country bumpkin

Episode 412: A Marriage on the Verge of Collapse

When Xue's mother saw her daughter-in-law arrive at the shop with her child and luggage, her heart skipped a beat, guessing that the young couple had quarreled.

She quietly went to her husband and asked him for advice. Ideally, she hoped he could help her son and daughter-in-law reconcile.

After listening to his wife's words, Mr. Xue frowned and pondered for a while before slowly saying, "If you want them to reconcile, you still need to find out the reason for their argument."

Hearing this, Xue's mother nodded in agreement, "Yes, you're right. I'll call right now and ask what's going on."

Xue's mother went to the counter and dialed her son's number. After a few minutes, Xue Huaxin's voice came through the phone.

"Hey, Mom! What's up?" The hoarse voice carried a hint of weariness.

With concern, Xue's mother asked, "Son, are you alright? Did you and Lanlan have a fight? What happened?"

Xue Huaxin stammered, "No... no... Mom, don't worry about this, I can handle it."

Xue's mother was still worried and wanted to ask more questions, but Xue Huaxin hung up the phone directly.

Hearing the busy tone on the phone, Xue's mother stood there, stunned, unable to recover for a long time.

Mr. Xue walked over and patted Mrs. Xue on the shoulder. “Don’t just stand there. If our son doesn’t want to talk about it, we’ll ask our daughter-in-law.”

Mother Xue snapped out of her daze and nodded quickly. She walked to her daughter-in-law's side and asked softly, "Lanlan, what's wrong with you and Huaxin? Tell me."

Ren Mulan's eyes reddened, and after hesitating for a moment, she said, "Mom, I don't know what he's been busy with lately. He hasn't taken care of the family at all. He wasn't even there when the child was sick."

Mother Xue took her daughter-in-law's hand with heartache, "Lanlan, it's his fault. I apologize on his behalf. He was just under a lot of pressure and couldn't take care of the family properly for a moment."

Ren Mulan sighed, "It's not easy for me either. I have to take care of the family business and the children all by myself, but it's just too tiring for me to do it all by myself."

Xue's mother quickly said, "Lanlan, I'll help you with things at home from now on. You and Huaxin should calm down and live a good life together."

Ren Mulan could never bring herself to tell him that her husband was having an affair.

On the other side, Xue Huaxin squatted for a long time, then stood up and took a deep breath.

He figured that he couldn't get a divorce without signing the papers and going to the Civil Affairs Bureau. So he planned to keep dragging it out and not see his wife, Ren Mulan.

The divorce was dropped, and whenever Ren Mulan called to urge him, he would bring up the matter of his son being raised by him.

Ren Mulan naturally disagreed. She couldn't bear to be separated from her son, and she was even more afraid that her son would be led astray by her husband.

Xue Huaxin seized this opportunity to pressure Ren Mulan into filing for divorce.

In the days that followed, Xue Huaxin continued to do what he always did: whenever he missed his son, he would go back to the hotel he owned to visit him.

She also brought some gifts to strengthen the bond between the couple. In her final despair and hesitation, Ren Mulan gradually grew weary, no longer mentioning divorce, and ignoring Xue Huaxin's troubles.

Xue Huaxin noticed the change in his wife's attitude and gradually became bolder. When he came back to visit his son, he would occasionally hug his wife and give her a kiss. Ren Mulan remained numb, neither responding nor rejecting him.

Time slips away quietly like this.

One day, Xue Huaxin returned home with a bruised and swollen face. He said he had been cheated while doing business with someone.

The partner ran away with the money, and all the creditors who invested came to him demanding their money back. If he couldn't pay, they beat him up.

Ren Mulan naturally didn't want to get involved, but after all, he was her son's father, and she couldn't bring herself to do it, so she took out her savings to help him cover his losses.

But the amount was too large to cover the debt. Ren Mulan said that she had done her best and did not have any extra money to repay the debt.

After much deliberation, Xue Huaxin finally told Shen Xiaoshan. Upon hearing this, Shen Xiaoshan immediately took out the money she had saved over the years and helped Xue Huaxin pay off all his debts.

Xue Huaxin was extremely grateful to her, and his feelings for her even surpassed those for his wife.

When Ren Mulan learned that this woman had actually helped her husband pay off all his debts, she marveled at her husband's resourcefulness in making this woman so devoted to her.

On the one hand, they sighed that the woman was a bit foolish, giving herself to a married, irresponsible man like that. Was it really worth it?

After this incident, Ren Mulan didn't dislike Shen Xiaoshan as much anymore. They were both unfortunate women who fell in love with the same scumbag who wasn't worth their effort.

Later, Xue Huaxin went out to celebrate Shen Xiaoshan's birthday, and they got so into a good time that he got drunk.

Shen Xiaoshan wanted Xue Huaxin to stay, but Xue Huaxin insisted on going back. Left with no other option, Shen Xiaoshan brought the drunk Xue Huaxin back.

After he was brought back, she didn't leave and stayed with him at home for the night.

Just then, Ren Mulan returned to get a change of clothes and caught the two of them being intimate on her bed.

Ren Mulan was so angry that her head was about to explode, and she couldn't calm down for a long time.

But thinking of her son, she resisted the urge to rush into his room. She quickly packed a few clothes and fled from her home as if escaping.

Vigorous activity was taking place in the bedroom, and no one had heard anything about it. However, the extra women's slippers on the floor proved that someone had indeed been there.

Ren Mulan ran away like a madwoman until she couldn't run any further, then squatted down by the bridge and burst into loud sobs.

She cried for an unknown amount of time before remembering to go back to the hotel to find her son. She wiped away her tears and walked back with heavy steps.

Back at the hotel, her son was already fast asleep. Looking at his innocent little face, she felt a pang of guilt and secretly vowed to give him a better life.

The next day, Ren Mulan found Xue's parents and told them everything. Xue's parents were shocked and furious, and they severely scolded Xue Huaxin.

Xue Huaxin, however, remained unconvinced and continued to boast about how important Shen Xiaoshan's sacrifices were to him. Ren Mulan didn't mention divorce this time; she simply didn't want to deal with this scumbag anymore.

Without Ren Mulan's restraint, Xue Huaxin and Shen Xiaoshan became increasingly unrestrained, even bringing her home and starting to live a proper life together.

Ren Mulan accompanied her son, picking him up and dropping him off at school while managing the hotel business, and her life was quite peaceful.

Another half month passed quickly.

That day, Shen Xiaoshan went home for some business, while Xue Huaxin came to her hotel, completely drunk.

He left his son in his parents' care and then took his wife back to Ren Mulan's room.

Seeing that he was drunk, Ren Mulan didn't argue with him. She helped him into bed and then turned and left.

But a pair of large hands pulled him back and dragged her down onto the bed. The drunk Xue Huaxin pounced on her and tore at her clothes.

In the chaos, all their clothes were stripped off and thrown on the ground. Emboldened by the alcohol, Xue Huaxin took advantage of Ren Mulan and did whatever he pleased.