Chapter 2

Wei Zhiyong never expected that this time, Hu Qianqian was truly determined to divorce him.

He had never considered divorcing her.

Hu Qianqian was an only child from a well-off family. The reason he had been able to financially support his family back in his hometown without restraint all these years was something he himself was well aware of—it was because his own household had her mother-in-law secretly covering for them.

Besides, at his age, divorcing his wife would be a huge embarrassment.

But Hu Qianqian was determined to take this opportunity to straighten things out once and for all.

After all, they had been married for so many years. She gave Wei Zhiyong two choices:

First, if he didn’t want a divorce, fine. But from now on, he had to hand over his salary card to her and could no longer send money to his hometown without limits. Of course, they would still fulfill their duty to support his mother—she wasn’t going to shirk that responsibility.

Second, if he agreed to the divorce, she would only take the house and their son. Wei Zhiyong could take all the savings he had accumulated over the years.

“I don’t have any savings,” Wei Zhiyong blurted out in surprise.

“Heh~ Wei Zhiyong, you’ve been an employee at a state-owned enterprise for thirty years, and you’re still on the official payroll! I’ve never asked you for much money over the years, but even if you saved just 30,000 yuan a year, in thirty years, that’s 900,000 yuan—not counting the interest!” Hu Qianqian sneered.

“My son and I never spent much of your money. You know exactly where all your salary, bonuses, and overtime pay have gone over the years!”

Seeing Wei Zhiyong still hesitating, Hu Qianqian gritted her teeth and gave him a heavy ultimatum—

“You want me to keep living with you? Fine! Go back to your hometown and collect all the money your brother borrowed over the years! Xiao Sheng is all grown up now—it’s time we bought him a marital home [efn_note] the term “marital home” (婚房) typically refers to the house a couple lives in after marriage. It holds cultural significance, as traditionally, the groom’s family is expected to provide the marital home, especially in more traditional or rural settings. [/efn_note] as his father, do you really have the nerve to not contribute a single cent?”

Hearing that she wanted to “collect debts” from his brother, Wei Zhiyong’s face instantly turned red.

He only had one younger brother, who hadn’t gone to college and had a hard life in the countryside. As the older brother, wasn’t it natural for him to help out when he could?

Besides, all the money he had given his brother over the years—although he had told Hu Qianqian it was a loan—he had never actually intended to ask for it back.

Now, she wanted him to go back and demand repayment? What about his pride?

“Hmph! We’re family! Why talk about repaying or not repaying? My mother was right—you just look down on my family because we’re poor!” Wei Zhiyong muttered, speaking without thinking.

Hu Qianqian looked at the man in front of her with utter disappointment.

“Fine! I admit it—I do look down on your poor family! Not only are they poor, but they’re also greedy and scheming! Other men work hard to provide for their wives and children, but you? You spend your money supporting your brother’s wife and kids! Wei Zhiyong, I do despise your poverty! I don’t want to live with you anymore—let’s get a divorce!”

“I won’t divorce!” Wei Zhiyong blurted out.

“Alright. Since we can’t come to an agreement, we’ll handle this legally. See you in court!”

Hu Qianqian grabbed her bag, clearly not wanting to waste another word on this man who was still so foolish despite his age.

But before she left, she gave him one final warning—

“If I have to file for divorce, I’ll have my lawyer include a demand to recover all the marital assets you secretly sent to your hometown over the years.”

“By then, I’ll still get half of the house and savings, and I might even be able to recover another two or three hundred thousand from your mother…”

With that, she picked up her bag, grabbed her suitcase, and walked away without looking back.

Before, she hadn’t made a fuss because she wanted to maintain a complete home for her son.

Now, she was fighting for every cent because her son was grown, and she no longer cared about this man.

Why be polite to someone who owed her hundreds of thousands?

Finding a top-notch divorce lawyer was now her top priority.

“Hu Qianqian! You don’t want our son anymore? I’m not letting you have custody!” Wei Zhiyong snapped out of his daze and shouted after her.

“Oh, now you remember we have a son?” Hu Qianqian laughed in exasperation. “Then do you remember how old he is this year?”

“He’s already graduated from university—he’s been an adult for a long time!”

“Exactly. So don’t try to use custody as leverage against me.”

Watching her walk away without hesitation, Wei Zhiyong slumped onto the couch.

A family he had taken for granted for half his life—was it really about to fall apart?

He thought he could stall and avoid the divorce, but he never expected that Hu Qianqian would actually take him to court!

Not only that, but she even disregarded her own pride and brought a lawyer to his workplace, demanding that they print out his salary records from the past years.

Her reasoning? That throughout their marriage, he had refused to contribute to household expenses or their son’s upbringing, and now that they were divorcing, she was seeking her rightful share of their marital assets.

Hu Qianqian knew that his workplace might not necessarily help her.

But so what?

She wanted to take this opportunity to completely tear away his facade! To let his bosses and colleagues see the selfish, despicable man he really was!

After being married to him for so many years, no one knew better than her how much he cared about his reputation.

By publicly exposing his disgrace, she knew he would resent her too much to ever reconcile.

Hu Qianqian’s outburst at his workplace caused a complete social disaster for Wei Zhiyong.

The gossip spread like wildfire.

Wow! So that’s the kind of man Old Wei really is?

The public was in an uproar!

Wow! So Old Wei was actually this kind of person?

A formally employed worker in a state-owned enterprise—never mind the past—nowadays, with all kinds of bonuses and allowances, he must be making at least 200,000 to 300,000 yuan a year.

Yet, despite earning so much money, he didn’t give his wife a single cent for household expenses?

And he even let his mother-in-law’s family help raise his child?

Isn’t this the legendary “kept man”?

The entire company was laughing at him!!!

Wei Zhiyong was so ashamed that he hardly dared to go to work.

But if he didn’t show up, his salary and bonuses would be deducted.

With the company’s strict management policies now, skipping work without reason for too many days could even cost him his job.

Moreover, Hu Qianqian had made it clear that if he didn’t agree to the divorce, she would sue his mother and younger brother in court, demanding they return the marital assets they had taken over the years… If that happened, how could his family hold their heads up in the village?

Since he had never been someone with strong opinions, he certainly wasn’t going to make a decision about divorce on his own.

In a panic, he rushed back to his hometown, thinking his family would support him in keeping the marriage. But to his surprise, when he told them about Hu Qianqian wanting a divorce, both his mother and younger brother actually encouraged him to go through with it!

Madam Wei was unwilling to part with the tens of thousands of yuan she had taken from her eldest son for her retirement. The moment she heard they might have to return that money if the case went to court, she couldn’t wait to push her son into signing the divorce agreement immediately!

Meanwhile, Wei Zhifei had his own calculations.

Divorce meant dividing assets.

His elder brother was already at this age—even if he remarried, he probably wouldn’t be able to have more children.

That meant whatever money he got from the divorce, along with his future pension, would eventually benefit his nephew.

He had heard that his elder brother’s workplace offered a high retirement pension.

If Wei Mian could rely on his uncle’s pension in the future, he might even be able to marry a wife and settle down in the city.

Better yet, if his elder brother could marry another only daughter like Hu Qianqian, then they’d have financial support not just from her family but also from his uncle’s side.

Wouldn’t life be amazing with money pouring in from both sides?

Madam Wei and Wei Zhifei each had their own schemes, but their words were sweet as honey—advising Wei Zhiyong to divorce that “bad luck bringer” Hu Qianqian as soon as possible, focus on his work, and not worry about his son being distant.

After all, he still had a nephew, and Wei Mian was such a filial child. He would surely take care of him in old age.

Hu Qianqian never expected that the expensive divorce lawyer she hired wouldn’t scare Wei Zhiyong. Instead, a trip back home made him “come to his senses” and agree to a divorce by mutual consent.

Wei Zhiyong truly had no savings left.

Hu Qianqian, having been a homemaker for years, didn’t have much money either.

Their only marital asset was the apartment under their names.

When she bought it, she had specifically chosen a property in a good school district so their son could receive the best education.

Now that Wei Sheng had already graduated from university, the school district’s value hadn’t diminished one bit.

The mortgage had been paid off long ago, and they sold the apartment for 1.65 million yuan.

After deducting over 20,000 yuan in agency fees, taxes, and other expenses, each of them received just over 800,000 yuan.

After signing the agreement, Wei Zhiyong glanced at his son several times.

He saw that throughout the process, Wei Sheng had been supporting Hu Qianqian, without even saying a single word of concern to his own father.

At that moment, he felt a pang of bitterness.

His mother and younger brother were right—Wei Sheng had been spoiled by his mother’s family.

He only acknowledged his mother and had no respect for his father at all.

Since that was the case, there was no need for him to care about his son anymore.

After all, he still had a biological nephew.

Wei Mian had always been filial, and he would surely take care of him in the future.

Finally, she was free from that disgusting man!

As Hu Qianqian walked out of the civil affairs office, she felt that the sky was blue, the flowers were red, and even the air smelled fresher!

“Mom, I booked you a tour to Jiuzhaigou—it even includes a visit to see giant pandas. Why don’t you go out and relax a bit?”

Wei Sheng grinned as he handed his mother a thick red envelope.

“Mom, I know you endured all these years for my sake. But don’t worry, from now on, I won’t let you suffer anymore.”

Hu Qianqian was so touched that her eyes welled up with tears.

Opening the envelope, she found not only a printed itinerary from the travel agency but also a thick stack of cash!

Having managed a supermarket for her family for years, Hu Qianqian was an expert at counting money.

With just a light squeeze, she could tell there was at least 5,000 yuan inside.

“Where did you get this money?”

“Hehe~ Mom, did you forget what my major was in college?

“Your son specializes in film editing and post-production! There are tons of self-employed content creators here in J Province who need professionals like me for editing work.”

“Let’s put it this way—if I don’t go to work at a TV station and just pick any random online media company, my starting annual salary would be at least 200,000 yuan!”

Wei Sheng proudly pointed at the cash in the envelope.

“This is just what I earned from some side gigs recently!”

“Honestly, if I hadn’t been busy preparing for the TV station’s interview and had taken on more projects, never mind Jiuzhaigou—I could’ve taken you on an international trip by now.”

“Nonsense! The TV station is a proper job!”

Hu Qianqian beamed with joy but still playfully knocked her son on the head.

“These days, landing a good position at a TV station isn’t easy.

“Since you got in, whether or not it’s a permanent position, you have to work hard and prove yourself, understood?”

“Mm-hmm!” Wei Sheng nodded earnestly.

He wasn’t treating this as just a temporary job.

After researching several public sector organizations that had been hiring contract workers this year, he realized that the TV station was the least nepotistic—if you had talent, you had a real shot at moving up.

Wei Sheng had prepared for two possible career paths.

Given his family’s situation, they couldn’t help him pull strings for promotions.

So for him, the best choices were…

He could either stay on as a contract worker and rely on his abilities to get promotions and raises. After asking his alumni at the TV station, he learned that as long as someone stuck it out for ten years without leaving and wasn’t completely incompetent, they could gradually climb the ranks. Even if they couldn’t secure a permanent position, they could still become a department head. Aside from some differences in retirement benefits, the overall treatment was about the same.

Or, he could work as a contract employee at the TV station while continuing to take civil service exams for positions within the broadcasting system or other permanent roles.

Wei Sheng explained his plans to his mother.

Unexpectedly, after hearing him out, Hu Qianqian burst into tears and hugged him tightly.

If his own father had been reliable, would her son have needed to be so meticulous about planning everything for himself?

Damn that Wei Zhiyong!

Ignoring his own son just to fawn over his nephew’s family?

He better keep doing it till he’s old!

Only when he’s too weak to move and lying in a nursing home will he finally realize whether his beloved nephew is truly human—or a monster!

(End of Chapter)

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