Chapter 328 - 326: Re-entering the "Dreamland" (4)

Chapter 328: Chapter 326: Re-entering the "Dreamland" (4)

So at that moment, she was desperate to throw a tantrum but didn’t dare. She could only swallow her anger and try to explain, "I admit I was exhausted back then. There might have been once or twice when I was feeling down and went out to talk to people to vent... That was so long ago. Just let bygones be bygones..."

"Just once or twice? The neighbors said it was every day. Every single one of them said you were only home to eat, sleep, or when I was around. Your daughter-in-law was in her postpartum confinement, and not only did you, the mother-in-law, not stay home to help, you spent all day outside gossiping... Do you really think everyone is a fool? That they don’t have eyes to see what was happening? A mother-in-law as ’good’ as you is a rare sight indeed. That’s why, even after all these years, it left such a deep impression on so many people. Whenever they talk about it, they all say how pitiful Nuannuan was."

Recalling the results of his own investigation from all those years ago, Luo Hongyi’s smile was more painful than a sob. It was then that he finally realized what a complete bastard he had been.

He reined in his emotions before continuing with a pained laugh, "Mom, for all these years, I’ve been wondering. Nuannuan was so good to you, she treated you with such a genuine heart, so how could you bear to treat her that way? What on earth did she do wrong? Was it just because I truly loved her? Is that why you still can’t stand her, even after she’s been gone all these years? In your mind, is it a crime for a daughter-in-law to be genuinely in love with your son? I don’t blame you anymore for treating me like an idiot back then. Thinking back on it now, I just hate myself. I hate what a complete and utter fool I was."

"Hongyi, oh, Hongyi, Mom... this, this..." Tang Juanmei swallowed hard, but before she could get a word out in her own defense, Luo Hongyi interrupted her.

"Don’t say another word. I’m fine on my own now. This is my final promise to Nuannuan. Besides, if I’m alone, you won’t have to worry about another woman stealing your son from you."

As he spoke, Luo Hongyi finally turned to look at Xia Yaruo, who stood to the side, stunned. She was staring at Tang Juanmei with shocked disbelief, as if she suddenly no longer recognized her. He let out a direct, sarcastic laugh. "I’m also worried that if I remarry, I’ll just be ruining some other girl’s life. With a mother like you around, the only way I could marry again is if I treated her as nothing more than a tool to carry on the family line, without investing any real emotion. Otherwise, she’d just become another eyesore to you. If she were on the weaker side, her fate would probably be the same as Nuannuan’s. And if she wasn’t willing to be bullied and decided to stand her ground? Well, wouldn’t that just throw the whole house into chaos? Mom, I have a child to raise. I have no energy to waste on that kind of ugly mess."

"Waaaah... Hongyi, I’m your own mother! Your words are like a knife twisting in my heart! How am I supposed to live with this shame?" Tang Juanmei feigned, dabbing at her eyes.

"I say a few honest words in our own home and you feel like you can’t go on living? What about when you went around spreading vicious rumors, baselessly accusing Nuannuan of being unfaithful? Did it ever occur to you that you were driving *her* to the point where she couldn’t go on? Did you ever consider that your actions weren’t just smearing her name, but were also making me lose face completely?" Luo Hongyi was utterly unmoved by his own mother’s tears. The more clearly he saw her true colors, the more dejected he felt. He knew her threat of being ’too ashamed to live’ was just a hollow attempt to manipulate him.

"My life is so hard. Who do you think I do all this for? Why can’t you appreciate it? I’m your mother! Would I ever do anything to harm you?"

Seeing her third son’s stone-cold demeanor, Tang Juanmei began to cry for real. She was afraid. Back in her hometown, what allowed her to lord over her husband, her other sons and daughters-in-law, her daughter and son-in-law? What allowed her word to be law? Wasn’t it entirely because this third son of hers had always been the most filial? Even though he had grown more distant from her, his father, and his siblings over the years, she had always blamed it on "that woman’s" influence. That was why she had been so eager to arrange for him to meet a pretty, young bachelorette with her husband—to win her son’s heart back into her fold. She had never imagined it would end like this.

She didn’t dare to imagine what would happen to her comfortable life if word of her son’s attitude toward her ever got out.

As she sobbed, she snuck glances at Luo Hongyi, racking her brain for a way to resolve this standoff.

Gu Nuan Nuan had already turned back around. She watched Tang Juanmei’s tear- and snot-streaked face with a sense of grim satisfaction. She couldn’t help it. She just couldn’t. She burst out laughing, and as she laughed, tears streamed down her own face—

Luo Hongyi’s words today had struck a chord deep within her. ’But it was all too late. Luo Hongyi found out far, far too late. Before, when he’d had such unconditional faith in his parents and siblings, her heart had slowly started to die every time he grew impatient at the slightest criticism she offered about them.’

’It took countless heartbreaks for her to finally learn the lesson that an outsider can’t interfere in family affairs. So, after a while, she stopped trying to explain anything to him. What was the use?’

’If only he had understood sooner, would that chain of tragedies ever have happened?’

’It was too late.’

’Why do people only learn to cherish what they have after they’ve lost it?’

’She had always known that Tang Juanmei never said a good word about her to others, but this was the first she was hearing of a baseless rumor that she’d cheated on Luo Hongyi. Heh. Something that should have sent her into a rage now just left her feeling numb.’

"Stop crying. The food’s going to get cold again if you don’t eat." Seeing that Tang Juanmei’s weeping was threatening to go on forever, Luo Hongyi cut her off impatiently. He strode to the dining table, sat down, and returned to the previous topic. "After we finish eating, I’ll take you to a hotel to get you settled."

A hint of sarcasm touched his lips. "Don’t worry, the hotel I’m arranging for you is no worse than my home. In fact, it might even be better. If you’re still dead set against staying at a hotel, then I’ll just have Xiao Zheng change your tickets for this afternoon or evening. The soft-sleeper car isn’t too noisy. You can just sleep on the train for two days until you’re home."

Tang Juanmei stopped crying, wiped her tears, and sat down at the dining table as well. Hearing what Luo Hongyi said, she tried, "...Actually, Mom’s just worried that us staying in a hotel would damage your reputation."

"Even if it hurts my reputation, that’s still better than you two using the fact that a young woman has stayed in my house as an excuse to force me to marry her, isn’t it?" Luo Hongyi was not swayed in the slightest. "I’ve already told you I don’t plan on remarrying. Why can’t you just give up? And how could you say those things to Shengnan behind my back, knowing full well how young she is?" For a moment, his expression turned severe.

"What did we say? Was it your mother-in-law who’s been bad-mouthing us? No wonder you have so many misunderstandings about your father and me. Think about it—Shengnan is our biological granddaughter! We can’t dote on her enough. How could we possibly say something to hurt her?" Tang Juanmei flinched slightly before immediately firing back.