Ordinary World: Starting with a divorce from Tian Runye

Half an hour later, a panting Tian Runye was picked up directly by a yellow jeep and taken to the entrance of the family compound.

Li Dengyun and his wife didn't let her into the house; they stopped her directly in the hallway.

"Runye, tell me the truth, what exactly happened last night?" Li Dengyun's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Runye lowered her head, her fingers twisting together, and stammered out a brief account of what happened last night.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Liu Zhiying slapped her thigh. "That wasn't about getting a divorce, it was that he felt he couldn't live anymore! Runye, are you confused? Xiangqian isn't eating now, do you know that? He won't even look at his favorite pork lard noodles, he's going on a hunger strike to commit suicide!"

After hearing this, Tian Runye froze on the spot. She had felt extremely uneasy all morning, as if something was wrong.

"Mom, I...I didn't want him to die, I just..."

Runye said eagerly, but she couldn't bring herself to say the second half of the sentence because she really wanted to divorce Li Xiangqian. Last night, Li Xiangqian took the initiative to propose a divorce. Although she felt inexplicably dazed, she also felt a sense of relief and joy.

"Oh, my dear woman, this is not the time to talk about these things!" Liu Zhiying grabbed Runye's hand. "Xiangqian is stuck in a rut. I'm begging you, please, just think of it as saving a life. You absolutely cannot agree to the divorce! Even if you have to lie to him, you have to let him eat first and get through this suicidal impulse."

Tian Runye's face was full of bitterness: "Mom, he and I... are really not suitable. We shouldn't have gotten married. There are no feelings between us, and it's torture for both of us."

Upon hearing this, Li Dengyun was furious. "My son is about to commit suicide, and you're still talking about feelings?"

However, he managed to suppress his anger, after all, it was his son who was losing face. Li Dengyun sneered, "You think he's unsuitable? I think he's even more pathetic! He's willing to risk his life for a girl, he's not even a man!"

Liu Zhiying quickly interrupted her husband's attempt to add fuel to the fire, pleading with Runye, "Runye, I did have ulterior motives when I tried to match you two up. Xiangqian loves you to death. Please, for his sake, and for the sake of my only son, calm him down for now. Once he's calmed down and his health improves, I'll personally talk to him and help him gradually let go, okay?"

Runye looked at the two prominent figures from Yuanxi County before her, who now resembled a pair of elderly rural men who were heartbroken over their only son. Her heart softened.

"...Okay, I'll go and try to persuade him."

Runye said in a low voice.

Inside the room, Li Xiangqian was sprawled on the bed, staring at the gray ceiling, his mind racing: "Hmm, it's June now. A major conference that will change China will be held at the end of the year. Should I ask someone to bring some sausages from Guangdong?"

Diu Lei Lao Wei, this chili oil is absolutely divine. If I don't make something lighter, I'll be ruined.

……

The three returned to the family quarters, their footsteps light and synchronized.

Liu Zhiying stopped at the door, turned around, and solemnly instructed Li Dengyun and Tian Runye in a low voice: "Xiangqian is very psychologically fragile right now. We must never directly persuade someone with suicidal tendencies, let alone mention the word 'death.' We must pretend we don't know, and use the 'boiling frog' method—show him more care, go along with him more, let him feel that there is still hope in this world, and slowly pull him back."

At this moment, Li Dengyun had lost all semblance of his deputy's authority. He just kept nodding frantically like a woodpecker, his eyes occasionally glancing through the crack in the door to the inner room.

"Runye." Liu Zhiying turned to look at Runye. "Xiangqian is weak right now, so he needs something easy to digest and nutritious. Go to the kitchen and make an egg drop soup, poach two, no, four eggs. Make sure he eats it."

Tian Runye nodded silently, walked to the stove, first filled a porcelain basin with water, and carefully cracked four red-shelled eggs. As the fire rose, white foam rose from the boiling water in the pot, and the four plump eggs began to jump up and down.

When I carried the steaming enamel bowl into the inner room, Li Xiangqian was lying sprawled on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, muttering something under his breath.

Tian Runye's heart sank; those eyes truly showed no sign of life.

Before she could speak, Li Xiangqian's stiff body moved symbolically, and then he slowly said, "Mr. Lu Yao was right, Li Xiangqian is indeed a sycophant. You're skipping work and you're in such a hurry to come back and get a divorce."

"You're back just in time. The marriage certificate is on the table. Let's get a divorce right now."

As he spoke, Li Xiangqian pointed to the red plastic-covered marriage certificate on the bedside table.

Tian Runye glanced at the marriage certificate, her feelings were complicated. She naturally wanted to end this politically arranged marriage as soon as possible, but if something happened to Li Xiangqian, her father Tian Futang would not let her off the hook. Her second uncle's situation in Yuanxi County did not seem to be very good, and he would probably be implicated as well. Moreover, Xiangqian's mother had said that once Xiangqian got through this period, she would take the initiative to do ideological work on Li Xiangqian.

Thinking of this, Runye took a deep breath and said, "Xiangqian, we need to be careful about divorce. I've thought about it... I'll postpone my decision for now."

"ha?"

Li Xiangqian sat bolt upright in bed, his movements as swift as a landlord catching a tenant trying to renege on their lease. He picked at his ear, staring at Tian Runye with disbelief: "What did you say? You don't want a divorce?"

This plot isn't right! In the original story, Li Xiangqian practically trampled his pride into the ground to keep her, but he couldn't even get a glance back from Tian Runye. How come, when he's so determined to let her go, she's the one clinging on?

"You...you are Tian Runye?" Li Xiangqian looked at the woman in front of him suspiciously. "Am I Li Xiangqian? Is this Yuanxi County? Is this the Ordinary World?"

Hearing the commotion inside, Li Dengyun and Liu Zhiying, standing outside the door, exchanged startled glances. Li Dengyun lowered his voice and asked his wife, "Why are you talking nonsense? What does 'ordinary world' mean?"

Liu Zhiying wiped away tears with heartache and whispered, "She's delirious from the fever and her mind is in turmoil."

Inside the room, Tian Runye placed a steaming bowl of egg drop soup on the table. Looking at Li Xiangqian's extremely shocked and slightly ferocious expression, she became even more certain of Li Dengyun and his wife's guess: this man had probably truly gone mad.

"Xiangqian, I know you're upset, let's not talk about that. Eat something first, these are eggs I just poached." Runye's voice was gentle.

Upon hearing the sound, Li Xiangqian's gaze instantly locked onto the enamel bowl.

There was no chili oil, no pork cracklings, just a few drops of sesame oil on the clear soup noodles, and the golden egg flowers looked like a pure land.

"You should have told me there was something refreshing to eat."

Li Xiangqian's appetite was whetted, and he didn't care about lying flat anymore. He picked up the bowl and started slurping with the enamel spoon, his eating manners somewhat ferocious.

The elderly couple outside the door saw this scene through the crack in the door, and their tense bodies instantly went limp.

"He ate it! He ate it!" Liu Zhiying covered her mouth and whispered, "You see, he still needs Runye. Xiangqian's knot in his heart is with this woman."

Li Dengyun wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as we're willing to eat, the sky won't fall down."

Tian Runye sat on the edge of the bed, watching Li Xiangqian devour the egg drop soup. A sense of pride welled up inside her; she felt she was saving a life that was about to wither away.

After finishing the last egg, Li Xiangqian wiped his mouth, let out a satisfied burp, and glanced at Runye. "I drank the soup too, so what about the certificate..."

Runye paused, just about to say that they would talk about the divorce later, when her eyes inadvertently caught sight of a piece of scrap paper on the desk.

Runye leaned closer to take a look.

A few lines of crooked handwriting were written on it: "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 fragrance of sesame seeds, half bathed in the light of honey. Utterly silent, utterly proud. Never relying on, never seeking..."

Next to the handwriting were several strange words written crookedly, in much larger characters.

Boiled chicken, honey-glazed char siu...

Upon seeing the words "If there is an afterlife," Tian Runye felt as if something had exploded in her mind.

Is this Li Xiangqian's last words? It's over, he really wants to die!

"I'm not getting a divorce." Tian Runye suddenly turned her head. "Xiangqian, you...you shouldn't overthink things."

Having said that, before Li Xiangqian could react, she quickly reached out and grabbed the last words in her hand.

"I'll take this bowl to wash." Tian Runye carried the empty bowl, clutching the scrap paper tightly, and fled the room as if escaping.

"Hey? Fine, we won't divorce, but why are you taking my menu?"

Li Xiangqian stretched his neck and asked angrily.

"Damn it..." Li Xiangqian slumped back onto his pillow, on the verge of tears.

"What a domineering woman!"

In the living room, Tian Runye handed the paper to Liu Zhiying.

After reading it, Liu Zhiying burst into tears: "Look, Dengyun, look! If there is an afterlife... how deep his heart is! He... he wants to be free!"

Li Dengyun held the paper, his hands trembling, and after a long while, he finally managed to utter, "What are these poached chicken and roast goose?"