Wang Hao originally wanted to step forward and help, but he touched the gauze on his head.
He took two steps back and called out to Wang Meijuan,
"Sister, you go ahead. Pull your husband away."
Wang Meijuan didn't dare to hit Li Jun; she only reached out to block him.
Unexpectedly, Li Jun still grabbed her hair and beat her mercilessly.
She lay on the ground begging for mercy,
"Hubby, hubby, stop hitting me. If you beat me to death, who will make money for you?"
Li Jun finally let go.
Liu Chunlan and Wang Meijuan were both knocked to the ground.
The two of them hugged their heads and cried bitterly.
Liu Chunlan kept cursing Li Jun,
"You bastard! I never should have married Juan'er to you back then.
"If it wasn't for the high bride price you offered, how could I have agreed?
"But I never expected that all your money was borrowed. You've ruined my Juan'er."
Li Jun spat on the ground,
"What did you expect? Do you think just anyone can casually pull out hundreds of thousands? Of course I had to borrow it!
"Since your heart aches so much for your daughter, why don't you give the money back to her?
"Are you going to return it? If not, shut your mouth."
Wang Hao felt humiliated.
He turned around and walked away.
Liu Chunlan struggled to get up from the ground,
"Wang Hao, are you still my son?"
Wang Hao strode away without saying a word.
Liu Chunlan and Wang Meijuan supported each other, walking step by step toward Wangjia Village.
Being injured, they walked very slowly.
They walked until the sky was almost dark.
Passing by a small grove of trees, Liu Chunlan suddenly stopped.
Wang Meijuan asked her, "Let's go, Mom. It's getting dark. What are you looking at?"
Liu Chunlan pointed at the woods, "Are there two people over there?"
Wang Meijuan looked toward the woods and indeed saw two silhouettes embracing.
She didn't want to look closer,
"Let's go, Mom. My whole body aches."
But Liu Chunlan muttered,
"Why do I feel like that man looks a bit like your dad?"
Wang Meijuan didn't believe it at all,
"Mom, are you joking? How could that be Dad?
"He's so old. Your eyes are playing tricks on you. Let's hurry up and go."
Liu Chunlan still shouted toward the woods,
"Someone's coming!"
The two people in the woods immediately ran off in the opposite direction.
Liu Chunlan finally returned home, but she couldn't find Wang Jianguo anywhere.
She hurriedly called him,
"Wang Jianguo, where the hell are you? It's already dark and you're still not back!"
Wang Jianguo cursed her over the phone,
"Mind your own business! I'm just playing cards.
"Liu Chunlan, your wicked older brother is in the police station again. No one is going to back you up anymore.
"Don't even think about controlling me."
Liu Chunlan weakly put down the phone. She pulled Wang Meijuan and cried,
"Juan'er, how am I supposed to live like this?
"Mom is getting old, and my daughters-in-law are disobedient, each one worse than the last.
"I can only rely on you from now on."
Wang Meijuan quickly said,
"Mom, I'm your daughter. I'll definitely be filial to you.
"But right now, I'm in even more trouble than you are. Can you give me those hundreds of thousands first?
"Don't worry, Mom. As soon as I get back on my feet, I'll definitely take you in and treat you well so you can enjoy your old age."
Liu Chunlan cried even more heartbrokenly.
To think she had even gone to stand up for Wang Meijuan, and for what?
She only cared about her money.
She was so angry that she didn't even want to cook; she just lay down on the bed.
Wang Jianguo came back to find the house pitch black and not a single dish on the table.
He yelled in the living room,
"Liu Chunlan! Liu Chunlan!
"Where's the food? Where's my dinner?
"I've been busy all day, where is the food?"
Liu Chunlan heard him, but she didn't want to move.
She called out to Wang Meijuan,
"Juan'er, go make some food for your dad and Haohao. I really don't want to move."
Wang Meijuan didn't move either. "Mom, I don't want to eat."
Wang Jianguo heard this and turned on the light,
"You might not want to eat, but I do! Hurry up and cook.
"Damn it, when Lin Wanyi was here, when did I ever go without a meal?
"Get up, all of you, get up right now!"
He went over and pulled Wang Meijuan's ear,
"Can't you learn a bit from Lin Wanyi?
"She cleaned the house spotless every day and kept everything organized.
"There were always hot meals at home. What about you?
"Look at your deadpan face. If I were Li Jun, I wouldn't want you either."
Wang Meijuan felt a sharp pain from his pulling.
She screamed,
"Lin Wanyi, Lin Wanyi! If she was so great, why didn't you make her stay?
"She's gone, and she's never coming back!"
Wang Hao happened to hear this sentence.
He smoked one cigarette after another.
Sitting in the courtyard, he thought about his past with Lin Wanyi.
Yes, how warm it used to be, how happy it used to be.
He worked outside, and Lin Wanyi took care of the home.
Every day he came back to Lin Wanyi's smiling face and a piping hot meal.
They would eat and chat about everything under the sun.
Back then, he just thought it was ordinary, that life was supposed to be like that.
But now he realized that was true happiness.
How did it turn into this cold and lifeless state?
How did they end up like this?
He didn't know.
But he felt he hadn't done anything wrong.
Absolutely nothing wrong.
He sent another message to Lin Wanyi, saying he missed her.
But the only response he got was an exclamation mark.
He called Lin Wanyi again, but it couldn't connect.
He knew he had been blocked, but he just wanted to call.
Possessed by some strange impulse, he called Wang Keke.
Wang Keke's smartwatch automatically connected, and he heard her laughter.
He heard Li Suhua telling Wang Keke a story.
As he listened, tears suddenly streamed down his face.
Why?
Why did such a perfect family of three end up like this?
He missed the past so much.
Lin Wanyi's hospital room was a suite.
Lin Wanyi was resting in the inner room.
Liu Renzhi was outside making a phone call.
Lin Jiajun felt like a third wheel.
He frantically sent messages to Chen Hui:
[I'm so awkward. I feel so awkward being here. It shouldn't be like this. I'm her brother, why should I feel awkward?]
[Baby, what do you think is going on?]
[Why do I feel like an outsider?]
[This is too ridiculous. Maybe I should just go back. I'll go back right now.]
Chen Hui held her phone but didn't dare look at it because Liu Siyue was beside her.
Lately, Liu Siyue had been coming to see her all the time. They went shopping and mountain climbing together.
Liu Siyue's mood seemed to have improved a lot.
Of course, only seemingly.
As for how she actually felt, Chen Hui didn't know either.
Unable to get a reply from Chen Hui, Lin Jiajun felt even more uneasy.
Lin Wanyi found his fidgeting strange:
"Jiajun, what's wrong?
"Why are you pacing back and forth?"
Lin Jiajun didn't know what to say. He thought for a moment and asked Lin Wanyi:
"Sis, do you want a midnight snack?"
Before Lin Wanyi could speak, Liu Renzhi chimed in:
"I'll arrange whatever she wants to eat. Jiajun, go out and buy whatever you want for yourself."
Lin Jiajun fell silent. He grabbed his phone and fled the hospital room as if escaping a disaster.
Only after closing the door did he let out a long sigh of relief.
Inside the room, Liu Renzhi explained to Lin Wanyi:
"Don't overthink it. I've contacted the kitchen. You have injuries, so there are many things you can't eat.
"I just want you to recover soon."
Lin Wanyi still felt a bit too embarrassed to face Liu Renzhi.
She kept thinking about that night.
She had acted like a madwoman, losing all sense of propriety.
She asked Liu Renzhi:
"When can I be discharged from the hospital?"
Liu Renzhi sat on the chair beside the bed, his legs crossed:
"I'll ask the doctor tomorrow. As soon as you're cleared to be discharged, I'll take you home right away.
"Don't worry about anything else, not even the divorce.
"I will take care of everything."
