Nominal: Starting with an entrance exam for a PhD in Economics at Peking University

“Hou Liangping,” she said, “you have absolutely no understanding of the seriousness of the struggle.”

She stood up, took two steps toward the bedroom, then stopped, her back to him: "I don't want to argue with you, it's pointless. Go contact Secretary Sha now and tell him you're not up to the task, and decline this assignment."

Hou Liangping stood up and raised his voice: "I won't push."

Zhong Xiaoai turned around and looked at him.

Hou Liangping met her gaze and said, word by word, "Xiao Ai, I want to seize this opportunity. I want to improve. I don't want to go back to Beijing and be a yes-man."

Zhong Xiaoai was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Are you sure?"

He spoke calmly, but there was something indescribable beneath that calm. Hou Liangping understood, but it was too late to stop.

“You’ve always looked down on me,” he said, his voice filled with long-suppressed grievances. “My son’s surname is Hou, but you’ve never treated him as a member of the Hou family. You’ve taken charge of his education, arranged his schooling, and even interfered with his future employment. In your eyes, I’m just a son-in-law, a tool, someone to carry on the Zhong family line.”

Zhong Xiaoai laughed: "I have two older brothers. Does the Zhong family need you to carry on the family line?"

Hou Liangping realized he had said the wrong thing, so he didn't respond and continued, "Everything I have is arranged by you. My job, my house, my car, even this home. I'm like a puppet, with the strings in your hands. Every decision I make has to be based on your approval first. Can't I make my own decision this time?"

He finished speaking, panting, and looked at her.

Zhong Xiaoai remained silent for a long time.

Then she spoke, her voice still calm, but each word was like a nail driven into the ground:

You want to talk to me about independence and freedom?

Hou Liangping remained silent.

“Only when you have the ability to completely eliminate the need for any resources from the Zhong family will you have the right to talk to me about independence and freedom,” Zhong Xiaoai said. “How much of what you eat, live, and use now was earned by yourself? Did you buy that apartment in Beijing? Did you pass the exam to get into the Supreme People’s Procuratorate? And who helped you get this position as the head of the anti-corruption bureau in Handong?”

Hou Liangping's face flushed red.

"What good resources have you given me? Just scraps!" His voice rose. "If you really were going to give me your full support, would I be only at the deputy director level at this age? What about Qi Tongwei? When he was about my age, he was already a vice minister! What kind of background does he have? Can his father-in-law compare to mine?"

Zhong Xiaoai looked at him, her eyes filled with an indescribable weariness.

She suddenly didn't want to argue anymore.

She had said those words, those principles, for over a decade, and he had listened for over a decade, but they had always gone in one ear and out the other. She felt exhausted, so exhausted that she didn't even have the energy to be angry anymore.

She rubbed her temples and asked, "Are you sure you want to take on this hot potato?"

Hou Liangping was taken aback, not expecting her to suddenly change the subject. He paused, then said, "I'm sure."

"Then let's get a divorce."

Hou Liangping was stunned, as if he had been frozen in place.

Zhong Xiaoai's voice was calm, as if she were asking what to have for dinner: "Haoran belongs to me."

Hou Liangping opened his mouth, but it took him a long time to speak: "Xiao Ai, what... what did you say?"

"Divorce," Zhong Xiaoai repeated. "Didn't you want to prove yourself? Let's get the paperwork done first. If you really prove yourself, we can remarry later."

Hou Liangping's face turned pale.

"Xiao Ai, it can't be... it can't be this bad, can it?" His voice was trembling.

Zhong Xiaoai looked at him, her eyes showing no anger or disappointment, only a chilling calm: "Didn't you want freedom? I'll give you freedom."

Hou Liangping stood there, his mind blank.

He never imagined that the word "divorce" would come out of Zhong Xiaoai's mouth. Over the years, they had argued, had heated arguments, and had cold wars, but neither of them had ever mentioned divorce. He thought it was a taboo subject, an unspoken bottom line between them.

But now, she brought it up.

And it was mentioned so calmly, so matter-of-factly.

“Xiao Ai,” his voice softened, pleading, “let’s talk this out. Divorce is too serious; we’ve been married for so many years…”

“If you don’t get a divorce, Dad won’t agree,” Zhong Xiaoai interrupted him. “Once he finds out about this, he’ll definitely transfer you back to Beijing beforehand. Then you won’t be able to investigate anything, you won’t be able to do anything, and you’ll be back to square one.”

Hou Liangping said, "Can we not tell him yet? Let me finish the case first..."

Zhong Xiaoai didn't speak, she just looked at him.

Just watch.

Hou Liangping felt uneasy under that gaze and avoided eye contact.

Zhong Xiaoai stood up and walked towards the bedroom. At the door, she stopped and turned back to look at him:

"I have to go back to the inspection team first thing tomorrow morning. Give me an answer by tomorrow morning. Whatever the decision, I will tell Dad immediately."

She paused for a moment, then said, "I'm too tired these past two days, I'm going to sleep now."

The door closed.

Hou Liangping was the only one left in the living room.

He stood there, staring at the closed door, his mind a jumbled mess.

He walked to the sofa, sat down, then stood up again and paced back and forth in the living room.

divorce.

Those two words were like a bomb, shattering all his emotions. His anger, resentment, and bitterness vanished, leaving only a huge, empty sense of insecurity.

He always felt that the Zhong family was a constraint on him. He felt that the family was like a cage, confining him and making him feel suffocated. He wanted freedom, wanted to prove himself, and wanted others to know that he, Hou Liangping, was not just "the Zhong family's son-in-law".

But now, when freedom is truly placed before him, he is afraid.

The down payment for his apartment in Beijing was paid by his family when he got married. His father-in-law helped him get into the Supreme People's Procuratorate. His appointment as the head of the anti-corruption bureau in Handong was also facilitated by his father-in-law.

Where would he be now if it weren't for these things?

They might still be stuck in a low-level procuratorate, waiting for a promotion opportunity that may never come. They might still be renting a place, worrying about making ends meet every month. They might still be anxious about their son's school district, begging for favors and pulling strings everywhere.

He never thought about these things.

Or rather, he never dared to think about these things.

He kept complaining, complaining that the Zhong family didn't give him resources, and complaining that his father-in-law didn't fully support his upbringing. But he never considered that without the Zhong family, he wouldn't even have the right to complain.

He stopped and looked out the window.

Outside the window was the night view of Jingzhou, a tapestry of lights from every household. But he couldn't see it; his eyes were fixed only on the closed door.

Zhong Xiaoai was not asleep in the bedroom.

She lay in bed, eyes open, staring at the ceiling.

She really meant it when she said she was "too tired." But after lying down, her mind was frighteningly clear.

She thought back to her youth.

At that time, she had just graduated from school, young and impetuous, and did not want an arranged marriage. She knew that once she was married, she would become an appendage of her husband—a dutiful wife and mother, managing his relationships as a wife, and a virtuous helper. That was not the life she wanted.

She's ambitious. She wants to make something of herself.

So she chose an ordinary but handsome man as her husband. She thought that such a person wouldn't oppress her or make her feel like an appendage. She could have her own career, her own life, and her own pursuits.

But she overestimated herself.

More than twenty years have passed, and her career has not improved much. She worked in the State Planning Commission for many years and was still just an ordinary cadre.

She smiled bitterly.

She chose a mediocre husband, thinking that this would bring her freedom. In the end, she not only failed to gain freedom, but also failed to manage even a mediocre marriage.

She recalled what Hou Liangping had just said.

He said they looked down on him. They said they treated him like a son-in-law who had married into his family. He said he wanted to prove himself.

She understood him. She truly understood him.

A man living in his father-in-law's shadow and constantly being gossiped about must feel incredibly stifled. She wanted to help him, but didn't know how. She wanted him to grow on his own, but he always relied on the Zhong family's resources. She didn't want to give him those resources, but she was also afraid he would suffer a terrible fall.

She lived with this contradiction for twenty years.

I'm exhausted by these contradictions.

Today, when he said, "I want to take this case," she suddenly didn't want to feel conflicted anymore.

She thought, "Never mind."

Let's get a divorce then.

He wants freedom, so give him freedom. He wants to prove himself, so let him prove himself. If he can truly navigate complex situations and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, then he's capable, and it wouldn't be shameful for her to remarry him.

But based on Zhong Xiaoai's understanding of him, he definitely doesn't have the full capability...

Then let's get a divorce.

She closed her eyes, and the words her father had said a few days earlier came to mind again.

"Xiao Ai, Dad is retiring."

At seventy, it's finally time to retire. My two older brothers are still at crucial stages in their lives and need to keep a low profile. The Zhong family can no longer seek the limelight, nor can it take any more pointless risks.

She couldn't let Hou Liangping cause trouble at this time. If he didn't listen, she would have to cut ties with him prematurely.

We can't wait until something goes wrong before taking remedial action.

She decided to stop thinking about it and wait until dawn for an answer.

She didn't know what the answer was, but she was ready.

Regardless of which one.

---

The next morning, when Zhong Xiaoai woke up, it was already seven o'clock.

She lay in bed and listened for a while—the living room was quiet, and no one was there.

She got up and walked out of the bedroom.

The living room was empty. Hou Liangping's coat from last night was still lying on the sofa, and a half-empty glass of water sat on the coffee table. Everything was the same as last night, except for one extra thing.

A signed divorce agreement.

Chapter 166 Zhao Ruilong's Counterattack

Whether Hou Liangping gets divorced or not, his new appointment will not be announced anytime soon.