Chapter 262 Burden
"That child... is innocent."
Song Yu'an felt a sense of relief—she knew this child was soft-hearted and would eventually understand.
She's been like this since she was little, preferring to suffer herself rather than let others suffer.
Even if you are shattered into pieces, you still have to think about whether others can live peacefully.
But this sense of relief lasted only a moment; the next second, my heart tightened again.
She knelt down, placed her hands on Shen Cuifen's shoulders, looked directly into her eyes, and spoke in a soft but heavy voice:
"And what about you? What should you do?"
"Is it worth risking your life?"
Shen Cuifen raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, her fingertips trembling slightly.
She forced a smile, saying, "He doesn't even remember who I am... I stand in front of him like a stranger. To me, he's already an outsider. I want to stay, but how can I? He doesn't care anymore. No matter how deep my feelings are, I can't win his attention."
"Mother, don't let him see me."
Her voice was low but firm, "Give him back his documents, and don't say anything more. If he wants a divorce, I'll sign it. I don't hate him, and I don't want to get entangled with him anymore."
Looking at his daughter's stubborn back, Song Yu'an felt a pang of sadness and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But just as her heart settled down, it was suddenly weighed down by an invisible pressure, making it almost impossible to breathe.
"Cuifen, you are too kind."
She murmured softly, as if speaking to her daughter, or perhaps sighing to herself, "So kind it breaks your heart."
Shen Cuifen did not turn around, but slowly turned her back to Song Yu'an.
She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, as if resisting the surging pain in her heart.
She didn't want her mother to see her weakness, and she didn't want those emotions to spread again.
Song Yu'an knew she was in pain, knew she was forcibly severing a relationship that had lasted for more than ten years.
But in order for Zhou Dajun to face reality soberly, and for Shen Cuifen to start over in the future, she gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to go forward and comfort him.
Some roads can only be walked alone; some pain must be borne alone.
Such a wonderful girl, kind-hearted, hardworking and down-to-earth, never complaining about the unfairness of fate.
She shouldn't be trapped in a marriage that's already dead in name only, and she shouldn't be spending her days with a man who has forgotten her and even doubts her.
She should go to school, go to campus, and see a wider world; she should meet someone who truly knows how to cherish her, and live a life where she doesn't have to force a smile every day or grit her teeth to get through every late night.
Song Yu'an knew in her heart that even if they were no longer mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and even if the marriage certificate was invalidated, she would not distance herself from Shen Cuifen.
This child had long been a part of her heart.
She will always stay by her side, sheltering her from the wind and rain, and holding up the sky for her—even if she is old and slow, she will still protect her from the storms.
She picked up the basin of water by the door, pushed the door open, and prepared to go out.
A cold wind blew in her face, and she instinctively hunched her shoulders.
But just as she stepped out the door, she suddenly stopped in her tracks—a person was standing at the door, leaning against the mottled wall, head down, silent as a shadow.
It's Zhou Dajun.
I don't know when he arrived, or how long he's been standing there.
A thin layer of dust had accumulated on the cement ground beside my feet, and the toes of my shoes had left shallow marks, indicating that I had been lingering in the same spot for quite some time.
But he didn't step into the house, and he didn't even have the courage to look up.
Song Yu'an's pupils contracted, and he immediately understood what was going on.
He arrived so early; he must have heard everything that was being said inside.
Every sentence, every word, entered my ears.
No wonder he didn't dare to come in; no wonder he huddled outside the door like a sinner.
Her brows furrowed, her eyes cold and sharp. Without a word, she stepped forward and grabbed his arm with a strength that belied her age.
She roughly pulled him into the stairwell next door, and the door slammed shut, leaving only the two of them in the dimly lit stairwell.
She casually placed the basin heavily on the ground, the metal bottom of the basin hitting the cement floor with a loud clang.
She looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then suddenly raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face without hesitation.
The crisp sound of a slap echoed in the narrow space, lingering for a long time.
Zhou Dajun neither dodged nor raised his hand to cover his face.
His cheeks flushed, and fingerprints quickly appeared, but he just stood there quietly, his eyes downcast, as if waiting for a belated judgment.
Do you know?
Song Yu'an's voice trembled, his eyes burning with anger, "During the months you were hospitalized after your accident, Cuifen cried every single night! I heard her sobbing secretly in her room, her pillow soaked with tears, but she never shed a single tear in front of anyone! It wasn't until I forced her to register for the adult college entrance examination that she was finally able to put her mind at ease and try to get a good night's sleep!"
"Now that you're back, you don't remember anything, but can't you at least ask? Can't you sit down and listen properly? You can't make up your own mind, so you push all the pressure onto her! You make her make the decision alone and bear the consequences alone! What right do you have?!"
Her voice grew louder and louder, as her long-suppressed grievances and anger burst forth: "You don't even have the courage to step through the door, yet you accept with a clear conscience all the sacrifices she made for you—giving up her job, her dreams, her future? All that she did for you, you just casually erased it all?!"
Zhou Dajun's eyes gradually reddened, and his lips moved slightly as if he wanted to explain, but in the end he only exhaled silent air.
He opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't utter a single word.
Song Yu'an stared at him, his chest heaving violently.
A moment later, she raised her hand and slapped him again.
This time the blow was harder, knocking his head to the side, his cheek burning with pain.
"We know you have amnesia, and we accept that!"
She gritted her teeth, her voice trembling with tears, "But have we ever lied to you? What word wasn't true? What sentence wasn't the truth? Do you think you were tricked by someone? In your heart, do you really think we're liars? People who profit from your pain?"
"And what about you?"
She took a step closer, her voice almost ripped from her throat, "Did you ask your family? Did you ask Cuifen? Did you even once sit down in front of her seriously and ask her how she's managed all these years? You didn't ask a single question! You didn't mention a single word!"
You don't want to know at all!
She suddenly raised her voice, "You just want to portray yourself as a victim, hiding behind the word 'forgotten'! You're too afraid to face the fact that this family has collapsed so many times since you left! How much suffering Cuifen has endured! How many days and nights we've struggled in agony! In your eyes, we're all just burdens, a hindrance, something you'd want to get rid of as soon as you wake up, isn't that right?!"
Zhou Dajun finally raised his eyes, his gaze meeting Song Yu'an's face, which was filled with grief and indignation.
His lips trembled, and his eyes flickered violently, as if his soul had been pierced.
He wanted to speak, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, but his throat felt blocked, and he couldn't make a sound. He could only look at her helplessly, like a child stripped of his dignity.
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