Chapter 438: He Wanted a Divorce
Chu Lui suddenly set his work aside. His voice sounded weird to Du Jingtang’s ears. Why was that? His tone was heavy and weighed on Du Jingtang who had tensed up unknowingly.
Unconsciously, Du Jingtang straightened his body. This time, there was no smile on his face. He looked serious.
…
The door opened when it was nighttime. The amber light from the street lamps shone on its surroundings. It was almost midnight. A year was coming to an end soon before one could fully appreciate the pa.s.sing of four seasons. The blooming flowers in the spring, the summer heat, and the harvesting of fruits in autumn. The time of the year had arrived for the leaves to fall and for the trees to grow bald. In no time—with the last autumn winds blowing, the frigid winter would be here once again.
This year’s winter was freezing. It was terribly cold.
The door closed once more and shut the desolation of the sweeping autumn leaves outside.
Chu Lui entered, put his briefcase down, and changed into his slippers before he took a bath and changed his clothes. Li Manni remained sitting on the sofa awake. She was obviously waiting for him.
Soon, Chu Lui emerged from his bath and came into the living room. He grabbed a bunch of his short spiky hair. His eyes were bloodshot, but his mind was focused.
He took out his cigarette box and put a stick of cigarette between his lips. However, he recalled that Li Manni was pregnant. No matter whose child it was, the baby was innocent.
He tossed his cigarette into the ashtray and crossed his long legs together. His vision was blurred as his eyes narrowed with the remnants of the moisture.
“Let’s get a divorce.”
Li Manni suddenly felt her chest tightened. Her stomach was beginning to hurt, too.
“My stomach… my stomach…” She held her stomach until the joints in her fingers turned white.
“Lui, the baby. Our baby.” She reached out with one hand begging for Chu Lui to help her unborn child. Her stomach hurt; it was really very painful.
However, Chu Lui sat at the other end of the sofa as though a river was in front of them putting a distance between them. He watched with indifference as her body coiled up in pain and agony. Finally, he stood up. He came over to Li Manni, bent his body, and carried her. Li Manni almost pa.s.sed out from the pain. She opened her eyes. Her sight was blurred, but she saw the emotionless side profile of Chu Lui.
Chu Lui chose this moment to turn his face and met her wide eyes. Li Manni would never forget the look in his eyes for the rest of her life. Those dark eyes swept Li Manni under the current of chilliness. She was having difficulty breathing from the cold and suppression.
In the hospital…
Chu Lui sat at the waiting area with his hands folded at his chest with no emotion on his face. His clothes were light and thin with a beige s.h.i.+rt and a pair of pants. The interior of the hospital wasn’t cold, but when a gust of autumn wind blew in, a tiny layer of gooseb.u.mps appeared on his elbow with semi-folded sleeves.
A while later, the emergency room door opened. Chu Lui remained in the same position with the same posture.
“Mr. Chu…”
Naturally, the doctor knew who Chu Lui was and his medical condition. He was the one to break the news to Chu Lui. He had no idea what to say as Mrs. Li lay in the emergency room. How could such a successful man handle being made a cuckold?
“How is she?” Chu Lui stood up. His voice had no emotion; it was even and calm.
“You can rest a.s.sured, Mr. Chu. Mrs. Chu is fine.” The doctor explained the condition of his patient honestly. When he was done, he felt puzzled. Rest a.s.sured; what was there to be a.s.sured of?
A layer of icy look filled Chu Lui’s unchanged expression as though the autumn wind had blown into the hospital bringing along a piercing pain.
“How is she?” Soon, both Song Wan and Mrs. Li arrived in a rush.
“Ah Lui, what happened to Manni? She was doing fine. Why is she in a hospital?” Song Wan was panicking. She had received the call in the middle of the night, and she bolted from her bed, pulling Chu Jiang along with her. She was worried that something would happen to her unborn grandchild, and the Chu family would be left without an heir.
“Chu Lui, what happened to my daughter?” Mrs. Li was crazed from the scare. She was on the verge of losing her temper as she asked Chu Lui pointedly.
“Nothing.” Chu Lui didn’t address his mother-in-law.
“I merely wanted a divorce.”
Bam. Chu Lui’s head snapped as Mrs. Li slapped him across his face.
“How dare you, Chu Lui!” Mrs. Li would have loved to slap him a few more times. Her teeth were clenched so tightly that they were almost crushed into powder. “Is it because our business has failed that made you think that way? Or you can’t forget Xia Ruoxin, that s.l.u.t? In what way has our Manni let you down? Tell me. Tell me. What has she done to let you down? She married you for four years, and now she is pregnant with your child. Chu Lui, one shouldn’t behave like this. You are deserting my daughter just because that woman has returned. Don’t you want your own baby?”
“Ah Lui…” Song Wan was visibly shocked especially after her son had been slapped. Regardless of what happened, no mother would want to watch their child get hit; and her son was being slapped right in front of her. She was appalled when she heard Chu Lui mentioned divorce, but she was a sensible and logical woman. Most of all, she knew her son’s character. He wouldn’t say such a thing without a valid reason.
“Nonsense!” Chu Jiang raised his hand with the intention of slapping his son, too. Chu Lui had been slapped on one side. If Chu Jiang slapped him on the other side, that would make it a proportionately swollen face. Moreover, he had been beaten by an outsider. It was equivalent to slapping Chu Jiang himself which was a thorough embarra.s.sment to him.
“Ah Lui.” Song Wan jumped in front of her son to prevent Chu Jiang from slapping her son out of anger. She had given birth to him. As his mother, she hadn’t beaten him for a very long time. How could it not upset her when her son was being beaten by an outsider now? How could she not feel the heartache?
“Ah Lui, what has come over you?” Song Wan pulled her son away. Her fingertips were still feeling cold from the wind.
“Everything has been fine. Why are you asking for a divorce out of the blue? I know it has nothing to do with the Lis’ company. Our family is wealthy enough. We have no need of the Lis’ a.s.sets to boast our status.” It didn’t matter to them whether Li Manni was rich or poor. They were not very mindful of the difference in family status. When Chu Lui wanted to marry Xia Yixuan all those years ago, she had agreed. It was the same when the bride became Xia Ruoxin, and to put it plainly, she was only an adoptive daughter in the Xia family.
After Chu Lui and Xia Ruoxin were married, Song Wan and Chu Jiang hadn’t done anything to make things difficult for her. That’s why she didn’t believe what Mrs. Li had said. Chu Lui wasn’t asking for a divorce because the Lis’ company was folding. Moreover, Li Manni was pregnant with the Chu’s heir. How could they allow her to roam on the streets?