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This is her son!
When I left, she was just over a year old; when we met again, she was almost forty.
For some reason, He Jingyu recognized Bai Qiongyu at a glance. He walked up to Bai Qiongyu, knelt down and said, "Thank you for giving me life!"
Then came three loud slaps!
Putting aside the matter between her and her father, he could not deny the kindness of the woman who carried him for ten months and gave birth to him.
He Jingyu was involved throughout his wife's pregnancy, knowing how difficult pregnancy is for women.
He cannot deny this kindness just because Bai Qiongyu did not raise him!
Seeing her son kneel down and kowtow, Bai Qiongyu also knelt on the ground, hugged He Jingyu's head tightly, and said, "My son!"
At this moment, everyone felt their noses sting and their eyes burn.
After a while, Bai Qiongyu and He Jingyu calmed down a bit.
"Can I talk to you alone?" He Jingyu asked, his voice choked with emotion. Even if his mother was lying to him, he wanted to hear her reasons.
Bai Qiongyu nodded and said, "Okay, let's talk."
If it's her fault, she should apologize.
She didn't want to lose her son again. She was old and didn't have much time to squander or escape.
He Tiantian opened the door and invited her grandmother and father to her room to talk.
This is a matter between the mother and son; it's best if other people don't get involved.
Once inside, Bai Qiongyu said, "Jingyu, I know you want to ask me why I left back then?"
"Yes." He Jingyu nodded.
Bai Qiongyu listened with a bitter smile and said, "Fine, I'll tell you everything now. You can judge for yourself whether it's right or wrong. Back then, your father and I defied your maternal grandfather's objections and returned to China from America. Your father was a teacher, and I wanted to find a job, which was extremely difficult. Several times, I had to resign because of harassment from my superiors. I'm a restless person, and I quickly became impatient at home. So, I started arguing with your father. Your grandmother was a conservative woman; she disapproved of my behavior, but because your father liked me, she reluctantly accepted me. Fortunately, I became pregnant, and our arguments temporarily stopped because of your arrival. I stayed home to rest and prepare for childbirth, while your father went to work. However, this was just the beginning of a nightmare. Your grandmother..." I know they brought in a girl, sixteen or seventeen years old, saying I was pregnant and couldn't take care of my son, so they wanted that girl to be your father's concubine. Later I found out that the girl was your father's distant cousin. I disagreed. Your father promised not to take a concubine, but that girl was his cousin, and your grandmother was also involved, so our arguments increased. Even after I gave birth to you, these arguments didn't stop. To avoid arguments, your father stayed at school all day and didn't come home until very late, while I stayed home to take care of the child. I knew this wasn't right, so I adjusted my mindset. On a beautiful day, I took you to the school to find him, only to see your father chatting and laughing with a female student on a long, shady path.
Recalling the past made Bai Qiongyu even more grief-stricken.
It was a painful ordeal.
He Jingyu handed over his handkerchief and said, "Wipe your tears."
"Thank you!" Bai Qiongyu took the handkerchief, wiped her tears, and composed herself before continuing her story. "I haven't seen your father smile like that in a long time. He used to smile at me, but now he smiles at someone else. When your father saw me, he seemed flustered, which made me realize that our love had changed, it wasn't as pure as it used to be. My arrival brought arguments, not sweetness, to his life. Just then, the Japanese invaded, schools closed, and life became incredibly difficult. But an even bigger nightmare was just beginning. I learned from a friend in Shanghai that Nanshi was about to be attacked, so I asked to take the child and leave Nanshi to find refuge elsewhere. But your grandmother disagreed, refusing to leave no matter what. So Xianglan and I took you to Suzhou, where my university classmates lived. Your father, seeing that we had left without permission, feared for our safety and followed us. When we arrived in Suzhou, we heard about the horrific massacre committed by the Japanese. I stayed in Suzhou with the child, while your father returned to Nanshi." "Your grandmother passed away at home. Your father's cousin stole all the valuables and ran away. When I returned from Suzhou with you, your father was even more indifferent, and our relationship deteriorated further. During another argument, your father said that your grandmother's death was because of me. I know your father felt guilty about your grandmother's death and therefore didn't believe in my feelings. So, I filed for divorce. Your grandfather agreed, but only said that you should stay. I didn't want to, and we discussed it many times without reaching a conclusion. Just then, I received a telegram saying my father was seriously ill. I wanted to secretly take you away, but your father discovered it, so I could only leave with my maid, Xianglan. I must say, at that time, I wanted to escape partly because of the breakdown in my relationship with my father, and partly because I couldn't bear that kind of impoverished life. So I chose to come to America, leaving you in China. Later, because of the War of Resistance against Japan, and also because of my inner resistance, I didn't come to find you. Afterwards, I published a notice in the newspaper and applied to the court to dissolve my marriage with your father two years later."
“It was my father who wronged you.” After hearing Bai Qiongyu’s words, He Jingyu understood that a woman leaving her hometown to follow her husband to a place thousands of miles away was not as simple as Bai Qiongyu made it out to be.
Bai Qiongyu shook her head and said, "Your father didn't wrong me. It was our relationship that had problems. We were young and hot-blooded back then, arguing all the time instead of thinking about how to solve the problem, which wore down the deep love we once had. If anyone is sorry, it's us who are sorry to you. We gave birth to you but didn't give you a complete family."
Bai Qiongyu did not resent her ex-husband; she felt that he had also made mistakes in that relationship.
“When I was old enough to remember things, I often saw my father silently staring at a photograph. Later, I mustered up the courage to ask, and I learned that it was a picture of you. Everyone else had a mother, but I didn’t, so I asked my father where my mother was. My father always told me that he had hurt you. When I asked him for my mother, he once got angry and said that you were dead. I never dared to ask my father for my mother again. My father raised me alone, and we depended on each other for survival. When he passed away, he told me about you, and he said he regretted it,” He Jingyu said. “He was a sinner, sorry to you, sorry to me, sorry to my grandmother.”
(To be continued.)
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