Chapter 9 He Gave Up
Dou Hongfei was completely broken.
He tried to find work in the county, but no one would hire him.
He gave up and started hanging around mahjong halls.
He lost all his money and owed a mountain of debt.
He survived on borrowed money every day.
Desperate, he thought of us again.
On a weekend, I was setting up my stall with Yingying.
He walked over carrying fruit and some toys.
This was the first time.
He tried to lure her.
"Yingying, Dad's fruits and new toys. Want them?"
But she only saw him as a stranger.
The girl ran behind me, scared.
"Why? You're like a ghost. Scaring the child."
"Sorry! I just want to make up for the child. For all the years I missed being her father."
He sounded like he was saying goodbye.
I could tell he wasn't doing well.
But I felt no pity at all.
If something happened to him, it was his own fault. He had brought it on himself.
"Why didn't you think of this earlier? Now you want to play the loving father. We don't need it."
His coldness must have hurt.
I saw tears fill his eyes.
He put the things down and left without a word.
After that, we didn't see him for a long time.
The next time I heard about him, it was after his wife got out of prison.
She threw him away.
Liao Wanru learned he was idle all day, spent all the money, and owed debts.
They fought.
Then she moved back to her parents' house.
Her family probably convinced her.
Within a day, she brought them over to pressure him.
They forced the divorce.
On the day he got the papers, Dou Hongfei sat crying outside the civil affairs office.
"You heartless woman. You were so good to me before. Now I'm down on my luck and you divorce me."
"I'm so sorry. How did I fall for you and abandon Su Meiyue and my daughter?"
"If it was Su Meiyue, she would have stayed with me through everything."
"You ruined me. You just walk away."
People around whispered.
I stood among the crowd, far away. He couldn't see me.
"Such a man threw away wife and child, only to be dumped by the next wife. Serves him right."
"Too bad he has the face to cry. If I were him, I'd hang myself."
"Vengeance is sweet. His second wife is his punishment."
Everyone enjoyed the gossip. No one pitied him.
He snapped.
"Enough? You gossipy bitches. When you die, you'll go to hell to have your tongues pulled out."
"Oh, so fierce. What's with the attitude?"
"Let's go. Stop watching this loser."
Dou Hongfei was fuming.
His eyes suddenly turned vicious toward one direction.
That was Liao Wanru's house.
He muttered.
"Damn woman, since you ruined me, you won't live well either."
After saying that, he left.
He thought we were home.
Probably wanted a last look at his life.
Later, it was said he went to Liao Wanru's house.
To get revenge, he stabbed the whole family to death.
And he confessed.
From then on, my daughter and I lived in peace.
We no longer had to worry about that annoying man disturbing us.