The 99th Divorce

Li Jianqian couldn’t come up with an answer. “Oh, whatever.” His face blushed in embarrassment as he asked impatiently, “Are you or aren’t you going to continue with your writing?”

Li Jianyue pouted her lips and replied, “I don’t want to write anymore! Writing isn’t fun at all!”

“But a little princess must know how to read and write! A princess who can’t read and write will be laughed at by others,” Li Mosen interjected.

Li Jianyue scrunched up her little face in complaint and asked, “Why were words even invented? This is so annoying!”

Su Qianci heard her daughter from the doorway and burst out laughing. “Alright then,” she said, “You don’t have to write anymore. Let’s have dinner with Uncle and Auntie.”

Li Jianyue stood up immediately when she heard that and dropped the pencil in her hand. “Mommy,” she called out, “I want to go!”

“Let’s go together. Put on your shoes quickly.” Su Qianci patted her on her little bum and gave her a gentle nudge.

Li Jianyue put on her slippers laughingly and ran over to the shoe cabinet outside. She picked her favorite pair of black patent-leather Mary Janes.

She planted her bum on the small stool beside the shoe cabinet and pulled apart the Velcro straps on her shoes before shoving her feet in.

Li Jianqian and Li Mosen followed behind. The three children looked to be of similar age, but their individual images and personalities were vastly different.

Yu Lili sat on the couch with Ou Ming as she looked at the children and bit back a smile.

Li Jianqian wore a pair of mini Nikes. He untied his shoelaces before putting his feet in and tied them neatly before standing up.

“Hey, Older Brother!” Li Jianyue suddenly called out. She sounded as if she was about to cry as she yelled, “My shoe went in! can’t get it out!”

Li Jianqian turned his head to look and asked, “Where?”

“Look!” The heel of one of her feet was stepping on the other.

Li Jianqian looked exasperated and remarked with disdain, “You’re so stupid!”

Li Jianyue didn’t dare speak. Her round eyes widened as she looked toward her older brother.

Li Jianqian crouched down and slowly took her shoes off, explaining as he went along, “You have to do it like this. And, like this…”

Li Jianyue grunted in reply but didn’t pay much attention to what Li Jianqian was saying. Instead, she looked in Li Mosen’s direction.

When the children had all got their shoes on, they stood up and called out, “Dad! Mom! We’re ready!”

Looking at the cooperation exhibited animatedly by the siblings, Ou Ming bent his head to Yu Lili’s ear and said, “Well, it looks like there are benefits to giving birth to more.”

“You want three children, too?” Yu Lili reached out and pushed his face away. “Do you think I’m a sow?”

“It’ll be great if you were a sow, then you could give birth to three at once and we’d be done with it!” Ou Ming held on to her fingers and chuckled. “When that time comes, we’ll be able to let our children play with their children.”

Second Brother’s children were intelligent. All three of them were quick-witted and smart.

Ou Ming suddenly lowered his voice and whispered conspiratorially to Yu Lili, “I think the little girl has been pampered and spoiled by Second Brother.”

As if in confirmation to Ou Ming’s words, Li Sicheng strode forward and picked his daughter up, asking, “Are you hungry?”

Ersu shook her head, “I’m not hungry!”

Li Sicheng was in a very good mood. He pinched his daughter’s cheeks playfully. “Come on,” he said, “Daddy will take you out to dinner.”

Yu Lili started laughing and said, “Every time we come, he is either cajoling his daughter or carrying his daughter. He doesn’t even care about the two boys. Will such blatant favoritism result in emotional scars in the children?”

“I don’t think so.” Ou Ming thought about it and replied, “A boy’s heart should be a little stronger.” With a smile, he lowered his voice and said, “In the future, let’s have two daughters and one son!”