At the appointed six o’clock, Shen Lin and her parents had not shown up, and Chen Feng couldn’t help but quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
In his heart, he certainly wasn’t keen on eting them, but if they truly wanted to et him, he wouldn’t resist. After all, he had to give them an explanation.
Chen Feng continued to wait patiently. He planned to leave at seven o’clock if they hadn’t arrived by then.
After another ten minutes, the door to the private room suddenly opened, and the first one to enter was Shen Lin, whom he hadn’t seen for a long while. Her face was frosty, and her eyes glared angrily at Chen Feng.
Her parents followed her in, both looking serious, faces stern as if soone owed them five million.
Mr. Shen was over sixty years old, having worked in a state-owned enterprise before retiring. He had Shen Lin, his youngest daughter, in his thirties, and of course, he cherished her deeply, raising her with care. Shen Lin didn’t disappoint, excelling in both conduct and academics. After graduating from college, she managed to get a civil service job in Xiu Zhou through her own efforts, securing a governnt position.
Mrs. Shen, nearly sixty, had taken care of herself well. In her youth, she taught and served as a class adviser in the countryside, always maintaining a serious deanor.
Anyway, the few tis Chen Feng had t them, they were always this serious-looking.
Shen Lin also had an elder sister who was several years older, married out of the province, and had children to care for. During the years Chen Feng was with Shen Lin, he had only t her twice. Her sister hardly ever returned to see her parents throughout the year.
Therefore, the Shen family elder couple certainly didn’t want their younger daughter to marry out. Yet, unfortunately, Shen Lin followed in her sister’s footsteps by marrying out, and worse, the man she married didn’t have good conditions.
Her sister married out of the province; at least her husband’s family was moderately wealthy, city dwellers with cars and houses, living without financial worries. Her sister only needed to stay ho and raise the children.
But Chen Feng was a country boy from Lu City, without a car, house, or much savings in Xiu Zhou. Although at the ti his job looked decent, it would take years of struggle on his salary alone to afford a house down paynt. It could be said that aside from his good looks, Chen Feng had nothing to offer back then.
Once the elder couple learned about Chen Feng’s background, they adamantly opposed Shen Lin marrying him.
So when Chen Feng took Shen Lin to propose, they treated him coldly, with zero communication throughout the visit. Although they didn’t throw the gifts Chen Feng brought out of the house, they weren’t far from doing so.
Chen Feng still rembered the embarrassnt of that day, but he didn’t hold any grudges against them in his heart because, truthfully, he was a failure at the ti, without a car or house. Any other parents wouldn’t easily agree to such a marriage either.
He left alone first, while Shen Lin stayed behind to continue persuading her parents.
Unfortunately, her parents’ attitude was very firm: they were adamantly against the marriage.
But Shen Lin, at that ti, was dead set, regardless of their vehent opposition, including the threat of severing family ties; she resolutely married Chen Feng anyway.
Infuriating them to the point that they didn’t even attend their daughter’s wedding in Lu City, and they certainly didn’t hold any marriage ceremony or banquet on their own end.
At the ti, Shen Lin’s marriage with Chen Feng almost completely excluded her natal family, so much so that even afterwards, her parents never ca to visit them.
During the first New Year, Chen Feng and Shen Lin visited her family; her parents remained cold-faced throughout but at least didn’t throw out their new son-in-law. However, the atmosphere and scene were truly oppressive then.
Chen Feng barely stayed a day before hurriedly leaving. The following year, they visited again for Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day, but their attitude remained unchanged, not driving them away yet keeping cold faces throughout.
Later, due to changes in Chen Feng’s job, along with the beginning of quarrels and cold wars with Shen Lin, he hadn’t seen them since.
It wasn’t until now, after being divorced from Shen Lin for so long, that he saw them again. They still faced Chen Feng with cold expressions, as if they didn’t know how to smile.
"Uncle, Auntie, you’re here. Please have a seat. Order whatever you like."
Chen Feng stood up and greeted them politely. To the stern-looking Shen Lin, Chen Feng rely glanced and said nothing.
Mrs. Shen couldn’t hold back her anger and was the first to lash out at Chen Feng: "Chen Feng, where did you get the confidence and courage to divorce my daughter? A poor countryside boy like you—my daughter didn’t mind your poverty or lack of promise and insisted on marrying you. And yet, you have the nerve to divorce her. Tell , in what way is my daughter unworthy of you? You ungrateful scoundrel!"
Mr. Shen imdiately followed, glaring at Chen Feng with anger, "You must give us an explanation today, or I’m telling you, this won’t end well."
Upon hearing their statents, Chen Feng only frowned slightly and didn’t get too angry because, as parents, they naturally stood on their daughter’s side.
Unperturbed and respectful, Chen Feng replied, "Haven’t you always opposed my marriage to Shen Lin? Now we’re divorced, and we don’t have any children either, which is precisely what you wanted, isn’t it? You can totally find her soone better now."
Mrs. Shen snorted coldly, "We recognized early on that you’re a thankless wretch, a Chen Shii, so we opposed Lin’s marriage to you. But Lin didn’t do anything wrong. What right do you have to divorce her? She was willing to cut ties with us for you. Can you say you have a conscience? She gave you her all, and yet you want a divorce?"
Chen Feng frowned, "You an a divorce can only be initiated by your daughter, not ?"
Mrs. Shen nodded without hesitation, "Of course. My daughter sacrificed so much for you, wasting her precious youth, and now you easily divorce her. Do you know how much harm you’ve caused her? And you just walk away without a loss, as if nothing happened. Search your conscience; have you treated her fairly?"
Mr. Shen’s eyes blazed as he said, "My daughter was blind to have chosen you, a Chen Shii. You must give us an explanation, or this won’t end well; we will never let you have an easy ti of it."
Suppressing the rising anger in his heart, Chen Feng looked at Shen Lin and asked, "Shen Lin, what exactly have you told your parents? I believe I’ve done nothing wrong to you. Yes, I was the one who proposed the divorce first, but deep down, didn’t you also think about divorcing during that ti? I rely voiced your thoughts first, did I not? Is that wrong? I proposed the divorce initially for your sake, so as not to drag you down."
Chen Feng spoke sincerely. When he learned about his terminal illness, his first feeling was despair, followed by not wanting to burden Shen Lin.
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