Qi Qun froze and furrowed her brows. "What do you an sneaking around? Do I need to act all sneaky in my own room? What are you implying, Li Xiangchen? Are you treating as an outsider?" Qi Qun’s eyes turned teary as she said this.
"Well done, Li Xiangchen. I married you and gave birth to your three children over the course of thirty years, and now you treat like a stranger! How very conscientious of you!"
"Enough!" Li Xiangchen snapped, his face suddenly turning unpleasant. "I rely made a little comnt, and you’re reading too much into it..."
"Am I overreacting? Am I overthinking? Li Xiangchen, regardless of why I married you in the first place, don’t forget that it was you who proposed to , knelt down and begged to marry you. Did I force you? Tell , did I coerce you?"
"Enough already, Qi Qun! Tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival, and we need to visit the elder at the Lu family. I don’t want to argue with you!"
"You don’t want to argue?" Qi Qun sneered. "So what, you think I enjoy it?"
"Besides, if you hadn’t been looking at like I was up to sothing, would I have quarreled with you? Li Xiangchen, do you still have a conscience? How on earth did I ever marry you..."
"You willingly married . It was my proposal, but you could’ve easily refused. So, it’s all on you, Qi Qun! I’ve put up with you for many years!"
"Tolerated for all these years? So what? Can’t stand anymore, right? Can’t tolerate anymore, right? Want to throw out of this house, right? Li Xiangchen, you’re indeed treating like an outsider. I’ve spent thirty grueling years at the Li family only to be treated like a stranger by you. Does it feel right to say such things? Where’s your conscience? Has it been eaten by a dog..."
"Enough already, Qi Qun, you..."
A loud door-slamming sound interrupted them. Both in the room were stunned, and Li Xiangchen’s speech halted abruptly!
"You’ve been arguing for half your lives now; is that not enough?" At the doorway stood Li Weihuan, his expression ice-cold as he stared back at Qi Qun and Li Xiangchen.
Qi Qun was flustered. "Weihuan, when... when did you co back? Have you eaten dinner? I can ask the kitchen... "
"Mom..." Weihuan interrupted Qi Qun, "Mom, don’t bother. I’m not hungry. But I do have so things I want to ask you. You keep saying that Dad treats you as an outsider. How do you treat him? You say he’s heartless; where’s your conscience?"
"..." Qi Qun was startled into silence, unable to find words.
Weihuan raised his eyes to his father. "Dad, I’ll be honest. You could have lived a peaceful and happy life. But for this woman, you’ve been miserable all these years. Are you planning to remain so?"
"Weihuan!"
Qi Qun was shocked, her body trembling with anger. "Weihuan, what are you saying? Are you suggesting your father divorce ..."
"Yes, I do wish you two would divorce."
"..."
Weihuan laughed and looked at her, his voice low but loaded with profound sadness. Qi Qun was left speechless.
"Mom, do you know why I loved visiting the Lu family and playing with my uncle and aunt when I was a child? Because I felt the Lu’s were more like a family than we ever were!"
"My aunt has been taking care of my grandfather and the Lu family painstakingly for all these years. Mom, if you were in her shoes, could you do the sa, even a tenth of it?"
"If you can’t, then why would my grandfather choose you? Not just him, any man who wants a peaceful life would never choose you. Only my father, too foolish and naïve, could fall in love with a woman like you..."
"Weihuan, what... what are you saying...?"
"The truth! Sure... It was inappropriate for , his son, to say those things. But thinking about it, I have hardly done anything to make you happy all these years. I’ve been disobedient, so one more wrong won’t make a difference. Whether it’s the seventeenth or eighteenth level of hell, it makes no difference to !"
He lifted his head to look at Qi Qun, his voice thin and tired. "Mom, let my dad go. Let yourself go too! You’ve tortured each other enough in this lifeti. Aren’t you tired? I’m exhausted from just watching!"
"Weihuan, what are you blabbering about?" Before Qi Qun could respond, a woman’s sharp voice sounded from behind Weihuan. It was Li Muyun!
Li Muyun hurried over and addressed Li Xiangchen and Qi Qun in the room, "Dad, Mum, it’s really late, you should get so sleep. We still have to visit Grandpa at the Lu Family tomorrow! Don’t be late!"
Once she finished speaking, she pulled over Li Weihuan, speaking coldly, "You, co with !"
Li Weihuan was dragged away by Li Muyun, causing the surrounding area to fall silent. Qi Qun held her chest, suffocating from a surge of discomfort that couldn’t be released.
Li Xiangchen glanced at her and coldly said, "I’m going to sleep in the guest room," before turning around and walking away.
He also shut the door in passing.
When Qi Qun heard the door close, her eyes trembled, and her nose instantly ached with sourness. But she commanded herself not to cry.
The misunderstanding of her son, the resentnt from her husband, the helplessness of her daughter...
She doesn’t care. Up until now in her lifeti, what she gained was far less than what she lost.
She was so unwilling to let it be.
In her lifeti, she would never be willing to settle!
...
Li Muyun’s room.
Li Muyun threw her bag onto the bed, turned around, and looked at Li Weihuan. She said sharply, "So, what are you up to? Aren’t you satisfied with how chaotic our family already is? Can you rest easy knowing you’re tearing our family apart? Huh?"
"I just can’t stand it, that’s all!" Li Weihuan answered indifferently, a hint of frustration in his deanor.
Listening to him, Li Muyun sneered, "You can’t stand it? So you can say whatever irresponsible things you want? Weihuan, how old are you? Twenty-five, right? You’re not a kid anymore. Can’t you be a little more mature? Sure, Mum has made her mistakes, but she’s still your mum. Without her, you wouldn’t exist. How can you speak to her like that? That’s unfilial."
"And regarding Dad! No matter how wrong Mum might have been to him, it’s not your place to judge! Also, have you not thought about why Dad has put up with it all these years? What’s freedom? Is freedom always equivalent to happiness? You’re wrong. So people would rather not have freedom all their lives!"
"Take yourself for instance, Nanxi is already with your second uncle now, she has nothing to do with you anymore. Yet aren’t you still advising us to pretend not to know Nanxi, to protect her tomorrow? The reason, isn’t it the sa thing? Weihuan, hear this, even if it could be treated as a threat, I would tell you straight. This family might not feel much like a ho anymore, but without it, you will never find your sense of belonging. Hence, I don’t wish to hear about divorce from you again. If not, regardless of whether I owe it to second uncle, I won’t help you to continue hiding the fact that Nanxi was involved with you, I will spill it. After all, if it’s not good, everyone might as well share the burden."
...
In the hallway, during Li Xiangchen’s journey to the guest room, he walked past Li Muyun’s room and vaguely heard her words. He touched his forehead, and his eyes were moistened with sadness.
Does this ho, as of now, still feel like ho?
Li Xiangchen returned to his room, he smoked one cigarette after another once he was out of the shower, sitting by the edge of the bed.
The sound of knocking was heard. He pursed his lips and quietly said, "Co in," the door was unlocked, and Li Muyun stepped in.
"Dad, why are you smoking again? Didn’t the doctor say you can’t smoke?" Li Muyun frowned, she walked over to snatch the cigarette stub from his hand. Seeing there were several stubs in the ashtray next to him, she knotted her brow even more, "Dad, are you disregarding your health?"
Li Xiangchen looked at his younger daughter and let out a sigh, "Muyun, Dad wants to ask you sothing. Answer honestly, without any reservation."
"What is it?" Li Muyun’s eyes flickered.
"Do you really think that your mum and I, should not get a divorce?"
At the doorway, Qi Qun, carrying a cup of calming tea, was about to co in when she heard Li Xiangchen’s words. She stood frozen in her steps!
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