Ordinary World: Starting with a divorce from Tian Runye

Du Lili put down the magazine and leaned forward slightly.

Runye sighed and began to recount everything that had happened in the past two days, starting from when Li Xiangqian proposed the divorce.

"suicide?"

Du Lili's eyebrows furrowed.

"That's what Xiangqian's mom said. You know Xiangqian's mom works at a hospital, so what she said was very detailed and convincing, mentioning things like suicidal tendencies and how sudden changes in lifestyle are danger signs."

"What habits has he changed?"

"You have no idea," Runye counted on her fingers, "He boils water to take a bath every day now. He doesn't work or go out, he takes a bath once a day. After he bathes, he puts on my face cream, complaining that the weather in Yuanxi County is too dry, saying that his skin isn't moisturized enough."

Du Lili's lips twitched slightly.

"Furthermore, he's become picky about food now, only eating egg drop soup. Yesterday he even ate stewed chicken. It's not a holiday, but the neighbors all think it's for me, that I'm pregnant. I have no one to say anything about it."

"The house is so clean that I feel a little embarrassed to even step inside. I act like the lady of the house every day."

"Clean up the house?"

Du Lili interrupted her.

"Yes. The kitchen stove was wiped so clean you could see your reflection in it, all the furniture in the living room was wiped down, and they even changed my sheets and duvet cover, washed them, and hung them out to dry on the window."

Du Lili leaned back in her chair, tapping her chin with her finger.

"Runye, you shower every day, change your sheets, and even cook for you. You don't seem like someone who's going to commit suicide, do you?"

"As my mother said, the more abnormal something is, the more dangerous it is."

Du Lili had never had a good impression of Liu Zhiying, a strong woman who would disregard the lives of other women for the sake of her son's happiness. She directly complained, "His mother is a doctor, and she sees everyone as a patient."

Du Lili paused, smiled, and continued.

"Think about it, if someone really wanted to die, why would they bother cleaning up their house? From what you're saying, it's like you have a new Onegin in your family."

"What gold?" Runye asked, puzzled.

"Oh, Pushkin's fictional character, who has been a libertine for half his life, suddenly starts to become particular."

"Let me give you an example. Men like that are rare in our Yuanxi area. Are you really willing to give them up?"

Du Lili joked that most men who grow up in the loess soil are chauvinistic.

She was an artist who often went on field trips. In Huangyuan, it was common for men to not only do housework, but also occasionally beat their wives. The neighbors would just laugh it off and wouldn't think there was anything wrong with a man beating his wife.

"How could I not bear to part with it?"

Runye blurted it out, her tone decisive.

"You have no idea what I've been through these past few days. Just now, my teacher at school was congratulating me on my pregnancy, and Sister Zhang from the supply and marketing cooperative is telling everyone I'm pregnant. I feel like I'm going crazy if I stay in Yuanxi any longer."

Runye paused for a moment, then continued.

"If his mother hadn't said he was going to commit suicide and told me to keep an eye on him, I would have come to you long ago."

Du Lili frowned. Rumors are the deadliest thing in rural areas, especially among women. Which village doesn't have one or two women jumping into wells or rivers every year? Which woman who commits suicide isn't burdened by several rumors?

Seeing Du Lili's furrowed brows, Runye assumed she didn't believe him and took out another piece of paper from her pocket.

"He wrote it a couple of days ago. His mother said it was his way of making arrangements for his death."

Du Lili took it and unfolded it to read.

First, I saw the words "Shenjing Roast Goose" in large characters.

"Roast goose from Shenjing?"

Du Lili read it aloud, raising an eyebrow.

"I know that. Last year, at a symposium of the regional writers' association in Huangyuan, I met an old educated youth who had been sent back from Guangdong. His surname was Liang. He talked about the food in Guangdong several times, including this roast goose. He said that the roast goose was roasted in a well-shaped oven, and the skin was crispy and the meat was tender. It was incredibly fragrant."

Du Lili looked up at Runye.

"How did Xiangqian know this?"

"Is this for food?"

Runye paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"I don't know. He's been making chicken soup and porridge all these years, I wonder what he's learned while driving all those cars. The main thing is, you see, if there's an afterlife."

Runye pointed to the line of words on the paper.

Du Lili then turned her attention to the main text.

"If there is an afterlife, I want to be a roast goose from Shenjing, hanging in the oven, standing eternally. Without the posture of joy or sorrow, half crispy in the smoke, half soaked in the sauce, half sprinkled with the aroma of sesame, half bathed in the light of honey..."

Du Lili murmured it aloud.

"Very silent, very proud. Never relying on others, never seeking anything."

After reading those two sentences aloud, I paused for a moment and then read them silently again from the beginning.

He began to repeat to himself: "Very silent, very proud. Never relying on, never seeking."

"This is a poem."

Du Lili has long been engaged in literary and artistic work, and her favorite subject is poetry.

"It looks like a doggerel, but... how should I put it, it has a certain flavor. It's not quite the same as the current obscure poetry, nor is it the kind of worker-peasant-soldier style of our Huangyuan literature. This style is a bit wild, but wild in a sophisticated way."

She looked up at Runye.

"Did Li Xiangqian really write this?"

"I wish he hadn't written it. It was taken from the table in his room."

Du Lili looked down again, her brows furrowing slightly.

"It's just that this roast goose from Shenjing looks out of place here. But overall, it's definitely a top-notch dish."

"Runye, your husband is really something."

"What do you mean, 'my man'?" Runye frowned. "He's probably just making things up. He hardly ever studied in school."

"That means you're talented; you can write sentences like that without having read or written anything."

"Alright, alright, I came here today just to vent my frustrations, I'm really feeling suffocated."

Du Lili seemed not to hear Runye's words, and simply folded the paper and pressed it under her "Yanhe" magazine.

"I'll keep this for now and think about it some more."

"Why are you thinking about this?"

"Research, research."

Runye wanted the paper back, but Du Lili pressed her palm against the magazine and refused to give it to her.

"Don't worry, I won't show it to anyone else."

Runye was too lazy to argue with her anymore, so she leaned back in her chair and sighed.

"Lili, to be honest, it's not that I don't want to leave. But I promised his mother I have to stay with him and help him get through this."

"But I feel like if this continues, I won't be able to get out of this situation."

Du Lili glanced at Runye and saw that Runye's eyes were downcast and she looked extremely tired.

"I suggest you break up as soon as possible. This is a new era; a woman can't be tied down to a man for life. Huiliang is in the Huangyuan District Committee of the Communist Youth League. I'll have him find a way to transfer you there too. Change your place, change your way of life; you need a new life."

"My life," Runye murmured, leaning back in her chair. "I don't even know what kind of life I want."

She looked at Du Lili and suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

"Lili, you're the best. I really envy you and Huiliang. Even though you two live in different places, you each have your own careers, your own hobbies, and you share common goals. That's what it means to live a good life."

Du Lili smiled, picked up the enamel mug, and took a sip of water.

"I love poetry, I love freedom. As for Huiliang, he only loves me."

After saying that, he put the jar down again and tilted his head.

"Hey, speaking of which, your Xiangqian and Huiliang really do look a bit alike."

"Don't compare him to Huiliang."

"Alright, alright, no need to compare." Du Lili waved her hand. "I'll talk to Huiliang about the transfer later, but these things can't be done in a day or two, so please bear with it for now."

Runye nodded and stood up from the chair.

"I'm going back now, I have class this afternoon."

"Go."

Du Lili waved to her.

After Runye's footsteps faded into the distance in the courtyard, Du Lili pulled the paper from under the magazine and unfolded it again.

"Very silent, very proud. Never relying on others, never seeking anything."

Du Lili bit her lip and thought for a while before folding the paper and tucking it into her notebook.