Chapter 222 Past Events
"Mom, what happened back then?"
Xingxing was also very curious, so he sat closer and asked.
Ali also looked at her mother, obviously wanting to know too.
Seeing this, Shen Jingjing sighed helplessly. She originally didn't want to mention these things anymore, but Ah Ci was right. The children were all grown up, and they had the right to know some things, and they should be told.
"Back then, before your father and I were married, I unexpectedly got pregnant. The baby in my belly was your sister."
As Shen Jingjing spoke, she instinctively glanced at her daughter. Ah Ci almost died that year.
"I'm from another place, and my conditions are average in all aspects. The Fu family looks down on me and thinks I'm relying on my looks to seduce your father. I deliberately got pregnant and used the baby in my belly to force them to agree to let me marry into the Fu family."
"This is also the reason why the elders of the Fu family disliked Aci. To them, Aci, who was in my belly at the time, was a bargaining chip I used to force the Fu family to agree to my marriage."
"I was young at the time and acted impulsively. I wanted to abort the baby in a fit of rage, but I regretted it after I went to the hospital. It's my own child, so I have to raise it myself."
"What about Dad?" Xingxing asked anxiously, "Didn't Dad fight for it? You're already pregnant!"
"Of course I tried." Shen Jingjing smiled helplessly, "But what's the use? The Fu family had already found a suitable marriage partner for your father, but your father was still determined to be with me. However, the household registration booklet was withheld by the Fu family, so your father and I were unable to register."
"Later, my belly gradually grew bigger, and your father kept asking the two elders of the Fu family to give us a status and a chance for the sake of the child."
"At eight months, they finally agreed, but the original words were, 'Unless she gives birth to a boy, you can't even think about entering the house.'"
Speaking of this, Shen Jingjing seemed to recall the scene at that time. She took a deep breath and lowered her head: "It turned out to be a daughter."
"I was wondering if I would ever be able to escape the cycle of favoring sons over daughters. But the moment I held Ah Ci in my arms, I became resolute. I would never let my daughter experience such unfair treatment."
At this point, she looked at Ali and said, "The second one is another daughter."
Shen Jingjing didn't elaborate on what happened to Ah Li that year, but continued, "My two daughters, your father finally couldn't bear it anymore and left to go back and get married. The Fu family couldn't possibly take the girls back, and your father and I didn't get a marriage certificate, so you two just belonged to me naturally."
"Then, where did I come from?" Shen Xing widened his eyes slightly, unable to hide the panic in his eyes.
Shen Jingjing chuckled: "Or maybe it was fate that made him leave without knowing I was pregnant again. I finally got pregnant with a boy, but by then everything was already a foregone conclusion. The Fu family didn't know about it, and neither did your father."
"He returned to the Fu family, accepted the arranged marriage, and built a new house with great fanfare. However, due to a construction error, a large log fell from the beam and hit him in the chest, breaking his ribs and puncturing his internal organs. He died instantly."
Ali and Xingxing were so shocked when they heard this that they forgot to react.
So this is how my father died?
Shen Jingjing continued, "I gave birth to Xingxing secretly, thanks to the help of your aunt and uncle. The three of us adults raised you five children and brought you up."
"So my grandparents were so cruel back then!" Xingxing felt sorry for her mother, and her eyes immediately turned red: "I will never recognize them!"
He didn't forget to admit his mistake: "Mom, actually when I was a child, I secretly took the pocket money given by my uncle, but I was young and ignorant at that time. After I entered high school, I never took it back!"
"Heh." Chen Ci sneered again, "So they've been secretly giving you pocket money since you were little? I've never even seen anyone from the Fu family. Have you, Ah Li?"
Chen Li shook her head. She had always had a strange feeling towards her family. They were completely unfamiliar to her. She had never had any emotional fluctuations about family affection. She had felt nothing since the first time she met her uncle.
Shen Jingjing said, "The news that I gave birth to Xingxing reached the Fu family's ears through others. When you were young, they came to ask for her several times and even went to court over the matter. However, Fu Jun and I didn't get a marriage certificate, and Fu Jun passed away suddenly. After all, I am the mother, and as long as I am alive, there is no way I can give my child to someone else."
"Mom, I didn't expect you to go through such complicated things over the years. You've worked so hard." Xingxing moved forward and hugged his mother. Tears welled up in the eyes of the 5'8" tall boy. "Thank you for not giving up on me. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't have lived the happy and fulfilled life I have now in the past 18 years, and I wouldn't have two sisters who love me so much."
Xingxing is the one in the family who is least stingy in expressing his emotions. He can say whatever he thinks without hesitation. This is something Ali can never learn.
But she also felt sorry for her mother.
Shen Jingjing patted Xingxing's hand, then held her two daughters' hands: "Mom's hard work was not in vain. Seeing how outstanding you are now, Mom is very satisfied and proud."
"Mom, after Xingxing is admitted to university, our family will move to Longcheng. We will be far away from the Fu family and they will not bother us anymore." Chen Ci said.
Shen Jingjing recalled these heavy past events and thought that her mood would be affected, but when she told these things to the children, she felt relieved, as if she had told a story from a very long time ago.
The people in the story are all very vague, and the most profound things in memory are just those unforgettable feelings. It is precisely because of the strong contrast between those unforgettable feelings in the past and the beauty of today that Shen Jingjing feels that the happiness at this moment is extremely real and vivid.
"It's New Year's Day, let's not talk about this anymore." Shen Jingjing smiled and stood up, then went into the kitchen. "Let's keep things simple today. The most important task is cleaning."
Upon hearing this, Shen Ci and her younger brothers and sisters swept away the somewhat gloomy atmosphere and echoed: "No problem, Mom, I will definitely clean up the house and make it bright and tidy."
"Sister, you and second sister clean up your room and the living room, I'll clean up my room and mom's room and the balcony, and leave the kitchen to mom!"
The division of labor was clear, and the family got to work as soon as they said it. Shen Jingjing reminded a few people to go out and put up the Spring Festival couplets first.
Chen Ci looked at his mother's smiling face, and although he was satisfied, he still felt something strange in his heart. It seemed that the story just now was missing a piece. Coupled with his mother's previous reaction, Chen Ci, who was as perceptive as he was, vaguely felt that his mother was deliberately concealing something.
But she was not sure which part was vacant, and when she thought of the Fu family, she instinctively felt disgusted.
Forget it, I don’t want to think about it anymore.
(End of this chapter)
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