Chapter 148: I’d Rather Go to Jail Than Let You Go

Chapter 148: I Would Rather Go to Jail Than Let You Off

The next day, Xu Moxing slept until after one in the afternoon before waking up.

The two of them ate lunch cooked by Su Lichen while chatting casually.

"I'll head back to the rental place later. I need to clean up a bit, since I'm starting work tomorrow."

Su Lichen had been playing with Little Tabby while eating, but his mood soured upon hearing this.

"Why not stay a few more days? I can drive you to and from work every day, okay?"

"Don't you have work? You'd have time to drop me off at the company?"

Xu Moxing gave him a puzzled look.

"I do, but I can drop you off at your company first, then drive to mine."

Su Lichen was essentially just a small business owner.

His company's business wasn't stable either, and the pressure was actually greater than when he was an employee. Before the new year, they could get off work a few days early because the partner factory shut down early and couldn't ship goods, but after the new year, he still had to resume work on time.

"No, that's too far for you to drive back and forth. There's no need for it."

Xu Moxing refused outright.

"Compared to the long drive, I'd much rather hold you in my arms every night as I fall asleep."

Su Lichen poked at his rice with his chopsticks, pouting and acting pitiful.

"We've only just started dating. Let's not rush things.

To be honest, I've gotten used to living alone. Plus, living closer to the company makes my commute less stressful."

Su Lichen lowered his eyes. He really didn't want to agree, but he had no choice. Xu Moxing had already said that, so he couldn't press the issue any further.

Xu Moxing saw him still poking at his bowl and felt a pang of sympathy, but he still wanted to prioritize his own feelings.

After all, it was perfectly reasonable for a couple that just started dating not to live together. Just because Su Lichen made a request didn't mean Xu Moxing had to oblige.

Still, Xu Moxing compromised a little. "If you really want to, how about just staying together on weekends?"

"Deal!"

Su Lichen compromised too, and at the same time, he was impressed by how Xu Moxing had become more respectful of his own feelings, unlike before, when most of the time he would just say "whatever" because of Su Lichen's suggestions.

Of course, Su Lichen wasn't upset that Xu Moxing had become more assertive. On the contrary, he was very happy to see this change in Xu Moxing.

This way, neither of them would hold any grudges or resentment, and their relationship would be healthier.

Now that they were officially dating, their daily activities were mostly the same as before. But after three years apart, they rekindled and were both as clingy as before yet more mature and restrained.

On Friday, Xu Moxing went straight back to Su Lichen's place.

Su Lichen was still working overtime and hadn't come back yet.

Xu Moxing took his time cooking in the kitchen; the kitchenware still showed the same wear and tear as when he had left.

Su Lichen called him.

"Hey, A Li."

"Mo, I'm heading back now. Is there anything you need me to pick up on the way?"

"Nothing. Just come straight back. Dinner will be ready by the time you get here."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Su Lichen was exhausted after a long day of both physical and mental labor.

But hearing Xu Moxing's voice, the fatigue in his body and mind seemed to ease.

"Take your time. Drive safe. I'll be waiting for you at home."

"Okay!"

They chatted over dinner.

The conversation was very mundane—things that had happened to them recently, weird colleagues and the occasional responsible coworker, current events, plans for the weekend, and so on.

"That Xiao Ke actually got back together with that jerk again. She was just complaining about him to me a while ago. So strange."

"She probably has some psychological issues. If she can't truly realize the problem herself, it's hard for her to break up with that scumbag."

Xu Moxing understood what Su Lichen was getting at. Change always comes from realizing the problem yourself and making up your mind to change.

"I think her boyfriend probably chose her because he saw she's that kind of person—he specifically targeted that type."

Xu Moxing shrugged, watching like it was a show.

He wasn't going to stress over other people's situations anymore. He'd focus on living his own life first.

And so they went on with their happy, everyday romance.

Meanwhile, let's go back to the twelfth day of the first lunar month—the New Year break wasn't even over yet. Xu Moxing and Xu Jianqing had both left home to go back to work. Xu Lan had just come back after losing money gambling.

As usual, Xu Lan vented his anger on Shen Qin.

"What the hell did you make? It's disgusting. Make it again!"

Shen Qin ignored him.

Feeling his self-proclaimed "tyrant emperor's dignity" challenged, Xu Lan smashed a plate.

"Crash!" The bowl and plate crashed heavily onto the floor, shattering.

Shen Qin flinched involuntarily, and that made Xu Lan feel a bit better.

"Make it again. I want to eat."

"Suit yourself."

Xu Lan's anger flared up again. He tried to kick Shen Qin to the ground, but she dodged aside and grabbed a kettle of scalding water that was sitting on the table, throwing it straight at Xu Lan.

"Ah!"

Xu Lan let out a shrill scream, then started patting the burned areas on his body.

But as a stupid fool who had never done any real work, he didn't have a clue about basic burn care. He just kept screaming.

This was the first time she had ever stood up to him. Her entire body was trembling, but seeing Xu Lan too consumed by the pain of his burn to keep beating her, Shen Qin felt a spark of courage and hope.

Right, what was there to be afraid of?

Why should women automatically be viewed as the weaker sex, doomed to lose and therefore accept their fate, desperately trying to please scumbags like him?

She should have realized long ago that submission only invites more rampant abuse; only resistance brings hope!

So what if she couldn't win a fight?

As long as he couldn't just kill her outright, she would fight tooth and nail to take him down!

"Better to face a judge alive than end up on a coroner's table" — that's the principle women should live by.

Not "I'll haunt you as a ghost," because if you can't get revenge while alive, what makes you think you can as a ghost?

"I'd rather go to prison than let you get away with it" — that's the principle women should adopt!

Once you take that first step, the second becomes much easier.

Shen Qin watched him coldly as he yelped in pain, then shouted fiercely and firmly: "Xu Lan! I want a divorce!"

Xu Lan's first reaction was still fury, still the thought that this woman had gotten way too bold and rebellious.

But the searing pain stopped him from disciplining her any more, and he even thought it was his right to yell at her: "Take me to the hospital!"

"It's just a burn. What hospital? Wasting money. I'm not wasting a cent on you. Just suck it up."

When Shen Qin was sick, Xu Lan had the same attitude — so your blood sugar's high? What's the point of seeing a doctor? Just a kidney stone? Don't waste money, just tough it out.

In the end, Xu Lan went to the hospital on his own.

After treatment, the doctor asked: "Where's your family? You can't change the dressing by yourself, right?"

Xu Lan thought of Shen Qin, his lips moved as if to speak, but he said nothing.

Seeing his dark expression and lack of response, the doctor lost patience and simply gave him routine instructions on changing the dressing before telling him to pay and leave.

When Xu Lan got home, Shen Qin had already disappeared.

From then on, Shen Qin ignored him completely. She no longer cooked his meals, no longer washed his clothes. Every time she spoke, it was only to demand a divorce.

How could Xu Lan agree to a divorce? He knew that once divorced and Shen Qin was out of the picture, Xu Jianqing and Xu Moxing would never take care of him.

He'd spent years not lifting a finger — no work, no housework, nothing to worry about — just playing cards and boozing every day. There was no way he would agree to a divorce now.

Xu Lan wasn't stupid.

But unfortunately for him, he refused to agree. He played the victim, tried to act like the loving husband he'd never been in decades, hoping to win her back.

Shen Qin wasn't buying any of it. She just kept insisting: "I want a divorce."

By the end of February, with a high likelihood that his burn would leave a scar, Xu Lan had run out of ways to persuade her. He finally broke down and called his two children, asking them to reason with Shen Qin.