“Even if it had nothing to do with her, she has felt guilty and remorseful all these years.” Xu Haicheng sighed softly and said, “If I had known that you were carrying this misunderstanding with your mother, I should have explained it to her sooner.”

"What exactly happened? Could it be that she..." Xu Tingchuan stopped speaking and pursed his lips.

His mother prefers men more than others; how could he say that in front of his father?

“Yes, your mother does like Gu Huainan.” Xu Haicheng’s coffee tasted bitter. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “But things are not as you imagine. Back then, your mother, Gu Huainan, and Lin Youqi were all good friends in high school. She liked Gu Huainan a long time ago, but she never confessed.”

“Even if she liked Gu Huainan a long time ago, she shouldn’t still be thinking about someone else’s husband after getting married.” Xu Tingchuan felt that this was unfair to Xu Haicheng. He had watched his father treat his mother gently and considerately since he was a child, while his mother always had a cold and aloof demeanor.

"She didn't marry me willingly. Back then..." Xu Haicheng found it difficult to speak, and slowly recounted his memories.

He used some coercion to get her to marry him before she even graduated from university. He was a few years older than her. They met for the first time during the school's anniversary celebration when he returned as an honorary alumnus. They bumped into each other in a maple forest, and his eyes were immediately drawn to her; he fell in love with her at first sight.

However, she already had someone she longed for in her heart, and she ignored all his advances.

At that time, he was young and arrogant, very confident, and didn't believe that she really didn't like him. He felt that he was inferior to other men in every aspect, including family background, job, and appearance, so he thought she was playing hard to get and became more persistent despite the setbacks.

During his pursuit, he became increasingly attracted to her personality and truly fell in love with her.

However, he later learned that she had someone she truly loved, and by then he was already hopelessly in love.

On the day she was about to confess her feelings to Gu Huainan, he acted impulsively in anger and made a terrible mistake.

Afterwards, besides feeling regret, he also felt fortunate, perhaps because she would be with him because of this.

But things didn't go as he wished. In those times, she lost her virginity, but she still refused to compromise and even applied to study abroad.

He couldn't let her leave like that. He used his family connections and worked on her parents. Her parents wanted to protect more, so they forced her to marry him, even threatening suicide.

What truly drove her to despair and make her marry him was his manipulation of Gu Huainan and Lin Youqi to be together.

"That's how she married me. Your grandfather knows all about it. At first, he was very satisfied with Aru, but after the marriage, she was indifferent to everything around her. Over time, conflicts arose." Xu Haicheng didn't know what his father had said to Xu Tingchuan that led to such an irreparable situation between him and his mother.

"And then?" Xu Tingchuan asked after a long silence. No wonder he had always felt that his parents were different from others, and no wonder his mother and maternal grandparents did not have a good relationship.

"Later, Gu Huainan and Lin Youqi also got married," Xu Haicheng continued. "Your mother and they still maintain a very good friendship, and that unrequited love from back then will forever remain a secret."