Xie Jinghu was never one for magnanimity.
He clearly wanted to offload Jiashin Film onto Xie Qian to sap his energy and delay his exercise of Jinhu shareholder rights, yet he still had to needle Xie Qian, haggling over contract terms with Xie Qian’s lawyer bit by bit.
In the month-long wrangling, the lawyers were infuriated by Xie Jinghu’s fickleness, but Xie Qian remained unfazed.
As long as Xie Qian stayed calm, it was Xie Jinghu who got irritated. Thinking that each of Xie Jinghu’s outbursts might shave days off his life, Xie Qian felt the deal was quite worthwhile.
Eventually, Xie Jinghu stopped stalling and signed the betting agreement, largely because no matter how he provoked Xie Qian, it had no effect, and also due to Zou Weijun’s strategy.
Zou Weijun called Old Madam Xie, giving her hope.
The old lady still wished for her son and daughter-in-law to reconcile, giving Xie Jinghu a lecture, urging him to sincerely apologise to Zou Weijun and mend their relationship.
“Women on the side can share your good times but not your hardships. Your original spouse is the best. If you don’t want a divorce, apologise to Weijun now. As for that woman abroad, if it comes to it, give her some money and cut ties.”
Paying off Xie Jinghu’s mistress went against Old Madam Xie’s principles.
But if money could sever that relationship and bring Xie Jinghu back to his family, she could only swallow her disgust and agree.
Xie Jinghu, of course, didn’t want a divorce.
He clearly didn’t take his mother’s advice to heart either.
Pay to cut ties?
With two children already, how could he?
Xie Jinghu could only change the subject, “You heard right? Weijun said she’s coming back to the capital for the holidays?”
“No mistake. She said she’ll definitely attend the New Year’s Eve banquet. It’s only a few months away.”
Old Madam Xie didn’t raise four sons by missing subtext.
Xie Jinghu was skeptical.
He never doubted his own charm, always believing Zou Weijun couldn’t leave him.
But her coldness since moving to Rongcheng made him think she’d hold her grudge for years.
He’d seen similar situations. Several friends had outside families, and their wives initially caused a fuss, but finding it futile, they accepted the coexistence of the “other family.”
None of the original wives ever mentioned divorce!
So Xie Jinghu knew Zou Weijun would eventually yield, but her conceding so soon surprised him.
Doubts needed resolving, so for the first time in nearly two years, Xie Jinghu got through to Zou Weijun’s phone.
When the call connected and he heard her voice, Xie Jinghu was momentarily at a loss for words.
“If you’ve got nothing to say, I’m hanging up.”
Zou Weijun’s voice was icy, her hang-up swift, yet Xie Jinghu laughed instead of getting angry.
Zou Weijun had made a concession but hadn’t fully dropped her guard!
That was her character.
If she’d spoken softly, Xie Jinghu would have been unnerved.
Since she’d made the first move, he couldn’t show nothing, so signing the betting agreement was his gesture.
Xie Qian was unaware of Xie Jinghu’s “devoted performance,” and even Zou Weijun didn’t take it seriously.
Though she’d prepared herself mentally, hearing Xie Jinghu’s voice on the call still flooded her with negative emotions.
Zou Weijun didn’t need to act aloof.
Merely hiding her fear and weakness from Xie Jinghu took all her strength. A few more words, and she’d have faltered!
No way.
Having read many books and handled business negotiations, Zou Weijun knew how disastrous it was to reveal one’s cards.
The more said, the more mistakes, so she said little!
After hanging up, she proactively visited her therapist.
Her therapist had previously deemed her depression cured, clinically a mentally healthy person. So why couldn’t she face Xie Jinghu normally? Zou Weijun couldn’t accept still having feelings for him.
After hearing her out, the therapist upheld the diagnosis.
“Ms. Zou, trust my professional judgment. You’ve overcome depression, and your mental state is stronger than many who’ve never been ill. Those around you likely notice this change. It’s good that you’re so vigilant about negative emotions, spotting them early, willing to express them, and actively addressing them. These are excellent habits! Don’t worry too much. Everyone faces unhappy moments in life. Negative emotions aren’t just fear or avoidance but also anger and frustration. Finding proper outlets is key.”
Life isn’t a fairy tale.
Even national leaders and the world’s richest have troubles. Zou Weijun couldn’t be free of them.
In life, work, even family, countless situations could spark negative emotions in a woman!
Some women swallow their anger, enduring bosses, colleagues, husbands, even their children’s bad tempers. Such tolerance either wrecks their health or, like Zou Weijun before, leads to depression.
Constant arguing isn’t ideal, but compared to bottling up, the therapist encouraged Zou Weijun to argue more.
Negative emotions need an outlet!
If others upset her, why couldn’t she fight back?
Reasonable arguing was good for her mental and physical health.
The therapist hinted she could be a bit bold, not reasoning with unreasonable people, handling things freely for satisfaction.
Having feelings for a cheating husband wasn’t shameful.
Love and hate aren’t opposites; they often intertwine. The therapist didn’t insist on divorce, but as the cheated, hurt party, Zou Weijun needed to vent her anger, or it’d fester again.
Venting that anger would let her move on to a new life!
Married nearly twenty years, even without love, there was familial bond, not easily shed. If Zou Weijun’s heart grew strong enough, Xie Jinghu’s negative influence would fade.
The process, not a day or two, might be longer than her depression treatment, as
