Divorced at fifty, I embarked on my path to success.

Mei Zichen left the house with a dark expression, and called Chen Yue back from the car.

"Where have you been? Why aren't you at work?" Chen Yue preemptively asked as soon as he answered the phone. "I just called Xiaozhi, but before we could even exchange a few words, my brother-in-law picked up the phone. He sounded really rude, saying that if we can't be on the same page as him and his son, we shouldn't be in such important positions. What exactly did you do? Weren't you supposed to go and persuade my sister not to get a divorce?"

Mei Zichen said in a deep voice, "My brother-in-law cheated on me and refuses to break up with his mistress. What can my sister do? Should she just swallow her anger and pretend nothing happened?"

"What's wrong with pretending it never happened? These kinds of things happen all the time!" Chen Yue said firmly. "Isn't it normal for rich and powerful women to cheat? What's so hard to accept? Is she starving or freezing? It won't shake her position as Mrs. Yue, so she can just live her life in peace."

"What are you saying!" Mei Zichen interrupted angrily. "If it happened to you, would you still say that?"

"I..." Chen Yue choked, unable to speak.

She quickly retorted, "My sister is so old, what's so good about divorce? Didn't I explain all the pros and cons to you last night? How can you still be so confused! Right now, staying together and maintaining the status quo is the best thing for my sister, and also for our family!"

Mei Zichen was exhausted: "Your last sentence was the truth, wasn't it? Forget it, don't worry about it anymore, my sister is determined to get a divorce!"

"What do you mean?" Chen Yue's voice suddenly rose. "Do you want to go against your brother-in-law? Aren't you afraid he'll fire you?"

Mei Zichen took a few heavy breaths and said in a hoarse voice, "Even if he doesn't fire me, I still don't want to work here anymore."

"Fine, you're amazing! You're awesome!" Chen Yue roared angrily, "Look at how capable you are! You've only had a few days of peace and quiet and you already think you're all that. Let me tell you, don't drag me and Zizi down with you!"

Mei Zichen felt a lump in his throat, feeling suffocated and uncomfortable. He just couldn't understand it. Did his family have to leave Yuejiang Pavilion to survive?

Since she wasn't his biological sister, Chen Yue didn't care whether Mei Yusheng lived or died, as long as it didn't affect her life.

Mei Zichen decided not to waste any more words with her. Thinking of Yue Jiangting's face, he felt a surge of anger.

He turned the steering wheel and drove towards the company.

"Don't do anything impulsive, go home right now!" Chen Yue commanded firmly, as if he could guess what he was thinking. "Let's discuss this further."

"What's there to discuss?" Mei Zichen frowned in annoyance. "I'm going to resign right now!"

"You dare!" Chen Yue's sharp voice was like a knife, piercing Mei Zichen's eardrums. "You'd better come back right now! I'm giving you ten minutes to get home, or we're getting a divorce!"

Mei Zichen paused, his hands on the steering wheel hesitated for a moment, but he finally turned the car around and drove home.

Mei Yusheng knew that her younger brother would be scolded by his sister-in-law when he returned home, and she felt very sorry that she had ultimately dragged her brother into this mess.

But she was determined to make Yue Jiangting pay the price.

He dared to lay a hand on his mother, crossing her bottom line.

With something on her mind, she was somewhat distracted as she watched Qin Chu chat with her mother.

Qin Chu's eyes showed a question, but he pretended not to see Mei Yusheng.

In the evening, she cooked a pot of fragrant millet porridge, along with the leftover dishes from lunch, for the three of them to have for dinner.

He Qingmin is getting old and is used to eating less at night; she only drank a bowl of porridge.

Qin Chu peeled an apple for her and cut it into pieces. She ate one piece, but perhaps because she was exhausted after a long day, He Qingmin went to bed early.

"Sister, are you still worried about something?" Qin Chu asked softly, scrutinizing Mei Yusheng's expression.

"No, I was just a little scared." Mei Yusheng avoided his gaze. "Don't worry, I'm relieved that Mom is alright. Thank you for taking us in."

Qin Chu paused for a moment: "Why are you being so polite with me? I'm your little stone."

Mei Yusheng suddenly smiled: "Yes, you are my little brother, Little Stone."

Qin Chu's eyes glazed over, and he swallowed back what he wanted to say: "Don't think about anything, get a good night's sleep, everything will be alright tomorrow."

Mei Yusheng said goodnight to Qin Chu and watched him go upstairs. She wondered if he had been busy with his own things all day and was going to go to his study to write.

Back in her room, she didn't dare turn on the overhead light, but instead turned on the desk lamp. She leaned over and looked at her mother's sleeping face, where deep, dense wrinkles etched the marks of time.

She saw a photo lying on the pillow, picked it up, and even in the dim light, Mei Yusheng recognized it at a glance—it was a photo of her father.

My mother must have been very lonely and bitter all these years. Although she always seemed happy when we met, she always kept a photo of my father when he was young in her pocket.

Is that a photo from when they first got married? Or was it taken when Mom first met Dad?

Mei Yusheng never asked, but she knew that those were her parents' most beautiful and happiest memories.

Her nose stung with tears. She gazed at the photo for a moment, then gently placed it beside her mother's pillow.

As she turned away, she didn't notice that two lines of tears were welling up in He Qingmin's eyes.

Mei Yusheng envied her parents. Although they couldn't stay together until old age, they were loving and affectionate during their limited time together. So much so that decades later, her mother remained single, still holding onto her love for her father.

She longed for her marriage to be as happy as her parents'. But reality was cruel; Yue Jiangting never truly loved her.

His feelings had long since been given to his first love; marriage was merely a tool for him to fulfill his reproductive obligations.

Mei Yusheng had never truly understood Yuejiang Pavilion before; no, perhaps only now did she truly come to know Yuejiang Pavilion.

For thirty long years, she merely maintained the shell of a marriage and lived with a stranger.

She felt sorry for herself.

Sitting quietly at her desk, in the light of the lamp, she swiped her phone, found the two videos she had saved before, and hesitated for a long time, her finger hovering in mid-air.

Finally, she pressed play.

The video showed Yue Jiangting and Han Caiyu being affectionate, and she endured the disgust, repeating it over and over again as if in self-torture.

The second hand hurriedly passed the twelve o'clock position, and Mei Yusheng made up her mind.

Following Qin Chu's instructions, she posted the two videos and those disgusting chat logs on Yinhai City's largest social media platform, and then, without hesitation, on Douyin, the most influential platform in China.

Having accomplished all this, she felt surprisingly calm, as if she had completed a mission, and breathed a sigh of relief.

She had no interest in the violent reaction the video might provoke. She tiptoed into bed, lay down gently next to her mother, and fell asleep like a baby in her mother's sweet fragrance.