Chapter 460 - 400: Divorce
Chapter 460: Chapter 400: Divorce
Wu Xiaowen suppressed her guilt and tentatively called Tang Qingyun’s office. To her surprise, Tang Qingyun answered himself this time.
"Hello, who is this?"
"Qingyun, it’s me. It’s Xiao Wen." Wu Xiaowen’s voice was tinged with grievance; she hadn’t heard his voice in a long time.
"Mm. If there’s nothing important, I’m hanging up. I’m about to head out for a meeting." Tang Qingyun’s tone was cold, devoid of its usual warmth and gentleness. Wu Xiaowen felt a knot in her stomach. She desperately wanted to explain what had happened with Bai Lihua, to tell Tang Qingyun it was all a misunderstanding, but it wasn’t something she could discuss over the phone while he was at work. She had no choice but to keep it brief.
"Qingyun, I want... I want to take some time off and come to G Province to see you. We need to talk properly."
Tang Qingyun was silent for a moment before replying, "Don’t bother. I’ll be back in Beijing soon. We can talk in person then."
CLICK. The phone disconnected. The sound seemed to echo in her ears as Wu Xiaowen stood there, stunned. In her memory, she had always been the one to hang up on Qingyun. No matter how much she rambled on about trivial things, he would always listen patiently, never once rushing her.
Dejected, Wu Xiaowen lowered the receiver. A thousand miles away, Tang Qingyun stood by his desk with his eyes closed, his face etched with sorrow for three seconds. Then, he opened his eyes, let out a long breath, picked up the documents his secretary had prepared, and walked resolutely out of his office.
A few years ago, before the discovery that their child had been switched at birth, Tang Qingyun had indeed been deeply devoted to Wu Xiaowen, doting on and indulging her. His wife was elegant, beautiful, and immeasurably gentle. She had gone through the hardship of giving him a pair of intelligent, well-behaved, and adorable children, creating a complete and happy family for him. A woman like that certainly deserved his wholehearted devotion.
During the ten-plus years they lived in the South after leaving Beijing, Tang Qingyun deferred to Wu Xiaowen’s wishes in almost everything outside of work. If Wu Xiaowen wanted to go south, Tang Qingyun would never pull her north. As a result, their bond as husband and wife was intimate, deep, and seemingly unbreakable.
But Xiao Man’s appearance was like a bomb that detonated in their happy little family, tearing them apart. Soon after, Grandma Tang recovered from her illness. Elated, Grandpa Tang now had the energy and mood to deal with Tang Qingyun, directly tossing him into an even poorer mountainous region. He constantly lectured and disciplined him, as if tightening a magical headband. To make matters worse, Tang Qingshan was fanning the flames from the sidelines, trying to snatch away his daughter. As Tang Qingyun reflected on himself, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment toward Wu Xiaowen.
He truly didn’t deserve to hear Manman call him "Dad." But when it came down to it, it was Wu Xiaowen who had initially, through tears and protests, repeatedly stopped him from acknowledging his biological daughter. Her reasons sounded noble—every single one was supposedly for the sake of his career and for the good of the family. ’But is that really the mindset of a gentle and virtuous mother? If she could cherish and dote on her adopted daughter, why couldn’t she give a shred of pity and warmth to her own flesh and blood?’
Because of Wu Xiaowen’s objections, and out of consideration for his wife’s "pride and feelings," he had hesitated for just a moment. As a result, Manman became his brother’s daughter!
He finally managed to return to Beijing for the New Year, looking forward to a reunion with his children, parents, and older brother. All Wu Xiaowen had to do was hold her tongue and be patient, since they were the ones at fault for losing their daughter in the first place. But instead, she had to cause a scene, talking back to his parents and even threatening to divide the family assets. Tang Qingyun could hardly believe that woman was Wu Xiaowen. ’Where had all her previous gentleness, grace, and elegance gone?’
His brother’s calm words struck him like a club to the head: ’Concealing and abandoning a disfigured child—how was that for the sake of your career? It was because she herself was afraid of being punished by the old master and mistress, afraid of losing the rights and privileges that come with being a daughter-in-law of the Tang family!’
He refused to believe his wife was that kind of person, but as he slowly thought back on it, he found he had no rebuttal.
He had followed the advice of his father and brother and focused on his work in the mountains, while Wu Xiaowen remained in Beijing. The couple would live apart for two years to reflect on their actions—a punishment, of a sort, for abandoning their biological daughter.
But he never would have imagined that less than six months into their separation, Wu Xiaowen, far from reflecting on her own faults and trying to build a better relationship with Manman, had instead run off to rekindle her old romance with Bai Lihua. She had betrayed him so easily!
Beyond the pain, Tang Qingyun was furious. No man could tolerate his wife cheating on him.
He could have tolerated Wu Xiaowen’s little tempers and flaws, and even her dislike of Manman. He could have accepted all of that. But betrayal was something he could never forgive!
He had wanted to come back and confront Wu Xiaowen long ago. How had he wronged her? Why did she have to trample on a husband’s dignity like this, without any regard for their children’s reputations? His father had talked him out of it then, but now, this divorce was unavoidable!
Their decade-plus marriage was ending here. He had never imagined this day would come, but he felt no regret, no remorse. The pain was just a fleeting thought.
The "soon" Tang Qingyun had mentioned turned out to be more than a month later. When he finally returned to Beijing, he stayed at home for four or five days, accompanying his parents to a few celebrations hosted by old family friends. By this time, he was already a divorced man.
Wu Xiaowen had even gone to the trouble of tidying up the house, rearranging the furniture to give the place a fresh, new look. Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought she was preparing a marital home. She eagerly awaited Tang Qingyun’s return every day, never imagining that what she was waiting for were divorce proceedings—and a divorce that would be finalized with such astonishing speed!
When someone handed her the divorce certificate, Wu Xiaowen couldn’t process it at first. She held it and slowly looked it over. The moment she realized her marriage to Tang Qingyun was truly over, tears streamed down her face.
Wu Yu Xuan and Lin Aizhen ran around like headless chickens. When visiting the Tang Mansion proved useless, they went looking for Manman and Hao Hao, trying to get the siblings to intervene and stop their parents’ divorce. But their efforts ended in complete disappointment: Manman was as elusive as ever, and even Hao Hao refused to see them.
Since the divorce was inevitable, Tang Qingyun opted for a swift and direct legal process. In the 1980s, divorce procedures were still quite complicated, involving investigations, mediations, negotiations, and so on. Moreover, both husband and wife were required to appear in person. But when a member of the Tang family wanted a divorce, something that was bound to happen, things weren’t so complex. Neither Tang Qingyun nor Wu Xiaowen had to show up; a handler simply shuttled the documents back and forth between them, and all they had to do was sign their names.
The official reason given for the divorce was, of course, that the couple’s relationship had broken down and they could no longer live together. In reality, however, Wu Xiaowen was shown the "romantic and wonderful" photos of her and Bai Lihua. There were outdoor shots and indoor ones. The person who delivered the photos pointed out the dates stamped on them and told her, "These were all obtained through your own sister, Wu Xiaorui!"
Furious and hateful, Wu Xiaowen could only swallow her pride and suffer in silence. Without the slightest hesitation, she agreed to the divorce without a fight, in exchange for the photo negatives and the remaining prints.
Without the photos, she could have denied everything to the bitter end and refused the divorce. But it was obvious Tang Qingyun had seen them all, and she wasn’t quite that shameless. Besides, she had to think of Bai Lihua. If those photos fell into the wrong hands and were used to threaten him, his brilliant career would be over!
’I’d rather suffer injustice myself than let Lihua be implicated!’
This was the only thought that brought Wu Xiaowen any comfort during the divorce.
Xuanxuan had no blood relation to Tang Qingyun; she was an adopted daughter whom Wu Xiaowen had taken in, so Wu Xiaowen was responsible for her. Hao Hao was a minor, so custody was granted to Tang Qingyun. Beyond that, the couple had moved several times over their ten-plus years together, each time giving away or throwing out their old furniture and belongings. They hadn’t accumulated anything of value, so there was no joint property to divide. The Tang family gave Wu Xiaowen fifty thousand yuan as a settlement.