Chapter 165 (Second Update) Maybe someone is thinking of me...

Gu Lin's shout made everyone who was focused on Fu Caiping turn their heads.

"grandmother."

Gu Lin rushed to the bedside and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her grandmother was still alive.

But seeing how thin and frail Grandma had become, with none of her former energy and spirit, made me feel terrible.

How come you've aged so much in just one month?

She deeply regretted not visiting her grandmother more often after getting married.

One of the reasons she married Yang Tao was that his family lived not far from her own, so she could visit them often even after marriage.

However, things didn't go as planned. No one understood better than her how much she had no control over her own life after getting married.

She always thought things would get better and that she would definitely have more time to go home in the future.

And so she thought, year after year, and before she knew it, her beloved grandmother had grown so old that she was barely recognizable as human.

Reality slapped her hard, making her finally understand a truth: time waits for no one.

In order to spend more time with her grandmother during the last days of her life, Gu Lin focused all her attention on her grandmother.

Aside from work, I spend most of my time in the hospital. Sometimes, when my grandmother's condition worsens, I even have to take leave to stay at the hospital.

At first, although the Yang family was unwilling, Fu Caiping had a terminal illness and didn't have many days left to live, so they couldn't be too heartless and let Gu Lin go to the hospital.

But as time went on, the Yang family began to have complaints.

Especially Yang's mother, ever since Gu Lin joined the group, she has basically just sat there with her legs crossed, enjoying herself and never doing any housework.

Now, not only do I have to take care of the children, but I also have to prepare three meals a day. After a few days, I'm so tired that I lie in bed pretending to be sick.

When Yang Tao came home from get off work, he saw his mother crying out in pain with a wet towel covering her forehead, and he immediately became anxious.

"Mom, where do you feel unwell?"

Yang's mother groaned in pain, "I feel uncomfortable all over."

"What's wrong? I was fine this morning, why am I suddenly feeling unwell?"

Yang's mother said bluntly, "It's because I'm tired. I have to take care of the children and do housework. I'm exhausted."

"The child is in school now..."

Yang Tao was about to retort when his mother scolded him, "Doesn't the child need to be picked up and dropped off at school? Do you think it's not tiring to do that every day?"

Yang Tao thought to himself, how tiring could it be? Gu Lin used to be able to handle it too. First, she would send the child to school, then go to work at the factory.

He thought that perhaps his mother was getting old and her health was not as good as Gu Lin's.

“I talked to Gu Lin and told her not to go to the hospital all the time, and that she should take care of the family as well.”

Hearing her son's words, Yang's mother was finally satisfied.

“Even if it’s out of filial piety, this many days should be enough. Besides, isn’t her grandmother terminally ill? No matter how much she tries to be filial, it’s useless; she’ll get it sooner or later…”

Yang's mother ultimately didn't utter that unlucky word.

Yang Tao also agrees with his mother's view.

Grandma was already sick even if she wasn't, and no amount of filial piety could change that.

However, on this day, Gu Lin still went to the hospital to accompany her grandmother after get off work, and did not leave until after 8 p.m.

When I got home, my family had already eaten dinner.

She thought that, like before, they would leave her some leftovers.

However, when they went into the kitchen and lifted the pot lid, they found nothing there.

Gu Lin instantly understood what was going on.

Her in-laws are unhappy that she leaves early and returns late every day, so they deliberately don't leave her any food.

Gu Lin felt extremely upset.

She wasn't out playing; she was spending time with her grandmother, who didn't have much time left. She'd only been gone a few days, and she was already getting impatient.

Gu Lin raised her head, forcing back the tears that were about to fall, took out a pancake, and cooked herself a vegetable and egg noodle soup.

Before the noodles were even cooked and she could take two bites, Yang's mother, who had been in her room, came out.

Seeing Gu Lin eating noodles, he feigned concern: "Didn't you have dinner? You came back so late, I thought you ate at the hospital."

When Gu Lin first married into the family, she couldn't detect the sarcasm in her mother-in-law's words and thought it was genuine concern.

But now, how could you not hear it? Your mother-in-law is always saying caring words while stabbing you in the heart.

She didn't explain much, just smiled.

No matter how I explain it, my mother-in-law will always find a loophole.

Even so, it doesn't mean that Yang's mother won't look for her shortcomings.

Yang's mother deliberately asked, "How is your grandmother?"

Gu Lin still couldn't help but feel sad when she talked about her grandmother.

She didn't know how to answer. Her in-laws hadn't visited her grandmother in the hospital for so long, and she felt very disheartened by this.

But what could she do if she felt heartbroken? She dared not do anything about it.

Gu Lin could only give a vague answer: "It's still the same, there's no improvement."

Yang's mother sighed, "You have to be mentally prepared for your grandmother's illness."

Gu Lin hummed in agreement.

It was because she was mentally prepared that she wanted to spend more time with her grandmother.

Unexpectedly, she heard her mother-in-law continue, "It's never going to get better. You neglect the household chores and the children all day long. This won't do."

"Mom..." Gu Lin looked up in astonishment, unable to believe that her usually gentle mother-in-law could be so heartless.

Her grandmother was lying in a hospital bed with little time left, and as her granddaughter, she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her in the final days of her life. Isn't that only natural?

Gu Lin felt both wronged and somewhat angry.

However, before she could vent her anger, Yang's mother quickly added, "I was just reminding you. I understand if you want to spend more time with your grandmother."

After saying that, she stood up with a smile: "I'm going back to my room to check on the child. He cried for a long time today and only fell asleep when he was tired from crying."

Gu Lin's anger, which she hadn't had time to vent, was easily swallowed back down by her mother-in-law.

She doesn't apply force directly to the chopsticks.

It's always like this. My mother-in-law is always like this. She says I'm not right, but she always manages to find the right balance in my rebuttal.

I feel so awful. I was so hungry, but suddenly I can't eat anymore.

Even though she couldn't eat, she forced herself to eat; she couldn't collapse at this moment.

Gu Lin was eating her noodles with gusto when her husband, who had gone out drinking with someone, finally returned.

Seeing her eat like a starving wolf, Yang Tao mocked, "Look at you, taking care of your grandma in the hospital, and they can't even spare you a bite to eat?"

Gu Lin replied, "The hospital isn't home. When you need to eat, you either bring food from home or buy it. It's not that convenient."

"Hehe, you're always taking care of me at the hospital, why don't I bring you anything?"

Gu Lin realized that Yang Tao was deliberately picking a fight.

"Yang Tao, what do you mean?"

"It's nothing, it's just that you don't care about your children, you go to the hospital every day to be filial, but your family won't even give you a bite to eat. It's so pitiful."

"Yang Tao, if you're unhappy that I went to the hospital to take care of Grandma, just say so. Don't talk about my family like this."

"What? You think I can't say anything to your family?" Yang Tao sneered. "Gu Lin, please don't forget your current status. You are now a daughter-in-law of the Yang family, and you should put the Yang family first in everything. Grandma is in the hospital, you can go for a few days to express your concern, but don't neglect your family. Look at your son, he's crying and making a fuss because he can't see you. And our mother, she has to take care of the children and do housework, and she's fallen ill."

Mother-in-law is sick?

If she hadn't just met her mother-in-law, she probably would have believed it.

Gu Lin suppressed her grievances and dissatisfaction and tried to communicate with Yang Tao properly.

“Yang Tao, you know my grandma’s situation. She may not have much time left. I just want to spend more time with her in the last days of her life.”

However, her forbearance did not earn Yang Tao's understanding.

"Your grandmother has a terminal illness, but it's not our family's fault. Besides, they say she doesn't have much time left, but who knows when she'll die?"

"Yang Tao!"

Upon hearing that word, Gu Lin completely lost her composure.

"That's my own grandmother, the one who raised me since I was a child. How could you say such cold-blooded and heartless things?"

"Am I wrong? If she has a few more months to live, are you going to neglect your son and family during those months?"

Overwhelmed with grief, Gu Lin said, "If my grandmother had lived for a few more months, I wouldn't be visiting her every day like this."

...

That night, the two had their biggest argument since they got married.

Finally, the son came out of Yang's mother's room crying and begged them to stop arguing, and the two finally calmed down.

Lying back to back on the bed, Gu Lin couldn't help but think back to her marriage with Yang Tao.

It's said that a son-in-law is like half a son, but Yang Tao not only doesn't treat her parents as his own, he also never cares about her family's affairs.

She used to deceive herself, saying that every son-in-law is like that, and that old sayings are just nice words. After all, there is no blood relation, and they have never spent time together. How could the two families develop feelings for each other just because two young people get married?

Perhaps over time, as people spend more time together, feelings will develop.

But they've been married for several years?

How has Yang Tao treated her parents and family? Can she continue to deceive herself?

In truth, she had long since lost the ability to deceive herself.

A man's attitude towards you and your family has little to do with blood ties or feelings; it all depends on whether he has a conscience.

My cousin's wife marrying my cousin is the best example.

She'd heard a bit about her cousin's family from her grandmother; they weren't even as family-oriented as them. But how did her cousin's family treat them? And how did Yang Tao treat them?

She's just cowardly; she's afraid to face the truth.

Her grandmother's situation forced her to reflect.

The Yang family is the most cold-hearted. Isn't the reason she has been living in such anxiety these past few years precisely because she understands this?

If she and Yang Tao want to continue their relationship, the only way is for her to compromise, to keep compromising.

Grandma's issues, resigning from work, relying on my cousin for support, having a second child... one thing after another, I had to compromise.

Life is long, can she really compromise?

Gu Lin felt lost and desperate.

She suddenly wondered, what would her cousin-in-law do?

Tang Mingli, who was far away at the Fu family's house, suddenly sneezed.

The sneeze startled the Fu family.

Everyone lost interest in watching TV and quickly asked her if she had caught a cold.

Although it's sunny every day, it's autumn now, and it's still a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings.

Tang Mingli waved her hand: "No, no, my nose was just a little itchy."

"Is that so? Is there dust in the house?"

Upon hearing Madam Fu's words, Zhang Guihua immediately said, "I'll thoroughly clean the house again tomorrow."

Fu's mother also said, "Tomorrow is my day off, I'll help with it."

Tang Mingli didn't expect that her casual remark would have such an effect, and quickly added, "It might not be an itch. As the saying goes, 'Thinking about someone leads to cursing them, and then catching a cold.' Maybe someone is thinking about me."