Chapter Thirty-Two: Who do you think you are!
She looked down at her innocent and unaware daughter in her arms, her heart feeling as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, the pain making it hard to breathe.
"In that case... I... I might as well just endure it like this... At least, at least in the Zhong family, Mom and Aunt... they are genuinely good to me..."
She raised her tear-filled eyes and looked at Zhang Chunxue hesitantly: "Mom, this matter... is too big... allow me... allow me to think about it again, okay?"
Seeing her completely lost and bewildered state, Zhang Chunxue knew exactly what was going on.
Zhou Mingli is a traditional woman at heart; for her, the word "divorce" is like the sky falling and the earth collapsing.
Asking her to make a decision now would be forcing her.
Zhang Chunxue nodded: "Okay! Mingli, don't panic or be afraid. Think about this carefully and thoroughly. No matter what you decide to do in the end, Mom will support you and back you up!"
“If you think you can still live like this, then Mom will help you drag that beast Zhong Chengren back and make him kneel in front of you and admit his mistakes!”
“If you feel you really can’t go on like this, then Mom will be with you and we’ll get a divorce! We’ll raise Yuanyuan and still live a great life!”
As dusk settled and it was almost time to prepare dinner, suddenly, with a loud bang, the courtyard gate was kicked open and violently slammed against the wall.
Zhong Chengren barged in from outside with a dark and sullen face.
He played cards with someone in town today, but his luck was terrible, and he lost everything. On top of that, Zhang Chunxue went to see Meng Wanshu, so he was feeling a nameless anger simmering inside with nowhere to vent it.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Zhang Chunxue busy in the kitchen. He didn't even utter a sound or lift his eyelids, and rushed straight to his own room.
Zhou Mingli was comforting Yuanyuan inside the house when she heard this noise. Her heart skipped a beat, and she involuntarily tightened her arms around the child.
Zhong Chengren kicked open the door, and the door slammed against the frame with a loud bang, startling Zhong Yuanyuan, who had just started to feel sleepy, into crying out loud.
Immediately afterwards, a series of loud crashes and bangs came from inside the room. Stools were being kicked, doors were being slammed, and even enamel mugs and other items were being smashed on the floor.
Holding her daughter, who had been startled awake and was crying incessantly, Zhou Mingli suppressed her fear and overwhelming grievances, and whispered in a trembling voice, "Yuanyuan, be good, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Mom is here..."
She still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that once Zhong Chengren calmed down, she could sit down and have a proper talk with him, persuading him to break up with that vixen outside for the sake of Yuanyuan's young age, and to come home and live a peaceful life.
But looking at Zhong Chengren's fierce and menacing demeanor, there was no room for negotiation whatsoever.
After a long while, the chaotic noises in the room gradually subsided.
Zhou Mingli finally managed to coax the frightened Yuanyuan to sleep, then gently placed the child on the kang (a heated brick bed) and tucked her in with a small blanket.
She took a deep breath, then another, as if drawing out all her courage, before shakily walking up to Zhong Chengren.
“Chengren…” Her voice was barely audible, tinged with a hint of timidity, “What… what’s wrong with you? Who made you angry? Can we… can we… live a good life together? Yuanyuan… Yuanyuan is still so young, she can’t be without her father…”
Before she could finish speaking, Zhong Chengren suddenly raised his head and glared at her viciously.
"Live a life with someone as jinxed as you!"
"If it weren't for you, you unlucky woman, would I be suffering like this outside?"
"Look at you! You have that long face all day long, like someone's dead! It makes me sick to my stomach!"
Zhou Mingli trembled from his sudden insults, her face drained of all color, turning deathly pale.
"And another thing!" Zhong Chengren became even more agitated when she didn't speak. "You still have the nerve to say that! You're like a dead fish in bed, what man can stand that! Having children, having children, you dragged your feet and gave birth to a worthless child! You can't even give me a boy! What use is a barren hen like you to the Zhong family!"
Each and every word, those filthy and vicious words, were like red-hot branding irons, fiercely searing into Zhou Mingli's heart.
Tears, which she could no longer control, streamed down her face like beads from a broken string.
"I...I didn't..."
When Zhong Chengren saw her crying, he felt no pity whatsoever. Instead, he became even more agitated, abruptly stood up from the edge of the bed, and roughly flicked his sleeve.
"Get out of my way! Don't stand there and get in my way! Just looking at you annoys me!"
After saying that, he pushed Zhou Mingli, who was blocking his way, aside and walked straight out of the house without paying any attention to her.
Zhou Mingli was pushed so hard that she stumbled and almost fell.
Zhong Chengren, seething with anger, stormed out of his room only to run into Zhang Chunxue, whose face was ashen.
In Zhang Chunxue's hand, there was a broom handle standing by the stove!
"You little bastard! Stop right there!"
Zhong Chengren was startled by the roar and instinctively stopped in his tracks.
Before he could react, the broom handle in Zhang Chunxue's hand whistled fiercely and lashed out at his back!
"Ouch!"
Caught off guard, Zhong Chengren took the blow hard on his back, and jumped up with a loud "ow" in pain.
"Mom! Mom, you're crazy! Why are you hitting me!" He clutched his burning back, awkwardly dodging to the side, still shouting recklessly.
Zhang Chunxue didn't care about his logic; she was determined to wake this unfilial son up today!
"I'll beat you to death, you heartless ingrate! I'll beat you to death, you petty thief and scoundrel!"
"You've been flirting with vixens and keeping mistresses outside, bringing shame to the Zhong family!"
"Smack!" Another broom struck Zhong Chengren's arm hard, making him wince in pain.
"You come home and still dare to give your wife the cold shoulder, yelling and smashing dishes! Who do you think you are! Huh?! You think you've grown up to be so great?!"
"What has Mingli ever done to wrong you? She gave birth to your child, took care of this family, and in the end, you still complain outside that she can't give you a son!"
"Pah! Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror to see what kind of person you are!"
"Slap! Slap! Slap!"
The broom handles landed precisely on Zhong Chengren's body, targeting the thickest parts of his flesh, causing him to run away in terror, screaming and begging for mercy like a pig being slaughtered.
"Mom! Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! I know I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! Ouch! It hurts so much! Mom! My dear mom! You're my real mom!"
Zhang Chunxue's eyes were bloodshot, her chest heaving violently, and she was unwilling to stop easily.
"What did you do wrong? Tell me! Explain yourself clearly, what exactly did you do wrong!" she demanded sternly as she chased after him, hitting him.
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