Chapter 263 Better to Believe It's True
After Song Yu'an finished cursing, his anger subsided like the tide.
She suddenly felt all her strength drain away, leaning against the cold wall, panting heavily, her chest heaving violently.
Her voice suddenly lowered, becoming hoarse and weary, as if afraid of waking her from a fragile dream:
“I am your mother, Song Yu’an.”
She spoke slowly and heavily, each word distinct, “Your biological mother. Your father’s name was Zhou Nuli, an honest and hardworking porter who never did anything wrong in his life. You have three younger brothers: your eldest brother, Zhou Jianguo, works in another city; your second brother, Zhou Liguo, got married last year; and your youngest brother, Zhou Anguo, is still in vocational high school. The four of you were raised by your father and me, one meal and one water at a time.”
"Zhou Jianguo's wife is named Jiang Guifang, and the whole village knows about it. The two of them have been fighting for years, and they recently went through the formal divorce proceedings. But she... is now in jail, supposedly because she's involved in some economic case, but nobody knows the specifics."
That year, Zhou Liguo was tricked into going to Guangdong, where he was told he could work in a factory and make a lot of money.
When they arrived, they found out it was a shady factory. They didn't even sign a contract, and they were locked in the workshop working for more than ten hours a day without enough to eat.
Fortunately, local police conducted a surprise inspection and rescued him and several other fellow villagers.
He did return, but a few days later, he secretly slipped away to Guangzhou again.
The villagers all said that he was probably involved in smuggling, since that route was lucrative and quick to make money, but also very dangerous.
Zhou Anguo has been staying at home for the past few years, doing nothing productive, just burying himself in books and preparing for the college entrance exam. He keeps saying he wants to go to university, and he's been taking the exam for two years straight.
This year, I simply dragged Cuifen along to register for the college entrance examination.
But everyone knows that he hasn't even turned more than a few pages of the book, and he can even get stuck when trying to memorize a formula.
I definitely won't pass this exam.
He slept all day and hung out with the local thugs at night, drinking, playing cards, and bragging. He never thought about finding a proper job, let alone planning for the future.
Our old house and those few acres of land in Tuanjie Village were divided up completely by your father and your three younger brothers long ago.
Not a single penny was left, not even a blade of grass was left for me and Cuifen, let alone you.
If you really want to fight for that small plot of land, then go back to the village and fight for it yourself. Don't just stand here talking and spout useless nonsense.
After finishing speaking, Song Yu'an reached for the washbasin, his movements swift and decisive. He didn't even bother to look at Zhou Dajun again, his tone cold: "Your biological father is now living with your adoptive parents' youngest daughter. They've been exchanging glances and their relationship has been ambiguous for a long time. Neither of them are innocent; they're both scheming." And your younger brothers? Hmph, they're even worse, heartless bastards. You're living a relatively peaceful life now, so don't go back and plunge headlong into that pile of ungrateful bastards and ruin yourself too.
Seeing her turn to leave, Zhou Dajun panicked and quickly called out, "Mother, were you and Cuifen... kicked out by them?"
Song Yu'an straightened up abruptly, stopped in his tracks, slowly turned around, a cold smile appearing on his face, his eyes sharp: "It wasn't them who kicked me out, it was me who kicked them out! No matter how hard my life gets, I, Song Yu'an, will never let anyone point a finger at me and kick me out! Don't even think about it!"
Zhou Dajun was completely bewildered and stood there dumbfounded.
Based on what she just said, wasn't she forced to leave?
How come now they're saying she kicked the other person out?
Song Yu'an's lips curved slightly, then he sighed, his tone turning somber as if weighed down by something: "Dajun, it's all fate. Years ago, your father and I argued back and forth about whether we should have a child for her or grit our teeth and support her through university. We tossed and turned, unable to sleep night after night. Now, God has made the decision for us and given us the answer. You don't need to blame yourself anymore; what's meant to happen has happened, and there's no escaping it."
After saying that, she picked up the basin, turned around, and left with firm steps, without the slightest hesitation.
Zhou Dajun hurriedly took two steps to catch up, his voice tinged with panic: "Mother, then... then where should I look for you?"
"I will come back to find you myself after Cuifen is discharged from the hospital."
Song Yu'an didn't turn his head, leaving only these words: "I've brought you your ID card and divorce agreement, nothing will be missing. Go back now, what you have to face will have to be faced sooner or later."
Zhou Dajun stood rooted to the spot, his feet seemingly rooted to the ground. He stood there blankly outside the door, watching helplessly as Song Yu'an walked step by step to the ward door, raised his hand, and gently pushed the door open.
He didn't dare go in.
Xiao Shui was still at home, her eyes swollen like walnuts from crying, tears streaming down her face as she kept calling out "Daddy".
He couldn't abandon her; she was his daughter, his only concern in this world.
Song Yu'an walked into the house and told everyone what had happened outside. He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart, and he felt much more relaxed.
She walked to the bedside, looked at Shen Cuifen, and softened her voice, which was filled with heartache and determination: "Take good care of yourself and don't overthink things. Once you can walk again, we'll buy a house in the city. I want to buy one near your school, within walking distance. Then, I'll stay by your side every day, accompany you to school, eat with you, and study with you."
Upon hearing the word "university," Shen Cuifen's lips unconsciously curled up slightly, and a glint of light flashed in her eyes.
But that joy was fleeting; she quickly lowered her head again, her voice trembling with deep guilt: "Mother... right now, all I can think about is going to university, all I can think about is myself... Am I... am I letting that child down?"
Song Yu'an gently waved his hand, his eyes calm and firm: "Silly child, it's not that you're unlucky, it's that the child wasn't meant to be with you. Heaven took him away not to punish you, but because it was afraid you would suffer with him in the future and be a burden to you. He came here to make you understand that there are more important paths in life. If you worry about him all day long, feel sad and blame yourself, he will be slower on his way to reincarnation, and his place in the next good family will be taken by someone else. He left for your own good, so that you can fly higher."
Shen Cuifen knew that this was unreasonable, but what mother wouldn't believe it?
It's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't.
She knew these words sounded almost superstitious, but she couldn't shake the feeling that they were true.
Especially when faced with matters of life and death, she was unwilling to give up easily, even if there was only a sliver of hope.
Human beliefs can be so stubborn that they defy logic and are driven solely by emotion.
She would rather do more, even if it's just silently praying in her heart, than regret it later.
She clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and softly murmured something.
My fingertips trembled slightly, and my palms were a little damp.
She murmured softly, her words as light as a breeze, almost inaudible. She wasn't reciting any scriptures, but rather expressing her most sincere prayers—that God would protect her child, that her family would no longer suffer, and that this calamity would pass soon.
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