Chapter 698

Chapter 698 Sometimes, Selflessness Breeds Selfishness Upon returning from Wyndon, Lilly seemed gloomy for a few days.

Bettany tried to cheer her up by preparing delicious meals, assuming that something had happened during her trip that affected her “cultivation.”

But when Lilly opened the door and excitedly ran down the stairs, she exclaimed, “Granny, what are we having for dinner today?”

Bettany finally let out a sigh of relief, observing Lilly’s radiant face with a hint of bittersweetness.

Children bounce back quickly, but… other children never have to face such challenges.

“Uncle Max mentioned that Lilly enjoyed cream soup and creamy bacon carbonara in Wyndon, so Grandma decided to make them at home too,” the kind old lady said. “Go wash your hands and see if my cooking lives up to the authentic taste.”

Lilly happily replied, “Alright!”

“Mmm, so yummy, so yummy,” she murmured with delight.

Bettany smiled and asked, “Who taught you that?”

“Mmm noodles, they call it that in Wyndon,” Lilly innocently replied.

Bettany was speechless.

After the meal, Lilly went to help Max with his move.

Max had chosen a place, and Lilly swiftly moved the items out.

Max was quite overwhelmed.

It was easy to move things around, even scraping off some wall dust in the process.

But moving them out was a different story. First, they had to remove the floor tiles… they were renovating and laying new ones.

The wall dust couldn’t be taken out, so they had to repaint it.

Then they brought out the fixed fixtures, installing them bit by bit.

Finally, they dealt with the miscellaneous items that needed to be installed…

It would take months to finish it all. Lilly occasionally went over and secretly took some “construction materials when the workers weren’t around.

In the blink of an eye, seven days passed, marking the seventh day since the old lady’s passing.

Lilly, out of habit, summoned the old lady’s spirit and prepared to offer prayers for her to find a new life.

Josh held a camera while several children huddled in Max’s room.

Max looked nervous, his eyes fixed on the camera, wondering if he would encounter a ghost… Was it all a coincidence the last time, or had it always been like that?

If this camera could see ghosts, then he would be no match for his niece. It would mean that he had wasted twenty-something years studying…

But then, Lilly lit three incense sticks, burned yellow paper, and suddenly, the figure of the old lady appeared silently before her.

It was the same old lady who had passed away during the typhoon, huddled in a corner.

Max felt his hair stand on end, a tingling sensation running through his body.

A camera that could see ghosts!

Inside the camera, the old lady slowly turned her head and looked their way…

At the same time, the door creaked open.

Josh exclaimed, “Holy shit, ahh!”

Max blurted out, “Damn it! Click, click, click!”

Bettany stood at the doorway.

The combination of the surreal and reality made Max and Uncle Josh hug each other tightly.

Drake, on the other hand, was at a loss for words!

Bettany, inexplicably, said, “What’s all the fuss about?”

She held a tray with a bowl of white rice and a chicken on it.

+5 Bonus Bettany grumbled, “Lilly, I know you’re kind-hearted and want to pay respects to the old lady, but why hide in the room?”

“How about next time we do it behind the garden? What if you accidentally set Uncle Max’s room on fire.. and then Uncle Max would have to sleep in the garden.”

Lilly blinked innocently and replied, “I understand, Granny.”

Bettany waved her hand and left, saying she didn’t want to meddle in the children’s affairs. But if they needed help, she would lend a hand.

“Well… by the time we’re done, this chicken might be cold… but it’s okay, it’ll be perfect for General.”

General, passing by, looked confused. Lately, it felt a bit tiresome to walk, having to run ten kilometers with Blake every day just to maintain its majestic appearance.

Eat?

General quickly slipped away.

Inside the room, the old lady was dressed in burial clothes, her hair still slightly damp. On closer inspection, her attire wasn’t in perfect condition, as her sons’ families hadn’t taken the time to arrange it properly.

But she looked content.

“I’m not cold anymore,” she smiled and said. “Speaking of which, thank you so much…”

The old lady looked at Lilly and sighed, “I didn’t expect to trouble outsiders in the end, causing trouble for you all.”

Lilly shook her head, “Old lady, it’s no trouble. I just have a question I don’t understand.”

The kind old lady said, “Go ahead, ask.”

Lally looked puzzled, “I want to know, when your children were young, were you not good to them?

Why did they turn out like this when they grew up?”

The old lady couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss and sighed, “I wasn’t unkind to them.”

She reminisced about how well-behaved her children were when they were young. They would constantly fight over her, one saying. ‘She’s my mom, and the other saying, “I want Mom too!”

But as they grew older, they distanced themselves, saying she’s your mom, she’s also your mom…

“We always gave everything we had to the children first, whether it was food, drink, or new clothes,” the old lady recalled. They were always the priority”

She couldn’t bear to let them do any chores or suffer any hardships. She took care of all the household tasks herself, even tidying up her children’s rooms.

“I thought I never let them down, that I was good to them,” the old lady sighed again. “But now I realize sometimes…

“Parents who are too selfless can end up raising selfish children.”

The old lady lamented, “My sacrifices were only moving to myself“

“Back when we were still in business, during holidays and special occasions, we were always so busy.

We would ask them to help, and at first, they would. But then they would say they had homework to do, or they needed to study for exams… We thought education was important, so we let them go.”

“At mealtimes, my husband and I would just sit down, only to find that the food had already been half caten. We thought, well, the children must be hungry, so it was okay.”

“During holidays, I would prepare a large feast, and when my husband came back from work, our children would finish eating and leave behind a mess. I would often clean up until midnight…

Sometimes, even when they needed to use the bathroom at night, they would say, ‘Mom, don’t worry about it, go rest.”

The old lady chuckled at herself, back then she even found it heartwarming that her children were considerate. But were they considerate? Would considerate children let their mother clean up until midnight without offering to help?

And then… she remembered when her eldest son went to college. At that time, the family was building a new house, and all the money went into the construction.

“It was then that my eldest son said all his classmates had laptops, and he needed one too, otherwise, it would be difficult to keep up with the classes. We borrowed money and bought one for him…”

“My daughter was more responsible and stayed behind to help. She helped day by day, but she would also complain.”

She complained that her brothers weren’t responsible, and that their father spoiled them too much.

“I mostly cooked meals, maybe because of that, my daughter grew up longing to leave home, not wanting to cook anymore.

Lilly nodded, “So she felt it was unfair.”

The old lady sighed countless times, “After they graduated, my husband and I thought we could finally enjoy our lives, but we didn’t expect…