Jiang Qing's pupils trembled. After all, my mother's personality has always been noncompetitive.
She would follow his requests and never disobey.
Raising her hand to hit him—this was the first time!
The situation was tense, and I didn't expect it would be Rong Huaixu who broke the ice first. He said, "It's cold and windy, and you're pregnant, so don't get angry. Go home and get some rest."
So, love and hate are really obvious.
Jiang Qing's possessiveness of Xu Lan was childlike, while Rong Huaixu truly cared about her.
Everything he did, every word he said was for her.
Comparing the two, the difference was obvious.
I broke the silence in time, "Yes, Mom, let's go back first. The wind and snow are getting stronger."
"Okay." My mother calmed down and looked at Rong Huaixu. "I'm fine. Don't worry. Go back."
"Okay." He agreed politely, but he didn't move. He just stared at my mother. Until I could no longer see his figure in the rearview mirror, I knew he must still be there.
The blizzard blurred his vision. What was he thinking at that moment?
Jiang Qing had been silent since he got in the car, a layer of anger lingering around him, perhaps restrained by my presence.
When we arrived at the villa and saw him trying to follow in, my mother glared, "You're not welcome here. Go back to your place and spend the night!"
Jiang Qing glared at my mother coldly, "Xu Lan, you'd better not ask me to come back."
Perhaps he wanted to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to do it in front of me. My mother's words drowned out his words.
He stormed off, and I didn't care about the mess in the restaurant.
Seeing my mother's grim mood, I soothed her, "Go back to your room and rest. I'll have Yanchen find a skilled servant tomorrow. You're pregnant now, and you can't be alone anymore."
At the mention of the child, my mother's face darkened. She walked back to her room, her steps dazed and her feet shallow. I sat with my mother on the bed. "Mom, what do you think of this child?"
She stroked her still-unrevealed belly, a complex expression on her face.
She murmured, "This child shouldn't have been born."
As she spoke, reluctance filled her face. "I can't keep this child."
"Mom, the child is innocent. If you want a divorce, even with the child, it would only complicate the divorce process, but it wouldn't affect the final outcome."
I squatted beside my mother's legs, caressing her belly with my fingers. "The baby's heartbeat has just shown. Can you really bear to give it up?"
I've personally experienced so many bizarre things that I can't help but believe in the mystical.
Wanwan, are you back?
In your last life, the one you missed most was your mother. Will you come back to protect her in this life?
I've lost a child myself, so I don't support abortions.
Subconsciously, I also feel that your mother doesn't want to abort the child; it's more of a struggle. "Mom, do you want this child, or do you want Jiang Qing's child?"
My mother was a little upset. "Back then, Jiang Qing thought I drugged him. After we got married, he deliberately stayed out every night. We were young then, didn't understand marriage, and thought we had plenty of time to waste. He frequented prostitutes to get back at me. After learning I was drugged by my father, he and I actually had a good time for a while."
"He felt guilty about misunderstanding me and tried to coax me in various ways, but my heart wasn't with him. I fulfilled my wifely duties, but I buried my heart even deeper. Until he discovered I was still in love with Rong Huaixu, he was furious."
"It just so happened that Lin Hui showed up around that time. He got frustrated and went out drinking, and he had a child with her. But Wanwan, Huaixu and I had been in love for three years. We had agreed to get married as soon as we graduated from college, but..."
At this point, my mother choked up, her hands covering her cheeks, her eyes agape. Tears trickled down through her fingers. "I never expected your grandfather to do this. I was forced into marriage and found out I was pregnant within a single month. I was only a freshman at the time. Your father asked me to love him, but how could my heart obey? Even if he wanted me to let go of my previous relationship, that would take time. But he couldn't wait to bring his mistress into the house."
"Others feel sorry for me, but I'm actually happy. This way, he won't pester me to fulfill my marital obligations. I really thought he'd get tired of me and divorce me one day, but Jiang Qing refused to let go. He provoked me while simultaneously possessing me. Even though he had to provide the Xu family with a large sum of money every year, he wouldn't let go. Do you think I haven't mentioned divorce? But he always used the Xu family to threaten me. You know, your grandmother's health wasn't good, and life was tough in the Xu family. I had no choice..."
I understood. Jiang Qing was sick! He clearly loved Mom, but because of his chauvinism, instead of trying to win her heart, he resorted to provoking her after failing to do so. No wonder he didn't love Jiang Wanwan, because this selfish man only loved Mom!
Mom made him unhappy, so he tortured Jiang Wanwan to get back at her.
Perhaps he was using this method to force Mom to beg for mercy, to satisfy his male chauvinism.
"For years, your grandfather has been complaining about my uselessness, saying I failed to control his heart. If he didn't give birth to a son, the Jiang family's inheritance would be left to that mother and daughter. So, your grandfather is resorting to the same old tricks again..."
Hearing this, my heart ached.
What do women really mean to these men?
Twenty years ago, he sold his daughter once, and twenty years later, he sold her again for profit.
Recalling this, Mom refused to talk about it and just cried.
"I clearly took the medicine, so why did this happen? Wanwan, help me schedule an abortion. I can't have this child!"
Mom was overcome with emotion when her phone rang. The number had no notes.
I guessed who it was, because Mom's expression softened only when she glanced at the phone. "I'm home safely. Don't worry. That night..."
Mom glanced at me and quickly hung up. "Wanwan is with me. I'm fine."
I vaguely felt as if Mom had something else to say, but because I was there, she swallowed it.
That night, I stayed with Mom, and she told me a lot.
But she wouldn't budge on the matter of the child. She was determined to have an abortion.
Seeing I couldn't persuade her, I temporarily agreed and made an appointment with the hospital for the abortion next Monday.
There were still five days left, giving Mom time to think about it. She could change her mind at any time within those five days. After spending two days with her, she was still depressed and in a bad mood.
I didn't dare leave at this time.
The morning of the third day, I received a call from Lu Yanchen.
"Yanchen, did Jiang Zhi do it?" I asked anxiously. The man on the other end was silent for a moment before speaking, "Don't you have anything else to say besides Jiang Zhi and Su Ning'an?"
I sensed a hint of annoyance in him. Thinking back to my earlier showdown with Lu Shiyan, what was going on there? Had he discovered the secret within the Buddhist beads?
I asked, "What about Lu Shiyan? Has he done anything unusual these past two days?"
Lu Yanchen: "..."
I scratched my head. Did I say something wrong?
The man sighed and then spoke again, "I've found out. Jiang Zhi secretly paid a large sum of money to kill Su Ning'an. I suspect someone will take action in the next few days. Maybe we can lead to the person behind Su Ning'an."
"If she wants to protect herself, she'll inevitably involve her own forces! Then we'll be in a good position to take advantage."
The thought of this filled me with both anticipation and nervousness. Would the killer who killed me reappear?
"Besides these insignificant people, Wanwan, I haven't seen you in two days."
I hesitated for a moment. "Hmm?"
Lu Yanchen spoke word by word, "Don't you miss me?"