"Leng Qiankai! Stop acting so righteous! You’re nothing but an extrely selfish person! You’ve ignored your son and daughter since they were little. Now you’re putting on such an act and claiming it’s all for the children’s sake!
Ultimately, it’s just that you can’t get over it yourself, isn’t it? Isn’t it because the woman you loved married soone else, and it’s a grudge you still can’t let go of?"
After Mrs. Leng shouted this in her mont of irrationality and saw Leng Qiankai’s face darken completely, she imdiately regretted it. She hadn’t planned to say such things, but her emotions had surged, and the words slipped out.
The most hidden secret of his heart had been exposed. Leng Qiankai felt a rush of fury overwhelming him, his body trembling. He pointed angrily at the doorway and roared, "Get out! Get out of here!"
His command to leave stunned Mrs. Leng for a mont. She hadn’t expected him to say sothing like that, and her face imdiately showed a deeply hurt expression. Then she let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh, "Fine! I’ll leave!"
After saying this, she strode quickly to the doorway, grabbed the car keys from the shoe cabinet, and left. This ti, she finally recognized clearly where she stood in his heart.
Mr. Leng watched her resolute figure disappearing, extending his arm as if to say sothing, but his pride held him back.
Leng Ning had been eavesdropping upstairs for a long ti. She hadn’t expected two people in their fifties to end up in such a dramatic confrontation.
When her mother stord out, Leng Ning grew anxious. She didn’t bother looking at the expression on her father’s face and quickly ran downstairs.
Seeing her, Mr. Leng spoke urgently, "Xiao Ning! Hurry up and go after your mother! Don’t let anything happen to her!" He had been well aware of Ouyang Yan’s fiery temperant over the years; when she got worked up, she was as untamable as a wild horse.
Leng Ning looked at him with so reproach, "Dad! Why don’t you go after her?"
She had overheard everything they said earlier. Though the argunt stemd from her, she felt a pang of guilt.
But her father had gone too far. Even if so of her mother’s words had struck a nerve and were unpleasant to hear, telling her to get out was over the line.
Who, at over fifty years old, could bear being told to "get out"?
"If I go now, your mother might get even more worked up. You go first, find her, and call once you’ve found her! I’ll go after that!" Mr. Leng’s pride made it hard for him to act, and his tone was slightly stiff.
Leng Ning gave him a deep look, clearly dissatisfied with his excuse, and ran out to chase after her mother.
Li Si and Sister Ding were playing with Buding in the toy room, trying to amuse him. When they heard the doorbell downstairs ringing continuously, they both found it odd. It was already past nine in the evening; who would co over at this hour?
When Li Si saw Mrs. Leng entering, her face streaked with tears, her hair disheveled, and her eyes red—this was the first ti she’d ever seen Mrs. Leng appear so disregarded and sobbing openly.
"Mom! What’s happened to you?"
As soon as Li Si asked this, Mrs. Leng’s tears, which she had just wiped away, started streaming down again. "Sisi, I’m causing you trouble. Your father and I had a little argunt! I was wondering if I could stay here for a few days?"
She had driven out intending to go to a hotel for the night without bothering anyone. But in her haste, she had only brought her car keys, leaving her bag and phone behind.
Appearing like this at her friends’ places would only make her a laughingstock.
That’s why she’d co to her son’s ho, though due to past conflicts, she felt sowhat uncertain about her decision.
"Mom, you’re being too formal! Of course, you can stay! Sister Ding, I’ll hold the baby; you help Mom fetch a damp towel and pour her a glass of warm water!" Li Si comforted Mrs. Leng while directing Sister Ding.
"Yes, ma’am!" Sister Ding welcod the opportunity to leave. It was obvious that sothing serious had happened, and as an outsider, it felt incredibly awkward to remain present.
Mrs. Leng gratefully patted Li Si’s hand, "Thank you, Sisi! Ah..."
As she thought back to the earlier argunt, her breath involuntarily turned into a deep sigh.
Li Si’s phone suddenly rang loudly from the coffee table. She glanced at the caller ID, which displayed Leng Ning.
Mrs. Leng gently wiped her tears and looked at Buding, who was staring at her with wide, curious eyes. She chuckled through her tears and reached out to hold the baby.
"It’s fine! Mom, hold Buding! I’ll take the call!" Li Si placed Buding into Mrs. Leng’s arms. Mrs. Leng kissed Buding’s forehead tenderly, "Grandma’s precious Bao’er!"
Li Si stood up, gave Mrs. Leng a reassuring look, exhaled softly, and answered the phone, "Xiao Ning!"
"Sis-in-law! Is Mom at your place?" Leng Ning’s voice sounded frantic.
"She’s here, playing with Buding right now!"
It was clear from the other end of the line that Leng Ning breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness! I’ll be there in a bit!"
"Alright, see you!"
Mrs. Leng glanced at Li Si and asked, "Is Xiao Ning coming over too?"
"She said she’ll be here soon!" Li Si replied, keeping an eye on Mrs. Leng’s expression and seeing no objections, she relaxed a little.
If Leng Ning arrived, even if Mrs. Leng didn’t want to share what had happened, Leng Ning would certainly explain everything to Li Si herself.
Still, Li Si suspected it was sothing related to Mr. Leng—or possibly sothing connected to Jin Yichen’s mother.
When Leng Ning arrived, Mrs. Leng had just managed to lull Buding to sleep. Li Si advised Mrs. Leng to rest early, offering an ice pack wrapped in a cloth for her to soothe the swelling around her eyes, lest it puff up the next morning.
After Mrs. Leng went to the third-floor guest room, Li Si pulled Leng Ning into her own bedroom, locked the door, and imdiately asked, "What happened?"
Leng Ning gave a helpless shrug, "It’s complicated! To sum it up, the issue stemd from . Who knew their argunt would escalate into such a major fight? Dad really crossed the line—it ended with him telling Mom to get out! You already know the rest!"
Li Si’s jaw dropped in disbelief. She had guessed they argued about past grievances but hadn’t expected Mr. Leng to lose his temper so badly.
"Why didn’t Dad co out to look for her?"
Leng Ning snapped her fingers, "You’ve hit the nail on the head! It’s all about pride! Which left poor driving out at this late hour to find Mom! If I hadn’t guessed she’d co to you, I’d probably still be driving in circles around Beijing right now!"
"So what now?" Leng Mochen wasn’t ho, and keeping a distance wasn’t helping. This standoff was clearly not a good idea, especially since Mrs. Leng was nominally her mother-in-law.
"We’ll let things take their course! Once Mom cools off, Dad will have to lower himself and coax her back!" Leng Ning seed resigned to the situation. Initially, her mom had said she wanted a serious talk with Dad, but it ended in a marital showdown.
Li Si rolled her eyes at her, "You really are your parents’ child!"
Where was the urgency she had shown during the phone call?
"Of course I am! No doubts about it! Although they argued fiercely this ti, I think they’ll reconcile within a few days. They’re old married folks—divorce isn’t happening!"
She had initially been overwheld by their quarrels, but rembering her brother’s upcoming wedding, Leng Ning was confident her dad would eventually nd things with her mom. After all, at such a public event, he couldn’t afford to have her mom sporting a stiff face; his pride would be on the line.
So, she wasn’t worried anymore! As for Jin Yichen’s mom and all those unresolved issues—those weren’t hers to tackle.
"Alright, sis-in-law, enough mindless chatter. Let share so good news with you!" Leng Ning leaned in close to Li Si, full of mystery.
"What’s the good news?" Li Si grabbed her hand, surprised at how delicate it felt, "Xiao Ning! Your hands are so soft!"
Leng Ning laughed and pulled her hand away, "Sis-in-law! Stop joking! I’m telling you sothing serious! Grandpa and Grandpa Yan have decided together that Mom should make a public statent clarifying that your dad is a hero who saved lives. As for your birth mother, she remarried into the Yan Family after her divorce.
So, that video has no more impact on you! Who says divorced won can’t remarry? And what does any of that have to do with you?"
Li Si looked shocked, "Really? Grandpa’s reasoning makes sense, but why would Grandpa Yan agree to this?"
This way, her background would no longer be subject to criticism!
"That’s what it ans to have perspective! Alright, I’m staying here tonight, by the way! Dear sis-in-law, you won’t kick out, will you?"
Leng Ning grabbed Li Si’s arm and playfully shook it.
Li Si teasingly said, "I might!"
"Well, even if you do, I’m still staying!" Leng Ning grinned and flopped onto the sofa in the bedroom, refusing to move.
"You!" Li Si laughed and shook her head. (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please visit Qidian (qidian) and send recomndation votes or monthly tickets to support the author. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian for further reading.)
Reviews
All reviews (0)