Black Belly Wife

"Leader Chu." Murong Yunshu spoke indifferently, "You can't just call me by my boudoir name. If you wish, you can call me Miss Murong."

Chu Changge was silent for a few more seconds. "Have you decided to divorce me?"

"Not decided, but I already did." Before her voice had died away, the sound of 'zeng' could be heard, and the room lit up at once. Murong Yunshu was standing not far from Chu Changge, looking at him with an expressionless face. So cold, like the first time they met in the bamboo house.

"I disagree." Chu Changge said.

"Disagree?" Murong Yunshu raised her dark eyebrows slightly. She looked at him for a long time, then she said, "It's fine if you disagree. When the sun rises, we will discuss this matter in detail."

Chu Changge pondered for a moment and said, "I really couldn't hide it from you." His tone sounded a little frustrated.

"It's pretty good that you able to conceal it from me for two years." Murong Yunshu responded nonchalantly.

Chu Changge let out a soft low sigh. Yes, it was pretty good that he could conceal it from her for these past two years. This was all thanks to his understanding of her. He was always being able to see through her thoughts one step ahead. Only now, he wasn't so sure. He thought that the letter of divorce was just her way of forcing him to show himself, but now it seemed that he had been too confident. Now, there was nothing else in her eyes but coldness and detachment, not even anger.

This kind of indifference was something Chu Changge had never seen before, and it made him feel unprecedented panic.

If......if she left him, then where should he go from here?

For a moment, Chu Changge lost the direction of his life and fell into a daze without seeing the light of day.

"It is late. Leader Chu should go back to rest early." Murong Yunshu said.

Another chill forced its way into Chu Changge's heart. "I......"

Murong Yunshu: "Take care, and I won't be seeing you off." As soon as the words left her mouth, the tables and chairs creaked and moved again. The room quickly returned to its previous appearance. Now it looked like just an ordinary room.

Chu Changge stood still, wanting to say something, but Murong Yunshu's farewell expression made him unsure of how to speak. His eyes wandered for a long time between the surrounding furniture and furnishings before he commented, "Mister Shi Er's mechanisms have become even more sophisticated."

Murong Yunshu remained silent without saying anything. She knew that no matter what she said, she would be indirectly admitting that Mister Shi Er had designed the mechanism for her. When the time came, she was afraid that Mister Shi Er would not be spared from receiving a beating from Chu Changge. Of course, even if she did not say anything, Mister Shi Er would not escape the fate of being retaliated by Chu Changge――this was something they had agreed on when she had asked him for his help.

When Chu Changge saw that Murong Yunshu did not say anything, she tacitly agreed that he had guessed correctly. As soon as he left the Jiugua House, he went straight to Mister Shi Er's residence, the Gossip House――people like Mister Shi Er who didn't have a big gossip on hand and whose heart desired to know them would naturally choose to spend a few extra taels of silver to stay at Gossip House.

*

When Chu Changge appeared, Mister Shi Er hummed a little tune as he washed his feet while closing his eyes, looking very intoxicated.

"I see that you're in a pretty good mood." Chu Changge stated coldly.

Mister Shi Er opened his eyes at his words and his face full of surprise. "Chu Changge, you're truly alive!"

Chu Changge was supposed to be looking for the wretched Mister Shi Er, but when faced with his extremely pleasantly surprised expression, Chu Changge suddenly couldn't get angry with him anymore. He stood there for a moment in expressionless silence before asking sullenly, "She didn't tell you that I was still alive?"

"She did, but I didn't quite believe it." Mister Shi Er picked up the foot cloth on the back of his chair and wiped his feet as he said, "I didn't believe her when she told me you were still alive. Would you have left them alone for two years if you weren't dead? I didn't expect that you would still be alive, though. I say Chu Changge......" At this point, Mister Shi Er paused until he finished wiping his feet before continuing, "Have you gotten into some serious trouble? Why did it take you so long to show up?"

"This has nothing to do with you." Chu Changge answered coldly.

Mister Shi Er raised his eyebrows at this and said with great displeasure, "How is it none of my business? It is the same as Miss Murong getting herself into trouble if you're in trouble. If Miss Murong is in trouble, then so am I. Can I have nothing to do with it when I'm also in trouble?"

"You're dead set on her." Chu Changge hummed.

Mister Shi Er staggered for a moment and then laughingly teased, "Why does that sound so sour?"

Chu Changge gave him a cold glance and said, "Accompany me for a couple of drinks."

Eh? Mister Shi Er was stunned again, "Are you young couple having a falling out?"

"Are you going or not?" Chu Changge deliberately urged impatiently, avoiding the topic.

Mister Shi Er understood, so he replied with a smile, "Yes, of course, I'll go. But you'll have to pay for the drinks."

Chu Changge: "Why should I?"

Uh. He was already going to drink away his sorrows, and he was still thinking about the wine money? Young people nowadays are so unpleasant! Mister Shi Er thought this in his heart, but on his lips, he said, "Firstly, you are richer than me; secondly, drinking hurts your body. I am already hurting my body by accompanying you to drink. If I also had to pay for it, it would make me broken-hearted. I, Shi Er, will never do what hurts my body and breaks my heart. Lastly――" there was a pause before Mister Shi Er added, "I don't have any money on me."

"......" The last one is the main point, right? "Are you even a man for not bringing any money with you when you go out?" Chu Changge asked with disdain.

Mister Shi Er bitterly laughed as he said, "It's not that I didn't bring any. I was robbed."

Chu Changge raised his eyebrows. That was possible. After all, Mister Shi Er was someone who had no other power except for setting up a mechanism to trap people.

Seeing Chu Changge looking at him probingly, Mister Shi Er hastily pulled him out of the room. "Let's hurry up if you want to drink. If you are late, there will be no good wine left."

What did drinking have to do with drinking it sooner or later?

Only when he arrived at the drinking place did Chu Changge understand the true meaning of Mister Shi Er's words, 'If you are late, there will be no good wine left'.

"Change the place." Chu Changge looked disgustingly at the red lanterns and green wine before him and said in a cold tone, almost like an order.

Mister Shi Er: "Why?"

How dare you ask why? Chu Changge gave him a sideways glare and said with a darkened face and gritted teeth, "I want to drink, not to get myself a prostitute!"

Mister Shi also glared at him defiantly and said, "Who says you have to get a prostitute when you go to a brothel?"

"What do you want to do here if you don't want to get a prostitute?"

"To drink." Mister Shi Er answered as if it was a natural thing.

"You should go to a liquor store to drink."

Mister Shi waved his hand and said, "The wine in the liquor store is not good. The wine here is good. Let's go. I'll take you to enjoy it." With that, he walked towards the brothel. In the twinkling of an eye, he was already embracing girls left and right. "Come in." He called back to Chu Changge. Seeing the look on Chu Changge's face of wanting to kill someone, he let go of the beauties in his arms and smilingly walked over to pat Chu Changge's shoulder. "I know you're in a bad mood right now, but you can't let others don't have fun just because you're in a bad mood." Suddenly, he lowered his voice and whispered next to Chu Changge's ear, "Do you want to know if she is sincerely divorcing you, or if she is pretending to be angry with you?"

Chu Changge's face eased slightly at his words. "Tell me."

"Go in, and let's drink flower wine......" Before Mister Shi Er could finish his sentence, he received a punch. This sudden slap to his face instantly made him lose consciousness, and he soon felt something pressing against his nose. When he touched it with his hand, his face suddenly changed. That thing was none other than his lips――they were crooked and swollen! [+]

Chu Changge was originally very angry. However, when he saw Mister Shi Er's comical appearance, his cloudy mood immediately turned sunny as he brotherly hooked his arms on Mister Shi Er's shoulders and walked towards the brothel, saying, "Come on, let's go for a drink."

Mister Shi Er wanted to cry. He had ruined his face. Where would he have the mood to drink flower wine there? "Let's go to a liquor shop. The wine there is tasty."

Chu Changge stopped in his tracks. "Are you sure?"

Mister Shi Er nodded his head heavily, "Very sure."

Chu Changge thought for a moment and said, "I don't want to drink too much tasty wine today."

"......the wine from the liquor shop actually isn't that tasty either."

Chu Changge: "I don't want to drink wine that is worse in taste than the wine in the brothel."

"......I know a wine shop that has better wine than the wine in the brothel."

Chu Changge: "I don't want to drink wine that is better than the wine in the brothel either.

"......" Mister Shi Er sighed and stopped struggling. Any more struggle would be futile. In front of Chu Changge, his struggle would surely be disregarded. The word struggle was just an additional remark. The terms 'deathbed struggle' actually had only one critical point that should be focused on――the word 'death'.

*

Walking into the brothel, Chu Changge asked the brothel madam for a private room and ten jars of wine without requesting any flower ladies.

"At least I can count on you to have some humanity." Mister Shi Er said as he opened the wine.

Chu Changge raised his eyebrows and looked over, "What do you mean by that?"

"You didn't call for any of the ladies, so you've given me some face." Mister Shi Er said.

"You overthink it." Chu Changge explained indifferently, "I didn't ask for flower lady because I didn't want to ruin my pure reputation, and it has nothing to do with your face in any way."

"......" Mister Shi Er's red and swollen mouth twitched twice sluggishly. Does he even have a pure reputation in the first place?

Chu Changge added: "Furthermore, you have already entertained me by perplexing the people around the brothel just now."

Mister Shi Er was instantly petrified. No wonder Chu Changge had to go through the rooms one by one when he picked them out just now. As it turned out, he wasn't genuinely checking the rooms but rather 'parading' him around?!

This despicable and shameless nasty person! Mister Shi gnashed his teeth in his heart, picked up a jar of wine and poured it down his throat with a large gulp.

Chu Changge also picked up a jar of wine and made a cheering gesture towards him while saying, "Drink more. The more you drink, the slower your wounds will heal."

".....brother, can we not be so blunt?" You should be a bit good at cursing people, like your wife, who like to go round the curves and skirt the corners without using any dirty words?

Chu Changge: "If I'm not blunt, I'm afraid you won't understand."

"......" Mister Shi Er exhaled deeply and raised his wine jar. "Forget it. You are in a bad mood. I won't bother you. Let's drink. Let's just drink and not talk."

Chu Changge also raised a jar of wine. "Okay, let's just drink and not talk." He was not in the habit of confiding in people either.

After three rounds of wine, both of them were a little drunk.

"Chu Changge, I heard that you are an excellent drinker and can never get drunk even after drinking a thousand cups. How come you can't drink this much today?" Mister Shi Er inquired as he put his arm around Chu Changge's back.

Chu Changge didn't say anything but tilted his head back and continued to drink.

Mister Shi said, "No, I can't drink anymore. I'll throw up if I drink more."

Chu Changge ignored him and continued to drink.

"Come on. Let's go back. For the sake of your pure reputation, we must go back." Mister Shi Er pulled Chu Changge out crookedly.

Chu Changge was also drunk, so he followed him out the door.

"Hey――wait, are you two guest sirs leaving?" The old brothel madam stopped them.

Mister Shi burped. "Yes, we must go."

The brothel madam: "Then pay for the wine first."

"Wine money......wine money......" Mister Shi Er mumbled and felt around his body for a long time, then suddenly he tapped his head and said, "I almost forgot I don't have any money. He has. Let him pay for them."

The old brothel madam smilingly looked at Chu Changge. "Seeing that you are dressed extravagantly, you do have any silver with you, don't you?"

Chu Changge took out a silver ticket and threw it to the brothel madam, "No need to give me any change." After saying that, he headed out.

"Wait." The old brothel madam stopped him.

"What else is there?" Chu Changge said impatiently.

"These are not enough." The brothel madam said.

Chu Changge frowned and took out another one and gave it to her.

The brothel madam: "It's still not enough."

Although Chu Changge was a little drunk, he was still sober. Seeing that the brothel madam was deliberately looking for a fight, he asked coldly, "How much do you want?"

The brothel madam said, "Our boss said that it would be enough to use your manpower to cover for the cost."