https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-284-I-d-Rather-Die-Than-Get-a-Divorce-2-/12576549/
Chapter 285: The Children Are Taken Away
Chapter 285: The Children Are Taken Away
Before bed that evening, Wang Xiaojie brought up the topic with Lu Jiaguang, perplexed as she said, "Li Li used to be so good to Jiajie and the children. What made her change like this?"
If the divorce was because of Li Li's demand for compensation from her in-laws, Wang Xiaojie would have tried to mediate. But now that Lu Jiajie was initiating the divorce for the sake of their children's future, she couldn't bring herself to intervene or even bring up the topic.
Lu Jiaguang sighed and explained, "After Li Li's sterilization, Ma Lili's parents had asked Jiajie to change Qiangqiang's surname to Ma. Their relationship soured after Jiajie refused. Jiajie has wanted to move out for a long time, but Li Li has never agreed to it."
"Why haven't you ever mentioned this to me?" Wang Xiaojie asked.
Lu Jiaguang shook his head. "He's a man, and it's not easy for him to complain about his marital problems. I only found out about these issues the last time we drank together. The underlying tensions actually started after Xiaofeng's birth, but back then, Jiajie's salary was low, and they were living with Li Li's family. With his wife not being supportive, he could only endure the situation."
Only then did Wang Xiaojie understand that the harmony between the couple had been superficial, and deep conflicts had been brewing behind the scenes. She realized that Lu Jiajie had only shared his joys and not his woes, keeping them in the dark about his struggles.
Lu Jiaguang paused before continuing, "Li Li's resentment towards Jiaxin probably goes beyond the issue of borrowing money. She likely blames Jiaxin for Jiajie's decision to go to Yangcheng to help with her business, believing that if he had stayed at the shoe factory, their marriage wouldn't have reached this point."
Frowning, Wang Xiaojie replied, "How can she put the blame on Jiaxin? Jiaxin only stepped in to help because she saw how difficult things were for them. Without Jiaxin, would she have this comfortable home, or someone to do the laundry, cooking, and take care of the children?"
Any woman would envy the life Li Li was leading.
"Have you ever thought about how different things were when she was still living with her parents? Back then, the couple was loving, and the children listened to them," Lu Jiaguang pointed out.
"That's not a fair comparison," Wang Xiaojie argued. "It was her parents' lack of consideration that made it impossible for Jiajie to continue living there, which is why Jiaxin invited Jiajie to Yangcheng in the first place. Without Jiaxin's help, they would have had a harder time renting a place outside."
Lu Jiaguang said, "Life would have been difficult, but if Jiajie wasn't making money, he would have listened to her, and he wouldn't be thinking about divorce like he is now."
Wang Xiaojie fell silent, unable to refute that argument. If one were to follow Li Li's line of thinking, it was true that Lu Jiajie's involvement in business was the reason for the divorce. No, it was more accurate to say that he wouldn't have dared to consider divorce otherwise.
"She's been wronging Jiajie and the children all this time," Lu Jiaguang continued, "but Jiajie endured it silently before. Now that he's making good money, he can't bear it anymore, and the conflict has come to light. It's better this way; at least the two children won't be influenced by Li Li's family."
Wang Xiaojie voiced her concern, "But can San Shu take good care of the two children?"
Lu Jiaguang had already thought about this. "Jiaxin will definitely combine our place with San Shu's, making it easier to take care of him. Jiajie is doing well financially now, so he can contribute to the purchase when the time comes. With us watching over them, I don't think they'll go astray."
Wang Xiaojie found his reasoning convincing, but she still had one worry. "But Li Li will regularly take the children to her parents' place, and no matter how much we try, their efforts may be in vain if Li Li's family keeps filling the children's heads with negative ideas."
Lu Jiaguang wasn't too worried about that. "Jiajie is willing to give up his claim to the house and even offer compensation just to keep Li Li's family at bay. He's built quite a large business network in Yangcheng and knows a lot of people. If Li Li's family takes the house and the compensation, they won't dare to approach the children. Otherwise, Jiajie won't let them off easily."
Wang Xiaojie didn't say anything more.
After Lu Jiajie laid his cards on the table with Li Li, a telegram arrived from Yangcheng, and then another one soon after. He timed his return to coincide with Qiangqiang and Xiaofeng's school break.
That day, Ma Lili returned home from work and didn't see the children. She assumed they had gone out to play but couldn't find them outside. Terrified, she shouted their names loudly.
The neighbors heard her cries and came out of their houses. After understanding the situation, one of them said, "Your husband came back today. The children are probably with him."
When Lu Jiajie didn't return with the children in the evening, Ma Lili tossed and turned restlessly in bed. Suddenly remembering that Xiaofeng's coat was dirty, she got up to retrieve it, only to find that it was missing, and the closet was empty.
Ma Lili froze, and when she came to her senses, she realized that not only were the clothes gone, but Xiaofeng's schoolbag and books were also missing. She rushed to Qiangqiang's room and found it in the same state as Xiaofeng's. If the children had merely been taken out to play, was there any need to take their clothes and books?
Early the next morning, Ma Lili called Lu Hongjun. When he claimed ignorance, she turned to Wang Xiaojie.
Wang Xiaojie found it hard to believe that Lu Jiajie would hide the children. "He mentioned taking the children to his hometown for the summer vacation. They must have gone there."
In fact, Lu Jiajie had indeed hidden the children, and they reappeared the next day.
Ma Lili rushed forward, grabbing him and demanding, "Lu Jiajie, where are the children? Where have you hidden them?"
Lu Jiajie, seeing her anxious and flustered state, coldly huffed and asked, "Qiangqiang's body is bruised, and Xiaofeng's forehead is scraped and hands injured. How did you handle it when Ma Jixiang beat the two children like that?"
Previously, Ma Jixiang had only pushed and taken things by force, but this time he had resorted to physical violence. The reason was simple: the last time Ma Jixiang had been beaten by Lu Jiajie, he couldn't retaliate directly, so he took it out on Qiangqiang and Xiaofeng. Lu Jiajie had almost gone to the Ma family to settle the score, but Qiangqiang and Xiaofeng had stopped him, urging him to stay calm. The most important thing at the moment was to focus on the divorce; there would be plenty of opportunities to deal with Ma Jixiang later.
Ma Lili felt a twinge of guilt but still said, "I scolded him severely, and Jixiang promised not to hit Qiangqiang and Xiaofeng again."
She had been angry, too, and wanted to strike Ma Jixiang. However, Ma's mother had stopped her, and her father had scolded her. In the end, the matter was resolved with Ma Jixiang apologizing to the children.
Lu Jiajie was so angry that he laughed, no longer wanting to argue with her. "If you want a divorce, let's go through with it. You can visit the children on Sundays, but you're not allowed to take them away. Also, no one from the Ma family is to have any contact with the children without my knowledge. If they do, they'll have to deal with me."
Since Ma's father and mother only cared about their grandsons and treated their grandchildren like weeds, Lu Jiajie decided to cut them off from the children's lives. If they dared to come and cause trouble, he wouldn't hold back either.
Ma Lili cried out, "Lu Jiajie, you can't do this!"
Lu Jiajie found her behavior repulsive and said, "The children have been bullied by Ma Jixiang time and again, and each time, you've swept it under the rug, making the children suffer. Now you say you can't bear to part with them? No one would believe that. Ma Lili, I'm giving you one day to think it over. If you don't agree, I'll take the children away, and you'll never see them again."
"You have no right to do this," Ma Lili protested.
Lu Jiajie replied coldly, "I only regret not realizing this sooner and divorcing you earlier. Then, the children wouldn't have had to endure so much suffering."
In fact, not only had the children suffered, but ever since Xiaofeng's birth, Lu Jiajie had also endured Ma Lili's family's mistreatment. Yet, whenever he brought it up with Ma Lili, she would try to smooth things over, asking him to be more understanding of her parents and to tolerate their behavior. She never considered his feelings or the children's. Thankfully, he had finally seen through her, and now that divorce was on the table, he didn't care about anything else. He would take the two children and live a good life.
(End of Chapter)
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