DLRC – Chapter 116 The Strange Her

Thanks to Song Xia’s help, the big order for Director Wang’s factory had gone much smoother for Yu Wei. The delivery schedule was generous, about once every three days, so it wasn’t exhausting. In fact, Yu Wei even had time to fill in some missing desserts in her shop.

“Hey, how’s Zhang Jianguo been lately? He hasn’t come bothering you again, has he?”

As they neared the end of their shift, the two women chatted casually while making cakes, eventually landing on the topic of Song Xia’s ex-husband.

Song Xia glanced at Yu Wei and narrowed her eyes with a smile. “Nope, not at all. He’s been drowning in his own problems lately—no time to pester me.”

“Oh?” Yu Wei hadn’t been keeping up with Zhang Jianguo and was curious. “What kind of trouble is he in now?”

Seeing Yu Wei’s eager, gossipy look, Song Xia chuckled. “Well, it’s nothing major. Just that Li Juan recently found out he lost his job and now she’s raising hell and demanding a divorce.”

“What?” Yu Wei’s interest spiked. “So all this time, Li Juan didn’t know he wasn’t a leader anymore? And they already got married that fast?”

Those two really were in a hurry, like a pair of dogs in heat…

“Yeah, he’d been causing a scene at the factory lately. Management got fed up with him. I think your man said something to the higher-ups yesterday, and boom—today he’s completely out of a job. Nothing left.”

Originally, the factory had been lenient since Zhang Jianguo had at least put in years of work. They demoted him but still let him stay. But he just couldn’t be content—he kept making trouble every day, driving the leadership nuts.

Just when he finally quieted down, he went off to bother Song Xia again.

Luckily, Huo Mingwang stepped in. No one knows exactly what he said to the factory leadership, but today Zhang Jianguo was fired outright.

Now that he’s jobless, how’s he going to support a family? Or his mistress and her kid?

To be honest, it was satisfying as hell. And on top of that, Huo Mingwang had someone warn Zhang Jianguo that if he ever dared show his face in front of Song Xia again, it wouldn’t just be a matter of being fired.

What could Zhang Jianguo do? With no power and no connections, how could he fight Huo Mingwang?

All he could do was swallow his rage and slink back to the home he shared with Li Juan.

But as soon as he got home, Li Juan greeted him with a storm—having just learned about his job loss, she screamed about divorce and abandoning him.

He was too furious to speak. That night, they had their first serious fight—one that shook the house. The neighbors gossiped about it for days. Oddly, though, the two never did go file for divorce.

Well, it was no surprise—divorce wasn’t exactly encouraged these days.

As time went on, their arguments got worse, mostly because of money. They fought nearly every day, and those fights were increasingly vicious.

Li Juan hadn’t always been a hot-tempered woman, but after three years of being spoiled rotten by Zhang Jianguo, she’d become entitled and unreasonable. He used to treat her so tenderly, but now that they were married and the façade had dropped, she couldn’t accept the harsh reality.

One day, she took the kid and ran. When they caught her and dragged her back, they fought again.

Eventually, Li Juan gave up on fighting and simply abandoned the kid and ran off—taking nearly all of Zhang Jianguo’s remaining money with her.

Somehow, her escape failed and Zhang Jianguo caught her. This time it wasn’t just a fight—they smashed furniture.

Everyone around chose to look the other way, saying, “It’s their private business. Best not to interfere.”

After all, no one wanted to get burned watching someone else’s drama.

Later, it seemed like their fights stopped, but things didn’t exactly turn peaceful either.

According to the neighbors, although they no longer physically fought, they often heard Zhang Jianguo yelling from inside the house—never Li Juan. She, who used to barely cook once in half a year, now prepared meals like clockwork. Rumor had it Zhang Jianguo didn’t even let her work outside the home.

Yu Wei figured that maybe it was because of Li Juan’s past as a mistress. Now that Zhang Jianguo was broke, he finally realized how twisted this relationship was from the start and didn’t dare let her out of his sight.

What if she cheated on him? Li Juan wasn’t exactly a model of fidelity like Song Xia.

Thinking of Song Xia made Zhang Jianguo deeply regretful. Those twin daughters… though he’d hardly ever raised them, they were still his flesh and blood. And after everything he’d gone through—Li Juan’s screaming, the baby boy’s nonstop crying—he started thinking maybe having a son wasn’t such a big deal after all. His regret deepened.

Now? He had nothing—not his woman, not his money.

Still, because he was jobless and angry, he decided that he had to chain Li Juan to him. Even if she didn’t love him, even if she dreamed of escaping every day.

This heartless woman—after everything he’d done for her, even more than he did for Song Xia—and now she wanted to leave just because he had no money?

Heh. Over his dead body.

On Thursday afternoon, after school, Aiying and Yu Hui were picked up by Huo Mingwang. Liu Xuehua didn’t come this time—Aiying said her mom wasn’t feeling well and had stayed upstairs all day. It was Uncle Zhou who took her to school in the morning.

Yu Wei was baking sponge cakes in the kitchen and didn’t rush out when she heard noise. The little one came in and hugged her, but seeing she was busy, he went back outside to play with Aiying.

When Yu Wei finished the last batch and stepped out, she found the two little ones hunched over the table, playing something.

She went over and saw they were playing Gobang (Five-in-a-Row).

Yu Wei had taught her son how to play during her downtime. He picked it up quickly, and even beat his mom once after just a few rounds.

He really was a clever little guy.

“My sweet boy, what are you two playing?” Yu Wei asked casually.

“Five-in-a-Row!” Sun Aiying answered excitedly. “Yu Hui taught me. It’s called Five-in-a-Row! Super fun!”

Though a bit hard—she kept losing… okay, maybe Yu Hui was just too good.

Seeing her frustrated expression, Yu Wei chuckled and patted Yu Hui’s head. “One more round and we’ll close up shop, okay?”

“Okay!” Yu Hui agreed obediently.

Yu Wei looked around and saw Huo Mingwang at the table eating mango pancakes. She called him into the kitchen to help carry some cakes—they needed to be delivered to Director Wang’s factory.

Honestly, without Huo Mingwang, they wouldn’t have free delivery help.

Once the cakes were moved, the kids had just finished their game.

Aiying sighed and stepped off the chair. “Sigh, lost again.”

“I’m going home now, Yu Hui. Bye!” she waved. Then to the adults: “Bye Uncle Huo! Bye Auntie Yu!”

“Bye, Aiying!”

After she left, the shop felt noticeably quieter. Yu Wei glanced at the clock—it was nearly five, time to go home and cook dinner.

Yu Hui slung on his little backpack and left the dessert shop hand-in-hand with his parents.

Yu Wei pulled out her keys to lock up, but just as she did, they heard footsteps pounding from above.

Sun Aiying came rushing down in tears, crying out, “Uncle Huo—Uncle Huo! Wuwuwu… my mom! My mom…”

“Aiying?” Yu Wei quickly turned around. “What’s wrong? What happened to your mom?”

Huo Mingwang’s face turned serious. He stepped forward and knelt down. “What happened?”

Aiying was clearly terrified. She flung herself into his arms, sobbing, “Uncle Huo! My mom—she’s sick again. I’m scared, really scared…”

Sick? And scared?

Yu Wei was confused. Judging by Aiying’s reaction, this wasn’t just a normal illness.

“She’s throwing things again, isn’t she?” Huo Mingwang asked seriously.

Aiying nodded. She pulled out the key hanging around her neck and shakily opened the front door.

What greeted them left Yu Wei stunned.

The spacious living room was in total chaos.

Cushions had been ripped from the sofa, broken porcelain shards were scattered all over the floor, and at least five overturned potted plants spilled dirt everywhere. Black soil was smeared messily across the bare cement floor—hard to clean and miserable to look at.

And that was just the first impression.

Once Huo Mingwang stepped inside, Yu Wei’s view widened—and it was worse than she’d imagined. A strong, unpleasant stench of alcohol hit her nose the moment she entered.

Liquor—heavy and overwhelming.

Everything looked like it had been ransacked. Even the curtains hung torn and crooked. No wonder Aiying ran down crying.

Thank goodness they hadn’t left yet.

Liu Xuehua was found behind the sofa, slumped on the ground like she’d passed out.

Her head rested near shards of broken porcelain. Her mouth was slightly open, muttering something unintelligible. Her expression was eerie and unsettling.

Her black hair was full of dust. She wore a blouse and black skinny pants, but no shoes. Her bare feet were scratched and bleeding in several places.

Yu Wei was too shocked to go near, clinging to her son and staying far away in case of danger.

Huo Mingwang, though frowning, remained calm—clearly not his first time handling something like this.

After checking Liu Xuehua’s condition, he pinched her philtrum until she finally stirred.

“Yu Wei!” he called. “Come help me!”

“O-okay!” Yu Wei quickly put Yu Hui down and told him to stay put, then rushed over.

The smell of alcohol got even stronger the closer she got.

Though conscious, Liu Xuehua was still delirious—nothing like her usual elegant self. She looked utterly drained and pale.

Huo Mingwang lifted her halfway upright and asked Yu Wei to clear the broken glass nearby so he could carry her.

Yu Wei asked Aiying for the broom and swept the fragments aside. Once it was safe, Huo Mingwang picked Liu Xuehua up and carried her into the bedroom.

The scene inside wasn’t much better. He gently placed her on the bed, where she kept muttering in a low voice—impossible to understand.

Still frowning, Huo Mingwang looked over at Aiying, who was crying quietly in the corner.

“Is there any medicine left?” he asked.