Chapter 302: Chapter 302
Bai Xue’s original expression was cold, and upon seeing her eldest daughter return, she felt uneasy and showed no pleasant expression. However, recalling her husband’s words in recent days, Bai Xue suppressed her indifference and merely said "You’re back" before heading to the West Room.
Ye He Ping felt annoyed seeing his wife’s behavior but couldn’t confront her in front of their eldest daughter, so he came up with an excuse for his wife, "Your mom is having difficulties at work lately, so she’s upset, but it’s not aimed at you. She’s been expecting your return for days and even bought a lot of meat and fish, storing them in the cold balcony, just waiting for you to cook when you come back."
"Dad, let’s eat." Ye Ling never intended for her mother’s attitude to affect her that moment she returned.
Ye He Ping noticed his daughter didn’t want to say much, so he didn’t pursue the matter further, yet he couldn’t help but sigh internally. After eating, Ye He Ping instructed his daughter to rest, "Let your mom tidy up the table. You’ve been on the road for two days, go and rest."
Ye Ling didn’t hesitate. She cooked for her father and let her mother benefit incidentally, nodded, and got up to go to the East Room. Only when Ye He Ping saw the East Room’s door close did he unhappily turn to his wife.
"What’s wrong with you? As soon as the child comes back, you put on a sour face."
"I see. I don’t need to go to work at the kindergarten anymore, just cooking meals in the kindergarten’s cafeteria, always scheming against each other. Yesterday, rice went missing in the kindergarten, and they pointed fingers at me. Do they think I’m short-sighted enough to steal a bit of rice?" Bai Xue got angrier thinking about it, threw down her chopsticks, "Never seen such bullying, they take advantage of my mild temperament to bully me."
"Since you started working, have you ever been in a good mood? I don’t know what it’s like when I’m not home, but whenever I’m home, I’ve never seen you come back from work in a good mood. If you don’t want to work, just say so. Over the years, I’ve seen you get along well with everyone in the community, but the moment you start working, it turns the opposite. I don’t know why." Ye He Ping bluntly pointed out without saving face for his wife.
Bai Xue turned pale, "Is that how you see me?"
"It’s not just me seeing you that way. Now, both children are not home. If you stay at home all day, why not go out to work? I’m not short on your meal money; I wouldn’t have let you work for these years if that were the case." Ye He Ping noticed his wife has changed significantly over the years. "Bai Xue, whose family doesn’t envy ours now? One child is working at a company, and the other is in college. You’re relieved now, aren’t you? What more are you dissatisfied with? Working in the community, you only need to cook two meals a day for the kindergarten kids. Do you know how many people envy you?"
Bai Xue got up and left, "No matter what, in your eyes, it’s always my fault. They gang up to trouble me for who knows why. Since that terrible girl came back to this house, my days haven’t been good."
After muttering the last few sentences, she had already entered the West Room.
Ye He Ping looked unpleasant, clenching his anger and not expressing it, knowing his daughter must have heard through the door. He resented his wife’s bias. Just after Ye He Ping finished tidying the table, someone knocked on the door. Seeing it was the kindergarten’s director, Ye He Ping invited them in and tried to call his wife, but was stopped by the director.
The person didn’t enter the room, standing at the door to speak, "I came to talk about the rice incident at the kindergarten. It was spilled by the children while playing. I came to explain to Bai Xue, and that’s about it. I’ll be heading back."
"Thanks for coming." Ye He Ping sent off the visitor.
After closing the door, he didn’t go to the West Room but knocked on the East Room’s door. Seeing his daughter quickly open the door, Ye He Ping smiled and walked in. The father and daughter chatted about the past six months at school, and Ye Ling mentioned her trip to Dalian after leaving the hospital.
In the evening, Ye He Ping carried a quilt out, but Ye Ling stopped him, "Dad, I’ll stay in the living room; you sleep in the bed. You’re still sick. Once you recover, we’ll switch back."
"No need, Dad’s used to sleeping on hard beds at the company. You sleep in your room." Ye He Ping had been living apart from his wife, telling his daughter to sleep early before going out and closing the door.
Bai Xue stayed in the West Room, hearing movements in the living room, knowing her husband wouldn’t come in to sleep again, seething with rage, but unable to swallow her pride. She felt aggrieved, only hoping her younger daughter would return. Otherwise, she felt truly alone.
The day after Ye Ling returned to the community, she visited the Zhao family to see Grandma Zhao. Mrs. Zhao kneaded dough and made stuffing for sauerkraut meat dumplings. Before long, Zhang Linong and Wang Ping also arrived. Once cooked, Wang Ping took a plate of dumplings, ran over to Ye Family, and delivered them to Ye He Ping.
Zhang Linong had become increasingly mature, always prioritizing Ye Ling in any situation, handing her chopsticks, serving her bowls, pouring soy sauce, attentive and considerate. Watching this, Zhao Guodong couldn’t help but feel inadequate, though he didn’t get jealous. Seeing this scene, Mrs. Zhao couldn’t help but curl her lips in a smile, asking about the relationship with Liu Zhiyuan and others. Hearing her grandson’s negative words about Liu Zhiyuan and the others, she knew they were actually getting along well, as more than a third of his conversation involved them.
The days after returning passed quickly. Ye Ling only had lunch at the Zhao family on the second day; otherwise, she spent time at home. She specifically took a day to visit the bookstore, hoping to find recipes suitable for a duodenal ulcer.
However, she didn’t find anything at the bookstore. Zhao Guodong suggested, "Go to the city library."
Ye Ling remembered that Shen Bin’s biological mother was the director there, fearing she might run into Shen Bin, she shook her head, "Let’s forget it. Actually, the best thing is to ask the doctor. We should return to the community and ask the doctor at the clinic."
"You’ll be home for the winter break. Visiting the library isn’t a bad idea. You can borrow a few books to pass the time." Zhang Linong knew Ye Ling loved to read, assuming she thought it troublesome. "Join us there. Let us know which books you like, and we’ll borrow them for you."
Ye Ling paused for a moment understanding the meaning in Zhang Linong’s words, then she smiled, accepting the kind offer, "Okay then."
Besides, it’s unlikely she’ll run into Shen Bin.
The four of them went from the Xinhua Bookstore to the city library. Due to the winter break, the library was quite crowded. Upon arrival, they saw Song Mei and Jiang Yan were also there. The two were surprised to see Ye Ling and the others, but they only glanced briefly and returned to their activities. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel⸺fire.net
Liu Rui and Gao Tian had been admitted to college, both entering teacher-training schools, while Song Mei and Jiang Yan were six months away from taking the college entrance exams. Their academic performance wasn’t great, and they had little hope of entering university, just waiting to graduate and join a company directly afterward. (To be continued. If you work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)