The original owner initially disagreed.
The two got their marriage certificate, held a banquet, and then had a son.
When the male protagonist wanted to go to college, the original owner was utterly against it, saying that others graduated and went straight to work in factories, earning dozens of yuan a month.
The male protagonist insisted on going to college for four years, but what was the point?
To prevent the male protagonist from attending college, she almost tore up his acceptance letter.
Later, after the male protagonist went to college, he often sent money back, which the original owner held onto tightly, feeling somewhat satisfied only then.
The original owner was always waiting, waiting for the male protagonist to graduate from college, find a job in a big city, buy a house, and then bring her over to live with him.
By then, she would also be a city dweller.
Now, having waited painstakingly for the male protagonist to graduate, just as her dream was about to come true, the male protagonist wanted a divorce. How could she agree?
After days of wrangling with no resolution, the male protagonist finally agreed to give the original owner a sum of money, and only then did she agree to the divorce.
However, the original owner had a demand: she wanted to take her son, Pei Jing, with her.
It's not that the original owner particularly loved this son; in fact, she hadn't cared for him since birth.
The reason the original owner wanted to take her son was because she heard that if the child stayed with the mother, the father had to pay child support.
She wasn't concerned about Pei Jing, but about the monthly child support.
Since her demand wasn't met, the original owner refused to agree to the divorce. Eventually, the male protagonist conceded.
After the divorce, the original owner took the money given by the male protagonist and brought Pei Jing to the county town.
She rented a house, ate out on the streets at meal times, and solved all meals outside.
The original owner had a large appetite, enjoyed good food, and also wanted to buy fabric to make new clothes.
Although the money given by the male protagonist was considerable, within half a year, she squandered it all.
Unable to pay rent, she was evicted from the house.
Since then, the original owner wandered the county town with Pei Jing.
Doing odd jobs, collecting scraps and selling them, occasionally stealing something when people weren't looking, combined with the monthly child support sent by the male protagonist, yet life was still hard, and mother and son often slept under bridges.
But such days didn't last long.
Because in less than half a year, the original owner died.
That night, after selling scraps, as the original owner and Pei Jing were heading towards the bridge, they were stopped by a few thugs.
The original owner, looking like she did, wasn't stopped by the thugs for her looks, but for her money.
The original owner refused to give them money, and fought with the thugs.
The original owner was strong, but inexperienced in fights and lacked technique. The opponents were many in number, and despite her full effort, she could only manage a draw.
In the end, she was repeatedly stabbed from behind by someone, and her body went limp.
The original owner died just like that.
After the original owner's death, Pei Jing became a homeless child in the county town.
He picked up trash, stole things, and even snatched food from other kids.
After wandering for some time, Pei Jing was finally taken back by the male protagonist who had hurried back.
But having grown up in such an environment, exposed to the original owner's influence, and finally witnessing her tragic death, his character was somewhat twisted.
In front of others, he appeared modest and polite, obedient and sensible, a good child.
But behind the scenes, he would cruelly kill small animals and had a theft addiction.
Finally, after an impulsive violent incident, Pei Jing was imprisoned.
Jiang Ran remembers that this book was quite long.
But she only read up to this point.
The character with the same name as hers was both hateful and pitiful, and the child was so wretched; she couldn't bear to read on.