Chapter 159 Final Chapter: If Thread

"Let go!" Song Zihang looked coldly at the so-called relative.

The relative was frightened by Song Zihang's cold gaze, and she dared not approach him again.

Song Zihang is gone; he can't stay here forever.

Over the years, Song Zihang has been ridiculed countless times for his incomplete family. He knows those people are just jealous of him. They are jealous that his father is a military leader and his mother is an outstanding researcher. His parents are divorced, and they seem to have seized on this imperfection to attack Song Zihang.

Song Zihang doesn't like to smile at strangers, so they call him cold-hearted. When he starts his own business, they say he's a typical businessman. In short, they just don't want Zihang to have a good life, they don't want him to be better off than them.

It's such a small matter, how could Song Zihang not understand? Let others do whatever they want. Anyway, Song Zihang can't be intimidated by those people's actions. Those people are no good, why bother making such a fuss?

When Song Zihang returned home, Song Fenglan asked him a few questions, to which Song Zihang gave a brief explanation.

"Ignore those people," Song Fenglan said.

“Yes.” Song Zihang nodded. “When I left, Dad was still trying to stop those people.”

“That’s what he should have done,” Song Fenglan said.

Even if Qin's mother were gone, Song Fenglan and Qin Yizhou would never remarry. If they did, people would say they deliberately waited for Qin's mother to die, and there might be other things going on. It's better not to remarry or be together. Haven't they been living quite well all these years without remarrying or being together?

Song Fenglan understood this clearly, and Qin Yizhou naturally knew it too. Qin Yizhou didn't intend to reconcile with Song Fenglan at this time, but that didn't mean the Qin family had no plans.

Sixty days after Qin's mother passed away, Qin's father spoke with Qin Yizhou. The two talked in the living room without anyone else around.

"Do you still really like Zihang's mother?" Qin's father asked. "Now that your mother is gone, you two can..."

“No,” Qin Yizhou said. “I can, but she can’t. She can’t waste her time on these trivial matters; the Qin family is a huge problem for her.”

Qin Yizhou couldn't let the Qin family become a burden to Song Fenglan, nor could he disturb Song Fenglan's research. It was better to let Song Fenglan focus on her work.

"Isn't she not married yet?" Qin's father frowned.

“Just because she’s not married doesn’t mean she has to get married in her life,” Qin Yizhou said. “She can live a very good life even without marriage.”

"This..." Qin's father sighed, "If you've thought it through, then it's up to you, but..."

“Zihang cannot change his surname to Qin,” Qin Yizhou said.

"If you don't want to change your surname, then don't," said Qin's father. "Sigh, how did things come to this?"

"..." Qin Yizhou didn't want to talk about these things. How did things get to this point? It had a lot to do with his family. If his family hadn't gone too far, Song Fenglan could have divorced him before going abroad, and the two could have remarried after she returned to China.

But the situation is different now. Song Fenglan and the Qin family have had a very unpleasant falling out. Just because Qin's mother is dead doesn't mean those things have simply disappeared. There are still many things that need to be dealt with, things that cannot be ignored.

Before long, it was time for Zhang Xiaohu's engagement. He got engaged to a female employee at the factory named Liang Yingyue. Liang Yingyue didn't ask Zhang Xiaohu to buy another house. She was from the countryside and was content to marry a city man and have a city residency permit. Zhang Xiaohu's brother had a house and didn't need to live with his sister-in-law, so Liang Yingyue figured that the sister-in-law's house could eventually be given to Zhang Xiaohu.

Before Liang Yingyue got engaged to Zhang Xiaohu, she said that if they didn't buy a house, the old house would belong to her and Zhang Xiaohu.

The couple, Fatty and his wife, were short of funds and didn't have enough money. If they bought a new house for Zhang Xiaohu, they would be in debt. Since Liang Yingyue agreed not to buy a house, they would simply live together.

After the engagement, the fat woman and her husband still had to prepare the remaining dowry.

Liang Yingyue's requested dowry wasn't particularly high, but that portion was intended as compensation for her parents, who would never give her any more dowry.

Fatty Sister-in-law still had some dissatisfaction with Liang Yingyue, and she mentioned it to Fan Yani.

“She’s a country girl with no city residency. I didn’t look down on her and was willing to let her marry into the family. But the dowry she’s asking for is a bit too much,” said the plump woman. “Our family can afford it, but… their family wants to keep the dowry.”

“If you’re not satisfied, then don’t want her,” Fan Yani said. It’s a matter of mutual consent; you can’t always blame others. Since Fatty Sister-in-law will have to live under the same roof as Liang Yingyue in the future, and they’re mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, “Since you’ve already prepared the dowry, don’t speak ill of her, to avoid future conflicts.”

Fan Yani didn't want to get involved in other people's mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflicts; those things had nothing to do with her. If her sister-in-law couldn't do her job properly, Fan Yani could simply stop her from doing those things and let someone else do them. There are many paths to Rome; she didn't have to stick to her sister-in-law's route.

Lin Jiajia and Zhang Wen clashed again over Zhang Xiaohu's bride price. The reason was that the fat couple didn't have much money, and Zhang Xiaohu had no savings, so the fat couple even asked Zhang Wen if he had any money.

Lin Jiajia found it utterly ridiculous. Before Zhang Xiaohu's engagement, he borrowed money from Zhang Wen and never paid it back. Now, Zhang Xiaohu wanted to get married, and Zhang Wen was expected to contribute some money. Lin Jiajia was bound to be dissatisfied. She naturally wanted to have a serious talk with Zhang Wen. It wasn't that she didn't want Zhang Wen to help Zhang Xiaohu, but the old house was going to be given to him anyway, and it was quite large. She hadn't heard of her in-laws offering any compensation; instead, they wanted them to pay for Zhang Xiaohu's wedding.

“Your parents said they would pay back the money. How will you feel about asking them for it back then?” Lin Jiajia said. “After Zhang Xiaohu gets married, he and his wife will have children, and there will be all sorts of things to deal with.”

Lin Jiajia had a headache just thinking about it; she couldn't very well ask her and her husband to help Zhang Xiaohu raise his child.

“The eldest brother is like a father, don’t always use that phrase,” Lin Jiajia said. “Your parents are still alive, and they didn’t do a good job. They didn’t manage your brother well. If your parents had managed those things better, your brother wouldn’t be in this situation.”

"I……"

"I can give you money this time, but not in the future," Lin Jiajia said. "It's happened time and time again. Marriage is a big deal, so I'll just let it go."

"Okay," was all Zhang Wen could say.

Zhang Xiaohu got married and had children early. After having children, he was short of money for baby formula and other expenses, so he asked his wife and husband to pay for it.

Lin Jiajia had seen it all. People told her that her in-laws favored her younger brother and sister-in-law more, giving them all the good things. What could Lin Jiajia say? They lived under the same roof; of course, that's how it was. Lin Jiajia just wanted to understand that as long as Zhang Xiaohu didn't ask Zhang Wen for additional subsidies, that would be enough.

Lin's mother also told Lin Jiajia to take it easy, as many parents feel sorry for their youngest son.

"The more you make a fuss, the more attention you get." Lin's mother cooked a meal for Lin Jiajia at her home. "You have a house now, and you don't need to spend any more money. That's all."

"Yes." Lin Jiajia nodded. "That's the only way to think about it."

“Some things, the more you think about them, the more unhappy you become,” Lin’s mother said. “There’s no need for that.”

"I know," Lin Jiajia said. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease."

Lin Jiajia understood the Zhang family's situation. For the sake of everyone's future well-being, she decided not to cause trouble; it wouldn't make a difference. Taking less was fine; the most important thing was to live a good life herself.

Song Zihang married Xu Yan, and everyone said that Song Zihang had no feelings for her, and that they were just compatible. Xu Yan just wanted to roll her eyes at those comments. What kind of lives did those people lead if they had feelings for each other?

It's ridiculous. They all just talk nonsense and don't know how to do things properly. If they were doing well themselves, they wouldn't be talking about whether others are doing well or not. They only think about others being unhappy so that they can make themselves seem better.

Song Zihang's company is doing well, involved in parts manufacturing and related research. Song Zihang himself is good at research; he earned his doctorate, but he simply didn't want to be tied down within the system.

If Song Zihang hadn't experienced those things as a child, he might have chosen the same path as his mother, staying directly within the system. Song Zihang's thinking was simple: if he truly had the ability, he could still get into the system later if he wanted to. Song Zihang just wanted to do more things while he was young.

Xu Yan is a high school teacher. She is very filial to Song Fenglan, but she doesn't care about the Qin family. Xu Yan asked Song Zihang to send some food to Qin Yizhou, and she would greet Qin Yizhou when she saw him, but Xu Yan respected Song Fenglan more.

Fortunately, Qin's father and his group did not come looking for Song Zihang and his wife, as they all knew that Song Zihang and his wife would not side with them.

Several years after Qin's mother passed away, Song's mother still asked Song Fenglan if she wanted to be with Qin Yizhou, and Song Fenglan again said "no." The rest of the Qin family were still alive; even if the entire Qin family were dead, it wouldn't make sense, because past conflicts couldn't simply disappear.

Xu Yan knew what people outside were saying about Song Zihang and Song Fenglan. Whether Song Zihang lacked family affection was none of their business. They could say whatever they wanted; they all loved to spread rumors.

When Xu Yan's older sister was having dinner with Xu Yan, Xu Yan's older sister deliberately brought up Song Zihang's matter.

"I heard your brother-in-law is often away from home. Doesn't he care about you?" Sister Xu said. "You have to be careful. Be careful he doesn't have a mistress. Didn't his uncle have a mistress? This shows that his family might do such things."

"He won't." Xu Yan knew perfectly well what her older sister was thinking; her sister just wanted to see her suffer. Her sister always found various reasons to criticize her, and Xu Yan was already used to it. "By the way, brother-in-law often works overtime, right? Is he really working overtime? It's not uncommon for family members to have affairs."

"You..." Sister Xu said unhappily, "I was just trying to remind you, but you said that. Your brother-in-law has money, so much money, so many people are eyeing him."

“That’s true. My brother-in-law doesn’t have much money, and he’s holding onto it. Your sister’s husband is different; he’s put the house deed and all his earnings in my hands,” Xu Yan said. “We have twins, a boy and a girl. He said I don’t have to have any more, but of course, I can have more if I want. Since our family is rich, we don’t have to worry about not being able to afford to raise children. By the way, sister, didn’t you say you were going to have the kids learn piano? Have they started? Are they continuing?”

Xu Yan couldn't let her sister say those things. Let others say Song Zihang was cold and heartless; their mouths weren't on her body. All Xu Yan could do was trust her husband, not question him, and not make a mess of things.

Whatever others say is fine, as long as they don't say it in front of Xu Yan. Xu Yan was unhappy when her older sister said that; what right did her sister have to say that? Xu Yan thought her older sister was out of her mind. They were sisters; her own well-being didn't affect her sister's. Xu Yan hadn't gotten anything good from her sister, and all her sister did was criticize her.

"I still have to learn," Sister Xu said awkwardly. "This...that..."

“Speak,” Xu Yan said.

"I need to borrow some money from you," Sister Xu said. "Your brother-in-law... he tried investing in stocks and lost some money. He doesn't have enough money to enroll his child in piano lessons, so he can only borrow some first. I went to my parents, but they said your brother-in-law should borrow the money himself."

Sister Xu felt that her parents were bullying her; they disrespected her because she was having a hard time. It was just a loan, and she wasn't going to refuse to pay it back.

“Mom and Dad are right,” Xu Yan said. “We have to let my brother-in-law know that borrowing money is not easy. We can’t let him think that he can borrow money easily. If that’s the case, how can he still be cautious? He will be reckless. It’s true that our family is rich, but our money didn’t grow on trees. This time we’ll let it go and write an IOU. But next time, it won’t be so easy.”

Xu Yan really didn't want to lend money to her older sister, but thinking about her sister's child, she lent it to her anyway. Xu Yan was always speechless at her older sister's awkward demeanor. Even though it was her sister who asked for the money, she still said such things.

"Even if I save it for you," Sister Xu said, "with your husband like this, he'll... you'd better save some money."

“I own several properties,” Xu Yan said. “Big sister, do you have any? Big sister, you'd better not say such things. You are my big sister, not my enemy. It's not appropriate for you to always speak ill of your brother-in-law like that.”

"I'm not afraid that you only know men..."

“I know what kind of person I am. Sister, you should also know what kind of person you are,” Xu Yan said. “Do you really think my man doesn’t know what kind of person you are, that he doesn’t know you talk about him behind his back? He’s only not talking about you because he’s giving me face. Sister, you’d better visit our house less often in the future.”

Xu Yan disliked how these people always judged Song Zihang based on their own assumptions. Song Zihang was clearly a very good person, yet these people insisted he lived in an unhealthy family environment, criticizing him for this and that. Xu Yan lived with Song Zihang; how could she not know what kind of person he was?

Song Zihang is very good to Xu Yan. If he has to work overtime, he will tell her. Sometimes, if he has to work overtime unexpectedly, he will call home. If he doesn't call himself, he will have someone at the company call him. Occasionally, if he doesn't call, Song Zihang will explain to Xu Yan when he gets home.

Xu Yan thought Song Zihang had already done very well. Song Zihang said he experienced some things when he was young; his father was in the army, and his mother didn't accompany him, so some things inevitably happened. Song Zihang didn't know if he had done enough, and he asked Xu Yan to point out where he hadn't done well enough so he could correct it. Song Zihang had already been so sincere; Xu Yan couldn't keep pointing out his faults.

In front of Xu's mother, Xu Yan also spoke ill of her eldest sister.

"Mom, my eldest sister is really problematic. She asked me for money, saying she would help me save it, and that my husband would betray me." Xu Yan sneered, "She's so shameless."

"You know her, she's just like that," Xu's mother said. "Just ignore her. Did you lend her money?"

"Hmm." Xu Yan nodded. "I didn't want to lend her money, but I'm a mother now, and it's good for the child to learn more in the future. If it weren't for the child, I wouldn't lend her a single penny."

“Although she is your own sister, you don’t need to be too gentle with her,” Xu’s mother said. “Your eldest sister has a bad temper and always talks to you like that. It wouldn’t be good if your son-in-law found out.”

"My older sister wouldn't think that way at all. She'd think she's backing me up," Xu Yan scoffed. "If I argue with my man, she'll definitely hide and laugh. No, she won't hide and laugh; she'll laugh right in front of me."

"Let's not talk about your eldest sister," Xu's mother said. "Just see her as little as possible. Don't get upset over her affairs; it's not worth it."

“It’s really not worth it,” Xu Yan said. “My older sister doesn’t even know how good others are to her. She only knows that others are doing better than her, and that’s unacceptable. As the older sister, she should be living a better life than me.”

Later, when Fatty's house was demolished for redevelopment, Zhang Xiaohu and his wife felt that since it had been agreed from the beginning that the old house belonged to them, they should receive the lion's share of the compensation. They were afraid that Zhang Wen and his wife would take half of it. Zhang Wen and his wife didn't intend to fight for it, but they were very disheartened after learning about Zhang Xiaohu and his wife's thoughts.

Zhang Wen and his wife had helped Zhang Xiaohu a lot, so when it came time for their house to be demolished, Zhang Xiaohu and his wife were afraid that Zhang Wen and his wife would seize their property.

The fat couple's household registration is still there, and they have a share. They will divide a portion of their share and give it to Zhang Wen and his wife.

“Mom, since you’ve distributed the demolition compensation to my eldest brother and sister-in-law, they have to support you in your old age,” Zhang Xiaohu’s wife said. “They can’t not support you in your old age.”

Zhang Xiaohu's wife's idea was simple: since Zhang Wen and his wife had received a share of the demolition compensation, it shouldn't be Zhang Xiaohu and his wife's responsibility to take care of Fat Sister and her husband in their old age; Zhang Wen and his wife should help them more.

Zhang Wen and his wife had no objections, but Fatty's wife and her husband were quite heartbroken. Zhang Xiaohu and his wife had taken the most belongings from the house, and even at the end, they were still saying these things.

People say that once a man has a wife, he forgets his mother, and Fatty thinks those people are right.

As time passed, Qin's father passed away, and Song Fenglan and Qin Yizhou did not remarry.

Everyone says Song Fenglan is too heartless, saying that Qin Yizhou sacrificed so much for her, helping her when the Song family was down on their luck. But later, when the Song family prospered and Song Fenglan was successful, why couldn't she and Qin Yizhou remarry?

If Song Fenglan were just an ordinary woman who hadn't pursued scientific research but had instead focused on business, perhaps she would have remarried Qin Yizhou. But after Song Fenglan went into scientific research, a voice inside her constantly urged her to hurry, hurry, and hurry again; she should be developing better fighter jets quickly, instead of indulging in romance.

Personal feelings can take a backseat to the motherland; romantic love between two people is not that important.

Qin Yizhou did not remarry, nor did Song Fenglan. Qin Yizhou did not date other women, nor did Song Fenglan date other men.

Regardless of what others said about her, Song Fenglan knew she had truly wronged Qin Yizhou. But she really didn't want to waste time on romantic entanglements and family matters. If Song Fenglan were to remarry Qin Yizhou, the Qin family would inevitably come after her.

When Qin Yizhou grew old, he passed away first.

Song Fenglan brought chrysanthemums for Qin Yizhou and stood in front of his tombstone.

They could not be together until the end of their lives.

If there is a next life... perhaps it would be better if Qin Yizhou didn't meet her in the next life.

No matter how much affection two people have, sometimes it's useless because their families and parents still have a significant impact on them.

Song Fenglan was undoubtedly heartbroken. She had thought about continuing her relationship with Qin Yizhou, and even after returning to China, there was a moment when she considered remarrying him. However, her heart was filled with love for her country, and she had no room to deal with Qin's family.

Perhaps someone like her doesn't deserve anyone's love.

Song Fenglan turned around, her eyes slightly red. Qin Yizhou was gone.

"Mom." Song Zihang helped Song Fenglan up.

"It's raining." Song Fenglan looked up at the sky.

"Yes, it's raining," Song Zihang replied.

"You all go back, I'll go to the research institute," Song Fenglan said. She could still work and needed to continue her research.

Song Fenglan made a will. Since she and Qin Yizhou did not remarry, they could not be buried together. Song Fenglan's will stipulated that she be cremated and her ashes scattered at sea, so that she could look at the blue sky and the sea, guarding the country's territorial waters, and also watch the fighter jets flying overhead.

Song Zihang naturally followed Song Fenglan's will, as did the relevant officials. Qin's youngest son then stepped forward, saying that neither Qin Yizhou nor Song Fenglan remarried, that they still cared for each other, and that they should be buried together.

Haha, who cares what Brother Qin's youngest son said? Song Fenglan left a will, so it's not up to Brother Qin's youngest son to say those things.

Years ago, when Song Zihang was around thirty-five, he joined a national research institute. After running his company for a few years, he let his wife manage it, giving her all the shares. He assured her he would resolve any problems that arose. Song Zihang then joined the research institute, doing research just like his mother.

Over the years, Song Zihang has achieved great success in his field. When people mention Song Zihang, they still say that he is Song Fenglan's son. Song Fenglan was truly remarkable; so many people remember her name.

Song Fenglan received many medals and awards, all of which were kept in a special room. After Song Fenglan passed away, Song Zihang donated them to a museum. One of the medals was buried with Qin Yizhou; since Song Fenglan was not buried with Qin Yizhou, her medal was buried with him instead.

To say that Song Fenglan had no feelings for Qin Yizhou would be a lie.

Song Fenglan was worthy of the Song family and the country, but she failed Qin Yizhou.

Qin Yizhou didn't resent Song Fenglan. He knew they both had personal love and a greater love for their country. If there were an afterlife, he would definitely treat Song Fenglan better. Their ancestors sacrificed their lives in bloody battles, and they sacrificed their personal love to still see each other—that was already very good.