Literary Master: Starting with Refusing to Be a Child Star

Chapter 59 Stepfather: Divorce, Divorce, Divorce

After Luo Jinnian left, the middle-aged woman on the hospital bed started acting up again, shouting:

"Hey Chu, where the hell have you been? I need to use the restroom!"

"Damn it, don't think I don't know where you've been throwing a tantrum at me, huh?"

Chu Xiang clenched his fists, forced a smile, and went inside. He had made up his mind to get a divorce.

When Luo Jinnian was in college, he especially liked to leave his bag behind—that is, he would give his backpack to a classmate, sign in, and run away.

He was used to being invisible, and all sorts of problems wouldn't surface on him. This tendency to escape and avoid was why he could only write online novels later on.

As long as you live in this society, everyone will inevitably have a lot of problems. Even when writing online novels, if you see a criticism of your work and know that it is very true, you will still feel very conflicted.

But this time he can't just talk the talk; he has to take a hard line against the middle-aged woman. Otherwise, what's the point of his time travel?

If he doesn't make the middle-aged woman suffer terribly and regret living on Earth, then he might as well not transmigrate at all. He could just send the middle-aged woman in when his predecessor died.

Before the scene of relentless pursuit, Luo Jinnian, who had just been discharged from the hospital, accompanied his stepfather to a village where only the elderly remained.

In the courtyard, an elderly woman with white hair sat on a bench, basking in the sun. Beside her lay a yellow dog named Ah Huang. Ah Huang heard the sound, pricked up its ears, wagged its tail, but didn't bark. The old woman's hearing was very poor, and had become increasingly deteriorating in recent years. She slowly raised her head, squinted for a long time, and finally recognized her son.

"You're back?" The old woman smiled, revealing a set of broken teeth. She tapped her cane, then tapped Ah Huang, "Where's Ningning? Why didn't she come back with you?"

The stepfather placed the fruit and meat on the table, leaned closer, and shouted, "Ningning misses you too! But she has to go to her art class, so—your other child has come to see you."

Luo Jinnian stepped forward and called out, "Grandma."

"Oh, that girl's child, she's quite pretty."

After that, they chatted about everyday things. Grandma talked about what work she had done and how much she had earned this year. Her stepfather wanted to advise her to do less work, but he didn't have the energy to do so when he thought about his meager salary.

It's all because of poverty.

"Ningning can't live without her mother, and this child can't live without her father. It's better for you two to get along well together than anything else."

The stepfather's silence was deafening. He told Luo Jinnian to go out and play for a while, and then took a deep breath.

Having been a coward for half his life and a dutiful son for the other half, he decided to rebel today.

"Mom, I want a divorce."

The cane fell to the ground with a "thud".

"What do you want to do?"

"I want a divorce!" The stepfather's tone was even more resolute when he said it the second time.

"I've had enough of that woman. She's selfish and greedy. She ruined her whole family by pursuing her PhD. And she beats her own son every day. No one can stand it."

"If I hadn't stopped her last time, she would have hit Ningning. Who could stand this woman? I'm going to get a divorce anyway."

The old woman's face darkened. "Look at you! Do you think I don't know what kind of person she is? But what kind of wife can you find without her? Ningning will be a child without a mother!"

"Then let's not get married. From today onwards, it's either her or me, it's either her or me."

The stepfather acted like a real man for once, his not-so-tall body standing tall.

Luo Jinnian knew he couldn't hide any longer. He took off his clothes. Although the middle-aged woman hadn't hit him in a long time, the scars on them were permanent and difficult to heal.

"Grandma, it's nothing for me, a boy, to have these scars, but it's different for Sister Qingning. What will happen to her in the future if she has these scars?"

"Although Dad can stop her, he's not home every day. If there's no adult to protect her, my mom will definitely do something to my sister one day."

The old man touched the boy's back with his sandy hands, shook his head sadly, and sighed, "She's a beast, she's a beast."

Upon hearing her words, the two boys exchanged a knowing smile; it seemed like the deal was done.

"But what will you do in the future? You only say that Ningning has no protection, but what about you?"

Before the boy could respond, the stepfather interjected, "No, I will definitely protect him. Custody can be in the stepfather's hands under certain circumstances."

The old woman nodded and remained silent for a long time. Watching the boy skillfully cook, she sighed, "What a poor child. Xiang'er, you'll have a lot of responsibilities to shoulder in the future. But you've grown up so fast."

Chu Xiang smiled and touched the back of his head. He was still immersed in the excitement of his mother's approval. From childhood to adulthood, his mother had raised him all by herself. He had never disobeyed any of his mother's words. If a person only grows up a few times in their life, he felt that today was one of those times.

The meat in the pot gradually stewed until tender, and its aroma filled the entire courtyard. The setting sun dyed the sky orange-red, and a few sparrows flew under the eaves and landed on the old locust tree.

Luo Jinnian knew that she had taken another big step closer to breaking free from her mother.

Online discussions about them are still going strong, mainly because this classic child star family hasn't been seen for a long time.

[That's why child stars often end up in wealthy families. Look at how a talented child is ruined because their mother is not respectable.]

I don't think this issue has much to do with whether or not someone has money. Don't you all think this mother is simply antisocial?

[It's terrifying, absolutely terrifying. This child is allowed to complain about his family of origin.]

[Now I'm even more afraid to say it. Being born into a family like this is worse than death. I really don't know how this child managed to keep going.]

[Support the movie with tickets; maybe if it does well at the box office, it'll catch the eye of a big shot, and a white knight will come to the rescue.]

With intense discussions on various platforms such as Weibo and Baidu Tieba, the box office of "Ice Song" increased rather than decreased after the first seven days.

The internet was not yet developed enough at that time. The downside was that the influence of a middle-aged woman's bad deeds would have a limit, but the upside was that social events were updated slowly. Luo Jinnian thought that by the time the middle-aged woman was discharged from the hospital, the matter would probably still be fermenting.

Director Mo called him: "What do you need my help with for the next film?"

"It's not time yet. Uncle Qin is helping me slowly upload the photos."

These photos are the first-hand ones; they were all taken by Uncle Qin after Luo Jinnian was beaten up. They are the most exclusive, first-hand revelations.

"I'll contact the media, and they'll schedule a meeting with you. They'll suddenly ask about your family while discussing the movie, so be prepared to react."

"grateful."

"I also have to thank you. You deserve a lot of credit for the box office this time. By the way, you've been discharged from the hospital. Hurry up and come to the set. The crew of 'Summer, Fireworks, My Corpse' is missing you."

Luo Jinnian smiled. Director Mo is a real workaholic, filming one movie after another. Although it's a small-scale online film, it's truly admirable. On the other hand, Uncle Qin has already gone abroad for vacation.

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Put down your phone, and everything will end.