“You are threatening me like that woman, ” Old Madam Lu said. “She left and took one child and you are going to do the same. Go ahead.”
“Mom, will you ever accept me as your daughter-in-law?” Song Yifei asked in a soft voice. “It has been sixteen years already. I’m tired now.”
“I never chose you to be my son’s bride, ” Old Madam Lu said. “I chose An Qinyan. I chose her when she was a baby. But you pushed her out of this house. If you hadn’t seduced my son, she would be at her rightful place. You made me break my promise that I gave to her father on his deathbed. I raised her for my son. But you took her spot!”
Song Yifei sighed. She had enough of this bullshit. Why couldn’t she leave behind An Qinyan’s ghost from this house even after giving sixteen years of her life? Some days, she hated An Qinyan for being sensible and doing the right thing. An Qinyan left her husband when she felt he no longer loved her. But she, Song Yifei, couldn’t live in peace even after living with the man who loved her more than anything.
“Mom, If you wanted An Qinyan so much for your son, why are you hating her and your son’s daughter?” Song Yifei asked softly. “Aren’t you unreasonable? For something that wasn’t in our hands, you are hating the girl. What was her fault? The girl chose her mother time and again? Ever since Xiulan came here, you have been making her feel as if she is unwanted here. Do you think she will come here next time? She won’t! She doesn’t feel welcome here. You are undoing the progress that Zhaolin made with his daughter. Can’t you see us happy for a moment? Let Zhaolin enjoy his time with his daughter. Why are you complicating the family more than it already is?”
Old Madam Lu was quiet. She had nothing to retort. What was she doing? Why was she doing what she was doing? What was her intention? What was her aim? She knew nothing about it.
“Mom, I beg of you, just keep quiet. Don’t hate the girl, ” Song Yifei asked. “Don’t make Zhaolin miserable. And don’t force An Qinyan to keep both the children away from you.”
“She wouldn’t do something like this, ” Old Madam Lu said confidently.
“Well, you don’t know this An Qinyan, ” Song Yifei snapped. “She can do anything. Even keep Lu Xuan so far from you that you wouldn’t be able to see his face until your last breath.”
“Ah Xuan will never let his mother do anything like this, ” Old Madam Lu argued.
“Did you fail to see how much boys love their sister?” Sing Yifei asked her. “Ah Xuan knows Lily since his childhood. Whose side did he take? Lily’s? No. He took his sister’s side. They are twins who shared the same womb for nine months. Their love and connection are greater than anything. Don’t force him.”
She took a deep breath and went on, “Xiaobao loved Xiulan so much. Did you see how he always has a smile on his face when he is with her? If he sees how you are making his sister cry, he will not like you too. So, I beg of you to choose your battles carefully.”
Away from them, Lu Xuan was sitting on the stairs, his head on his knees while listening to the adult fight. His face was pale as a sheet. He had believed that when he would go to his mom’s house, these people would stop fighting over every little issue. But they didn’t and these people were back to square one.
Lu Xuan thought that if he would distance himself from his stepmother, his grandmother would stop looking for petty reasons to fight with his stepmother but he failed, it seemed. Or his grandmother was fighting with his stepmother because he was nice to her again?
Or was it his sister’s getting close to his stepmother that she didn’t like?
His father hated him because he was never nice to his stepmother and would always ignore her. What was he supposed to do? Since the time he was a little boy, he had looked for several ways to coexist peacefully with these people.
No matter what happened at home, he would always go to meet his mother on a monthly visit with a smile on his face. Meeting his mother once a month was the only time he would be genuinely happy. The reason why he loved his mother more than anything was because she never expected anything from him. She would always get him things even before he would asked for them. He didn’t need to protect her. She always protected him. She felt like a safe haven to him.
When his father was always angry at him for doing something wrong again, his mom would hold him in his lap and take away his pain. Then, his grandmother began hating his mom too because of what happened between her and Xiulan three years ago and he had to choose between his mom and sister, and his grandmother.
Why was it that he always had to choose between the people he loved?
He loved his grandmother too much but sadly her love came with expectations. He didn’t know what he should do now? It felt like he was back to square one.
He stood up and walked from there to the place where he had hidden his cigarette packet the last time when he was there. He found his hidden cigarette packet and lighter. Holding the cigarette between his fingers, he lit it with a lighter. Before he could take the puff, someone snatched the cigarette from his hand and tossed it on the ground, crushing it with the heel of the shoe.
“Lu Xuan! You had promised that you would never smoke again!” Song Xueyun boomed. “Did you look at the warning on the cover? Smoking kills. It causes cancer. Have you seen what cancer does to people?!” Tears pooled in her eyes and she shouted, “So, you want your family to die while living! It’s not the cancer patient that dies! His entire family dies with him. You stupid selfish asshole! Go to hell!”
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A/N: Our family thinks that they are fighting inside the room and it has no effect on the child. They don’t understand how sensitive the heart of a child can be. I hope our families keep children away from the fights that give them the biggest scars on their hearts.
So, you found out why Lu Xuan acts the way he does. Isn’t he quite pitiful?