Yanjing
Inside a private room of a restaurant,
Do you know how we've gotten through these past few years?
“You’re only coming to us now? Don’t you think that’s ridiculous? If you want our approval, you’d better make up for what you owe us first. Otherwise, I, Zhou Ling, will never acknowledge you.”
Upon meeting Xia Guiqiu, her biological mother, Zhou Ling immediately expressed strong dissatisfaction.
Of course, she said that only as a prelude to asking Xia Guiqiu for money.
She didn't care whether Zhou Na and Zhou Chuan could get money from Xia Guiqiu, but she needed money to acknowledge Xia Guiqiu as her mother.
In Zhou Ling's view, her mother's marriage to a foreigner might be her only chance to turn her life around and change her destiny.
Xia Guiqiu didn't say anything, but took out three envelopes from her pocket and handed them to the three siblings.
Seeing this scene,
Zhou Ling's eyes lit up with joy, and she eagerly opened the envelope.
However,
Zhou Ling was stunned when she opened the envelope and took out the cash inside. Was that all the money she had?
I don't even have 10,000 yuan!
Why would Xia Guiqiu give her so little money to acknowledge this mother as her mother?
Zhou Ling thought Xia Guiqiu might have made a mistake, so she quickly looked at Zhou Chuan. Zhou Chuan took out the money from the envelope, which, like Zhou Ling's, amounted to about two or three thousand yuan.
Zhou Chuan frowned deeply. He had just seen Zhou Ling take out several thousand yuan and had been secretly laughing at her. He never expected that he, as her son, would receive the same amount of money as Zhou Ling.
What about the second sister, Zhou Na?
Just as Zhou Ling and Zhou Chuan were wondering, Zhou Na took the money out of the envelope in front of them.
Seeing the cash in Zhou Na's hand, just like theirs, it was clear that Xia Guiqiu hadn't shown favoritism and had given them all the same amount.
"You're offering us this little bit of money as compensation? Are you trying to fob us off like beggars?"
Although Zhou Ling felt better, she didn't care about a few thousand yuan at all, and said a harsh word to Xia Guiqiu: "If you only want to spend a few thousand yuan to gain our forgiveness and recognition, let me tell you, you're dreaming. None of us will acknowledge you."
Zhou Ling never expected that her birth mother, Xia Guiqiu, was even stingier than Zhou Haide. Although Zhou Haide had cheated her and Zhou Chuan out of their kidneys, he had at least given her several hundred thousand yuan. Xia Guiqiu, on the other hand, had only given her a few thousand yuan, which wasn't even enough to fill a gap between her teeth.
"It is indeed too little; you haven't shown us any sincerity."
Zhou Chuan was equally angry. Like Zhou Ling, after learning that his birth mother, Xia Guiqiu, had come looking for him, he placed all his hopes on Xia Guiqiu, waiting for her to give him a fortune to squander.
As a result, he only received a few thousand yuan. He might as well not acknowledge his biological mother.
Compared to Zhou Ling and Zhou Chuan, Zhou Na was relatively calm because she didn't have high expectations from the beginning, so she wasn't disappointed.
What puzzled her was that when Zhou Ling said she didn't acknowledge Xia Guiqiu, Xia Guiqiu's reaction was very calm.
Why is it behaving this way?
Does Xia Guiqiu not care whether or not she approves of her?
As soon as the thought crossed Zhou Na's mind, a glint flashed in her eyes. Looking at Xia Guiqiu, she felt that perhaps Xia Guiqiu had guessed correctly.
"After I finish this meal with the three of you, I will leave here and return to my home country."
“I admit that the money I’m giving you is a bit little, less than one percent of what your father gave you, but it’s all I can give you.”
"The foreign uncle in front of you is not as rich as you think. He is an ordinary person. When your father divorced me, I was so heartbroken that I wanted to end my life. He saved me. Since then, I have gone abroad with him and lived an ordinary life."
"I have truly wronged you, in a way that I can never make up for in my lifetime. Therefore, I will not ask anything of you, nor do I expect your forgiveness. Whether you deny me or not, it doesn't matter. I will take care of myself."
"I didn't have a single good day in the first half of my life because of your father. I've come to realize that people should live for themselves. This may seem a bit selfish to you, but everyone is selfish. You can live well even without me, so I'm at ease."
Xia Guiqiu said a lot.
Zhou Ling and Zhou Chuan, who had hoped to extract more money from Xia Guiqiu, were completely dumbfounded.
Because Xia Guiqiu didn't care whether they approved or not.
Moreover, after this meal, Xia Guiqiu will leave the country, and it's safe to assume she will most likely never return.
You can't leave!
"You haven't compensated us for what we owe, so why should you leave!"
I disagree.
Zhou Ling suddenly slammed her hand on the table and stood up, her eyes filled with anger. She refused to accept the fact that she couldn't get anything out of Xia Guiqiu.
She believed that Xia Guiqiu was pretending to be poor and deceiving her, just like Zhou Haide had deceived her about kidneys.
Foreigners don't have money?
Foreigners are the richest people in the world; who would believe they aren't rich?
Xia Guiqiu frowned. She knew that Zhou Ling's daughter was unreasonable and extremely shrewish. She had only heard about her from others before, but she witnessed it firsthand today. She showed no restraint towards her own mother.
No wonder Zhou Chen didn't accept the invitation.
It's likely that Zhou Chen had anticipated something like this happening.
She had actually thought she could persuade the three siblings to apologize to Zhou Chen. It seems she was too naive. Not to mention Zhou Na and Zhou Chuan, she couldn't even handle Zhou Ling.
This daughter, for the sake of money, doesn't care at all whether she is her biological mother or not.
She completely inherited her father's selfishness.
Xia Guiqiu saw Zhou Haide's shadow in Zhou Ling; Zhou Haide looked exactly like this when he turned against her.
"Xiaoling, can we have a quiet meal together as a family?"
Xia Guiqiu said helplessly.
Zhou Ling had no appetite; all she cared about was money. "Want to eat properly? Fine, then make up for what you owe me."
"Otherwise, nobody should eat this meal."
Zhou Ling was about to flip the table.
Seeing Zhou Ling's expression, Xia Guiqiu had no choice but to repeat herself: the only money she could take out was the amount on the table, which she gave to the three of them.
"Do you think I'm a three-year-old? Who are you trying to fool?"
Zhou Ling slammed a plate of food over Xia Guiqiu's shoulder, completely disbelieving her explanation. At the same time, she threatened, "If you want to enjoy this meal, you'll have to pay more. If you don't, I'll overturn all the food on this table."
Upon hearing this, Xia Guiqiu fell silent. Seeing this, Zhou Ling didn't hesitate either, turning one dish upside down after another.
The once delicious food was now soaked with juices, making it impossible to eat.
"I shouldn't have had any illusions in the first place, and I shouldn't have been able to have this meal with you all."
"It was my fault."
With things having come to this, Xia Guiqiu lost her appetite. She stood up, picked up her bag, and said to the foreign old man beside her, "Let's go. There's nothing here worth staying for."
...
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