Just as Wang Hao opened his mouth to retort, Lin Jiajun continued:
"Your dad still has a few months left, but my dad only had a few days left back then, and you didn't even let my sister come back.
"My dad was the one who died with unrest in his heart. He was the one who passed away harboring hatred for you.
"Why didn't you think about fulfilling your filial duties back then? Why didn't you think about how filial piety is the most important of all virtues?
"Now this is your retribution, true retribution.
"Wang Hao, get the hell out of here!"
Wang Hao did not leave.
His voice choked with sobs.
"I'm begging you, Jiajun.
"Let them come back with me. I came all this way to pick them up myself.
"I promise you, as long as they come back with me, I swear I will treat them well for the rest of my life.
"I absolutely will not let my mother and sister bully them ever again.
"Jiajun, please, let me go inside."
Lin Jiajun didn't step aside. Instead, Li Suhua delivered another fierce slap to Wang Hao's face.
Her eyes were red with anger:
"You're swearing again, Wang Hao. You're making promises again.
"Eight years ago, you made this exact same vow. You swore in front of me and her father that you would treat Wanyi well for a lifetime.
"We believed you back then. We gave you a chance.
"But what did you do? Did you treat her well? Tell me, did you treat her well?"
Taking the slap, Wang Hao didn't get angry. Instead, he dropped to his knees in front of Li Suhua with a heavy thud:
"Mom, it's my fault. I was wrong.
"I wronged you and Wanyi, but I didn't do it on purpose.
"It was all my mother and my sister. It was them.
"I never wanted to torment Wanyi, I really didn't."
"You didn't?"
Li Suhua slapped him yet again:
"If you didn't, then why didn't you let her come home for the New Year? For eight long years, you never let her come back to her maiden home for the holidays even once.
"On the second day of the Lunar New Year, when daughters all across the country return to visit their parents, you still wouldn't let her come back.
"You made her serve your entire family day in and day out, and you call that treating her well?
"When her father passed away, you wouldn't even let her come back to see him one last time.
"You didn't let her bring her child to the funeral, and before the first seven days of mourning were even over, you demanded she return immediately.
"Is this what you call treating her well?
"Wang Hao, what kind of 'good' is this? Keep this kind of 'good' for yourself and your sister, alright?"
Wang Hao finally shed tears, his lips beginning to tremble:
"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry.
"I was stupid. I let my mother brainwash me.
"She told me that if Wanyi went back to her parents' home, she would never return to ours.
"I was scared. Hearing her say that terrified me.
"I was terrified of losing Wanyi. Mom, I was so afraid of losing her because I love her. I truly love her."
Li Suhua glared at him one last time:
"Wang Hao, she cannot bear the weight of your love.
"If you truly love her, then let her go. Sign the divorce papers. Dragging this out is no good for anyone."
"No, I won't divorce her.
"Mom, I never agreed to a divorce.
"Believe me, from now on I will absolutely be a good husband, a good..."
Before he could say the word "father," the police arrived.
Ma Jinhua immediately pointed at Wang Hao: "Officer, it's him. It's him.
"This outsider beat up my son. Arrest him quickly and make him pay compensation."
Wang Hao retorted:
"That's not what happened, Officer. It's not like that.
"I didn't do it on purpose. I was forced to act in self-defense.
"They took advantage of my absence to bully my wife and child."
They each stuck to their own stories, and ultimately, the police took them all to the station.
Wang Hao never imagined that on his very first day at Lin Wanyi's family home, he would end up in a police station.
He begged Lin Wanyi:
"Save me, Wanyi. Save me."
Naturally, Lin Wanyi did not go to save him.
She hadn't even processed what was happening; she had locked herself in her room.
How could Wang Hao be here? Why did he come?
Outside her door, Lin Jiajun said:
"Sis, don't be afraid. You're in the Lin family home now, not Wang Family Village.
"Don't be scared of him. He wouldn't dare do anything to you."
Lin Wanyi knew Wang Hao wouldn't dare try anything vicious again, but she still felt an instinctive, deep-rooted fear of him.
She pulled the quilt over her head and tried to sleep, thinking she could forget everything once she drifted off.
But the police called her.
Because she and Wang Hao had not yet finalized their divorce, the police asked her to come and collect him.
At the police station, Wang Hao cried bitterly:
"Wanyi, I really came here to beg you to come back.
"You don't know what kind of life I've been living during the time you've been away.
"I toss and turn, unable to sleep night after night. I keep thinking about you, about Keke, and about the life we used to have.
"Wanyi, let's go back. Let's go back to how things used to be.
"I'll work hard to make money. You and Keke can stay comfortably at home, sleeping as long as you want and waking up whenever you please. Doesn't that sound good?
"Wanyi, please?"
Lin Wanyi was not swayed in the slightest:
"Wang Hao, if you really want what's best for me, then please sign the papers as soon as possible.
"Don't drag this out anymore. Don't torment me anymore.
"I'm begging you too, please?"
"No!"
Wang Hao suddenly raised his voice, catching sight of Zhao Delin walking over.
"Are you divorcing me just so you can marry him?
"Lin Wanyi, how long have you even been back? Two or three months?
"Are you so lonely and desperate that you just couldn't wait to find another man?"
"Wang Hao!"
Lin Wanyi loudly rebuked him:
"Don't just open your mouth and spout nonsense, alright? I have absolutely nothing to do with him.
"I haven't even thought about getting married again. I'm not going to remarry."
Wang Hao gave a mock smile:
"Is that so? Lin Wanyi, then what about Liu Renzhi?
"That bastard you were sleeping with? It hasn't even been that long, and you've already moved on to another man?
"Did he decide he didn't want you anymore? Hahaha, I told you the two of you weren't from the same world. I told you he would dump you, and sure enough, he did."
Not waiting for Lin Wanyi to answer, he turned to glare at Zhao Delin:
"Brother, don't blame me for not warning you. This woman might look honest and innocent on the surface.
"But in her bones, she's a total slut.
"Do you know why she wants to divorce me?
"Because she cheated. Because she set her eyes on other men, because she..."
The rest of his words were abruptly cut off by Lin Wanyi slapping him across the face:
"Wang Hao, if you keep this up, I will sue you for slander."
Wang Hao covered his face and spat on the ground:
"Sue me then, Lin Wanyi! What else do you even know how to do these days besides suing people?
"Liu Renzhi taught you that, didn't he? Threatening to sue everyone at the drop of a hat.
"Fine, go ahead and sue. I'll play this game with you to the bitter end."
"Wang Hao, you're nothing but a scoundrel."
Lin Wanyi didn't spare him another glance, turning on her heel and walking away.
Wang Hao continued to follow closely behind her.
He truly wanted to slap himself a few times.
He didn't know why he acted this way. He had come here to apologize and beg for a reconciliation.
But the moment he saw another man standing next to Lin Wanyi, he felt like he was going to explode.
Those filthy words just spilled out of his mouth, one after another.
He couldn't control himself at all.
Even though he really didn't want to say them.
He followed Lin Wanyi all the way home, but Lin Jiajun absolutely refused to let him through the door.
He sat outside the courtyard, shouting into the house every now and then.
Even Zhao Yulan couldn't stand to watch it anymore. She told Wang Hao to leave:
"What's the use of you loitering around here? When she came back last year, weren't you still ruthlessly controlling Wanyi?
"I still remember she didn't even have two thousand yuan to her name back then.
"You didn't treat her well back then, so what's the point of putting on this act now?"
