Chapter 217 After figuring it out, it wasn't as I thought...
Gu Lin was unaware that after her mother left, her father called her into their own room.
As soon as the door closed, Gu Dazhi hurriedly asked, "How did it go? Did you talk to her?"
Gu's mother nodded, then looked at her husband with some resentment.
"No matter what, she's still our own daughter. Are we really going to be so heartless?"
Hearing this, Gu Dazhi was displeased.
"What does it mean to be heartless? From ancient times to the present, has there ever been a married daughter spending the New Year at her parents' home? Although the son and daughter-in-law may not mind, if something bad happens next year, it will be too late to regret it."
When the topic of her son possibly having a bad experience came up, Gu's mother stopped saying anything.
After all, the son is the root of the family, and they will still rely on him to support them in their old age.
There are still a few days until the Lunar New Year, so let's give our daughter some time to recover. Their generosity as parents is truly admirable.
The Gu couple, who considered themselves kind and generous, were silently shedding tears because of their heartlessness.
After crying for an unknown amount of time, Gu Lin took out a small wad of cash from her pocket, counted it, kept two hundred-yuan bills, and put the rest into the handbag she had brought back.
However, after putting it away, he felt uneasy and took the money out again, putting back the two hundred-yuan bills he had left and exchanging them for two fifty-yuan bills.
She originally intended to give this money to her parents for the Chinese New Year, but now she doesn't want to give them that much.
Fifty per person, that's the highest I can go.
As for the extra money, we'll use it to find a nice hotel and have a comfortable New Year.
Gu Lin made up her mind and found that after thinking it through, it wasn't as painful as she had thought.
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The next day, Gu Lin woke up early, packed her luggage, and then opened the door to go outside.
My sister-in-law was washing rice and cooking breakfast when she saw that she had woken up so early. She smiled and asked, "Why didn't you sleep a little longer?"
She had just returned from Shenzhen yesterday, and in her understanding, she should really need to rest.
Gu Lin smiled back, "I'm used to it."
That's true. The garment factory starts work at eight o'clock, and she gets up at six o'clock every day.
After chatting for a few minutes, Gu Lin saw her mother and walked towards her.
Remembering her husband's instructions, Gu's mother deliberately put on a stern face and didn't give her daughter a kind look.
However, Gu Lin didn't care after thinking it through and took out two fifty-yuan bills from her pocket.
"For you and Dad."
Two fiftys, a total of one hundred.
This amount of money isn't much, but it's not small either. At least compared to previous years, this year's hundred is quite a lot.
Gu's mother felt a warmth in her heart, thinking to herself, "He's still my child after all; he still thinks of his parents during the holidays."
She put the money away and said to her daughter, "Now that you're awake, go and help your sister-in-law cook breakfast."
The unspoken meaning behind Gu's mother's words was that since she had come back to this family, she couldn't just treat herself as a guest and do nothing.
However, she never expected to hear her daughter say, "I'm leaving in a bit."
Upon hearing this, Gu's mother immediately became anxious and hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?"
Gu Lin smiled and said, "I thought about what you said last night carefully, and I think there's some truth to it. After all, I'm a married daughter, and it's really not appropriate for me to spend the New Year at my parents' home."
Mother Gu nodded, but also said somewhat anxiously, "Isn't it still several days until the New Year?"
"Yes, the New Year is just a few days away, and you all need to make preparations. If I stay here any longer, the neighbors will definitely point fingers and gossip."
Gu's mother is now using all the things she said about her daughter last night as excuses.
"Are you blaming me?" Gu's mother's eyes reddened.
Gu Lin shook her head. "What's so strange about it? That's just how things are in this world."
Perhaps having overheard their conversation, Gu Dazhi also came out of the room.
When Gu's mother saw her husband, it was as if she had seen a savior. "Her father, please talk to Gu Lin. She said she wants to leave."
She had hoped her husband would help persuade her, but all she heard was a sigh from him.
Gu's mother felt a chill in her heart, knowing that although her husband was just as worried as she was, he was still more inclined to let their daughter leave.
Gu Lin noticed it too and smiled.
As I was carrying my luggage out of the room, my sister-in-law also came out of the kitchen.
Seeing Gu Lin carrying luggage, the sister-in-law immediately understood what was going on and quickly went forward to stop her.
Where are you going?
Gu's mother also wanted to know where her daughter would go after leaving home, so she listened intently.
Gu Lin remained silent, only saying that she had a place to stay.
"Where?"
"Sister-in-law." Gu Lin couldn't break free, so she simply gave up struggling and looked gratefully at the only person in the family who wasn't related to her by blood.
Unexpectedly, in the end, it was people who were not related to her by blood who cared about her the most.
"Sister-in-law, don't worry, I'm not a child anymore, I'll take good care of myself."
The eldest sister-in-law also stared at Gu Lin, and only when she realized that Gu Lin was serious did she breathe a sigh of relief and let go of her hand.
"I send you."
Gu Lin did not refuse her sister-in-law's kindness.
Once outside, the sister-in-law said to Gu Lin, "Actually, it's better not to live at home. It's definitely more annoying to be around Mom and Dad. But can you tell me where I live? I promise I won't tell anyone."
Gu Lin smiled and honestly told her sister-in-law, "I plan to stay at the Guangcheng Hotel for a few days, and then go to Shenzhen after the New Year."
"Guangcheng Hotel..."
The sister-in-law originally wanted to say that accommodation in Guangcheng was not cheap, but she swallowed her words.
My sister-in-law has already had it bad enough; let her stay wherever she wants.
However, she was still a little worried and asked Gu Lin, "Do you have enough money? If not, I have some here."
As he spoke, he reached into his pocket.
Gu Lin quickly stopped her from taking out money, saying, "Sister-in-law, I have money."
She didn't even need to spend the money she had saved; the money she originally intended for her parents to spend on the Lunar New Year would have been enough.
Since that's the case, my sister-in-law won't insist.
Their factory wasn't doing well; they only paid wages for half a year this year, so she didn't have much money.
The bus arrived, Gu Lin boarded, and after sitting down, she waved vigorously to signal her sister-in-law to go back.
On the bus, she was the only one carrying a large travel bag, which inevitably attracted the attention of other people.
Everyone is probably curious: where are you going with your luggage during the Chinese New Year?
Amidst the curious gazes of everyone on the bus, Gu Lin got off at the Guangcheng Hotel stop.
After checking in and putting away my luggage, it was only nine o'clock.
She was hungry, so she went outside and found a breakfast shop, where she ordered a bowl of wontons.
While I was having breakfast, there was a mother and her child at the next table.
Seeing a child about the same age as her son brought her longing for him to its peak.
After finishing a bowl of wontons, Gu Lin made a decision.
Although I don't want to set foot in the Yang family again, I still want to see my son.
-
In fact, she hadn't been away from the Yang family for very long, but stepping into this area again gave her a strange feeling that things had changed.
Neighbors who knew her were equally astonished when they saw her.
"Gu Lin!"
Gu Lin looked in the direction of the voice, recognized the person, and nodded with a smile.
"You've come back to see the children?"
"Yes, I came to see the child." Gu Lin choked up a little when she talked about the child.
The neighbor sighed, "Sigh, your son..."
He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped, making Gu Lin's heart leap into her throat.
"Auntie, what's wrong with my son?"
She was terrified of hearing bad news from her neighbors, such as her child being sick or injured.
The neighbor said, "That child was so well-behaved and sensible when he was little, how come he's become more and more naughty as he gets older?"
He then gave a series of examples, such as breaking neighbors' windows, bullying other children, and even stealing things from other people's homes.
Gu Lin was shocked and couldn't believe that her son had become like this.
Coincidentally, at that moment, Gu Lin's son and a group of children were playing and ran past her.
After all, he was the child she had carried for ten months and gave birth to. Even though she hadn't seen him for a while, Gu Lin recognized him at a glance and hurriedly called out to him.
"Wen Cong".
Yang Wencong stopped in his tracks and saw his mother, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. His eyes changed, and he glared at her fiercely, as if she were an enemy.
Gu Lin felt a chill run down her spine from his gaze, "Wencong..."
"Don't call me by my name, you bad woman."
In an instant, Gu Lin seemed to die, her whole body frozen in place, completely still.
Her son actually called her a bad woman.
"You wicked woman, what are you doing here? Get out!" With that, Yang Wencong picked up a stone from the ground and threw it forcefully at Gu Lin.
With a thud, it struck Gu Lin in the abdomen.
She groaned in pain, her face filled with disbelief.
The son actually hit his mother?
Yang Wencong wanted to smash something again, but was stopped by his neighbor, an auntie who was the first to react.
"Yang Wencong, watch out, you might get struck by lightning. If you dare throw it again, I'll beat you up."
After saying that, he pretended to beat him up.
Yang Wencong was frightened and stopped.
"Bad woman, bad woman."
After Yang Wencong finished cursing, he ran away without looking back.
The child ran fast, and when Gu Lin tried to chase after him, he had already disappeared from sight.
Gu Lin stared in the direction her son had disappeared, her eyes red-rimmed.
Seeing this, the neighbor comforted him, saying, "Don't be sad. Wencong has been corrupted by his grandparents. He thinks you're a bad woman who caused his father to lose his job and is now cheating on him..."
The neighbor hesitated to continue, but Gu Lin pressed, "What happened outside this time?"
It was obvious that the Yang family was making things up about her. But she never expected that the Yang family would fabricate stories about her doing shameful things outside.
"...They said, if you don't do this, how can a woman survive outside?" The neighbor blushed as she spoke, her eyes darting around, not daring to look at Gu Lin at all.
Gu Lin was furious when she heard this, and her hands unconsciously clenched into fists.
"Why can't we survive? There are so many private factories out there. As long as you're willing to work, you can survive, and even thrive."
"Your aunt believes you're not that kind of person."
However, one cannot withstand rumors and gossip; saying too much will inevitably attract criticism.
The neighbor comforted Gu Lin, saying that since the person had already passed away, she shouldn't pay attention to the gossip and that living her own life was the most important thing.
Gu Lin nodded.
She didn't know how she left. When she slowly regained her senses, she had already reached the entrance of the alley.
She had walked through this alleyway many times, but today she had a strong urge not to walk through it anymore.
Yes, she didn't want to leave anymore and wanted to completely sever ties with the Yang family.
Knowing exactly what she wanted to do, Gu Lin turned around abruptly and resolutely walked towards the Yang family again.
-
The Yang family never dreamed that Gu Lin would dare to come to their house alone.
Yang Tao opened the door, and when he saw that it was Gu Lin, a nameless fire rose up, and his eyes widened in anger.
Gu Lin was also looking at him.
After not seeing him for a while, he had become even more slovenly, showing no trace of his former handsome appearance.
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Author's note: My allergy is gone! What I thought was heart pain turned out to be acid reflux from irritated stomach. Pshaw, what a scare! I'll never take metronidazole again.
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I'm giving out red envelopes in this chapter! Gu Lin's storyline will probably be covered in about a third of the next chapter before returning to the Fu family's plot.
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