"Lingzi, you'll be in first grade next year, you'll be a big girl now, and there are some things Mom wants to tell you." Liu Zi picked up Lingzi and the two sat down on the sofa together.
"Lingzi, your father hasn't come to see you since you came back. Don't you find that strange?" Liu Zi asked her first.
After hesitating for a moment, Lingzi said, "I heard from Qiqi that Daddy doesn't seem to like girls; he only likes older brothers."
Liu Zi suddenly felt a little guilty. She had kept her self-study a secret very well, but she didn't know that Lingzi already knew a lot about it.
"Qiqi is still young and doesn't understand many things, so some of the things she says are incorrect."
"The brother she mentioned isn't actually your brother. When Mom gave birth to you, Grandma didn't like girls, so she brought home another child to replace you."
"Mom didn't know where you were and mistook that child for you, which is why Qiqi thought he was her brother."
"One of the reasons your father didn't show up is that he allowed your grandmother to abandon you, so he was arrested by the police. Your grandmother, as the mastermind, was also sentenced."
Lingzi looked somewhat uneasy.
"Won't they resent me?"
Liu Zi hugged her daughter; her daughter was the kindest angel.
"Everyone has to be responsible for what they have done. They made mistakes back then and deserved to be punished. This has nothing to do with you," Liu Zi told her daughter firmly.
"Don't easily take responsibility for someone else's mistakes, understand?"
"Mm!" Suzuko nodded.
"It's too late, you should go back to sleep. Next time something like this happens, tell your mother immediately, okay?" Liu Zi made a request to her.
"I understand." Suzuko nodded again.
Seeing Lingzi return to her room, Aunt Zhang asked worriedly, "You said so much to her, will she understand? Won't she feel burdened?"
"There's nothing we can do about it. She overheard some gossip, and if we don't tell her the truth, Lingzi will overthink it. Please keep an eye on things these next few days!"
Aunt Zhang nodded.
"It's also my fault; I wasn't careful enough to watch out for those old women saying such things."
Aunt Zhang remembered that the last time Liu Zi went out, when they went to the courtyard for dinner, Lingzi went downstairs and came back without saying a word. She thought she had quarreled with other children.
"It's not your fault. The two children are getting older, and you can't always be by their side. I'll tell them all these things gradually." Liu Zi cursed Zhao Qian, that bastard, in her mind again. How could she have been so blind to have fallen for him?
Li Mu was getting worried because he couldn't get through to Liu Zi on the phone, and he was about to drive over to check on her when he received a call from his girlfriend.
Liu Zi lay on the bed and told Li Mu what had happened that night.
Li Mu felt a pang of heartache upon hearing Liu Zi's weak and listless voice.
"Why didn't you show up sooner! You made me run into a scumbag!" Liu Zihua said angrily.
Li Mu was speechless. He thought for a moment. Eight years ago, he was already thirty-one years old and was fully committed to expanding his business. How could he have known that a college student in her early twenties at a university in Beijing would be his future partner?
"Yes, it was my fault." Li Mu readily admitted his mistake.
Liu Zi felt embarrassed. She had only complained and didn't really blame him, but she didn't expect him to actually apologize.
"Isn't that stupid?"
In that instant, the people on both ends of the microphone felt a happiness that welled up from the bottom of their hearts.
Liu Zi didn't expect there to be a follow-up to Xiao Mei's story. Just two days later, Ling Zi brought back the update to Liu Zi.
"Xiao Mei is transferring schools!" Lingzi was still a little sad, as the two children usually had a very good relationship.
"Why?" Liu Zi asked in surprise.
"Xiaomei said she's going to study near her maternal grandmother's house. Her grandmother lives in Jinshi, which is next door, so she's transferring schools."
"It's okay. Leave your home phone number with Xiaomei. If you miss her, you can call her. When you can write in the future, you can also keep in touch. If there's a chance, Mom can also take you to Jinshi to see your friends." Liu Zi comforted little Lingzi, who was about to part with her friends.
"Thank you, Mom." Little Lingzi was still not in a good mood and went back to her room after eating very little dinner.
After the two children went back inside, Aunt Zhang said to Liu Zi with a gossipy look on her face, "I heard that Xiao Mei's mother brought her two brothers back, and as soon as they got home, they smashed all of her mother-in-law's pots and pans."
"What's going on?" Liu Zi also came over, wondering what kind of big plot this was.
"Xiaomei's mother is from Jinshi. I heard her family has quite a bit of influence locally. Xiaomei's father met her while on a business trip to Jinshi, and that's how they got married. At first, the atmosphere at home was quite good, but after Xiaomei was born, her grandmother became somewhat dissatisfied. However, since both the couple were formally employed workers, they couldn't have any more children. Xiaomei's grandmother harbored resentment but didn't dare to vent it on her daughter-in-law, who was now a cadre, so she could only beat and scold Xiaomei."
"Isn't Xiaomei's mother coming back? Hasn't she noticed?" Liu Zi pressed.
"I heard that every time before Xiaomei's mother comes back, Xiaomei's grandmother warns her granddaughter that if she does anything wrong, she will be punished even more severely after Xiaomei's mother leaves. Xiaomei is a little girl, and she is timid to begin with. After being frightened, she becomes even more trembling with fear," Aunt Zhang said, taking a sip of water.
"Xiaomei's mother just thought her child was shy and timid, and didn't think much of it. She never imagined her own grandmother would torment her granddaughter like this."
"Auntie, how do you know so much?" Liu Zi asked, puzzled. She was practically eavesdropping over the wall.
"That family lives not far from here. When Xiaomei's mother came home, all the neighbors saw it: Xiaomei's two uncles were smashing things inside, and Xiaomei's mother was outside complaining. It attracted a lot of people."
"Really?" Liu Zi gave a thumbs up, showing great admiration for Xiao Mei's mother.
"Everyone knew that the old woman secretly beat and scolded her granddaughter, but since they were all longtime neighbors, they didn't want to get involved. This time, when the in-laws came to their door, no one stepped forward to help. In the end, it was Xiaomei's father who rushed home, and only then did it stop. I heard that Xiaomei's mother filed for divorce then, wanting custody of the child and for Xiaomei's father to remarry and have another woman give them a son."
"So amazing!" Liu Zi could only exclaim in amazement.
"Xiao Mei's father almost knelt down and begged on the spot when he heard his wife's words, but his wife completely ignored him, picked up her daughter from school, and drove straight back to Jinshi."
"Didn't Xiaomei's grandma stop her?" Liu Zi felt that Xiaomei's grandma must have been cunning to keep it a secret for so long.
"Why didn't they stop her? They couldn't! When Xiaomei's father heard what she had done, he slapped himself twice in front of the neighbors, scaring the old woman half to death."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
