The next day, Thursday.
Yang Haoran arrived at school. With final exams approaching, the teachers had already finished teaching the curriculum, and each class session was now dedicated to self-study, with teachers of various subjects sitting at the podium to supervise the class.
The final exams were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Now, on Thursday, with two days of self-study left, the students were relatively conscientious.
News of Yang Haoran’s hospitalization hadn’t spread through the class; his classmates simply thought he had taken two days off.
During the morning classes, Yang Haoran also reviewed key points from various subjects. By now, it was about solidifying his knowledge. Even his best friend, Wei Ming, was unusually focused on reviewing.
However, in Yang Haoran’s view, Xiao Mingzi was purely cramming at the last minute.
He had once been one of those students himself, well-versed in this approach.
During break time, Yang Haoran and Wei Ming leaned against the corridor railing, gazing at the leisurely white clouds in the blue sky, sighing sentimentally about youth—what’s commonly known as whining without real cause.
Yang Haoran had a clear direction: his focus for all three years of high school was on studying until he could test into a prestigious university, giving his mother a satisfactory result.
Wei Ming hadn’t thought that far ahead. They were only in their first year of high school; someone like Yang Haoran, who planned so far in advance, was actually the relatively unusual one.
Wei Ming found it strange that Yang Haoran had been discharged from the hospital so quickly. Yang Haoran brushed it off by saying they were just superficial wounds that healed fast.
Then Wei Ming brought up that after their winter break gathering, he wanted to spend a few days having fun with his girlfriend, Han Lili, then look for a temporary winter break job. He planned to work until the New Year, to be self-reliant and also to develop his independence.
He didn’t have Yang Haoran’s privileged family background. Now that his mother was with his best friend, perhaps influenced by this, his thinking had matured a lot. He wasn’t like before, when he only wanted to stay at home and play games.
Yang Haoran didn’t comment on Xiao Mingzi’s plans, but he said with a laugh that if after graduation Wei Ming couldn’t get by, he could work for him—by then, Yang Haoran would open a shop for him to manage.
When people who are very close joke about such things, it’s often the most sincere.
Because one party wants to help but doesn’t want the other to feel it’s charity, which could affect their friendship.
Wei Ming understood this too and didn’t make a big deal of it; he wasn’t so hard up that he needed to rely on Haoran.
The fact was, He Muchen had told Wei Ming that after Yang Haoran took her away, she would send him five thousand yuan every month for living expenses until he graduated from university.
Previously, He Muchen had only given Wei Ming two thousand a month for living expenses. The sudden jump to five thousand a month naturally led Wei Ming to guess who was providing the extra money.
He didn’t refuse his mother’s kindness. He was reserved, not stupid. This money was what he deserved anyway. Even if best friend Haoran brought it up to his face, Wei Ming would accept it without hesitation.
Just like with the rent that time, Wei Ming had accepted it cleanly and decisively. He wouldn’t take advantage of Haoran, but he also wouldn’t feel uncomfortable about taking what was rightfully his.
If possible, Wei Ming would rather return that apartment and keep his monthly living expenses at two thousand, or even one thousand. But alas… things don’t always go as one wishes.
The only thing that really bothered Wei Ming was discovering that his mother had bought a lot of sexy lingerie, even cosplay outfits—most of them seductive and provocative.
There were even some shameful BDSM toys.
As for how Wei Ming knew, it was because He Muchen had specifically asked for his opinion while shopping for them. Her reasoning was that since they were boys the same age, if he liked them, then Haoran would definitely like them too.
This was also why Wei Ming felt so conflicted: his mother buying all that sexy lingerie was just to please his best friend, Haoran.
As for those shameful BDSM toys, He Muchen had bought those secretly and hadn’t mentioned them to Wei Ming.
But Wei Ming hadn’t expected that his mother would browse shopping sites on his computer without deleting the history.
Once he discovered it, Wei Ming could only pretend he hadn’t seen it, and he silently helped his mother delete the browsing history.
…
In the blink of an eye, it was Saturday. Yang Haoran woke up early. His father and Yaoyao weren’t up yet. When he went downstairs, he found only his mother busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast for the family.
Yang Haoran helped his mother with minor tasks and took the opportunity to ask when she and his father were getting divorced.
Liu Ruoxi understood her son’s motives, but since it was exam day at school, she didn’t plan to say too much, lest it affect his performance on the tests.
However, she couldn’t withstand Yang Haoran’s persistent pestering, especially after he repeatedly assured her it wouldn’t affect his performance. Finally, Liu Ruoxi told him.
From his mother, Yang Haoran learned that she and his father had discussed it. Originally, they planned to announce the news of their divorce at home next Monday, after he and Yaoyao had finished their finals, so both he and Yaoyao would know.
On Monday afternoon, his mother and father would go to the civil affairs bureau to start the divorce procedures. There was a mandatory one-month cooling-off period, but his father would move in with Auntie Zhuang the following Tuesday.
Regarding marital assets, based on what his mother said, Yang Haoran learned that his father had initially intended to leave with nothing—for reasons he could guess, since his father was the one who had cheated first.
However, his mother hadn’t agreed and had given his father a portion of the company’s shares, meaning he would only receive dividends and not participate in management.
Who would the children live with?
His father wanted him to live with him and Yaoyao to live with their mother, but his mother disagreed. The two had even had a rare argument over it. His father’s reasoning was that when a couple divorces, if the children live with the father, they stay with family; if they live with the mother, they become outsiders.
If his mother were to remarry, his father’s point would indeed make sense. Aside from his maternal grandparents, wouldn’t the people on the side of his mother’s new partner be outsiders?
Regarding this argument between his father and mother, his mother didn’t say too much. She only said that the final decision would be left to him and Yaoyao. Whoever he and Yaoyao wanted to live with, his father and mother would respect their wishes.