up sleeping together in the office... In short, he lacked willpower and couldn't resist Mei's temptation, which forced him to make a mistake.

After listening, I looked at him with disbelief and angrily retorted, "Don't try to shift all the blame onto Mei just to shirk responsibility. I've lived with her for so many years, I know she's not that kind of person. Look at this." I pointed to the medical record and showed it to him. "The doctor also said that because Mei has always been pure and perfect in my heart, I find it even harder to accept this fact. Moreover, the doctor also said that even afterward, I didn't truly hate Mei, otherwise I wouldn't have left all my property to her. He said I was just disappointed in her, while you, the one who destroyed that purity and perfection, are the one I truly hate and want to kill."

I finished speaking and glared at him through gritted teeth.

"Hey, hey, bro, don't get worked up. I'm just telling the truth. Looks like you really don't understand this woman. Once you knew how she behaved when we slept together, you wouldn't keep saying she's pure."

"Then tell me the hell, what exactly did she do in bed?" I slammed my medical record down. "I'm not afraid of looking bad. The doctor said that as long as I can destroy her pure and perfect image of her in my mind, I'll be halfway through my troubles. Tell me everything that happened in bed, in detail, otherwise, if I don't resolve this, I don't know what I might do."

With that, I got up and paced around the room agitatedly, then smashed a teacup. I glared at Wang Peng again, my eyes flashing with malice, and said, word by word, "Since we've come this far, you'd better tell me everything in detail, make me disappointed in her, and resolve my inner conflict. Otherwise… Also, you'd better tell the truth. If you dare to make things up, hmph…"

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk, bro, calm down, sit down first. I promise I’m telling the truth. If I utter a single falsehood, may I be hit by a car and die as soon as I step outside,”

Wang Peng began to recount with a lewd expression after dismissing the waiter who had come to investigate.

“The first time was in the office. The second time was at your house. The third time was also at your house.”

To destroy Mei’s pure image, Wang Peng spared no effort in describing Mei’s lewd behavior in bed. If it were transcribed into words, it could be published directly on a pornographic website.

I listened expressionlessly, inwardly sneering.

He probably never dreamed that at this moment, his performance was being broadcast live in the office building’s plaza.

He talked for nearly an hour, finally finishing his dirty story, and then stared at me expectantly.

I couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out laughing, clapping loudly for him.

He stared at me dumbfounded. I picked up the phone and called Lu Bo while still laughing. "How's the effect over there?"

"It's amazing! This guy's so talented. Listening to him is more exciting than watching porn. It's got me rock hard. But you'd better come back soon. The police are here, they're going to dismantle the car, and your ex-wife is going crazy."

Since I was on speakerphone, Wang Peng next to me heard everything clearly. He immediately stood up and pointed at me. "What did you do?"

"Nothing much, I just broadcast everything you just said."

"You were lying to me?"

I slowly tore up the medical record. "You're so clever. I was lying to you. Am I too bad? Why don't you scold me?"

After learning that an inspection team was coming, I first went to the hospital to register, bought a medical record book, and then found a friend who was a surgeon to write the medical record according to my instructions. There was no other way; only a doctor could imitate a doctor's cursive handwriting.

I borrowed a pickup truck converted into an armored truck, then went back to my original workplace and borrowed a "vehicle-mounted cordless phone," a "vehicle-mounted amplifier," and a speaker from the vehicle fleet and the publicity department. Finally, I found a friend who was an expert in radio to help me modify and debug the equipment. We installed all the equipment on the truck, especially the speaker, which was installed in the trunk. In short, unless the truck was smashed open, no one could stop the equipment.

Of course, the most crucial thing was the receiving equipment. After testing, the "cordless phone" had an effective range of 1,500 meters in the city. To avoid being exposed, I had my friend remove the receiving function from the "daughter unit," leaving only the transmitting function. I also added an external microphone. When using it, I hung the "daughter unit" on my waist, and the microphone was fixed to my wrist with a cable.

To make my story believable, I deliberately didn't wash my hair or shave for four or five days, and I even stayed up all night the night before I went there. The purpose was to make Wang Peng believe that I wasn't doing well and that I really had mental problems.

Wang Peng wouldn't have easily believed these words, but on one hand, I had put him under considerable pressure recently, and now he had a chance to ease the tension, plus the medical records as evidence, so he relaxed. On the other hand, to gain his trust, I let him choose the location for the negotiation, which further lowered his guard. Of course, if he chose an unsuitable location, I would find a reason to change it. Before the formal talks, the phone call I made was actually to Lu Bo, using a pre-arranged code to check his reception. Lu Bo and his team arrived at the office building early in the morning in an armored truck with me. I had them park the truck outside the compound and point the loudspeaker at the office building. After receiving my call, they started playing it at a high volume.

To be honest, my initial goal was to get Wang Peng to confess to the leaders about their affair, but I didn't expect him to be so weak-willed. I provoked and intimidated him, and to absolve himself of responsibility, he dared to say anything. It seems their so-called friendship was worthless.

According to Xiao Hou and Lu Bo's later accounts, when the loudspeaker first started playing, no one understood what was going on. Later, as they gradually understood, they all pressed their faces against the windows or gathered in the square, listening and discussing. They listened with particular fascination when Wang Peng talked about the bedroom, and the leaders' meeting couldn't continue; they frantically searched for people to understand the situation.

Halfway through, Mei rushed over and started kicking and hitting the car, but she couldn't stop the playback. Eventually, a larger crowd gathered, and two people from their office couldn't stand it anymore and pulled her away.

Strangely enough, no one called Wang Peng to tell him for so long; I guess everyone has a penchant for gossip.

When the leaders' attempts to stop her failed, they had no choice but to call the police. I had anticipated this; the day before, I had specifically treated the police officers to dinner, telling them that I was going to cause trouble that day, and they could handle it however they pleased. But I also told them to remember that the police "are there to protect the safety of the people's property, not to destroy it." So, when faced with the leaders' demand to smash the car, they used the same phrase.

After understanding what was going on, Wang Peng was speechless.

I slowly packed my things, teasing him as I turned on the air conditioner, "Old Wang, you're famous now. Even the leaders in the department know about your womanizing. Tell me, how are you going to thank me? I've been busy with this for days..."

He looked at me with a defeated expression, "Making such a big fuss like this, aren't you afraid of losing face? Don't forget, you're the one who's the cuckold."

I laughed loudly, "Fuck you! If I were the cuckold and had to keep putting up with it, that would be truly shameful, a disgrace. Since I've already lost face, let's all lose face together and see who suffers the most in the end!"

"You're too ruthless."

“You should have thought about the consequences when you did those despicable things. You should be thanking my parents now. If they hadn’t taught me to have a basic moral compass, I would have made you understand the old saying, ‘He who defiles another man’s wife and daughters will have his own wife and daughters defiled by others.’ Do you think it’s difficult for me to find someone to harm your daughter? I have plenty of ways, soft or hard.” A

look of terror appeared on his face.

“That’s enough for today. You should go clean up your mess. You don’t need to keep me company.”

He quickly got up and walked out, but I stopped him at the door. “Stop.”

“What else do you want?”

I picked up my cup and took a sip of tea. “The tea is good, thank you. Don’t forget to pay the bill.”

He glared at me viciously for a moment, then turned and left.

Damn it, I just wanted to infuriate him.

After Wang Peng left, I first called Lu Bo and asked him to drive to the police station with the officers, telling him that I would go there immediately as well.

I also called Xiao Hou, who was excited but also worried about Mei’s ability to cope. I asked him to find two colleagues to accompany her.

After arriving at the police station, I was scolded by the officers and fined 1,000 yuan. Sigh, I went over budget.

The next afternoon, I received a call from Xiao Hou. He told me that yesterday's incident had embarrassed the leader, who was furious. The first thing he did at work today was to call Wang Peng in and give him a severe dressing-down. Before noon, Wang Peng was dismissed from his post, demoted to a low-level unit as a gatekeeper, and ordered to report for duty tomorrow. Apparently, after the investigation, he will face disciplinary action from the Party and the government. As for Mei's fate, since she didn't go to work, her fate will be decided after the organization speaks with her, but it's basically decided she'll be sent to the sanitation team.

That night, I suddenly had an urge to drink, to get drunk. For almost a month since the incident, I haven't dared to get drunk because I know that if I lose my temper, the tearing pain in my heart will be unbearable. I've been deliberately trying to forget.

I kept scheming, kept running around for revenge, using hatred to cover up my pain. No one knew that this family tragedy had torn a huge piece from my soul and life—a pain I couldn't bear. Every time I thought about it unintentionally, it was excruciating. Perhaps I was filling the void in my life with malice.

I got drunk easily after less than a bottle of wine. I didn't know who to confide in, and in my daze, I called my mother. Hearing her voice, I couldn't hold back anymore. I hugged the phone and cried loudly. My mother gently comforted me on the other end. She said many things, but I can't remember them all, only one sentence: "Xiaojun, you always wrap yourself in reason. This wound won't heal. You need to find a way to move on."

After hanging up, I howled like a wounded beast, tears and pain mingling with my cries. Even the police couldn't stop me until my brother arrived and calmed me down.

As dawn broke, still hungover, I received another call from Xiao Hou.

"Brother Han, something's happened. Last night, Wang Peng's wife found out he'd been punished by being a gatekeeper, and went to confront Sister Mei in the middle of the night. Sister Mei initially ignored her, but the wife kept yelling at her downstairs. Maybe her insults were too offensive, because one of Sister Mei's two female colleagues wasn't watching her closely enough, and Sister Mei rushed down and started fighting with her."

"Are you alright?" I asked, rubbing my head.

"They pulled them apart, but as soon as Sister Mei went upstairs, before she even entered the house, Wang Peng's wife grabbed a bottle from somewhere and chased after her, hitting her on the head from behind. Sister Mei fell down the stairs and hasn't woken up since. I heard it's serious. You should go check on her quickly. Also, I heard from people who came back that she got a large cut on her face from the glass when she fell; she's probably disfigured."

I stood there blankly, unaware that my phone had fallen to the ground.

It seems I really am not a god; things have gone beyond my expectations.

I stood outside the ICU, silently watching Mei, who lay unconscious inside.

I had once dreamed of sharing life and death, of supporting each other through thick and thin

. But from now on, I would no longer be a part of your life. If I were, it would be an object of hatred.

It turns out your desires and my hatred could easily erase the beauty of the past.

Looking at you like this, perhaps I should let go.

I can't forgive, but I will forget, completely forget. No hatred, no love, from now on, we will be strangers.

Mei remained in a coma for a week. Wang Peng's wife was sentenced to three years in prison for serious assault. They had divorced before the sentencing. Wang Peng continued to work as a gatekeeper, living in the guardhouse. His daughter didn't acknowledge him.

Mei's mother passed away the following year. Mei's father didn't allow Mei to attend the funeral. Han Jun took Shuangshuang instead.

Six months later, I saw Mei again one morning. I was waiting for the company car to pick me up by the roadside. A woman pushing a sanitation cart walked past me in the thin mist. When our eyes met, we both froze. Even though she was wearing a mask, I could still see the striking scar on her face. After a moment, she lowered her head and pushed the cart away. I watched her walk away.

After that meeting, Han Jun used his connections to transfer Mei to the logistics department of another unit, but he had Xiao Hou do it on his behalf so Mei wouldn't know. Finally finished writing !

Sigh, I'm usually such a shameless person, but because I wrote slowly, you all made me blush with embarrassment. Next time I want to write something, I'll definitely finish it first before publishing it.

URL 1:https://www.sexlove5.com/htmlBlog/125379.html

URL 2:/Blog.aspx?id=125379&aspx=1

Last access time:

Previous Page : Blessed with a daughter, spring returns again

Next Page : A promiscuous and wicked mother