Zhou Feng’er was silent. Zhou Duo’er had lost the arrogance she’d shown when talking to Zheng Xinghua. Zhou Cai, however, had no idea why everyone was so quiet. He stared at the bags they had brought back, wanting to rummage through them.
Gu’er glanced at him.
"What are you looking at for? I’m the only man in the family. Mom said everything in this house will be mine soday—it’s all for . This stuff should be mine too."
Zhou Cai shouted at Gu’er. In his mind, since Li Hua lived here, this house counted as Li Hua’s ho. And since he was Li Hua’s only son, everything here belonged to him. He could do as he pleased.
Gu’er didn’t speak to him. She knew what he was like and couldn’t be bothered to waste her breath.
After waiting a while longer, Liu Yuan returned, accompanying Li Hua. Zheng Zhongshan was trailing behind them.
Liu Yuan was happy to see Gu’er, and Zheng Zhongshan was thrilled to see his mother. Li Hua, however, looked happy for a mont when she saw Gu’er, but then imdiately lowered her head, looking completely at a loss.
"Have a seat."
Gu’er had everyone sit down.
"Gu’er, did your trip go smoothly? Is the matter with her great-aunt settled?"
Li Hua asked first.
"It’s taken care of."
Gu’er nodded at her.
"Gu’er, I... This..."
Looking at Gu’er, Li Hua’s words trailed off.
"Mom, I haven’t listened to a word they’ve said. I want you to tell what’s going on, in your own words."
Although Gu’er knew Li Hua must be panicking, she didn’t soften. She was absolutely not going to let the Zhou siblings live here.
Li Hua kept her head down. After a long mont, she painstakingly raised her head and said, "Gu’er, I know what I did was wrong. I shouldn’t have let your sister and brother move in while you weren’t ho. But... but... I had no choice."
As Li Hua spoke, her eyes reddened, but Gu’er remained silent.
"A few days after you left, Feng’er found at the mall. You have no idea... She was covered in injuries. Your father had beaten her black and blue, and he was even going to sell her to that old bachelor in the next village. Feng’er truly had no other way out, so she brought Du’er and Cai Zi to the city to find . I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing, so I brought them back here. I was just thinking they could stay for a few days. Gu’er, I had no other intentions."
Li Hua explained what had happened. Even though she had felt completely disheartened at the ti, she couldn’t help but ache when she saw how miserable Feng’er was—when she saw her own daughter and son. She had nowhere else to take them, so she could only bring the children ho with her.
"And after a few days?"
Gu’er asked Li Hua.
Li Hua froze, looking stunned.
"Of course we’ll keep living here after that! This is our ho now. What do you need such a big house for? Don’t you live over there? This place is perfect for us. I’ll get married and bring my wife here in the future."
Zhou Cai cut in, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Mom, is that what you think too?"
Gu’er ignored Zhou Cai and questioned Li Hua directly.
Li Hua looked at Gu’er and saw the hurt in her eyes. She knew what she had done had deeply wounded Gu’er, but Gu’er was doing so well now, while these other children of hers were on the verge of starvation. Her own heart ached terribly.
"Gu’er, just let them stay for a few days, okay? Feng’er is of age to find a husband. Once she’s engaged, she’ll marry out. Du’er can go find a job, too. And Cai Zi definitely won’t get married here. But they have nowhere to go right now. Can you please let them stay here?"
Li Hua pleaded with Gu’er.
"And what if I say no?"
Gu’er remained unmoved. She knew exactly what would happen if she agreed.
"Our mom is already in this state, what more do you want? You’re living so well, yet you can’t even spare a house for us. Are you even human?"
Seeing that Gu’er wouldn’t budge, Zhou Duo’er grew desperate.
"Mom, am I human?"
Gu’er asked Li Hua, her heart aching terribly.
"Du’er’s just spouting nonsense. Don’t listen to her ramblings."
Li Hua said hurriedly, shooting Du’er a glare.
Just then, Zhou Feng’er walked up to Gu’er and suddenly dropped to her knees.
Everyone was shocked.
"Feng’er!"
Li Hua cried out.
"I know you hate . It’s true, I treated you terribly in the past. I didn’t respect you as my older sister and did so many things wrong. But now I’m facing my karma. Look how miserable I am! Any anger you felt should be satisfied by now. I’ll kowtow to you, right here, to atone for what I did. I’m only asking you to save . Don’t let be sold off to so bachelor, don’t leave Du’er and Cai Zi holess, and don’t break our mother’s heart. I’m begging you."
With that, Zhou Feng’er began to kowtow to Gu’er.
Tears stread down Li Hua’s face, and she started to move.
"Mom, if you kneel, the bond between us as mother and daughter ends here and now. You can just pretend you never had for a daughter."
Gu’er spoke the mont her mother stirred, and Li Hua froze. She hadn’t been thinking clearly. She had just seen how pitiful Feng’er looked and had instinctively wanted to kneel and beg, too. She had forgotten who Feng’er was begging.
"Feng’er, you can stop kneeling. I’m not going to help you up. Stay down for all I care. This act is useless on . I will never agree to let the three of you stay. Today it’s the three of you; tomorrow it will be Zhou Mazi. Call cruel, call heartless, I don’t care. No matter what state the three of you end up in, I won’t feel any sympathy. So today, you must leave."
Gu’er knew the Zhou siblings’ nature all too well. Zhou Feng’er would never change. Her hatred for her would only grow deeper. There was no way Gu’er could support the three of them.
"Gu’er..."
Li Hua’s face was a mask of shock and pleading.
"Did you see that stuff by the door? When I got back, they were about to haul it all out. They said this was their place, that everything here was theirs. When Xinghua tried to stop them, they hit her. They even said they were going to kick Xinghua out. Mom, I just want to know, is this their ho?"
Gu’er questioned Li Hua. Even though she felt for her mother, there was no way she would let the Zhou siblings stay.
Li Hua stared at the two boxes by the door, speechless.
"Mom, we were just taking so things to sell for money! Isn’t everything here ours? What’s wrong with selling it for so spending cash?"
Zhou Cai shouted defiantly.
A wave of helplessness washed over Li Hua. She pitied her children, but she also knew Gu’er couldn’t stand these three, and that it was their own fault for being so disappointing. She never expected them to actually try and sell things from the house. But to make them leave... she just couldn’t bear it. They were her own flesh and blood. They hadn’t been good to her, but she couldn’t just abandon them.
"Gu’er, please, I’m begging you. Just let them stay for a few days, okay? I promise they won’t take anything from the house again. I’ll guarantee they won’t cause you any trouble. Please?"
Li Hua pleaded with Gu’er once again. She knew Gu’er had a soft heart and believed that if she just begged a little more, Gu’er would give in. Then, she would discipline these children, keep them from causing trouble, and everything would be fine. She never once considered the question: if she had ever been able to control these children in the first place, would they have turned out the way they were today?
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Thank you to yingyingma, Dong Han Yue, 1064556617, Aikola, and lody Ranran for the monthly tickets. Thank you all for your support. Happy holidays, everyone.
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