Chapter 151 - 153: Returning to the Wei Family Again

She did not deserve to be a mother, no, that was not the case.

She did not deserve to be Tang Yuxin’s mother.

Tang Yuxin still turned her face away, ignoring everyone, not speaking. The awkwardness of the moment made Sang Zhilan cover her face and burst into tears. Then, suddenly, she got up, her voice almost a scream.

“Tang Zhinian, what on earth did you say to my daughter? How did you educate her? She obviously has a mother, yet you made her disown me?”

Tang Zhinian was never good with words. Being interrogated by Sang Zhilan like this, he just moved his lips, unable to find words. What could he say?

“Yuxin, come here to mommy.”

Sang Zhilan reached out her hand towards Tang Yuxin again. I am your mother.

Tang Yuxin suddenly lifted her head and looked at her. The chill in her eyes tightened Sang Zhilan’s heart, and she found herself starting to fear this daughter of hers.

“I do not have a mother,” Tang Yuxin enunciated each word clearly. She then reached out and clung to a corner of Tang Zhinian’s clothes. “Not every child has parents. My dad is enough, I don’t need an extra mother.”

Yes, an extra one, that was it. She and her father lived just fine without any need for a mother who would only use her as a stepping stone.

This was Wei Jiani’s mother, Wei Jiani’s loving mother, but she was never Tang Yuxin’s mother. Hadn’t she learned her lesson from the past life?

She had already lost her life once.

If she was to be fooled by these few tears again, then she’d be the biggest fool in the world.

She still remembered every word that Sang Zhilan had whispered in her ear. Every word, every sentence, all of it.

From the disappointment, the despair, the grievances, up to the hatred.

Yuxin, you are the older sister, you must yield to your younger sister, so don’t compete with her, okay?

Yuxin, you are not suited for piano, look at your hands, they’re not pretty enough. Pianists must have pretty hands, and be attractive as well.

Yuxin, will you let your sister go to college first? Your sister is a better student and our family can’t afford to send both of you to college. Mommy found you a job, should you start working first?

Yuxin, your sister is pregnant now, can’t you just give in to them?

Yuxin, why are you so stubborn?

Yuxin, Uncle Wei raised you, don’t you think you should be grateful? n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Sang Zhilan’s hands were still in the air, her face burning in embarrassment.

Tang Yuxin turned her face away again, preferring to look out the window rather than seeing Sang Zhilan’s face that wore the guise of a loving mother while doing cruel stepmother deeds.

She really didn’t understand how Sang Zhilan could so brazenly want her to call her ‘mom’.

What right did she have?

Tang Yuxin turned her head away again, the little girl showing a great deal of stubbornness. No one had taught her, she had learned the hard way through her past life, enough was enough.

“Xinxin, she really is your mother.” Tang Zhinian put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder and crouched down in front of Tang Yuxin. “Xinxin, no matter what, she is still your mother. She’s our Xinxin’s mother.”

“No matter how your dad and I are, your mother still loves you.”

He didn’t want his daughter to carry bad memories, to believe that she was a child without a mother. As the child grew up, she would develop a sense of self-esteem, and he was afraid that she would be bullied at school, labeled as a child without a mother.

Tang Yuxin pursed her lips, her fair face showing not just an innocent childishness, but also a coldness that was hard to detect.

She didn’t have much longing for her mother.

But, from the encouragement and caution in Tang Zhinian’s eyes, she understood what he was thinking. He wanted her to live a life with both a father and a mother, even if they were divorced, they still loved her the most.

But, did her mother really love her? Her mother would only viciously bully her, wrong her, and ruin her.

“Will you come and stay with me for a few days?” Sang Zhilan tried to soften her voice as much as possible as she held Tang Yuxin’s hand tight, not letting it go. And on the side, Tang Zhinian could not suppress a sour feeling in his heart.

He knew he was doing the right thing.

His daughter could not be without a mother.

Tang Yuxin was still small, she didn’t have the right to choose, nor the right to refuse. Even if she had thousands of reasons not to go to the Wei family, she had to go, otherwise all the blame would be borne by her father.

Her father had raised her well and had never wronged her. She would not let her father shoulder the blame.

Alright then, just going to the Wei family wouldn’t hurt, she would go.

She wanted to see how Sang Zhilan treated her own daughter.

She only carried a small backpack, packed a few clothes, then got in the car with Sang Zhilan and left. Along the way, Sang Zhilan kept talking about home, saying that her uncle at home was nice and would surely like her.

It was the same as her past life. When she was young, she had been fooled by this mother, who had told her that she should be obedient. That she should do whatever the adults told her.

Yes, she was well-behaved, obedient. If they told her to live in a dog house, she would. If they asked her to wear Wei Jiani’s old clothes, she would. She did whatever they told her. They didn’t treat her as human, and she, too, didn’t see herself as one.

If it weren’t for the fact that she woke up, rebelled, and insisted on going to college, she might have spent her whole life under the manipulation of Sang Zhilan and the Wei family. Back then, her tuition fees came from her father.

She would always remember when her father’s withered, bark-like hands trembled as he handed out the money. She had never felt so guilty and upset.

At that moment, she didn’t want to take the money, because she felt she didn’t deserve it, she couldn’t bring herself to spend it.

Sang Zhilan talked throughout the journey. However, Tang Yuxin, hugging her backpack, didn’t respond. Sang Zhilan felt a bit crushed, but she thought that this was just the start. It was natural for their relationship to be strained after being separated for so long. With more time, things would naturally improve.

Once they got off the car, Tang Yuxin carried her small backpack and followed Sang Zhilan.

This path was all too familiar to her. In her past life, she had walked it thousands, tens of thousands of times. This path was the nightmare of her past life and the road she least wanted to go down in this life.

“Here we are, Yuxin, this is indeed our home.”

Sang Zhilan smiled at Tang Yuxin. She was no longer young; fine lines appeared around her eyes. Even though she still looked like a city woman, that didn’t change the fact that her life with the Wei family was worse off than the current Tang family. If it wasn’t for the hard-earned monthly alimony of 200 yuan from her father in the past, the Wei family probably couldn’t even afford meat.