Ordinary World: Starting with a divorce from Tian Runye

The group of people looked at each other in bewilderment.

Du Lili must have brought back some incredible news, and everyone perked up their ears.

Li Xiangqian found her sullen expression somewhat amusing.

"What could have made you so angry?"

"They promised to publish it, but now they're not going to."

Du Lili slammed her hand on the table.

Li Xiangqian frowned.

"What publication?"

"I called Huangyuan Literature and Art the night before last. Editor-in-Chief Jia said that it would not be published for the time being."

Du Lili became increasingly angry as she spoke.

"It's about the literary symposium held by the Huangyuan Poetry Society in our Yuanxi area last time. We had agreed to publish the symposium's content, but now they've gone back on their word!"

She banged on the table, her face full of indignation.

The group exchanged bewildered glances. That's it?

Is this not related to Director Du's scandal?

Li Xiangqian looked at her.

"You went to Huangyuan yesterday just for this?"

Du Lili nodded.

"Yes. I went directly to the editorial office of Huangyuan Literature and Art to ask Jia Bing in person."

Li Xiangqian glanced at her.

"Wow, you really have a lot of energy."

Du Lili glared at him unhappily.

"I'm doing this for you! For the cultural development of our Yuanxi!"

Seeing that it wasn't about Director Du, the group instantly lost interest. Old Wu was the first to quietly slip away, picking up his enamel mug. Old Yang returned to his seat, and Sister Sun scratched her head, listlessly heading towards the office. Little Zhao also went back behind his easel.

Only Li Xiangqian and Du Lili remained at the table.

Du Lili crossed her arms in front of her chest, her face still flushed red.

"Editor-in-Chief Jia only said one sentence: Li Xiangqian's remarks were not suitable for publication. That was all he said to dismiss me."

As she spoke, her eyes suddenly reddened.

"I...I feel this is unfair to you. It's too much of a bullying."

Du Lili sniffed and wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.

Li Xiangqian was speechless for a moment.

"Um. I think it's okay."

"If you don't want to publish it, then don't. It's not like you'll lose two ounces of meat."

"How can that be the same!"

Du Lili became anxious.

"If your statement were published, the entire Huangyuan literary circle would know your name! This is extremely important for the establishment of our Yuanxi Literary Society!"

Li Xiangqian scoffed.

"You still want to join the literary club?"

Seeing that Li Xiangqian seemed completely uninvolved, Du Lili slammed her hand on the table in anger.

"You have absolutely no ambition!"

Li Xiangqian didn't reply. He slowly stood up from his chair, walked to the door, and glanced outside.

The courtyard was quiet, yet scorching hot.

He turned around and lowered his voice.

"You should worry about the curator. He seems unhappy."

Du Lili was stunned for a moment.

"My dad? What happened to my dad?"

Li Xiang went to the entrance of the cave dwelling and looked around, then lowered his voice.

"He's probably going to take the blame. Try to comfort him. Yesterday, after returning from the county revolutionary committee, he locked himself in his office all afternoon. I heard from Sister Sun that he was called in again this morning."

Du Lili was puzzled.

"Because of the exhibition?"

"Anyway, you should show some concern for the curator. He's getting on in years."

Du Lili didn't take it to heart and waved her hand dismissively.

"Hi. My dad is doing well. He survived eight years of the War of Resistance against Japan. What hasn't he experienced? I think the exhibition is very well done. Mr. Gao still likes it."

Li Xiangqian opened his mouth, thought for a moment, and then swallowed his words back.

He thought of something else.

"Oh, right. Runye said she needs to see you and wants you to go to Chengguan Elementary School to find her."

After hearing this, Du Lili was taken aback at first, then nodded thoughtfully.

"It's probably about going to Huangyuan."

She smiled.

"I visited Huiliang on my way to Huangyuan. Huiliang said that the transfer procedures can be processed at any time."

Du Lili stood up from her chair.

"I'm going to see her now. I'll tell her the good news."

She grabbed the cloth bag from the table and rushed out of the studio. As soon as Du Lili left, the entire studio fell silent again.

"Teacher Zhao, would you like a bicycle ticket?" Li Xiangqian sat back in his chair and turned to ask Zhao.

Runye is about to go to Huangyuan, so he needs to take the initiative to solve his transportation problem. These days, getting a bicycle isn't easy; besides money, you also need a bicycle ticket. Li Xiangqian decided to ask Li Dengyun to get him one. Xiao Zhao had unwittingly accompanied Du Lili to the movies for him last time, and he hadn't properly thanked her yet, so Li Xiangqian thought he'd get Xiao Zhao a ticket too.

"No, a bicycle costs at least 150 yuan."

Xiao Zhao pursed his lips, his tone revealing a lot of helplessness.

"Hey, you're not married, you can't possibly not even have this much money, can you?"

Li Xiangqian's questions were like a stack of attack buffs, and Xiao Zhao instantly felt a little breathless.

……

Chengguan Primary School.

Lunch break.

Several teachers were chatting around an enamel mug in the office. Runye sat at her desk, flipping through a teaching guide, her eyes fixed on the pages, but her mind was elsewhere.

A greeting suddenly rang out at the office door.

"Runye!"

Several teachers looked up.

Du Lili stood at the door, one hand on the door frame, a smile on her face.

"Lili".

Runye stood up and hurriedly came out of the office.

"Xiangqian said you needed to see me, so I rushed over as soon as I arrived."

Upon hearing this, Runye felt incredibly uneasy. She had spent the entire morning thinking about how to bring it up with Du Lili, constantly organizing her thoughts in her mind.

Runye looked around, then stepped forward and took Du Lili's arm, lowering her voice.

"Let's talk outside."

The two walked out of the office arm in arm and headed towards the school's back playground.

The back playground is relatively quiet, with only two stone pool tables and a crooked willow tree. Under the willow tree is a low concrete wall that people can sit on.

The two sat down on the low wall.

Runye lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting the ends of her hair.

She had been pondering this all morning. Li Xiangqian was behaving very strangely lately. She had promised Xiangqian's mother that she would keep an eye on Li Xiangqian. Yes, she had to keep an eye on Li Xiangqian; he hadn't gotten over it yet. Just as Runye was thinking, Du Lili's voice suddenly came over, pulling her back from her reverie.

"Runye, guess where I went yesterday?"

Runye raised her head.

"Where...where did you go?"

"Xuan Yuan!"

Du Lili's face was beaming with joy.

Runye's heart skipped a beat.

"Why...why go to Huangyuan?"

"It's all because of Li Xiangqian."

Du Lili pursed her lips.

"The last symposium of the Huangyuan Poetry Society was supposed to be published in Huangyuan Literature and Art. But nothing has happened. I called Editor-in-Chief Jia the night before last, and he said that it would not be published for the time being. I was furious when I heard that, so the next day I took a bus to Huangyuan and asked Jia Bing in person."

Du Lili became increasingly angry as she spoke.

"Guess what? Editor-in-Chief Jia just threw out a sentence saying Li Xiangqian's remarks were inappropriate for publication. And that was it. This is clearly bullying!"

Runye kept her head down and didn't hear a word she said.

She was trying to figure out how to start the conversation.

"Lili, you're right..."

She responded softly, completely unaware of what Du Lili had just said.

"Yes, that's definitely unfair to Xiangqian."

Du Lili looked at the horizon and sighed softly, then suddenly her face lit up with joy and she continued to speak.

"Oh, by the way! Guess what I did on the way?"

Runye raised her head.

"What?"

"I stopped by the local Youth League Committee on my way and looked for Huiliang."

Du Lili's eyes curved into crescent moons.

"Huiliang said you can be transferred to Huangyuan at any time. He's already taken care of all the paperwork for you."

Runye opened her mouth slightly.

"what?"