Meng Xueyun froze when Ye Linchen asked, "Do you even believe it yourself?" as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head.
But she was Meng Xueyun after all, and after only a moment of hesitation, she immediately answered.
"Mom...Mom is telling the truth!" She looked at Ye Linchen with a wronged expression. "Mom is truly repentant and sincerely hopes you can come home! Can't we...can't our family go back to living our old life?"
"The old days?"
Ye Linchen just found it funny.
"Okay, then let's talk about 'the old days'. Which one are you referring to?"
"I have to get up before dawn to make breakfast for your family, wash everyone's clothes, and mop the floor and wipe the table after school. It's like being a free nanny?"
"Or should I drop out of high school and go to work in a factory, then hand over every penny of my hard-earned monthly salary to you so you can use it to buy pretty dresses and snacks for Meng Zihan?"
"Or perhaps, I'm sick with a high fever, but you can't even afford five yuan for medical expenses, and you scold me for faking illness and being lazy, leaving me to tough it out on my own?"
With each word Ye Linchen spoke, Meng Xueyun's face paled a little more.
Her past scheming and neglect of Ye Linchen were now being brought up one by one by Ye Linchen, like slaps to the face, leaving her with a burning pain.
"Meng Xueyun, your so-called 'happy days' are only for you. What about me? Don't you know what those days are for me?" Ye Linchen questioned repeatedly.
"You came all this way today, putting on this show of motherly love. Do you genuinely want me to come home, or is it because your family is broke and needs someone to earn money, so you've remembered me again?"
"Or perhaps you can't count on your good-for-nothing brother Meng Xuejun and your heartless niece Meng Zihan, so you've finally remembered me, your own daughter whom you abandoned in the countryside for over a decade?"
Meng Xueyun was speechless after Ye Linchen's question. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, but couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.
Because everything Ye Linchen said was true.
But soon the embarrassment of being exposed and the frustration of the failed plan turned into anger, which overwhelmed her reason.
"Ye Linchen!"
Meng Xueyun's tone suddenly became sharp.
“I’m your mother! I’m standing here apologizing to you in a very polite way! I’m begging you in a humble manner! Why can’t you be understanding of me? I know I did wrong before, but I’m changing! I’ve already made my stance clear to you! Do you have to keep bringing up those old, trivial matters? Are you really that unforgiving?”
Enraged, she resorted to her most effective tactic: turning the tables on him.
Seeing her finally tear off her mask, Ye Linchen felt a sense of calm.
"I understand you?" Ye Linchen retorted, "Then have you ever understood me?"
Ye Linchen's gaze slowly moved from Meng Xueyun's flushed face to the thermos in her hand, and then back to Meng Xueyun's face.
“I told you I didn’t want your chicken soup because I was afraid it might contain medicine; that’s my fear. I told you I didn’t want to go back with you, I didn’t want to live that kind of life again; that’s my choice. Why can’t you be more understanding and considerate of me?”
Why are you forcing me to do what you want?
"I..." Meng Xueyun was once again speechless at Ye Linchen's words.
It seemed that all her logic was pale and powerless in front of Ye Linchen.
Ye Linchen's patience had also run out.
To speak even one more word to this woman feels like a slow, agonizing torture to my soul.
"I don't want to waste any more time with you." Ye Linchen reverted to his initial indifference. "I have things to do tonight. Take this pot of chicken soup home and drink it yourself, or give it to your two precious sons. Please don't come here again."
She glanced at Meng Xueyun one last time and added, "As for the money I owe you, go back and calculate it, write a note and tell me the total amount. I will pay you back as soon as possible."
After saying that, she gave Meng Xueyun no further chance to argue, resolutely turned around, and strode into the stairwell.
"Xiao Chen! Ye Linchen!" Meng Xueyun called out twice in exasperation from behind.
But by the time she realized what was happening and tried to chase after them, the footsteps had already faded into the distance and disappeared around the corner of the stairwell.
Meng Xueyun stood alone downstairs, carrying the heavy thermos, in silence for a long time.
The chicken soup in the thermos still emitted a warm aroma, but her heart was ice-cold.
She was unwilling to accept it; how could she possibly accept it!
Ye Linchen is now determined not to acknowledge her as his mother, nor the Ye family.
But she couldn't give up.
Ye Linchen is currently very resistant to her and very guarded, making it quite difficult for her to get closer to him.
Since she, as the mother, can't step in, then let's find someone else!
A sudden thought flashed through Meng Xueyun's mind, and she suddenly thought of two people: her twin sons, Ye Linnan and Ye Linbei.
Yes, that's right! It's them!
Xiao Chen has always doted on her two younger brothers since they were little.
Back when she was at home, she would always save the best food for Ye Linnan and Ye Linbei, even if she couldn't bear to eat it herself.
These two boys are the only people Ye Linchen is close to at home!
Let them try to persuade them!
Children can usually talk to each other easily.
If only Lin Nan and Lin Bei could whisper in her ear more often, telling her about the difficulties at home and how much she regretted it.
As time goes by, her heart, which was made of stone, will eventually be warmed up!
Ye Linchen naturally agreed to go home!
Yes! That's what we'll do!
Thinking about it this way, Meng Xueyun suddenly felt that her plan was very feasible.
She straightened her back, picked up the pot of chicken soup that hadn't been delivered, and turned to walk towards home.
...
Today is Sunday. Ye Linnan and Ye Linbei don't need to go to school, so they stay home with Ye Zhenghua, reading the newspaper and waiting for Meng Xueyun to come back for lunch.
When Ye Zhenghua saw Meng Xueyun enter the room, he lifted his eyelids from behind the newspaper, glanced at the thermos in her hand, and asked, "You're back?"
"You're back! Are you hungry? Dinner's ready in a minute!"
Meng Xueyun responded as she slammed the thermos on the table and went into the kitchen to fetch the dishes.
The meal was simple: a plate of stir-fried greens, a plate of shredded potatoes, and chicken soup that she had been simmering over low heat since last night.
Meng Xueyun lifted the lid of the pot of chicken soup, and the rich aroma of chicken soup instantly filled the small house.
She filled a large bowl to the brim for Ye Zhenghua and his two sons and pushed it in front of them.
"Try it! I specially asked someone to buy this old hen, and I stewed it all night. It's the most nourishing thing for you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
