69novels Chapter 135 Outbreak 2
Chapter 135 Outbreak 2
With a clang, the knife in Zhang Mei's hand fell to the ground.
She felt as if her spinal cord had been removed; she slid to the ground, covered her face with her hands, and began to sob bitterly.
Cheng Huaiguo let his hand, which had been supporting him against the wall, fall down, and exhaled as if all his strength had been drained. He then looked at the old man at the door, a hint of embarrassment and guilt flashing across his face.
"Dad...you know everything."
The old man walked over and stood in front of him, his gaze heavy: "A real man should be responsible for his actions. Now that it has happened, what you should be thinking about is how to clean up the mess."
Then the old man walked over to Zhang Mei, his tone softening slightly, "Xiao Mei, our family has wronged you in this matter. If you want a divorce, I have some pension money that I can give you as compensation. As for Huai Guo, how you want to take revenge on him is your business; I won't interfere."
Zhang Mei's crying paused.
"If you choose to stay with Huaiguo," the old man continued, "then let's all sit down and discuss how to handle this matter."
Zhang Mei covered her face and remained silent.
The initial crazy thoughts in my mind gradually faded away, replaced by an extreme sense of clarity.
To divorce or not to divorce?
Her mind raced as she quickly made up her mind.
Afraid that she might do something foolish, Cheng Hao quickly pulled her up from the ground and said to the old man, "Grandpa, I want to talk to my mother alone for a few minutes."
Cheng Hao brought his mother into the room and closed the door.
"Mom, please don't divorce Dad!"
Zhang Mei looked up at her son with her red and swollen eyes.
Cheng Hao analyzed, "Think about it, at most you'll get some compensation in the divorce. Grandpa has been honest and upright all his life, how much could his pension be? And how can you get revenge on Dad? Kill him and you'll go to jail, that's not worth it. Or you could get Dad fired from his job, but Grandpa and Uncle are still alive. Even if Dad gets fired, he can find another job. Besides, Dad doesn't have much ambition, maybe he'll just be doing what he wants, just staying at home and waiting to die."
"And what about you? A divorced woman, who would want you? If you remarry, you'll only be marrying down, and you might even become a stepmother. Your job will also be affected. Once your hospital leaders know that you're no longer married, they might make things difficult for you."
"And don't forget, Dad isn't Grandpa's biological son, and I'm not his biological grandson. If you really take revenge on Dad after the divorce, Grandpa and Uncle will definitely dislike you, and I'll be affected too. So you might as well take advantage of the fact that Dad and Grandpa owe you something, continue living with Dad, and then take the opportunity to get some benefits."
It has to be said that Cheng Hao and Zhang Mei were thinking the same thing.
She has such a huge weakness in her hands. If they don't divorce, they will always owe her something if they get married!
At that point, she'll be able to do whatever she wants!
"Haozi, you truly are my own son, you're like a mind reader!"
Zhang Mei wiped away her tears, and her eyes regained their light.
Cheng Hao helped Zhang Mei out of the room.
Zhang Mei kept her head down and remained silent. Cheng Hao looked at his father and cleared his throat:
"Dad, I finally managed to persuade Mom. She won't get a divorce, and we'll live a good life as a family."
Cheng Huaiguo was stunned for a moment, his expression somewhat complicated. He thought that Zhang Mei would definitely divorce him based on her personality. Thinking of this, he felt a sense of relief, as if he had finally gotten rid of her. But he didn't expect her to refuse to divorce him!
But he is the one at fault, and if he brings up divorce now, the situation will probably become even more unmanageable.
In the end, Cheng Huaiguo glanced at Zhang Mei, lowered his eyes, and said nothing.
Grandpa Cheng sat down on the sofa, stroking his cane, and looked at Zhang Mei: "Xiao Mei, have you thought it through?"
Zhang Mei nodded: "I've thought it through."
"Alright," the old man said slowly, "then how would you like to resolve this matter?"
How to solve it? Of course, it's...
Zhang Mei's mind raced through various requests, and just as she was thinking, she heard Cheng Huaiguo speak up from beside her:
"Dad, my mistake shouldn't involve my older brother," he said softly, his eyes lowered. "I will report the situation truthfully to the higher-ups and clear my brother's name. Over the years, my brother has been helping me pay for my children's upbringing, and I will repay that money to him."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Mei flew into a rage, abruptly raising her head to glare at him: "Pay back? What are you going to use to pay back?! You're not thinking of using the family savings, are you? Let me tell you, I don't have a single penny!"
Cheng Huaiguo looked up at her, his tone calm: "I didn't say you should give me the money. I will pay it back with my salary. From now on, a portion of my salary will be deducted from my brother's salary each month, and the rest will be given to you."
"Don't even think about it!" Zhang Mei immediately raised her voice, as if someone had cut off a piece of her flesh. "Your entire salary belongs to me, not a single penny less! My brother's money was spent by that illegitimate daughter, and if anyone should pay it back, it should be that illegitimate daughter! She earns more than me at Factory 306 now, and she even works at a Western restaurant at night. She's not short of money at all!"
"This is the sin I committed, so naturally I should bear the consequences," Cheng Huaiguo insisted.
"Will you take responsibility?"
Zhang Mei sneered and took a step forward. "Then how do you calculate your debt to me! The person you've wronged the most is me, and the person you should make amends to the most is me, yet you bring up your older brother the moment you open your mouth! If it weren't for your older brother covering for you, how could I have been so easily fooled by your whole family! Your entire family has wronged me and should all make amends to me!"
"Then let's get a divorce." Cheng Huaiguo looked at her, his tone carrying a sense of despair. "You can take revenge on me however you want. You can play with my life. Anyway, I won't involve my older brother anymore."
Zhang Mei was speechless for a moment.
She never expected Cheng Huaiguo to pull this stunt.
If she pushes him any further, and he's really determined to divorce her, then she'll have ruined all her options.
She secretly gave her son a wink.
Cheng Hao understood immediately and quickly stepped forward: "Dad, shouldn't you give me an explanation? This sudden arrival of a younger sister has torn my family apart. Who can I complain to? And my older cousin—he actually fired me for that illegitimate daughter! My uncle's family also needs to give me an explanation!"
Mentioning this, Cheng Huaiguo remembered it and frowned at his son: "How dare you say that? You harassed your own sister at the restaurant and almost got taken to the police station! My colleague happened to be there that day and told me about it when he got back. You've made me lose all face!"
A hint of guilt flashed across Cheng Hao's face, and he instantly fell silent.
Zhang Mei stepped forward to protect her son: "Cheng Zheng is still dating that illegitimate daughter! Why don't you say anything!"
"What dating? Don't talk nonsense! A-Zheng is just a brother taking care of his sister. His relationship with Xiao-Qing is completely innocent, nothing happened!" Cheng Huaiguo didn't believe it.
Zhang Mei scoffed, "Still in the dark? My sister-in-law admitted it to me herself!"
Cheng Hao chimed in, "Those two are definitely dating! My older cousin brings Shen Qing breakfast every day, and the two of them are seen kissing and cuddling in the woods. They even go back to the dorm together at noon and stay in the same room. Who knows what they're doing..."
Cheng Huaiguo was struck dumb, frozen in place.
When did Ah Zheng and Xiao Qing...?
This relationship is such a mess...
The old man, listening nearby, frowned deeply, and his cane slammed heavily on the ground.
"Alright."
"Huaiguo, go to your older brother's workplace and explain the whole story clearly. Don't let your older brother take the blame for you. As for that daughter outside, see what Xiaomei thinks."
The old man looked at Zhang Mei, who immediately straightened her back and said firmly, "She's not allowed to come in! I won't admit it, and you're not allowed to admit it either, Cheng Huaiguo!"
Zhang Mei glared fiercely at her husband.
Cheng Huaiguo's lips moved, but his voice noticeably softened: "But the child is innocent..."
The old man glared at him warningly, cutting him off: "You've wronged Xiaomei in this matter, and besides, Xiaomei is the mistress of this house."
Cheng Huaiguo lowered his head and remained silent.
The old man turned to Zhang Mei, his tone softening slightly: "There's a vacancy in the Publicity Section of the Foreign Affairs Department. Let Haozi start working there next week. I've also spoken to the hospital; they're electing a director for the Nursing Department in the second half of the year, so you can start preparing now."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Mei and Cheng Hao's eyes lit up, their faces practically overflowing with surprise.
Zhang Mei's tone immediately softened: "Then thank you, Dad..."
The old man said calmly, "You two can discuss the rest yourselves. Don't let outsiders laugh at you, and don't implicate innocent people."
It's obvious who this "innocent" refers to.
Zhang Mei knew that if this matter harmed Gao Jie's family, the old man would immediately take back the favors he had given her. No matter how much she hated him, she could only endure it.
"Dad, don't worry, I'm not an unreasonable person."
……
Cheng Huaiguo and Zhang Mei jointly stepped forward to explain the situation to the organization, and the turmoil finally subsided. Cheng Huazhang was soon reinstated to his original position.
But it's not over yet.
Cheng Huazhang only then learned that his son was dating Shen Qing.
After returning home, he called Cheng Zheng to his study and got straight to the point:
I don't approve of your relationship with Xiao Shen.
"Let's break up."