Song Tingshen was meeting his friend, He Fei, at a teahouse. Strictly speaking, the two of them didnât have any business dealings. Itâs just that He Feiâs business was going to cooperate with a company in the capital city. He Fei wasnât clear about the situation in the capital city, so he contacted Song Tingshen to find out.
After they finished talking about that, He Fei said with regretful expression, âI heard you brought your wife to Teacher Wangâs birthday celebration. I said I was going to go, but the flight was delayed, so I didnât get back in time. What a pity. The last time I saw her was at your sonâs first lunar month birthday celebration. About three years passed by in a flash.â
He paused, then asked, âWhy didnât you bring her and Little Wang to our meeting?â
Song Tingshen cast a glance at him in askance. âSheâs not feeling well. Sheâs resting at the hotel. Youâre transferring some of your business to the capital city. Thereâll be opportunities to meet in the future.â
He Fei thought that was reasonable and nodded. He asked out of curiosity, âYour relationship with her is pretty good now, right?â
He Fei had discerning eyes. Back then, at Little Wangâs first lunar month birthday celebration, he could clearly sense that Song Tingshen and Ruan Xia didnât have a good relationship. The two of them had no sense of intimacy. It wouldnât be an exaggeration to say they were like ordinary friends instead of a married couple.
Song Tingshen obstinately said, âOur relationship has always been okay.â
He Fei smiled. He snapped his fingers. âAlright, I can tell that you guys have a good relationship now. Congratulations.â
He had asked similar questions before. In the past, Song Tingshenâs response was silence and a âItâs none of your businessâ expression.
For Song Tingshen to give a verbal response, it was enough to show that his relationship with Ruan Xia was pretty good right now.
Seeing that Song Tingshen didnât say anything, He Fei sighed. âThe first marriage is the best. The two of you have a kid. That means you guys have a shared goal and a person you both care about. To speak more realistically, the reason why you work so hard is because you want to give your child a good environment and future. Weâre both men and clear in our hearts that even if you get divorced and look for a new wife, she wonât be as important as your son, right?â
Impatient, Song Tingshen said, âWe wonât get divorced. Donât make these conjectures.â
He Fei cupped his hands. âOkay, okay, I wonât bring it up again.â
After Song Tingshen said goodbye to He Fei, he thought; whatâs wrong with these people? How could he get a divorce? He and Ruan Xia would never get divorced.
â
Ruan Xia didnât find out that Song Tingshen had met with his former classmate, He Fei, until dinner. That name was familiar to her. She had heard his name when they were at Song Tingshenâs great-auntâs home. She tentatively asked, âIs the friend that you met today the same person you mentioned at your great-auntâs home?â
Song Tingshen didnât expect Ruan Xia to still remember. He nodded. âEn, itâs him.â
âThen did you tell him that your great-auntâs family isnât good? After all, isnât his younger sister in contact with whatâs-his-name?â Ruan Xia didnât remember Song Tingshenâs cousinâs name, so she addressed him as âwhatâs-his-nameâ.
Song Tingshen briefly froze in surprise. âNo.â
Ruan Xia was surprised. âArenât you really good friends with him?â
Logically speaking, shouldnât he let his friend know something like this? After all, if his friendâs younger sister was tricked into marrying a family like that, it would be like jumping into a living h*ll.
Puzzled, Song Tingshen answered, âAlthough heâs a good friend, itâs not good to meddle in someoneâs family matters.â
Ruan Xia was doubtful. âReally?â
It seemed that men and women handled this sort of issue very differently.