The city was hard and angular in the daylight. Ning Yue wrapped herself in the car’s coat before picking up Zi Yuan from kindergarten. At the hospital, Zi Yuan was left outside the curtain, and several times when his curiosity made him try to peek inside, the nurse stopped him.
The knife had slid across her waist, leaving a deep cut. The doctor said it was fortunate to be just a flesh wound – if it had been slightly more to the left, it would have pierced an internal organ. As he said this, the doctor gave Ning Yue a meaningful look, hoping she would say something. However, Ning Yue only drew in a sharp breath, enduring the pain while fiddling with her phone. The call seemed to connect, and Ning Yue said, “Mm, I’m at the hospital, it’s nothing serious. Oh, he was taken by the police? I understand, I’ll head over right away. Alright! No worries, we’ll talk about it later, goodbye.”
After hanging up and getting her wound dressed, Ning Yue collected her medical record and left the hospital with Zi Yuan.
Instead of going directly to the police station, Ning Yue first returned home to pack some things. In the elevator, Zi Yuan held Ning Yue’s hand and asked, “Mom, did Dad hit you again?”
Ning Yue paused, looking down at her son. She wanted to crouch down as usual, to meet his eyes at the same level. But the slightest movement caused her wound to throb with pain, reminding her that her body wouldn’t allow any unnecessary movement.
Zi Yuan said, “One night, Dad made Mom cry from hitting her. In the morning, I saw the blue marks on your body.”
Ning Yue stroked Zi Yuan’s head. So even the child knew – she had been fooling only herself with her pretense!
She sighed, “If Mom and Dad have to separate, who would you want to live with?”
Zi Yuan hugged Ning Yue’s legs tightly, saying tearfully, “I want Mom, I don’t want you to divorce!” The elevator door opened, and Zi Yuan looked up at Ning Yue, sunlight falling on his young face. “I’ll talk to Dad, tell him not to hit you anymore! Dad listens to me the most, okay?”
Ning Yue’s lips moved, but no sound came out.
Zhuo Hao watched the child intently watching TV, then looked down at his phone, silently sighed, and sat beside the child to watch “Boonie Bears” together.
Hu Zi Yuan turned his head to look at Zhuo Hao and said coldly, “You have no chance of becoming my dad.”
Zhuo Hao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “How did I indicate I wanted to be your dad?”
Hu Zi Yuan watched the television, speaking seriously, “Grandmother says all men who get close to my mom are bad guys who want to drive my dad away and bully me!”
Zhuo Hao rolled his eyes dramatically but remembered something and, with a hint of revenge, asked Hu Zi Yuan, “If your dad bullies your mom, whose side would you take?”
Hu Zi Yuan said, “Mom’s side, of course! But they won’t divorce! Grandfather said they’re husband and wife, and it’s normal for couples to fight!”
The child angrily grabbed the iPad Zhuo Hao had specifically opened for him and ran to one side. Watching the dizzy Bald Strong on TV, Zhuo Hao thought of Ning Yue, who had been equally frightened that day.
The day after Hu Cheng hit her, Ning Yue sought out Zhuo Hao. Through his connections, Zhuo Hao helped her get a referral letter in a familiar district to obtain an injury assessment. They filed a report without alerting Hu Cheng.
In Zhuo Hao’s office, the still-shaken Ning Yue made three requests: First, help her find a knife for self-defense. Second, tell her which body part would be least affected if she had to take a knife wound, and how long she could bleed without fainting. Third, teach her how to make it look like someone else had stabbed her rather than her running into the knife herself.
At the time, Zhuo Hao thought Ning Yue was being too fanciful. But Ning Yue explained that divorce was inevitable. However, the family’s finances were controlled by her mother-in-law, all income sources were in Hu Cheng’s hands, and she knew none of the bank passwords except for having one supplementary credit card. She had no economic support whatsoever. Once divorced, it would be too easy for Hu Cheng to leave her penniless! Without economic ability or financial support, plus the dominance of Hu Cheng and his parents, she had no confidence in gaining custody of her child. All she could do was give Hu Cheng a stain that no money could wash away.
Back then, Zhuo Hao had asked her what kind of stain money couldn’t wash away. Ning Yue lowered her head in silence. After a long while, she said perhaps it wasn’t realistic. Seeing her sadness, Zhuo Hao didn’t pursue the matter.
Now Zhuo Hao understood: this stain was violence. Perhaps Hu Cheng’s violence had reminded Ning Yue, letting her discover this method. Or perhaps from much earlier, Ning Yue had inherently possessed the tendency to resolve problems through self-harm and violence. Today, Ning Yue had used her blood to taint Hu Cheng!
Previous domestic violence, plus knife injury in public view – no reasonable judge would grant custody to such a man, no matter how wealthy! If possible, Ning Yue could even apply for a restraining order against Hu Cheng approaching her and the child! Even if the judge ultimately rejected the evidence Ning Yue had collected about Hu Cheng’s investments and income sources, as long as she could keep her child, Ning Yue would be satisfied.
By the time Ning Yue walked out of the police station after filing the report, giving statements, and getting the injury assessment, it was already dark.
Qin Can accompany her out, standing by the roadside, couldn’t help but let out a long sigh, remaining silent. He had felt angry initially – anger at being calculated against, sadness at not being trusted, and an indescribable disappointment. But when he turned to see Ning Yue’s pale face, Qin Can couldn’t speak. He understood why she did this. If others could reproach Ning Yue for not seeking help, Qin Can couldn’t. He knew too well that women in such situations couldn’t receive much valuable help! If it had been possible, his mother wouldn’t have been so desperate back then, and perhaps he wouldn’t have said those things later.
Lost in thought, Qin Can’s anger, sadness, and disappointment gradually transformed into expectation under the wash of past events. He looked down at Ning Yue again, his eyes clearly showing a kind of eagerness – yes, as if returning to those years ago, his mother no longer leaving so desperately, no longer leaving without warning, but walking out step by step!
“What do you plan to do next?”
Ning Yue looked blankly at the iron-gray night sky, “Get divorced! I hope to have Attorney Mu Xiao Mu as my representative.”
Qin Can nodded in agreement: “I’ll contact her right away. I’ve already mentioned your situation to her. She said as long as you agree, she’s willing to represent you. However, I’ve never understood – if you were so unhappy, why didn’t you divorce earlier? Even for the child’s sake, you’re a lawyer, you should at least know you couldn’t be left with nothing. As long as you insist, Hu Cheng can’t possibly give you anything!”
Although accepting, Qin Can still couldn’t truly understand Ning Yue’s approach. Why did it have to be so bloody? Why did it have to be so difficult? Couldn’t things be negotiated?
Ning Yue smiled slightly as if Qin Can had asked a naive question. But she only said, “He indeed couldn’t give me nothing, but how much he gives would be his decision. It could be money, or it could be debt. But none of that matters – what’s important is the child’s custody.”
“You’re the mother, the child is so young, and Hu Cheng has wealth – it’s completely reasonable for you to have custody while he pays child support!”
“What’s reasonable isn’t always feasible. In the Hu family’s dictionary, there’s no such thing as parting on good terms. Divorce is the ultimate betrayal to them. How could they possibly trust a ‘traitor’ to raise the child? Moreover, they consider the child a member of the Hu family, and I’m an outsider with no right to take him away. And if the child stays with the Hu family, my memory in his heart would probably be erased,” Ning Yue smiled helplessly. “For a mother, when you lose love or a husband, you still have your child to prove that someone in this world needs you. But if even your child abandons you, then that’s really…” Ning Yue stopped. Not because she couldn’t express it, but because such a scenario was too cruel for her – even thinking about it was unbearable!
She shook her head, with a hint of self-mockery, “I don’t know about others, but I would feel like a complete failure. That kind of thorough, irreversible failure.”
Qin Can’s mind went blank for a moment! The phrase “nothing worth living for” burst into his mind, replacing Ning Yue’s words!
Nothing worth living for, so that’s why you gave up, right?
Qin Can close his eyes: No! If you had nothing to live for, why did you leave so many letters, having Dad mail them to me regularly, pretending you were still alive? You clearly still had attachments, still had concerns, and still worried! It wasn’t at all like what Ning Yue described! You didn’t have anything to live for, you didn’t commit suicide because I chose to return to Father. Yes, it wasn’t because of my choice, it had nothing to do with me. You were just under too much pressure, life was too overwhelming, it was life that defeated you, society’s discrimination that made you lose your will to live.
Qin Can slowly open his eyes, the darkness before him spinning slightly. After a while, he heard himself say, “You probably won’t speak ill of Hu Cheng, right?”
Ning Yue shook her head: “He is his father. If I speak badly of him, Hu Zi Yuan will feel inferior and confused. It’s not good for the child.”
Qin Can heard his voice running out of his mouth uncontrollably: “My mom never spoke ill of my dad either. She said my dad was the best and most excellent man in the world, worthy of being my father.”
Ning Yue didn’t notice Qin Can’s unusual state: “The more a mother loves her child, the less willing she is to speak badly of the father.”
Qin Can grunted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Ning Yue worried about Zi Yuan, asked Qin Can if they could leave.
When Ning Yue went to pick up Zi Yuan, the child had fallen asleep holding the iPad. Zhuo Hao apologetically said, “I got caught up in something and forgot, letting him watch for so long, I’m sorry!”
Ning Yue waved it off: “Thank you for your trouble. Today’s kids can’t be entertained with just a book anymore. Even I couldn’t keep him occupied without an iPad.”
Seeing that Ning Yue wasn’t upset, Zhuo Hao relaxed and asked the question he’d been wanting to ask: “Besides fighting for custody through divorce proceedings, what will you do during this time?”
Ning Yue blinked, “I can’t go home anymore. Hu Cheng is only under administrative detention for fifteen days for disturbing public order. But I suspect the child’s grandfather is searching everywhere for us. Hu Cheng also has friends who can help him. I don’t want him to know where the child is so soon.”
“You sold the house your parents left you long ago, so where can you stay?”
Ning Yue covered her forehead, shaking it: “Everything happened so suddenly today, I haven’t thought it through completely. Maybe rent a place? I should find a hotel first.”
Zhuo Hao placed both hands on the slightly panicked Ning Yue, “Never mind if you don’t mind, stay at my place!”
Ning Yue shook her head: “Us stay here? Then where will you stay?”
Zhuo Hao’s apartment was a one-bedroom, typical bachelor pad – good enough for eating, sleeping, and shelter, but nothing fancy and no extras.
Zhuo Hao smiled: “I’ll stay at the office. Don’t forget, with my job, I spend more time at the office than at home. To be honest, the bed in the office is more comfortable than the one at home.”
Ning Yue had been to Zhuo Hao’s office, a suite with an inner room suitable for rest. Thinking it would just be temporary for a couple of days until she found a suitable rental place, she stopped declining.
Seeing Ning Yue agree, Zhuo Hao relaxed and joked, “Don’t worry, although it’s simple here, the security is good. If anyone harasses you, you can hold out until I arrive.”
Ning Yue froze for a moment, forcing a slight smile.
The child – she had seized the initiative and taken him first. But what next?
How long would this lawsuit last, and to what extent would the Hu family pursue this? Even if she got custody, would the Hu family respect the judgment and willingly give up? Her phone kept lighting up and going dark, countless missed calls, and the unread message count in WeChat kept increasing – Hu Cheng’s father must be looking for her. Hu Cheng’s mother was still in the hospital, did she know? Did Hu Cheng hate her to death now? How would he retaliate? Finally, how could all of this be explained to a six-year-old boy?
The long night had just begun. Ning Yue watched her soundly sleeping son beside her, her mind too full of worries to sleep.
In her drowsy state, she seemed to return to the police station. As soon as she stepped through the threshold, she heard Hu Cheng’s roar: “Ning Yue! Tell them, did you run into the knife yourself!”
Ning Yue turned to look at Hu Cheng. He was handcuffed to the radiator, his face red as he tried to stand up but could only bend halfway, howling.
Ning Yue instinctively touched her waist, the newly bandaged wound throbbing faintly, the thick bandage feeling firm and hard. Then she heard Hu Cheng shout: “You just want a divorce, right? I’m telling you, you won’t get a penny from me! The son won’t go with you either, I’d rather strangle him than hand him over to you!”
Ning Yue had already picked up the pen, ready to sign. Hearing these words, she put down the pen and walked to Hu Cheng. A female officer suddenly stood up, shouting: “What are you doing!”
Ning Yue ignored her and said seriously to Hu Cheng: “If you dare touch a single hair on my son’s head, I swear I’ll make your parents pay with their lives! And you – I can make sure you die a thousand deaths!”
They glared at each other; if looks could kill, they would have been in hell hundreds of times by now.
Finally, Hu Cheng sneered through gritted teeth: “You want to, but can you? You? If you had such ability, where were you all this time? Playing at being magnanimous, weren’t you just trying to get more of my money, enjoying the life I gave you! I supported you, I provided for you, and I let you live in luxury every day! You ungrateful woman, instead of thanking me, you scheme against me, how can you face yourself!”
“So, I took advantage of you? I should thank you?” Ning Yue turned away, grinding her teeth, to give her statement.
If before this, she had any hesitation for the sake of their child, from now on, she had no lingering attachment to Hu Cheng! What must be faced, must be faced.