Chapter 257: Paying respects to the dangers and warmth of this world (1)
“Back then, I didn’t divorce her in the end, “ Chen Jianxing said.
Back then, after Chen Jianxing had given his ultimatum, his wife had sworn the most vicious of oaths that after the two had been married, she had had no further interactions with that bigwig. Additionally considering their child who had just been born a few months ago, she successfully managed to convince Chen Jianxing against truly getting that divorce.
Chen Jianxing thus bided his time as he sought to have his revenge in the future.
Afterwards, Mrs Chen was transferred away from the news agency and to a leisurely vocation. She devoted all her energies on tending to their household.
That bigwig did naturally still look for her. Still, she would refuse him every time, also recounting this in full to Chen Jianxing without fail afterwards such that his imagination would not run wild.
Because of this, Chen Jianxing who had previously been seeking to leave the news agency stayed in the end, pretending not to be aware of anything at all as he worked hard and acted appropriately, gradually rising through the ranks as a result.
“Back then, I always thought that I, this mad dog, would surely get a chance to bite him dead in the future,” Chen Jianxing said.
In the end, before Chen Jianxing had successfully entered the higher echelons and gotten a chance to take him down, that bigwig who possessed a mighty background had been transferred over to the City’s Publicity Department.
The farewell dinner lasted till very late at night.
That day, the Vice-Chief who was high in his triumph over his smooth-sailing career expressly asked Chen Jianxing to send him home after the event ended.
On the car, he hooked an arm over Chen Jianxing’s shoulder, saying, “What a very interesting turtle you are. Been laying low all waiting to have a bite at me, have you?”
Then, he spoke of two things.
First, he had taken the virginity of Chen Jianxing’s wife.
Secondly, Chen Jianxing’s wife had been on his bed up till the day right before their marriage.
Chen Jianxing had been on the brink of erupting. Still, it was true that both these incidents had occurred only prior to them getting married.
Afterwards, the Vice-Chief spoke of a third incident.
“Aren’t you curious as to how you received one of those flats that were distributed as bonuses? You’ve got to thank me for that, and your wife as well……of course, I’ve also got you to thank. If not for trash like you, it would’ve been useless however I’d tried to approach your wife, right? “
When the news agency had distributed the flats, Chen Jianxing’s daughter had already been two years old.
Having heard that this might be the final batch of these flats that were distributed as bonuses, because they would not have to pay much for such flats, this had held an incomparably great allure towards Chen Jianxing’s family of three which had never been all that well off financially.
However, in terms of both qualifications and position, Chen Jianxing’s chances of being granted one of these flats back then had seemed low indeed.
Chen Jianxing had looked melancholic and depressed all day, sighing repeatedly. His wife patiently consoled and pacified him initially. In the end, perhaps really being unable to take it, the consolations had turned into arguments. During the worst of it, his wife had even left their daughter behind, returning to her maiden home for three days.
Three days later, Chen Jianxing’s wife had returned on her own accord and apologised to him.
“Afterwards, I managed to get one of the flats. Ninety square metres! Our whole family was overjoyed. Both my wife and I cried,” Chen Jianxing said, “I always thought that that was a result of the gifts that I gave to the higher-ups in management. But actually…… “
It was only then that Chen Jianxing knew where his wife had gone those three days she had purportedly returned to her maiden home, how their flat had been obtained.
“Should I have stabbed him to death right there and then?” Chen Jianxing was already too drunk to even lift up his head at this point.
He actually did not require an answer from Xu Tingsheng. Xu Tingsheng also had no way of answering him by telling him what choice he should have made. That could only come from his own thoughts at the time as well as afterwards. It might not definitely be related to bravery.
After sending the Vice-Chief home and himself returning home that night, Chen Jianxing calmly took a bath and went to bed, not saying anything at all. In the days that followed, he maintained his calmness, continuing to work hard to earn money as he diligently strove for higher and better.
Even though he was still living in such a flat every day.
“There were originally two targets of my revenge, one of them being my wife,” Chen Jianxing said.
Chen Jianxing had always been waiting for a chance to get his revenge.
Half a year ago, he had been promoted to an office chairman, his interactions with the higher echelons gradually increasing……then, he had gotten to know the daughter of this bigwig who was ‘known far and wide’ for being a two time divorcee.
Soon, he had captured the woman’s heart.
At the time, two years had already passed since that Vice-Chief had been transferred.
Chen Jianxing’s chance had finally arrived.
“The first person I intended to take revenge against was my wife. Actually, she still thinks that I don’t know about the flat even now. Two years ago, I wished for her reputation to be wrecked every single day, every passing day feeling like a year to her……suddenly losing me, our daughter, our flat, her job……everything. I wanted to force her to die,” Chen Jianxing said.
That day, Chen Jianxing had intended to call over his wife’s parents and relatives after going home, exposing all her misdeeds in front of them before righteously kicking her out of the household……
She would surely die with that.
Yet, when Chen Jianxiang returned home, chicken soup was currently being brewed on the stove, its fragrance slowly drifting over. His obedient daughter was sitting quietly in her room doing her homework, and his wife with an apron around her waist was making use of the time when the soup was boiling to hang the clothes out to dry……
Over the years, those two incidents aside, Chen Jianxing had to admit that she been a virtually perfect wife. She worked hard to maintain the family, being an understanding and gentle person who almost never got into any arguments with him. In order to avoid him having his thoughts run wild, she did not even have any social interactions with others outside of career and family……
Chen Jianxing stood at the doorway for a long time, till his wife finished hanging the clothes out to dry and discovered him standing there.
“What’re you standing at the door for? Come in, wash your hands and get ready to eat,” His wife said, “Oh no, look, the soup’s almost overflowing already……”
“I want a divorce,” Chen Jianxing said.
“What? I didn’t quite catch what you said.”
His wife who had already entered the kitchen did not hear his words. She quickly rushed back over with the pot of soup in her hands to listen earnestly to his words, even having a bit of an ingratiating smile on her face.
She had always been like this in their interactions, subservient and in a position of lesser power.
“I want a divorce,” Chen Jianxing said.
“Bang!”
The entire pot of chicken soup fell out of his wife’s hands and crashed onto the floor before his wife knelt down amidst the remnants of the soup and the fragmented shards of the pot, “Didn’t you already forgive me for that incident before our marriage? We’ve been fine all these years.”
For some reason, Chen Jianxing did not mention the matter of their flat in the end as he just said, “It’s my bad, I can’t handle it anymore. Let’s get a divorce, you can have everything. The kid, the flat, the money, you can have all of it……I saved quite a bit of money these past two years. I’ll give you the card in a while.”
Chen Jianxing who had originally wanted to take everything away from his wife and have his revenge on her still changed his mind in the end in what might be the final gentleness of this man who was hell-bent on getting his vengeance.
“I don’t want all these. Please don’t leave me, okay?” His wife wept even as she pleaded.
“Just take it as me repaying you for our matrimony all this while,” Chen Jianxing said.
“I don’t want it! Please, for the sake of our daughter. Don’t abandon us two, okay?”
His wife wept as she kowtowed and pleaded agonisedly. Their daughter ran out of her room as well. Not knowing what was going on, she too began crying.
“I’ll leave our daughter to you. I……” Chen Jianxing said the name of that woman and the decision he had made before concluding, “Please get out of my way.”
As Chen Jianxing had left his home that night, with every step that he took, his wife and their daughter had each hugged and clung on to one of his legs, refusing to let go no matter what.
Over a month later, his wife finally agreed to a divorce.
The clothes that Chen Jianxing wanted to take with him were thoroughly washed clean and folded up neatly by his wife before being packed inside a suitcase. As for his other belongings, she had properly packed all of them as well, leaving them in the living room for him to collect……
That day, Chen Jianxing’s daughter had continually asked him why, continually burst into tears.
After handing Chen Jianxing the signed divorce agreement, his wife had made one final request of him, “Can you stay behind and have a meal with me and your daughter? Just one, last time.”
Chen Jianxing had not stayed.