“I don’t know. My dad said it was all his fault. Every father who gets divorced says it was his fault.”
"But regardless of whose fault it was, the fact is that she has been out of contact for twenty years."
"It's true that you're only contacting me now to get treatment for your youngest son. I don't want to dwell on the past, nor do I want to think about her anymore. That's all," Lin Nian said somberly.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ma pursed his lips slightly, his expression somewhat helpless.
She knew that anyone would find it hard to accept such a thing.
"I haven't experienced what you've gone through, so I don't know how to comfort you."
"I just think that no matter what you choose in the end, you should know what really happened back then."
"Perhaps everyone has their own compelling reasons, don't you think?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Nian took a long time to raise his head and look at the setting sun in the distance.
He didn't know if Xiao Ma's suggestion was right or wrong, but in this situation, it was better than nothing if someone pointed him in the right direction.
"Then I'll ask when I get back tonight. Thank you, Xiao Ma," Lin Nian said, turning his head to rest his head on his knees.
"You're welcome."
Xiao Ma smiled at him, then mustered her courage, approached Lin Nian, and gently kissed his forehead as Lin Nian's eyes gradually widened.
After doing all this, her face flushed, but she still said nervously, "Don't worry, everything will pass. If you want to talk to someone, I'm always here for you."
Lin Nian was completely stunned at that moment, not hearing what Xiao Ma said at all, and his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would jump out of his chest.
His mind was filled with the kiss Xiao Ma had just given him.
Wet and soft, this kiss made him forget most of his sadness.
"Okay...okay..." Lin Nian's face turned as red as a pig's liver, and she spoke with her eyes darting away, not daring to look at Xiao Ma again.
"Then go home. Don't sit here; it'll get cold soon," Xiao Ma said.
"Okay... then I'll take you home." Lin Nian stood up and walked home in a daze, only to realize after taking two steps that he hadn't taken Xiao Ma home yet.
"No need, my home is nearby. You go ahead, I'm leaving now." Xiao Ma walked home as if fleeing. Not only Lin Nian, she was also embarrassed now.
Lin Nian watched her retreating figure, couldn't help but touch his cheek, and grinned foolishly.
Is this what love is? It feels so good.
When Xiao Ma reached his doorstep, he took out his phone and sent a message to Chen Feng.
"He should be alright now, he's gone home."
Upon seeing this message, Chen Feng finally breathed a sigh of relief, leaned back on the sofa, and lit a cigarette.
"Did Lin Nian go back?" Xia Yingying asked.
"Back home. Looks like love really does work." Chen Feng clicked his tongue and smiled broadly.
Xiao Ma did come looking for him just now, but Chen Feng searched several places and still couldn't find Lin Nian.
Then I suddenly remembered Lin Nian's childhood habits.
Chen Feng initially wanted to go find him, but then he thought that Xiao Ma's words would be much more effective than his own, so he told her the location and the two of them searched together.
Fortunately, it was Xiao Ma who found Lin Nian first.
Of course, even if Chen Feng found it, he would still quietly call Xiao Ma over, since the result would be the same anyway.
Knowing that he had gone home meant everything was alright, and Chen Feng was relieved.
When Lin Nian returned home, he saw his grandfather and Lin Tiegang sitting at the table with furrowed brows.
Upon seeing Lin Nian return, the two rushed forward and anxiously checked on her body, fearing that she might do something to harm herself.
"Are you alright, Lin Nian? Where did you go this afternoon? We were so worried about you, oh my god." Lin Tiegang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Lin Nian was alright, his eyes full of heartache and reproach.
"I'm fine." Lin Nian sat down at the table and poured himself a glass of water.
"She's gone?" Lin Nian asked, finishing his drink in one gulp.
"I'm leaving, the bus is this afternoon. Actually... sigh." Grandpa Lin wanted to say something, but he was afraid of having the opposite effect, so he stopped himself from speaking.
"So, tell me exactly why you got divorced back then, and stop saying it was all your fault."
Lin Nian turned his head to look at Lin Tiegang, somewhat impatient. He had really had enough of this answer over the past twenty years.
Lin Tiegang's eyes darted away upon hearing this. He looked down at the table and remained silent.
Seeing this, Grandpa Lin was afraid that something might happen to Lin Nian again. He rolled a cigarette, took a deep drag, and then slowly said, "What happened back then is not your mother's fault, it was all your father's fault."
“They had just gotten married and Shufen was pregnant when your father started gambling with people outside the family.”
“Back then, he was never home. He would cheat and swindle his way out to gamble, sometimes for days on end, until he was completely out of control.”
"He gambled away a whole year's salary, stole all the family's savings, and secretly sold everything he could find, leaving behind a mountain of debt."
“Your mother cries every day at home. There’s not even any food at home. When your mother was five months pregnant with you, she still had to go out to work for others to earn some money for food.”
“At the time, I knew nothing about any of this. Your mother didn’t tell anyone either. It was only when she was more than six months pregnant that she had no other choice but to tell me.”
“I was furious. I grabbed a shovel, went straight to your dad, overturned the card game, and gave him a good beating.”
"Make him write a guarantee that he won't gamble anymore."
“Your dad agreed on the surface, but he was already possessed by evil at the time. He didn’t stay at home for more than a few days before running away again.”
"There's nothing I can do. I can't even catch a glimpse of him this time. I'm at home getting food for your mom, and even when your mom gave birth to you, your dad was nowhere to be found."
"Damn it, that beast!"
Grandpa Lin Nian got angrier and angrier as he spoke, and stood up and kicked Lin Tiegang, knocking him off his chair and onto the ground.
Lin Tiegang lowered his head and slumped to the ground without saying a word.
"We lived like this for a full year until you were over a year old."
“Your mother couldn’t take it anymore and cried as she told me that she couldn’t live like this anymore.”
“What can I do? I know she’s suffering too much here. It’s our own child who’s not good enough. We can’t let her be a burden to others.”
"So I agreed and lent her two hundred yuan so she could go home."
“Your mother didn’t want the money. She only took ten yuan for travel expenses, and then put you in my arms while crying, and left in tears.”
“I remember you were almost two years old when your dad came back from outside, his finger had been chopped off.”
“We all lied to you, saying that he did it while working, but it wasn’t true. He was caught cheating at the casino and got chopped up.”
“When I saw him come back, I was both angry and heartbroken. I kicked him out and said I was going to sever our father-son relationship.”
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