Chapter 83: Chapter 83
The house Zhang Linong mentioned as his grandmother’s, there was no trace of his grandmother, as she had already returned to the countryside. This single-story house was bought by Zhang Linong’s father, intending to bring the elderly to the city for retirement, but she couldn’t get used to apartment living. So, on the outskirts of the city, they bought this house. However, after six months, the elderly woman complained about being too lonely and returned home, leaving this house vacant.
"This place hasn’t been lived in for too long. Dongzi and I will clean up a bit. You just sit." Zhang Linong tossed the key onto the kang and pulled Zhao Guodong outside. Once they were in the yard, he whispered a warning, "Don’t ask anything. Do you really want her to remember by looking at her hands?"
Zhao Guodong shook his head, his brows tightly knit, "What kind of situation is this? Normally, Ye Qian’s parents seem quite pleasant. Who would’ve thought they’d behave ?"
"You don’t know their situation, so don’t talk like that. Enough." Zhang Linong gave him a push, "You can’t even figure out your own situation. Don’t meddle in others’ affairs. Right now, you have two tasks before you. One is to go back to the compound and bring some food over, and the other is to go to the clinic for some medicine and bandages. Which do you want to handle?"
Unhappily, Zhao Guodong turned and walked out, "I’ll go to the compound."
"Come back quickly." Zhang Linong purposely sent Zhao Guodong away, knowing what tasks could really get him out.
When Zhang Linong returned to the room, he saw Ye Ling staring blankly out the window. Through the window, she must have seen them and heard their conversation. With his hands in his pockets, Zhang Linong leaned against the doorframe, glancing upward, "You’re smart, you know you’ll have to go back eventually. I know you’re upset, so stay here for a few days. I’ll send word to your family. Don’t worry, I won’t let them come. Return when you feel ready to face them."
"Thank you." Ye Ling greatly appreciated Zhang Linong’s thoughtfulness.
"You keep saying thank you, it betrays Dongzi’s feelings. He sees you as a good friend." Zhang Linong raised an eyebrow, "And I need to tidy up the place before Dongzi gets back, or he’ll be anxious."
Ye Ling couldn’t thank him again and simply raised her hand, "I can’t help right now."
"If you could help, then I wouldn’t even need to lift a finger." Zhang Linong fetched water outside and brought it in, wringing a cloth to wipe the kang.
He then tossed it onto the kang and went to replace the firewood to heat it.
With Ye Ling settled in, the Ye Family’s compound was eerily quiet, leaving everyone on edge.
Ye Qian hid in the West Room. Initially, seeing her parents trouble Ye Ling made her somewhat pleased, but the situation abruptly reversed, resulting in the current awkward scenario.
Bai Xue sat in the living room wiping tears. Mrs. Zhao, having heard the news, came by to console her for a while, but seeing as it got late, she also left. When Ye He Ping learned about his daughter from Shen Bin, he felt somewhat relieved and returned home.
Upon opening the door, the house was pitch dark. He switched on the light to find his wife sitting in a chair with red eyes. Upon his entry, she merely glanced at him before turning her gaze back to the window. A sense of frustration welled up within Ye He Ping, and he removed his shoes and went straight into the East Room, slamming the door hard.
Sitting in the living room, Bai Xue was startled, biting her lip but remaining silent. Of course, she regretted it now, regretting targeting that good-for-nothing girl. No one expected, when the younger daughter accidentally pushed in a moment of panic, it would injure two hands that way. Despite growing up in the countryside, she turned out overly fragile.
It left her feeling so aggrieved that she uttered those words, making her husband look at her as if he wanted to eat her alive. The more Bai Xue thought about it, the more she felt wronged and hateful. She had no intention of going out to find someone and couldn’t care less about what her husband thought anymore.
In the East Room, Ye He Ping couldn’t sleep no matter what. Hearing Shen Bin say she returned to the city put his mind at ease about potential dangers. The real issue was where she was staying. His wife mentioned about the money in his mother’s hand; now that she had it herself, he wasn’t worried about her having nowhere to stay the night. But surely, she couldn’t always stay outside.
This afternoon, due to the situation with their daughters, he rushed back from the company in a hurry and didn’t have lunch. Now with it being so late into the night and still without dinner, Ye He Ping finally sat up, left the East Room, and went to the kitchen to fry two eggs, eating them with some leftover lunch to fill his stomach. He tossed the dishes into the sink and was about to go back to the room.
"You just toss the dishes like that? Tomorrow morning, you’ll have to boil water to wash them. Given the family’s current situation, saving a little electricity is worthwhile. You spend all day at the company, oblivious to the difficulty of daily life, and then you come home just to waste resources." Bai Xue’s sarcastic tone threw out the remark.
Ye He Ping stopped, "Bai Xue, let me tell you, don’t keep looking for fights every day. We don’t even know how Ye Ling is doing now. Can you really sit there calmly as a mother?"
"Why can’t I stay calm? I made no mistakes; it was just her hands getting skinned in that situation. Could I intentionally hurt her? It’s her with the big temper, running away just because she heard something displeasing. This family does not need to house such a big Buddha. Her not coming back makes things quieter. Just see how chaotic our house has been since her return." Bai Xue patted her chest, "I’ll tell you, since everything is out in the open today, I’ll say it all. I simply don’t want her at home. Just seeing her annoys me, so now it’s up to you—she stays, or I take Ye Qian and leave. You choose one."
"Nonsense, she’s your daughter too." Ye He Ping looked at his wife in disappointment, "How can you say such things? To think like that? You’ve let me down so much."
Ye He Ping’s voice was exceptionally loud, carrying the authority he usually leverages at the company, pointing at Bai Xue, "Let me tell you, your mindset is a problem. You need to reflect deeply on yourself. Is this how a wife should think? Do you still see yourself as a professor’s wife? You tell me, you’re degenerating. Back when you had Ye Ling, you said you’d raise her well. Because my family only had me, you wanted to give me a son, yet you abandoned Ye Ling in the countryside. It turned out to be another daughter, and now you treat two daughters differently—you definitely have a mindset problem." The more Ye He Ping spoke, the angrier he became, pacing back and forth in the living room and occasionally turning back to glare fiercely at his wife.
Bai Xue’s face turned alternating shades of red and white, her whole body trembling involuntarily. "If I’m so terrible in your eyes, then let’s not continue being together. Divorce."
Screaming hysterically, Bai Xue simply felt the blockage in her chest finally vent out, followed by a deep fear rising from the depths of her being. (To be continued. If you work, you’re welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)