Lu Yinchuâs eyes flickered as he nodded, âOkay, Mom!â
Qi Qun and Yi Mu got into the car first. Lu Yinchu and Li Weihuan stepped aside. The night was intoxicatingly dark. The wind caressed their faces, slightly chilly. There were no stars in the sky â it was a bit gloomy.
âAre you really sure you want to get married? Itâs not childâs play!â
Li Weihuan pursed his lips, he looked in the direction of Qi Qunâs car. His expression was calm. âUncle, do you think thereâs something wrong with Yi Mu?â
âSheâs a good girl, but thatâs beside the point. Weihuan, is this how youâre stalling your mother? Trading your own happiness?â
ââ¦â Li Weihuan fell silent.
âAs I thought, youâre still too young!â
Li Weihuan was taken aback. When he raised his head, his eyes met Lu Yinchuâs in disbelief. âUncle, Iâ¦â
âNanxi is now my wife, and it is my responsibility to protect her! I canât accept your care, and I believe Nanxi wouldnât either!â
Lu Yinchu interrupted him, âAnother thing, Weihuan â remember, I am your uncle, and that will never change! Just like Nanxi being your aunt-in-law, this will also not change. They are the same!â
Li Weihuan stood there, not moving for a long time.
â¦
In the living room, Lu Yinchu sat holding a cigarette, waiting for Xia Zhen.
He noticed something different in Xia Zhenâs expression when he last saw her. He didnât know why, but he did know that if his mother was looking for him, it was definitely important!
Before he finished his cigarette, he heard footsteps. Xia Zhen came downstairs and sat across him.
Over the years, there were few opportunities for mother and son to sit face-to-face like this.
âMom, you asked me here for a reason?â Lu Yinchu put out his cigarette stub to ask.
Xia Zhen pursed her lips, seemingly hesitant, but she finally asked, âYinchu, why didnât you bring Nanxi here today? Was it because your cousinâs wife was here?â
âAnd last time, when you and Weihuan picked up grandpa, your cousinâs wife suddenly left. â¦Isnât it strange that she left just as Nanxi was about to arrive? Did I overthink it? Yinchu, can you tell me why?â
âMom, you really are overthinking it. Nothing happenedâ¦â
âNoâ¦â
Xia Zhen shook her head, âNo, Yinchu, Iâve lived half my life. I usually turn a blind eye to many things. I can clearly understand everything in this world, so if I can ignore something, I will. To be honest, I donât bear any grudge against your cousinâs wife. If anyone should, it should be your cousin, not me!â
âI met your father around the same time she did. He pursued me, and I liked him, too. It happened naturally. I didnât know then that Qi Qun was also interested in your father. I married your father and she was jealous. She has always been like that, always striving for more. I didnât understand why she was competing with me? She was smart and pretty, everyone envied her. What was there for her to compete with me? I had never thought that she would end up marrying your cousinâ¦â
Xia Zhen paused, then continued, âAll these years, Iâve been tolerant with Qi Qun. Not because Iâm afraid of her, but because I think itâs hard on your cousin. In the end, this life he leads was ruined by me. The Lu and Li families were originally one. I didnât want anything to go wrong on my part. I could bear anything your father could bear. If your father couldnât bear it, I would bear it for him! Life is only a few decades, if we can live peacefully and healthily, then thatâs enough! But I didnât expect, no matter how much I hoped for it, life wanted to make it hard for me. Xiaoyue, my dear daughter, died at such a young ageâ¦â
Lu Yinchuâs eyes flickered as he looked at Xia Zhen. She was holding back her tears, her eyes were swollen red. He opened his mouth, but found he had nothing to say.
âYinchuâ¦â Xia Zhen took her sonâs hand, he could see the tear-streaked reflection in her eyes, âYinchu, be honest with me. Was there something fishy about Xiaoyueâs car accident? Is your coldness towards your cousinâs wife because of me? Or because of something else? Tell me, if you donât, I wonât feel all right. I feel guilty towards Xiaoyue, I, I feel so terribleâ¦â
Xia Zhen started crying. She had always avoided mentioning the death of her eldest daughter, Lu Yinyue.
She took care of everyone in the Lu family. She didnât want her grief to infect everyone else.
But that was her daughter. A daughter she had raised painstakingly for nineteen years. The loss was unbearable. How could a mother not feel the pain? How could a mother not feel bitter?
She didnât want to fight for herself, but she must fight for her dead daughter. Even if it was just for the truth!
Otherwise, her daughter would not rest peacefully. And she, who was still alive, would live with guilt.
Lu Yinchu looked at Xia Zhen, his eyes becoming misty. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. The tears rolled down his cheeks.
âMomâ¦â
He uttered softly, the sound resonates from his chest, resonating with deep sorrow.
Xia Zhen felt a chill running down her spine. It was very cold.
â¦
It was almost midnight and Nanxi was sitting in the living room, unable to sleep.
Yang Su was playing on her computer next to her, and Lan Qiqi was watching TV. Both were yawning.
At half-past twelve, Yang Su fell asleep on the sofa and Lan Qiqi was also half-asleep.
Two drowsy people heard someone calling them. They opened their eyes to see Nanxi.
Yang Su asked, still sleepy, âHas your Romeo arrived?â
Nanxi blinked, âNo.â
Lu Yinchu said he would come to pick her up. He broke his promise!
PS: I will update another 3100+ words once the monthly quota hits 700. There will be another update later to thank everybody for the recommendation votes. Also, keep the monthly passes and recommendation votes coming, love you guys~