DLRC – Chapter 104 It’s Time to Change

Huo Mingwang handled things with remarkable efficiency. Just as lunch preparations were about to begin, Chen Liang drove over, offering to help take Song Xia to her new place.

Song Xia was so grateful she didn’t know what to say. She hurriedly told her two daughters to grab their luggage and head downstairs—they were moving out.

At this hour, neighbors were all home cooking lunch, and the street was crowded. When people saw Song Xia moving with a car picking her up, they all stopped to watch from a distance.

Carrying a big bag, Shu Le trudged behind her mother and older sister, panting as she muttered, “Are we really moving?”

“Mm, Mommy’s taking you to live somewhere else.” Song Xia placed what she was carrying into Chen Liang’s car and went back to grab what her daughters held.

Shu Le handed the big bundle to her mother. “But… but I don’t want to leave here. I like living here…”

Song Xia gave a helpless, bitter smile, unable to explain much. The child would understand one day when she grew up.

Shu Le kept murmuring as they finished moving things from upstairs.

“But I’ll miss Auntie Yu Wei, and Yu Hui, and their little pets Xiaobai and Gugujiji, and all the toys… I’ll miss everything.”

“After we move, we won’t see them anymore.”

“Why doesn’t Daddy want to live with us?”

“Is it because me and Sister weren’t good?”

The place Huo Mingwang arranged for them was actually very nice—a unit in a large tube-shaped building with five floors. The mother and daughters would live on the second floor, convenient for going up and down.

The apartment was about the same size as Jiang Aihua’s, though it didn’t have a private balcony, only a shared one. But the kitchen and bathroom were both private, which was pretty good.

In fact, location-wise, it was much better than Jiang Aihua’s little courtyard! It was just one street behind Shu Ya and Shu Le’s elementary school. Living here meant the kids could sleep in a bit longer in the mornings, and Song Xia wouldn’t have to escort them every day—they could walk home on their own.

By the time they finished moving, it was exactly noon. After quickly making an extremely simple lunch—a big pot of noodles—Song Xia sent the girls to school and returned to start organizing the messy new home.

The entire afternoon passed like that. At night, lying on the big bed with her two obedient daughters beside her, Song Xia’s heart was full of endless sorrow.

But when she thought of Zhang Jianguo’s actions, she became even more determined not to let him and that mistress live happily!

The next morning, Song Xia went to find Yu Wei. The two of them discussed how to get the property and money the scumbag owed her all these years—and how to completely ruin his reputation.

Today, Song Xia finally gathered her courage. After Yu Wei gave her a long psychological pep talk, she took her first step.

She was going to the factory to find Zhang Jianguo!

She was going to let everyone know his dirty, shameful conduct!

Standing at the factory gate, Song Xia smiled and exchanged a few words with the guard, who let her in without hesitation.

After all, she was Director Zhang’s wife—how could they stop her?

What they didn’t know was that Song Xia wasn’t there to visit her husband—she was there to cause a scene!

…

“Song Xia! Are you crazy?!”

When Zhang Jianguo rushed to the office hall, what he saw was a crowd surrounding Song Xia, loudly discussing something, while she stood in the middle, shouting angrily.

“A factory this big, and you let someone with such a disgusting character be a leader! I’m going to report this to the higher-ups!”

On the surface, Song Xia looked aggressive, but inside, she was panicking—though she couldn’t let it show.

So when Zhang Jianguo saw this completely transformed Song Xia, he was utterly shocked.

“Director Zhang is here!”

Someone in the crowd shouted, and the throng began to part. Zhang Jianguo pushed through, grabbed Song Xia’s arm, and barked, “Song Xia! You’ve lost your mind! Isn’t this shameful enough? If you’ve got something to say, say it at home!”

He tried to drag her out, but she shook him off violently. “Zhang Jianguo! Yes, I’ve gone crazy! You drove me crazy!”

Her eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging as she roared with all her strength: “Zhang Jianguo! Cheating during our marriage wasn’t enough for you—you got the mistress pregnant! You’ve been sneaking around behind my back for three years and even had an illegitimate child! Is this what a state-owned enterprise leader looks like?!”

Hearing words he never thought would come from his wife’s mouth, Zhang Jianguo froze, stunned into silence.

Of course, Song Xia hadn’t come up with these lines herself—Yu Wei had coached her beforehand. And sure enough, they worked perfectly on the scumbag.

Seeing Zhang Jianguo’s face darken and harden, Song Xia felt an indescribable thrill.

When Zhang Jianguo finally snapped out of it, he roared, “Stop making a scene here! You think this is your home?!”

“Home? Zhang Jianguo, do I even have a home anymore?!” Song Xia sneered coldly, her eyes full of grief. “Oh, right, there is a home—but it’s yours, not mine!”

She turned to the people trying to leave. “Zhang Jianguo! Did you ever think about me? You cheated and had a child with your mistress! Did you ever think about what it’s like for me when I go home to face family and friends? I worked hard for over ten years, never enjoyed a single day of happiness, and now I have to watch you give everything good to that mistress and her son!”

The employees hadn’t really wanted to leave anyway—who would pass up free drama involving their boss? Now that Song Xia was pulling them back, they gladly stayed, keeping a respectful distance while continuing to eat melon seeds figuratively.

“Song Xia! Come home first! We’ll talk about this later!”

“Home? Home where? Your home with your mistress?!”

“Song Xia!”

“Don’t call me!” For the first time, Song Xia realized how exhilarating it felt to shout at Zhang Jianguo in public.

She had always yielded to him before, but now—it was time to change.

“What are you all staring at?! Don’t you have work to do?!”

Liu Dalong appeared at some point and barked at the crowd. They scattered instantly. He turned to Zhang Jianguo, face stern, and ordered, “Come to my office!”

Zhang Jianguo was about to explode. The beating from Yu Wei the other day hadn’t even healed, and now he was being publicly humiliated by Song Xia. Unbelievable!

Song Xia didn’t follow them inside. Instead, when she saw the two men disappear into the office, she continued loudly exposing Zhang Jianguo’s juicy cheating stories to everyone outside.

Although Liu Dalong sent people to take Song Xia away, she was determined to make a scene and leave Zhang Jianguo with no peace. The workers looked at the tightly shut office door, then at Song Xia, and decided not to interfere—instead, they joined the audience.

In that moment, the gossip field was right in front of them, and no one could resist.

“This melon… is it guaranteed to be ripe?”

…

“This incident has too much of an impact, do you understand?!”

Liu Dalong slammed his palm on the wooden desk in frustration, his eyes bursting with anger. He looked at his most prized subordinate, whose affair had just been exposed by his wife right at the factory. He honestly didn’t know what to say!

“Sorry, Director Liu, my wife’s mind hasn’t been too clear lately. I’m planning to divorce her, so…”

“Planning to divorce? You haven’t even divorced yet, and you’re already bold enough to live together with your mistress?”

Everyone in the neighborhood could see it. Where Zhang Jianguo came from every day to work—anyone with eyes could tell he was crawling out of his mistress’s bed.

“No, Director Liu, Li Juan is a good girl, please don’t talk about her like that.” Zhang Jianguo shielded Li Juan and cursed Song Xia inwardly. He kept bowing and said, “Song Xia already agreed to divorce me, so moving out isn’t a big deal.”

“Agreed to divorce means you’re still not divorced! Has your brain been completely muddled by a woman?”

Interrupted by Zhang Jianguo’s excuse, Liu Dalong almost forgot what he was going to say. Then he continued, “Let me tell you, this matter has a huge impact. Today Boss Huo even called me personally, saying that someone in our factory leadership has improper conduct, and asked me what I think about it!”

“What do I think? Tell me, what do I think?!” Liu Dalong slammed the desk again. “I think you just don’t want this job anymore!”

Zhang Jianguo was shocked, his lips trembling slightly. “What? Boss Huo…?”

Only then did he suddenly realize—Boss Huo from Lucheng, and someone whom Director Liu would call ‘Boss’… Isn’t that…

Huo Mingwang!

“What? Why would Boss Huo want to meddle in my family affairs?” Last time, when Song Xia went to Li Juan’s home, Huo Mingwang was also there. What exactly was this man trying to do?

“Your family affairs! You still know this is family affairs? Family matters have blown up in the factory. Do you know how many people are laughing at you today? You’ve completely disgraced our Second Factory!”

“But, Boss Huo—”

“Enough, enough. Don’t worry about why Boss Huo cares about your family affairs, but from what he said today, it’s obvious he’s dissatisfied with you. Do you know what his last words were?”

“What did he say?”

“He said, ‘How can a state-owned enterprise have someone with such improper conduct?’ He told me to deal with you properly!”

Zhang Jianguo felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Those words clearly indicated someone wanted to pull him down from his leadership position. He finally felt real fear.

If earlier, when Song Xia made a scene outside, he was only irritated and embarrassed, now he was truly afraid… afraid for his future.

This matter—big or small—but if it gets the attention of higher-ups and they pursue accountability, he’ll be in serious trouble!

Will he be able to keep that official hat on his head? Hard to say.

“Jianguo, you’ve always been my most trusted man. You’ve been here for almost eight years, finally climbed to this position—think it through carefully.”

“Director Liu…” Zhang Jianguo wiped the sweat off his forehead. “But… but Xiaojuan, she’s already with me, and we have a son together…”

Director Liu had long known about Zhang Jianguo’s dirty laundry. He just never exposed it. But today, if Zhang Jianguo didn’t handle this mess properly, even he wouldn’t be able to protect him!

“Your son? Don’t you have two daughters too? You only think about your son and not your daughters?”

Liu Dalong might not have the cleanest private life either, but at least he didn’t get another woman pregnant, nor did he have conflicts with his wife. His family was harmonious—unlike Zhang Jianguo, who was willing to ruin his future for a woman.

Frankly speaking, Liu Dalong deeply despised Zhang Jianguo’s way of abandoning his wife and twin daughters!

Especially after receiving that phone call from Huo Mingwang this morning, his irritation toward Zhang Jianguo had only grown.

“Do as you see fit. But if you can’t handle this well, I think it’s time to let someone else take your place!”

Liu Dalong said this and walked out, leaving Zhang Jianguo staring at his back, cold sweat breaking out all over him.

When Liu Dalong stepped out, he saw a crowd gathered around Song Xia, gossiping. He was instantly furious.

But these employees were all old foxes. They immediately dispersed to their stations, pretending to work before the factory director could scold them.

After all that, Song Xia was tired too. She glanced sideways at Liu Dalong, then turned and walked away without looking back.

Yes, walked away.

Her goal had been achieved. According to Yu Wei’s advice, Zhang Jianguo probably wouldn’t have any peaceful days anytime soon!

Zhang Jianguo didn’t know how he walked out of Director Liu’s office. When he came out, he saw the office hall full of employees chatting in groups. As for what they were chatting about…

“Got nothing better to do?!”

He barked at them as usual, but today was different—his authority didn’t work anymore.

Although everyone dispersed after seeing him, the looks they gave him before leaving made him grind his teeth.

…

That afternoon, Zhang Jianguo asked for leave and went to Song Xia’s place.

But he learned that his wife had already moved out that morning. When he asked Jiang Aihua, the aunt just shot him a cold glance and snorted.

“How would I know where she moved to? Go find her yourself!”

Then she slammed the door so hard that Zhang Jianguo ate a mouthful of dust.

With a gloomy face, he walked out of the small courtyard and looked up toward the third floor, but all the doors in that row were tightly shut.

Zhang Jianguo didn’t know how he managed to ride home—his soul was absent the whole way, and he nearly ran into pedestrians.

Fortunately, he made it home safely. When he opened the door, he saw Li Juan fast asleep on the bed while his son sat crying on the cold floor endlessly.

Only then did he remember—when Shu Ya and Shu Le were this age, they hardly ever cried… or maybe, every time they cried, Song Xia would take them outside so they wouldn’t disturb him.

“Juan, wake up!”

Zhang Jianguo, already annoyed, went up to shake her. One push didn’t work, so he pushed twice before finally waking her up.

“It’s already eleven o’clock. Why haven’t you made lunch yet?”

Li Juan woke up groggily and saw Zhang Jianguo had returned. When she heard him ordering her to cook as soon as she woke up, her temper flared.

“I’m so tired, I don’t want to cook. Let’s eat out.”

Zhang Jianguo was already boiling with anger. Seeing Li Juan like this only made him even more furious.

“It’s already noon and you’re still sleeping! Look at the boy! He’s been crying for so long his voice is hoarse!”

Li Juan was cranky from just waking up, and now Zhang Jianguo was yelling at her. She snapped back angrily:

“You’re the one who said after I followed you, I wouldn’t have to cook or do laundry! And now what’s this attitude? I just slept a little longer! Is that worth all this anger?”

“No, I mean—it’s already this late, you should be up!” Normally, Zhang Jianguo treated Li Juan far too well. So much so that now, when he wanted to scold her, he didn’t even know how.

He was so used to scolding Song Xia—he was good at that.

Thinking of that woman again—if it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t be this angry now!

Zhang Jianguo was too annoyed to argue with Li Juan anymore. He wanted to lie down and rest, but was interrupted by Li Juan crying pitifully.

She kept wailing: “Zhang Jianguo! Do you not want to be with me anymore? You want to go back to that yellow-faced woman, Song Xia, don’t you? I’ve given you a son! You don’t want him either?”

“No, I just want you to calm down!”

“Calm down? Didn’t you say you were divorcing that Song Xia? Why is it still dragging on? I think you just don’t want to marry me!”

The longer this dragged on, the more insecure Li Juan felt.

She feared Zhang Jianguo would suddenly change his mind, that the wealth within her grasp would slip away.

But today, Zhang Jianguo had no energy to coax her. He lay on the bed pretending to be dead, while Li Juan continued to throw a tantrum, and the boy kept crying under the bed.

Crying until his throat was hoarse—still, no one paid him any attention.