Chapter 86 Chapter 86 The sin is serious.
When people think of West Shanghai, they probably first think of international metropolises, high-ranking white-collar workers in suits and ties lining the CBD office buildings, and successful individuals...
But those have nothing to do with Li Mengdan.
It is true that academic qualifications are a stepping stone, but what this city lacks the least nowadays is "gold bricks".
In reality, most people are just ordinary bricks, and she is one of them.
In order to make a living, I have to get up early and go to bed late every day. I have to go out before dawn and don’t come back until night.
The dim light couldn't illuminate the depth of the alley. It was the same day and night, dark and damp, with all kinds of smells mixed in the air.
Every few steps on the road, you can see electric bikes piled up in groups of three or two in the corner. The clotheslines in the old alleys stretch from one end to the other, and are full of clothes of all sizes hanging on them.
Li Mengdan could only pass through by turning sideways.
This is also Shanghai West, but it is Shanghai West for outsiders.
Li Mengdan returned home exhausted from the day and heard her husband's impatient voice as soon as she entered the door.
"When will your cousin move out? Shanghai West is so stressful, how can she, an outsider, find a decent job? Tell her that instead of wasting her time, she should go back home. There's no point in staying here. It's useless."
Li Mengdan ignored his words, went to the bathroom to wash her hands, walked into the living room, took the crying child from his arms, and coaxed him.
She said unhappily, "How can there be such a person as you? You said before that your mother wasn't in good health and couldn't take care of me during the confinement period. I asked Zhiru to come and take care of me for two months. Oh, now she's in trouble, and I, as her older sister, don't help her and even drive her away. How can I have the nerve to ask this? What do you want her to think? How will she view us?"
"You better figure it out. It's for her own good to get her to face reality sooner rather than later. Jobs are so hard to find these days. Even a graduate from a prestigious 211 university like me was laid off. She has no education and no connections. Why should she stay here?"
After having a child, the family expenses have become increasingly higher. Qu Guang was laid off last month and was very depressed. Now the family's income depends solely on Li Mengdan.
My husband is a native of the west side of Shanghai. Our house was demolished last year, and the house they were allocated is still under renovation. Although we don’t have the pressure of a mortgage, we have already spent a lot of money on the renovation, and we will also need money to buy furniture later.
In order to save money, the family of three can only live in the urban village as a temporary transition.
The temporary rented house is small to begin with, and now there's a stranger living there, making everything inconvenient.
Qu Guang chattered on and on, counting on his fingers as he told her the economic problems they were currently facing one by one.
"Here, here, here, do the math yourself! If I don't explain it to you clearly, you'll think I'm talking nonsense."
Li Mengdan understood everything in her heart, but she really couldn't do anything to let Yan Zhiru go.
This is not just a matter of face.
"You know Zhiru's situation. She's under no less pressure than we are. Besides, she doesn't live and eat for free. She buys things for the kids every now and then. Don't pretend you don't see it and keep giving her a bad face."
Qu Guang muttered to himself for a long time, but when he heard this, he immediately ran out of words and could only awkwardly change the subject to something else.
Li Mengdan rested for a few minutes and handed the child to him. "I'm going to cook. Zhiru will be back soon. You should be quiet. Do you hear me? I will find a chance to talk to her."
…
West Shanghai is a city where income and consumption levels are seriously disproportionate. Competition in various industries is fierce, and no one here is qualified to be overambitious.
Some time ago, Yan Zhiru was not satisfied with her work and considered returning to Nanze, but it was just a thought and she quickly gave up the idea.
When Li Mengdan pushed the door open, she had just hung up the phone with Li Yanfei.
"What's wrong? Did your aunt ask you for money again?"
"She never called me except to ask for money." Yan Zhiru threw the phone away and said angrily, "I thought her son was dead!"
Li Mengdan frowned after hearing this and advised her earnestly, "Zhiru, you really need to change your temper. How much does Jiawei want? Is the money enough? If not, I'll give you the money first."
"Sister, why don't you understand? He's a bottomless pit that can never be filled! If there's a first time, there will be a second time, and a third time! Don't worry about it. I've completely broken up with my mom. From now on, I won't give him a penny, and I'll never go back to that house again."
"It's better not to make things too awkward with your family. She is your mother after all..."
Yan Zhiru interrupted coldly: "I would rather she wasn't."
"Don't say that."
Li Yanfei is an extremely selfish woman, and Yan Zhiru has been well aware of this since childhood.
After divorcing Yan Bin, he took her away on his own initiative, and later abandoned her like garbage because of the man.
As a mother, Li Yanfei never knew how to write the word "responsible".
Yan Zhiru has a clear understanding of her identity. In her mother's eyes, she is just a "hostage" used to control Yan Bin.
And he is an "expired hostage".
From the day she was left to Yan Bin, she lost her usefulness to Li Yanfei.
For so many years, Yan Zhiru never felt the love of her mother.
She was the proof of her failed marriage. Li Yanfei didn't care about her or Yan Jiawei at all.
She always cares about herself.
Yan Zhiru never thought that they would be able to remarry one day.
She knew Li Yanfei well, so why would he like her father's current appearance?
Not to mention Yan Bin.
It's ridiculous and laughable.
Not long after her biological mother was abandoned by the rich man, her stepmother died.
Her biological parents "reconciled" so easily.
…
Yan Bin and Li Yanfei had been divorced for more than ten years, but in the end, the two of them went around in circles and got back together in this incredible way.
Yan Zhiru was so angry that she didn't know what to say.
If that’s the case, why didn’t they just make do with Yan Jiawei for their own sake?
She still can't understand it.
After living in that house for two years, although the father and daughter did not communicate much, she also knew that only people like Qin Ru had common topics with her father.
Li Yanfei has high aspirations and has never been one to live a stable life since she was young. She has always wanted to be a wealthy wife of a rich family, otherwise she would not have abandoned her twice.
Remarriage is just an excuse.
One of them is after money, the other one is after people.
The truth was indeed what Yan Zhiru thought.
Li Yanfei struggled for a long time, and when he reached middle age, he gradually figured things out. He no longer expected anything else and just wanted to have a guarantee for the rest of his life.
Whether you say she was compromising or had no choice but to do it to make a living, no matter what, she still has some feelings for her ex-husband.
Although this relationship is closely related to "money", it does not affect her at all.
She and Yan Bin just got what they wanted.
People should always think about themselves first, and Li Yanfei doesn't think there is anything wrong with that.
As for what Yan Bin was thinking, no one knew.
In fact, he didn't care about any of that.
Since Qin Ru's death, Yan Bin has become a completely different person.
He was silent most of the day.
I'm not very willing to communicate with my family. I have a bad temper and am easily irritated. I'm extremely indifferent and emotionless to everyone and everything. I don't feel alive at all, I'm dead from the inside out.
It was as if he had lost his soul, and only this incomplete body remained.
The car accident seven years ago left him with great psychological and physical trauma and sequelae.
That day, he lost the person he loved most in his life, and that child... He and Qin Ru had never intended for him/her to be born, and he would never know the gender of the child.
For more than two thousand days and nights, every minute and every second was a psychological torture for him.
Yan Bin’s elderly parents naturally wanted nothing more than for Li Yanfei to take the initiative to propose remarriage.
They are already old, and given their son's condition, he will definitely need someone to take care of him for the rest of his life.
Given the current situation, they wouldn't feel at ease if someone else were in their place.
At least Li Yanfei gave them a grandson. No matter how heartless a woman is, she would not drag her own son and daughter into this.
That's why they chose to accept her in the first place.
Yan Bin had no choice but to accept it.
There was no love between him and Li Yanfei.
There was nothing in the first marriage, and there was even less in the second marriage.
Both of their unions were forced choices for both parties.
After breaking up with Qin Ru, under pressure from his family, Yan Bin had to marry her under the arrangement of his parents shortly after graduating from university.
His marriage is a task that must be completed according to his parents' regulations.
However, there is no emotional foundation between them, nor any common language, and there are significant gaps in all aspects.
There were constant frictions in life, and even with two children, the marriage only lasted five short years.
As you can imagine, they really can't survive.
After remarrying, Li Yanfei became a completely different person. She changed her domineering and aggressive personality when she was young and became a good wife and mother.
She took good care of Yan Bin in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, and took him to the hospital for rehabilitation training on time every week. She was more attentive than the professional caregivers she hired.
Yan Bin's attitude towards her has always been cold.
He is already a disabled person, what else does he care about?
There is nothing to care about in such a life.
Even if they lived in the same room, they could not have any substantial relationship.
Over the years, nothing has been able to arouse his emotions.
Even Yan Zhiru and Yan Jiawei, Yan Bin ignored them.
After all, Qin Ru’s death was closely related to both of them.
As one of the "murderers" who caused all this, he would feel deeply guilty when facing the other two "murderers" in the family.
Yan Bin couldn't accept it.
He has been consciously trying to escape from himself, but "escape" cannot change the cruel fact that they are his own flesh and blood.
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