Ordinary World: Starting with a divorce from Tian Runye

evening.

Runye calculated the time and left school early.

With a large bag of things hanging from the handlebars, she wobbled out of the gate of Chengguan Elementary School. This morning, as soon as get out of class ended, she went to the meat processing plant, then detoured to the supply and marketing cooperative, filling a cloth bag with the things she bought.

She rode her bike to the entrance of the cultural center, braked, and glanced up at the setting sun.

Hmm. The timing should be just right.

Sure enough, Old Wu, with a faux leather bag tucked under his arm, slowly walked out of the yard.

When he saw Runye, he was stunned for a moment. He was about to force a smile and greet her.

Runye hurriedly spoke first.

"Just arrived, just arrived."

Old Wu's eyebrows twitched.

I haven't even started being polite to this girl yet.

He didn't ask any more questions, just smiled, nodded, and left with his briefcase.

Runye pushed the cart into the courtyard of the cultural center.

There was no one under the old locust tree.

Just as she was about to look in the direction of the studio, she saw Lao Yang and Xiao Zhao come out of the studio.

The two paused when they saw Runye.

Xiao Zhao took a few steps toward Runye, speaking softly.

"Forward is not possible."

Runye was stunned for a moment.

"Not here? Where did he go?"

Xiao Zhao opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

His eyes glanced at Old Yang.

Old Yang kept his head down and remained silent.

"Did the cultural center assign him work again?"

Runye asked tentatively.

Xiao Zhao shook his head.

He pondered for a moment.

"...Comrade Xiangqian was not at the cultural center this afternoon."

"Not here all afternoon?"

Runye's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

Xiao Zhao lowered his head.

"I should be going to take care of something."

Runye's face darkened. She looked at Xiao Zhao.

Feeling a little uncomfortable under Runye's gaze, Xiao Zhao gestured towards the business office with his lip.

"For details... ask Lili. She should still be in the business office."

After saying that, Xiao Zhao and Lao Yang quickly left the cultural center one after the other.

Runye was the only one left in the courtyard.

She stood there stunned for a few seconds, then forgot to prop up her bicycle halfway. The bike almost tipped over, and she reached out to steady it.

Finally, she simply left the bicycle in the yard. The bicycle fell to the ground, and the cloth bag hanging on the handlebars also tilted to one side.

Runye walked directly towards the business office.

Business office.

The door was open.

When Runye pushed open the door, the room was quiet.

Du Lili sat motionless at her desk, head down, one elbow propped on the table, her hand supporting her forehead. Her hair fell softly over her shoulder.

Runye tiptoed inside.

"Lili".

She called out softly.

Upon hearing this, Du Lili shook her head and slowly raised it.

Her eyes were red and swollen. There were still tear stains on her eyelashes at the corners of her eyes.

Runye's face turned pale instantly.

"What's wrong, Lili?"

She walked quickly over and stood next to Du Lili's desk.

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

He didn't say anything.

As soon as Du Zhengxian returned in the afternoon, Du Lili immediately caught up with him and asked about Li Xiangqian's situation.

Du Zhengxian was already overwhelmed with problems, and when his daughter started asking about Li Xiangqian without considering the occasion, he became furious and retorted angrily, "What does it matter to you how Li Xiangqian is doing? Even his wife isn't as concerned as you are. What business is it of yours how Li Xiangqian is doing?"

Du Lili was somewhat taken aback by Du Zhengxian's sudden shout, and stammered, "Li Xiangqian is a colleague of the Cultural Center. We are colleagues, so it's only right that I care about him."

Upon hearing this, Du Zhengxian raised his voice even louder: "Isn't Xiao Zhao a colleague? Isn't Lao Yang a colleague? Why are you the only one who's special?" Du Zhengxian had never been so angry with his daughter before. He had been dealing with too many upsetting things lately and had lost control of his emotions. Seeing that Du Lili was stunned, Du Zhengxian lowered his voice a little before speaking.

"How is Li Xiangqian? His father is in charge. Don't worry about it."

After saying that, Du Zhengxian went into the office and slammed the door shut.

Runye had never seen Du Lili like this before. The Du Lili she knew was a woman with a loud voice, a crisp laugh, and a brisk, energetic walk. When had she ever seen her cry so pitifully?

Runye was a little anxious.

My mind raced, searching for the reason.

"Lili, did...did you have a fight with Huiliang?"

Du Lili shook her head.

"It has nothing to do with Huiliang."

She paused for a moment, picked up a copy of "Huangyuan Literature" from the table, flipped to the front page, and handed it to Runye.

"Take a look."

Runye took it with a puzzled look.

She was stunned when she saw the title.

Who made the hand that held the steering wheel hold the pen?

Subtitle: "A Critique of the Personnel Management Practices at a Certain County Cultural Center"

Her gaze swept downwards, line by line. The more she looked, the more panicked she became.

"This person was holding a steering wheel yesterday... and today he's holding a pen... The pen is the voice of the people, not a toy for some cadres' families to exchange for benefits..."

Next, continue.

Qi Wenyuan's four comments.

Each one is heavier than the last.

"this……"

Runye was speechless for a moment.

No wonder the people in the studio said Li Xiangqian wasn't there, and that he had gone to take care of something.

Runye flipped through "Huangyuan Literature" with a rustling sound, staring intently at the magazine in her hands.

"This is filth."

She suddenly looked up.

"Lili, you're the one who told me that it was Director Du's idea to bring Li Xiangqian to the cultural center, it's...it's because of what he wrote, which you all said was well-written. Isn't that right?"

Upon hearing this, Du Lili's eyes reddened even more.

"You're right. This is slander."

She rubbed her eyes hard with the back of her hand.

"Huangyuan Literature and Art Magazine is bullying us too much..."

Runye felt a pang of heartache when she saw her like this.

She suddenly remembered that Li Xiangqian had said yesterday that he would have to make a profound self-criticism.

I encountered this situation again today.

Each blow was more severe than the last.

Runye was also getting anxious.

"Lili, I heard from the colleagues in the creative studio that Xiangqian wasn't at the cultural center this afternoon?"

Du Lili nodded.

"After seeing this, Xiangqian rode his bicycle directly to the county revolutionary committee."

She sniffed.

"He never came back."

Runye's heart sank with a thud.

She slammed the "Huangyuan Literature" magazine onto the table, the magazine hitting the surface with a thud.

Runye lifted her leg and walked out.

"Runye!"

Du Lili stood up and called out.

She chased after him.

"Runye, where are you going?"

"Go find Li Xiangqian."

Runye didn't even turn her head. She took two steps out of the office and righted the bicycle that had been lying on its side in the yard.

The bike started pedaling and sped out of the cultural center's courtyard with a whoosh.

Runye rode forward without hesitation.

After riding for a while, she realized that she was riding in the direction of her family compound.

wrong.

Lili said she went to the county revolutionary committee.

Runye braked suddenly, leaving a trail on the dirt road. She turned the bike around and rode towards the county revolutionary committee.

The loess land had been scorched by the scorching sun all day, and it was still like a sweltering steamer, with heat rising from the ground.

Runye hadn't ridden for long before sweat blurred her vision.

Her shoulder-length short hair was half flying in the wind and half stuck to her cheeks with sweat.

She raised her hand to wipe away the sweat, only to find that her palm was covered in dust.

I can't worry about that now.