Gu Yueji hung up Ren Jin's call and headed home; it was just too cold outside.
However, before she even entered the door, she heard her mother, He Mei, and her younger brother, Gu Jiahui, arguing.
"Mom, if you say that again, I'll break up with Xiaohui!" Gu Jiahui roared angrily.
He Mei's tone was full of helplessness and confusion, "Why are you unwilling? I've already spoken with the Sun family. If your sister is willing to get a divorce, Xiao Hui's brother doesn't mind that your sister has been married before and is willing to marry her. That way, they won't ask for a bride price when you and Xiao Hui get married."
"Mom! Are you crazy? My sister is already married! You want her to divorce her husband and marry that scoundrel Sun Xiaoming?!"
"What's wrong with Sun Xiaoming? The Sun family is the best off in our village. Won't Xiaohui's parents leave all their money to Sun Xiaoming? Your sister's current boyfriend is also from the countryside, working on construction sites. How much money could he possibly have? She'd be better off marrying Sun Xiaoming, staying home to have children and enjoy a comfortable life. We live close by, and since Xiaohui is married into our family, your sister definitely won't be bullied in the Sun family."
“What happiness can you expect from marrying an idle person! Back then, you wouldn’t let my sister go to university and wanted her to marry someone to pay for my university education. She hasn’t come home for years since then. Now you want her to divorce and remarry so that I can get married. Do you want her to never come back to this home again?! I’m telling you clearly now, I do not agree to my sister marrying Sun Xiaoming! I will not allow it! I will take responsibility for my own affairs. If you dare to force my sister again, I will leave this home.”
This is why Gu Yueji was being kept away from going home. It turns out that her mother came back this time because she wanted her to divorce her husband and marry the brother of Gu Jiahui's girlfriend from the same village, so that Gu Jiahui wouldn't have to pay a bride price for the wedding.
Her parents are as corrupt and ignorant as ever, to make such an absurd request.
Gu Yueji was initially angry upon hearing this and wanted to return to G City. However, when she saw Gu Jiahui, the younger brother who had specially come back from town to see her—the one who had once told her to establish herself in a big city and see a wider world—her eyes had lost their light of hope for the future after less than a year back in their hometown, she was stunned. Seeing the bitter smile on Gu Jiahui's lips when she asked about his recent situation, Gu Yueji hesitated for a moment and decided to stay for the time being. She wanted to find a way to take Gu Jiahui out of the city.
She used to have a rift with Gu Jiahui. They had been on unequal footing since childhood. Her parents provided him with everything she longed for, and the things neither of them wanted to do always fell on Gu Yueji's shoulders. The little bit of parental love that originally belonged to her was completely gone after her younger brother was born.
She harbored resentment and hatred, and began to ignore Gu Jiahui.
But as they grew older, Gu Jiahui began to actively get close to her, even trying to please her. If his mother hid something delicious for him, he would share half with her. If he saw her doing chores, he would come over to help. Once, when she was curled up in bed in pain from menstrual cramps, he tried to fill a bottle with hot water for her, but because he wasn't skilled, he burned his hands.
When he was seven or eight years old, his hands were red from the heat when he handed her the water bottle. The cautious look in his eyes when he held out candy to her—gradually, Gu Yueji didn't hate him as much anymore, and she realized that he hadn't actually done anything wrong.
When she left home for the college entrance examination, Gu Jiahui was still in the sixth grade of elementary school. At that time, his parents were forcing him to get married and the police came to their door. He just stood there blankly, watching helplessly.
So many years have passed, and he has now grown into a man who would stand in front of her.
Gu Jiahui and Sun Xiaohui were childhood sweethearts, classmates since elementary school, and even went to the same university. Gu Yueji used to think they were just classmates and fellow townsmen with good relationships, until Gu Jiahui brought Sun Xiaohui to meet her when he was in university. Only then did she realize that they had been dating since high school and that going to the same university was something they had agreed upon.
They kept their relationship a secret from their families until recently when Sun Xiaohui's family started arranging blind dates for her, at which point Sun Xiaohui finally revealed that they were dating.
The two were initially in love and knew each other well from the same village, which was a good thing. Both sets of parents agreed, but according to the dowry customs in their hometown, Gu Yueji's family couldn't afford it. In their hometown, girls generally marry young, and Sun Xiaohui, at 23, was already considered quite old. Therefore, her family was anxious for her to get married, saying that if Gu Jiahui couldn't afford the dowry, they would arrange for Sun Xiaohui to marry another boy.
When Gu Yueji returned home and heard what her mother said, she initially thought that her mother was asking her for money to give as a bride price to Gu Jiahui. However, her mother actually suggested that she divorce her husband and marry Sun Xiaohui's brother, Sun Xiaoming. She said that the man she was marrying now was also from the countryside and they couldn't earn money outside. The Sun family was rich, and she would enjoy a life of luxury if she married into their family.
Gu Yueji found it so absurd that she was speechless, and didn't dare to tell Ren Jin.
"Fine, all of you can leave. Let your dad, grandpa, and I die at home with no one to care. Your dad and I worked so hard to raise you, just consider us as having fed these ungrateful wretches all these years."
"Mom, can you please stop being so unreasonable?"
“Jiahui, please have pity on your mother. Back then, your mother prayed to every temple on these mountains until she was almost 40 years old before you were born. Your mother only wanted what was best for you.”
Gu Yueji listened to her mother's familiar crying and felt only speechless and disgusted.
This is He Mei's usual tactic. When others don't do things her way, she relies on being fierce and ruthless when facing those weaker than her. But when she encounters someone she can't control, she resorts to crying pitifully and using moral blackmail to achieve her goals. This is also why Gu Jiahui is trapped in this mountain village.
Last year, when Gu Jiahui graduated, he received a job offer from a state-owned enterprise. However, when He Mei learned that the company was thousands of kilometers away from home, she felt that her son might not be able to see her even once a year if he went so far away, which would be the same as not having a son. So she mobilized all the relatives in the family to persuade Gu Jiahui to go. In the end, she even threatened to kill herself to prevent Gu Jiahui from going. Helpless, Gu Jiahui could only return to his town and find a job that his parents liked but had no future prospects.
This is also why Gu Yueji has been staying in her hometown but hasn't found a suitable way to take Gu Jiahui out. Her mother won't let them go so easily, and even if they leave, she has a way to bring Gu Jiahui back.
Gu Yueji didn't want to go home and hear her mother's crying, so she withdrew her hand from the door, put it in her pocket, and turned to walk on the village road.
She hadn't been home for eight years since starting university. On her first day back, she searched the village for quite a while before finally finding her house.
The village has changed over the past eight years, as if veiled in a hazy mist, making it difficult to see clearly, yet its original outline remains.
Houses have been built on the former weedy fields, and the muddy roads have been turned into cement roads. Everything looks so unfamiliar, but as she walks past each old house, she can subconsciously tell whose home it is.
Gu Yueji was recalling the past bit by bit when suddenly a male voice called out from behind her.
"Zhao Di!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com