---
Chapter 8: Xu Qingnan's Misunderstanding
It wasn't long before Li Yi returned home.
Li Yi quietly opened the door and heard the faint sound of crying. After listening carefully, he realized it was coming from the bedroom.
Li Yi sighed and immediately understood what was going on.
He had guessed correctly: Xu Qingnan must have misunderstood him.
However, Li Yi did not open the bedroom door and walk in. Instead, he sat down on a small wooden bench.
Looking at the furnishings in the living room, he couldn't help but sigh again.
For a moment, Li Yi really thought he was dreaming.
He glanced at the half-pack of unsmoked cigarettes on the small square table, took one, and held it in his mouth but didn't light it.
He simply held the cigarette in his mouth, letting his thoughts wander.
Li Yi's guess had been right. Xu Qingnan did misunderstand him.
On the way home from work, Xu Qingnan had happened to pass by the small shop in the factory area. As she walked by, she saw her daughter.
Logically, her daughter should have been home by now, so why was she at the store? And beside her daughter was a man who looked like a gangster!
They were all from the same factory area, so Xu Qingnan had seen Xiaowu before, though she didn't know his name.
The people around Li Yi were either street urchins or gangsters, and there was no one decent around him!
Naturally, Xu Qingnan immediately approached, pulled her daughter to her side, and asked Xiaowu where Li Yi had gone.
Xiaowu didn't expect to see Li Yi's wife, Xu Qingnan, there. Initially, he wanted to make up an excuse, saying that Li Yi had gone to drink or something like that. But after thinking it through, he decided to tell the truth.
So, Xiaowu explained how Li Yi had met Li Youwei and discovered that a human trafficker had targeted her. Li Yi had confronted the trafficker and followed clues to find their base camp.
However, what Xiaowu didn't realize was that Xu Qingnan would never believe such a story. If he had said that Li Yi went drinking or gambling, she would have believed that more easily.
No one knew better than Xu Qingnan what kind of character her husband was. Her parents-in-law had one son, and they had always pampered him, afraid he would melt if they held him in their mouths. This had led Li Yi to become selfish and self-centered.
If it had been about stealing or fighting, Xu Qingnan might have believed it, but being brave and righteous? That was beyond her belief!
So, after hearing Xiaowu's explanation, Xu Qingnan's first reaction was that Li Yi must have gone somewhere to drink and gamble again.
She then thought her daughter was in the way, so she handed her over to this little gangster.
Considering Xu Qingnan's understanding of Li Yi, this kind of thing seemed quite normal to her. It had happened several times before, and despite her protests, nothing had ever changed.
But what really angered Xu Qingnan wasn't just this matter. Li Yi and she had grown up together, and she considered him her childhood sweetheart. While she didn't approve of his drinking and gambling, she could tolerate it to some extent.
What she couldn't accept was that, even if he went out to play, he shouldn't neglect their child!
There were so many kidnappers these days—what if their daughter had been kidnapped?
Moreover, even if he was going out, he shouldn't be teaming up with others to deceive himself.
Xu Qingnan didn't see the need to get tangled up with a gangster, so she took her daughter home in anger.
After returning home and thinking about the years since she married Li Yi, Xu Qingnan watched him gradually deteriorate. Their family had been ruined by him—there was no food to eat, her daughter's tuition was in arrears, and they hadn't bought any new clothes in years.
More importantly, because of his involvement with Liu Dagou, Li Yi was still under punishment, and the factory was going to expel him.
If he was expelled, how could the family survive?
Thinking about this, Xu Qingnan felt more and more wronged. After coaxing her daughter to sleep, she couldn't help but sob quietly.
---
Sitting in the living room, holding the cigarette, Li Yi stood up after hearing the crying in the bedroom slowly subside.
He placed the cigarette back in the box and walked toward the bedroom door.
Gently pushing the door open, Li Yi saw his wife about to leave the bedroom.
Seeing her tear-streaked face, Li Yi's heart was filled with mixed emotions.
Thirty years later, he had become a famous entrepreneur in Longguo. He had prayed devoutly so many times that he could see his wife again!
For this, Li Yi had worked hard to make money, do charity, and accumulate virtue!
In his heart, even if he couldn't see her alive again, it would be worth it just to see her on his journey to the afterlife!
But when his dream came true, he didn't know how to face the woman who had made him feel guilty for two lifetimes.
At this moment, Xu Qingnan had no idea what Li Yi was thinking. Seeing his dirty appearance only made her angrier.
As the mainstay of the family, it was fine that she was forced to work tirelessly, while Li Yi spent his days drinking and gambling. Now, he looked like a homeless person from the street.
It made her both angry and frustrated.
---
"Sister," Li Yi said softly.
"Don't call me sister. Look at how you look now, aren't you ashamed?" Xu Qingnan snapped, her anger flaring.
At that moment, all the anger and years of accumulated grievances finally erupted. She stared at Li Yi and vented her dissatisfaction loudly.
"Li Yi! My parents and I never expected you to be successful. We didn't want to be rich, but we just hoped you could be a decent person. But your performance has been really disappointing!"
"We start work at 8:00 AM in the factory, but you don't show up until 10:00! We finish work at 4:00 PM, but you're gone by 2:00 or 3:00! You can't even work four days a week!"
"It's bad enough that you're unmotivated at work, but your life is getting worse! Weiwei is four years old now. How many times have you actually taken care of her? You only know how to drink and gamble. How many times have you even brought your salary home? Is this home mine alone?"
As Xu Qingnan spoke, her tears began to flow again, dripping onto the cold floor.
There were many times when Li Yi had lost all their money, even taking the funds Xu Qingnan had saved for the family and gambling it away.
Xu Qingnan had no choice but to borrow money from Li Yi's parents to make ends meet during the hardest times.
---
Li Yi pursed his lips, gazing at his wife with a sorrowful expression. Finally, unable to hold back, he stretched out his arms and hugged his wife tightly.
Xu Qingnan was clearly caught off guard by this sudden gesture, and for a moment, her voice stopped.
Before Xu Qingnan could react, Li Yi let go and silently turned to leave the bedroom.
Looking at Li Yi's retreating back, Xu Qingnan couldn't shake the feeling that the man before her seemed different from the one she had known before.
---