The Xun family's house was packed with people, three layers deep. Ye Yun stood at the back of the crowd and curiously peeked inside.
The quiet courtyard seemed to be normal.
Ye Yun gently patted the person in front of her on the shoulder and asked with a smile, "Big brother, what are you looking at here?"
The older man in front turned around, not caring who Ye Yun was, and pointed to the Xun family's courtyard, saying, "Hey, isn't it just the Xun family's wife? She's been fierce her whole life, but now her son has tied her up in the house!" Huh?
Ye Yun was slightly surprised.
The older woman next to her chimed in, "Look how fierce she is usually. She doesn't treat her own children like human beings. She locks them in the house and doesn't feed them at the drop of a hat. What kind of parents are these? Now she's getting her comeuppance."
"I heard that when she was seen this morning, she was inside scratching at the window in a panic. I guess she was tied up yesterday!"
"That's right. I heard that his second son and his daughter-in-law went to get a divorce yesterday. She didn't come out to act tough even though it was such a big thing, so she must not be able to get out."
Suddenly, everything made sense.
As they chatted back and forth, Ye Yun couldn't help but look towards the tiny courtyard.
"Look at her, she's still as concerned about saving face as ever. She's been starving for a day and a night, but she still hides so we won't laugh at her." The eldest sister covered her mouth with one hand, revealing a gloating expression.
Xun's mother was also a teacher when she was young.
In this era, being a teacher is a secure job, and one needs a certain level of cultural literacy to obtain it.
Xun's mother was a person with a particularly strong sense of self-esteem and superiority. Her teaching profession further inflated her arrogance and put a thick shackle on her self-esteem.
In short: She can't afford to lose face.
So even though Xun Xiangbin locked her in the room, she didn't make a scene like a shrew.
She was afraid that outsiders would hear and laugh at her.
Unfortunately, she was awakened by hunger early in the morning. Thinking that the iron chain Xun Xiangbin used to tie her was long enough, she planned to pry open the window to find something to eat while Xun Xiangbin was not at home. Little did she expect to be seen by a passing neighbor.
She had just pried open a window when she was so frightened that she immediately shrank back inside.
However, the shackles on her wrists were clearly visible to the neighbors. The neighbors, who had always been at odds with her, shouted to all the nearby residents.
She's really embarrassed now.
At that moment, Xun's mother hid under the window, and could hear the neighbors pointing and whispering outside through the window glass. She was so angry that her face turned ashen.
"That damned bastard! If I had known this day would come, I should have strangled him to death as soon as he was born!"
Meanwhile, outside.
"Make way, make way..."
A familiar voice rang out from behind the crowd, and everyone quickly made way for them. Looking back, they discovered that it was Xun Xiangbin who had returned.
Xun Xiangbin, carrying a bag of vegetables and a pound of meat, stared blankly at the people crowding in front of his house.
He clearly didn't know why there were so many people crowding in front of his house. Carrying the meat and vegetables in his hands, he squeezed through the crowd and struggled to walk home.
Suddenly he saw Ye Yun at the back of the crowd.
"Huh? Director Ye?" Xun Xiangbin's face lit up with joy. He pushed through the crowd and walked towards Ye Yun. "Director Ye, what brings you here?"
As he spoke, the onlookers' gazes all turned to Ye Yun.
Ye Yun glanced at everyone indifferently, said nothing, and pulled his sleeve as they walked home.
As soon as she entered, she closed the door, keeping the crowd of onlookers from the brawl outside.
"Xun Xiangbin, you locked your mother up?" Ye Yun asked seriously, pointing to the locked room.
Xun Xiangbin smiled faintly, nonchalantly: "Yes, she always causes me trouble. She's getting old this year, and her mind is getting muddled. I have no choice but to lock her at home, otherwise she'll always cause me trouble, and I'll have to clean up her messes."
"What did you say?"
Ye Yun was speechless, unable to believe that Xun Xiangbin, who was always weak in front of his parents, could say such a thing.
Xun Xiangbin, however, remained calm. "Director Ye, you've come at the perfect time. I just bought some fresh vegetables and meat from the market. Why don't you stay for lunch?"
Ye Yun shook her head, "No."
She looked up at Xun Xiangbin, who had a natural smile, and felt that he had become just like Xun's mother.
When Xun's mother used to lock him up, she probably said something like, "Yes, the child is still young and always causes me trouble. He's disobedient, so I have no choice but to lock him up to discipline him."
Now, Xun Xiangbin has turned the tables and locked up his mother, and not only that, he can explain things to her with a smile on his face.
"Yes, she's old and confused this year, so we have to lock her up to prevent her from causing trouble."
Ye Yun took a deep breath.
Suddenly, Xun Xiangbin in front of me seemed like a different person. Although he still had a smile on his face, I could feel the boundless coldness surging in his eyes.
Ye Yun sighed.
"You're an adult with your own sense of self, and you know what you're doing. But I still want to advise you: after all, you're mother and son. Don't go too far." That was all she said in the end.
Do not advise others to do good if you have no experience with their affairs.
She understood this principle well.
As a result, her words seemed to provoke Xun Xiangbin. Xun Xiangbin laughed heartily, coughing as he laughed, and shook his head slightly. When he looked at Ye Yun again, there was a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.
"Director Ye, I always feel like I haven't lived my life authentically enough."
He looked out the window, his slightly narrowed eyes flashing with a sharp light that seemed to pierce through the wall and strike Xun's mother in the room.
"My mind is a mess right now. My memories of many years have suddenly gone blank. This blankness makes it hard for me to accept who I am now. I don't know why, in the blink of an eye, I went from a young man with a bright future to a divorced man who is about to enter middle age!"
"Oh, and I've been cheated on."
After saying that, he laughed again, somewhat manicly, and his eyes were bloodshot with alarming intensity.
“But I know one thing,” he said, pointing a finger at Xun’s mother inside the house. “She, my current situation is definitely related to her. It was she and my father who pushed me out to the countryside. It was also he who forced me to get a divorce as soon as I came back.”
He had no feelings for the woman he didn't remember, and divorce suited him perfectly.
But his mother's pressure made him resentful.
His mother still likes to control him as always. Even though he is about to turn thirty, the woman who gave birth to him still treats him like a child without dignity!
He didn't like this feeling.
He was a spirited young man.
As Xun Xiangbin approaches middle age, his self-esteem and pride are gradually eroded by his parents' torment, and he is forced to accept reality little by little. But he is not like that!
His kindness was killed when his parents pushed him out to shield his older brother and younger siblings from gunfire...
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