The 99th Divorce

Yu Lili couldn’t believe her ears. Her eyes widened at Jiao Ziqing.

Jiao Ziqing didn’t spare her a glance and continued her conversation with her friends over the mahjong table.

Yu Lili’s heart was cheering. She quickly explained herself, “Not at all! How could that be?”

“If that’s the case, what’s the reason you won’t speak to us? You’ve been here for so long, yet we don’t even know your name,” Qiao Meng unyieldingly said.

“My name is Yu Lili, Auntie Qiao,” Yu Lili said.

“I see. Yu Lili. This name sounds a little familiar to me. Oh, no wonder you looked so familiar! You’re the mistress who got into a royal mess with Ou Ming some time back, aren’t you?” Zhuang Yunhua was never one to beat around the bush. Her words were so straightforward, they made Yu Lili feel awkward.

“How could you put it that way?” Li Pingting nudged Zhuang Yunhua in admonishment.

Evidently, they all knew who Yu Lili was.

“She’s not a mistress anymore. If she’s being brought here, she must have already gotten married to Ou Ming,” Qiao Meng said. “Why did we not hear any news? Did they get married in secret?”

Yu Lili had initially expected to be met with scorn, or at least some other disdainful expression. But, it was clearly a case in which she had projected her own erroneous assumptions on others.

This band of sisters, who were all of similar age to Jiao Ziqing, were a lot more interested in just exchanging gossip than actually harming her with their words.

Just as Yu Lili was about to set them straight, she was interrupted.

“That’s probably the case,” Zhuang Yunhua said. “It’s a trend nowadays for young people to do that. If you put it nicely, it’s being low-key. In actual fact, they just like bucking tradition. Everyone gets married sooner or later, isn’t that so? But, they insist on settling all the paperwork and procedures before holding the ceremony. Hey, your name is Yu Lili, isn’t it? I bet this was all Ou Ming’s decision. Am I right?”

Zhuang Yunhua looked as if she had figured it all out. With a shake of her head and a click of her tongue, she continued. “Don’t blame me for saying this, but Ou Ming has never been one to follow the rules. His parents have had a really hard time. I actually wanted to match my daughter with that rascal. Hahaha… but, I ended up being scared of him, so I gave up that thought.”

“Exactly,” Qiao Meng concurred. “It’s not like the girls from other families didn’t like Ou Ming. But, nobody could handle that d*mn temper of his! You must be a pretty formidable lady to be able to put up with him. It must be true love!”

Evidently, these ladies had known Jiao Ziqing for a long time. Their relationship was so close that no one took any offense at their statements. Everyone laughed it off.

When Yu Lili heard their exchange, she thought back to what Ou Ming was like. His infamous temper and poisonous tongue could indeed be hard to put up with. That thought made Yu Lili smile.

“I’ve known Ou Ming for a long time. If I recall correctly, I met him when I was 17 years old. Later, we broke up for a period of time.” Yu Lili looked at them and stated the facts as they were. “Later on, I went to Beijing and ran into some trouble. It was Ou Ming who brought me back.”

The statement was easily made, but it harbored a myriad of emotions and regret. Fortunately, she hadn’t succeeded in dying. Otherwise, she would never have lived to see such a day.

The rainbow has finally appeared after the storm.

“Regardless, someone has finally accepted Lao Ou’s son!” Zhuang Yunhua waved her hands in the air. “Come on, play a game of mahjong with us. Let your mom sit aside.”

“Exactly. She’s always winning,” Qiao Meng said. “We should shake things up a bit. Come on and sit down.”