Siheyuan: I am the God of Cooking, and all the birds are crying with envy!

At the gate of this ancient courtyard full of traces of time, Ouyang Mei's figure appeared to be particularly hurried.

Her face was tense and her eyes were burning with an unquestionable fire, a determination to achieve her goal at all costs.

Behind her, three children were being pulled and trotting in, their young faces filled with confusion and anxiety.

Ouyang Mei's footsteps never stopped. She rushed towards where Hu Deqing was like a gust of wind.

Her heart was completely focused on her younger brother Ouyang Chun, who was currently in prison, as if everything around her had become an insignificant background.

As soon as she saw Hu Deqing, Ouyang Mei couldn't wait to speak like a string of cannonballs: "Hu Deqing, you must write a letter of apology to my brother, and do everything you can, no matter what the cost, you have to get him out.

Even if we have to sell everything we have and put our family in dire straits, we must not watch him go to jail. This is my only and strongest request at this moment."

Her voice trembled slightly with anxiety, and her speech was as fast as a rushing river. She looked as if she was afraid that Hu Deqing would utter even a single "no" or make any move to interrupt her.

Hu Deqing originally had a faint expectation in his heart. He had imagined countless times in that dim cell about what kind of concerned look Ouyang Mei would have when she appeared in front of him, and what kind of gentle words she would use to soothe his wounded heart.

However, Ouyang Mei's words at this moment were like an extremely sharp blade, instantly cutting the pitiful expectations in his heart into pieces.

His eyes dimmed in an instant, like a lamp that was about to go out, swallowed up by endless darkness.

He frowned tightly, a deep knot formed between his brows, his heart was filled with a complex emotion of bitterness and helplessness. The pain and torture he had suffered in prison surged into his heart like a tide.

"Ouyang Mei, your heart and eyes are filled with only your brother. Have you ever thought of me for a moment, even just a moment? I have endured so many long days and nights in that cold and gloomy cellar, and suffered so many unspeakable sins, but you never even asked a question."

His voice was low and suppressed, as if every word carried the heavy pain and deep disappointment he had accumulated over the days. The voice echoed in the silent courtyard with a heartbreaking sadness.

Ouyang Mei's steps paused slightly, as if Hu Deqing's words hit a soft corner deep in her heart, but soon, the strong obsession with her brother took over again, and she quickly returned to her anxious and almost crazy look.

"I really can't care about your things right now. Ouyang Chun is my biological brother. He is still so young. His life has just begun. He hasn't had time to paint a brilliant picture. He absolutely cannot be stained with such an indelible stain because of imprisonment."

Her eyes revealed an almost paranoid persistence, the light was so scorching that people dared not look directly at it, and this persistence also made her completely ignore the abyss-like sadness in Hu Deqing's eyes.

Hu Deqing's emotions began to fluctuate like turbulent waves, his chest heaving violently, and he finally couldn't help but raise his voice: "In order to save your brother, are you going to let the children fall into the abyss of suffering with you?

Have you ever thought seriously that if you really sell all the pots and pans to save him, the children might not even have a full meal.

As a mother, how could you make such a decision that affects the fate of your entire family so easily? "

As he spoke, he pointed with his slightly trembling hand at the three children beside him who were already frightened beyond belief.

The three children's eyes were filled with fear and anxiety, like deer lost in a dark forest, while Hu Deqing's eyes were filled with deep heartache and worry for the children.

A barely perceptible hesitation flashed across Ouyang Mei's face, and that hesitation was like a shooting star across the night sky, fleeting.

Soon, a determined look returned to her face: "We have to save my brother first, and we can talk about other things after we rescue him.

The children are still young and they have tenacious vitality. They can grow slowly in the face of difficulties and slowly overcome these temporary difficulties and obstacles.

But my brother’s future, once destroyed, can never be restored.”

Although her tone remained firm and as unshakable as steel, there was a barely perceptible panic in her eyes. It was a trace of fear deep in her heart about the possible consequences of her decision, but she was unwilling and afraid to admit it.

Hu Deqing looked at Ouyang Mei, his eyes full of disbelief and deep pain, as if he was looking at a stranger he had never met: "Are you so cruel? In your eyes, is the love between husband and wife for so many years just like passing clouds and worthless?

Don't you have any concern or compassion for me?"

His body was trembling slightly, as if he was trying hard to suppress the emotions surging like a volcanic eruption in his heart. His hands were clenched into fists, and his knuckles turned white due to the force.

Ouyang Mei waved her hand impatiently, her action seemed extremely stiff and indifferent: "Now is not the time to discuss our feelings. Time is as tight as a bowstring that is about to break. Every second is passing. You should quickly find a way to rescue my brother. This is the most important thing. This is what you should do most at this moment."

She turned around and began to pace hurriedly in the yard, her brows furrowed. Her thoughts seemed to be bound by an invisible rope, tightly focused on how to rescue her brother, and she was oblivious to everything around her.

Hu Deqing laughed bitterly, and the laughter sounded particularly harsh in the quiet courtyard, full of self-mockery: "What have I meant to you in all these years?

It turns out that I have always been self-indulgent, acting like a clown by your side, pretending to be a loving couple. But you only have Ouyang Chun in your heart from beginning to end. I am just an insignificant supporting role in your life."

His eyes were empty and desperate, as if he had lost all hope and strength. His soul seemed to have been pulled out of his body, leaving only a zombie-like shell.

Ouyang Mei stopped, looked at Hu Deqing and said, "You are the father of the child. I have never forgotten this and I will never forget it.

But my brother’s situation has now reached a critical point and cannot be delayed any longer.”

She tried to make her tone sound gentler, as if she was trying to save something, but to Hu Deqing, it just sounded like an even colder perfunctory response, which chilled him to the extreme.

Hu Deqing's eyes gradually turned red, tears welled up in his eyes, and his voice became choked: "I was in that cold cellar, hoping that you could come to see me every day. Even if it was just a simple greeting, it could shine into my dark world like a beam of light, making me feel a long-lost warmth.

But I waited and waited, and endured countless long days and nights with great anticipation, but what I waited for was you forcing me to save your brother."

He tried hard to hold back the tears, but the tears were like disobedient children, lingering in his eye sockets and ready to burst out at any time.

Ouyang Mei opened her mouth, as if she wanted to explain something, but found that she had nothing to say: "Isn't that what I am doing? I brought my child to beg you, just hoping that you can save my brother for the sake of our family."

There was a hint of pleading in her eyes, but more of it was a kind of firmness that could not be refused. That firmness was like a solid barrier that completely shattered the last glimmer of hope in Hu Deqing's heart.

Hu Deqing took a deep breath, as if trying to absorb the thin courage in the air.

He slowly closed his eyes, and after a moment, he opened them again. The disappointment in his eyes had reached its peak, like an endless night with no light at dawn: "Go away, I will not end my forgiveness.

I have completely given up on you and this marriage.

After all these years of hard work, this is the result. I can’t stand it anymore.”

His tone was unusually calm, as calm as the surface of a dead lake without a single ripple, but this calmness made people feel a despair deep in their bones, as if life had lost its meaning.

Ouyang Mei's eyes widened, as if she had heard a verdict from hell, her face full of shock and anger: "What did you say? You won't save my brother? How can you be so heartless?"

Her voice was sharp and piercing, like lightning that cuts through the night sky, breaking the oppressive silence in the yard.

Hu Deqing looked at her coldly, his eyes were like an icy cold pond, deep and bottomless: "I have no place in your heart, and this marriage has lost all its meaning to me, let's get a divorce.

From now on, we will go our separate ways. You can live the life you have always wanted, and I don’t want to continue to sink in such pain and torture. "

After saying that, he turned around and walked slowly towards the house. His footsteps were heavy and slow, and each step seemed to be stepping on Ouyang Mei's heart, making a dull sound. The sound kept echoing in Ouyang Mei's ears, as if sounding the death knell of her fate.

Ouyang Mei stood there in a daze, as if she had been cast under a spell. Her body was unable to move, and her soul seemed to have been sucked away. She fell into an endless void.

The three children stood aside, watching their parents' fierce quarrel, fear and anxiety in their eyes flooding like the tide. Their small bodies shivered in the cold atmosphere, not knowing what to do. They could only shed tears silently, and those tears rolled down like beads with broken string.

The courtyard was silent, with only Ouyang Mei's rapid breathing and Hu Deqing's fading footsteps echoing in the air, like a sad elegy, playing the final melody for this marriage that was about to break up.

Ouyang Mei stood in the middle of the yard like a sculpture, her feet rooted to the ground and unable to move at all.

Her eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief and deep regret. The complex emotions were like an extremely poisonous snake, mercilessly gnawing at her fragile heart.

Her eyes followed Hu Deqing's gradually receding figure until the familiar back disappeared around the corner of the street. She still stared blankly in that direction, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.

At this moment, her mind was like an old projector that suddenly started working, and every bit of the past flashed before her eyes like black and white film, scene after scene.

Those warm moments that she had easily ignored became so clear and profound at this moment.

His concerned eyes, gentle words, caring actions...

Every detail was like a surging tide, overwhelming her and completely submerging her.

She closed her eyes in pain, tears streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably and dripping onto the cold ground beneath her feet.

However, when she opened her eyes again, the pain and despair in her eyes were replaced by anger and hatred.

Ouyang Mei didn't expect Hu Deqing to be so ruthless.

She was actually indifferent to her younger brother Ouyang Chun.

She felt that Hu Deqing was cold-blooded and heartless.

She didn't expect Hu Deqing to be so heartless, so heartless that he would not help her.

She clearly had the conditions and could get Ouyang Chun out without having to sell everything she had.

But...Hu Deqing just watched coldly.

He actually planned to stand by and watch.

Of course Ouyang Mei would not allow it, after all, Ouyang Chun was the only child in their Ouyang family.

If anything happened to Ouyang Chun, both her parents would die.

As the daughter of the Ouyang family, how could he allow the Ouyang family to have no descendants?

She would not allow anything to happen to her only brother.

Therefore, she felt that coming to Hu Deqing to discuss things today was a waste of time.

Anyway, the money is in her hands, it is her money and she has the right to dispose of it.

Since Hu Deqing is unwilling to help, there is no need for his consent.

Thinking of this, Ouyang Mei became more determined to rescue Ouyang Chun.

Because in Ouyang Mei's cognition, only her maternal family, her younger brother, and Ouyang Chun are her support.

She is her only support.

Only by sparing no effort to get Ouyang Chun out will she have someone to rely on for the rest of her life.

Only her younger brother was still alive, and only her mother's family had not collapsed, so Hu Deqing did not dare to look down on her or bully her.

Because she has her mother's family to rely on.

Ouyang Mei looked in the direction where Hu Deqing disappeared, then looked at the three children around her, the oldest of whom was already 13 years old.

"Dani, take your brothers and sisters to find your father. I'm going to do something. I'll be back after I'm done."

Ouyang didn't finish his words, but walked out of the courtyard with his trousers held up.

Dani followed behind her and shouted, "Mom, uncle is a hopeless case. Don't waste your energy. Listen to dad and let uncle suffer a little. Maybe he will change."

But Dani knew that Ouyang Chun was a person who would never change his bad behavior and he would never change in his entire life.

If it weren't for helping Ouyang Chun clean up the mess, their family would have been living a life of hunger.

Dani knew that her mother only had her grandparents and uncle in her heart and eyes.

My uncle ranks first in my mother's heart, followed by my grandparents, then my younger brothers, my father, and finally myself.

Since I was a child, because I was a girl, my grandparents and uncle always said that I was a money-loser.

But Ouyang Mei, as her mother, turned a deaf ear to it.

Even his behavior was the same as that of his grandparents and uncle, who regarded themselves as a money-loser.

Ouyang Mei, like her grandparents and uncle, favors boys over girls.

She knew that Ouyang Mei would not listen to what she said, but...even if Ouyang Mei didn't like her, she still had hopes and fantasies about her.

She fantasized about getting rid of her uncle. Maybe if she got rid of her uncle and her grandparents, Ouyang Mei would treat her better.

She also didn't want her family to be broken up because of Ouyang Chun, and eventually become a single child.

She still hopes her parents are around.

So she called Ouyang Mei.

But Ouyang Mei only paused after hearing this. She didn't even turn her head. She just said, "Take good care of the brothers. Don't worry about the adults' affairs."

"You take your brother and follow your father. She won't let you starve."

After saying that, he stepped out of the courtyard in a swift and decisive manner.

Even the calls of her two beloved sons did not stop her.

Xu Xinyue and He Yuzhu looked at each other. They really didn't expect that Ouyang Mei was so confused.

She actually abandoned her husband and children for that loser Ouyang Chun...

It’s really unheard of and unseen.