Chapter 28
As Tong Yufei saw his family off, he pulled Tong Yi aside and handed him the gift from Mo Daoyan. Seeing the varying degrees of redness on Tong Yi's face, he was startled. No wonder Mo Daoyan had given him something; it seemed like he was trying to make up for his injuries. Tong Yi, this guy, had traveled dozens of kilometers to the Mo family just to fight Mo Daoyan? He was immediately wandering a foreign land, struggling to make a living, and when he encountered the talented and virtuous Mo Daoyan, instead of learning from him, he started fighting and killing him? A rotten tree cannot be carved!
She said coldly, "Give me back my things."
Tong Yi stood there motionless, like a telephone pole. Tong Yufei stepped forward to search his body and took out a tattered khaki notebook from his trouser pocket. When she took the notebook back, she raised her hand and slapped him hard. Tong Yi's face suddenly tilted to the side, but she was a woman after all, and this slap was no match for Mo Daoyan's. Tong Yi steadied herself, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed in her eyes.
"Tong Yufei!"
Tong Wan and Tong Jianzhong placed the return gifts from the Mo family on the three-horse carriage. These included boxed fruit cakes, royal jelly, Jianlibao drinks, a box of sorghum wine, some unused leather materials and furniture, etc. Seeing that Tong Yufei and Tong Yi were at loggerheads, Tong Jianzhong wanted to step forward to mediate, but Tong Wan waved him off and said, "Let the second girl vent her anger."
Tong Jianzhong was worried: "Tong Yi is such a rude kid."
Tong Wan snorted, "Don't look at Tong Yi's aggressive and aggressive behavior, he is most afraid of the second brother."
Tong Yi's voice was icy cold, like it was squeezed out from between teeth. "I threw an orange, and you held a grudge against me for seven years because of an accident. That deaf kid rode on your neck and bullied you, and you didn't say a word. You only bully others!"
The notebook was a prize Tong Yufei had won in a campus singing competition. It combined the functions of a photo album and a diary. She had filled the blank spaces with stickers of Hong Kong stars, including the beautiful Huang Rong, Weng Meiling, Feng Chengcheng, and Zhao Yazhi. The cover had lost its original color due to age, and the edges were badly worn, so one could only vaguely make out a portrait of actress Gong Li and the following: "Dreaming of mosquitoes means losing money; dreaming of a coffin means good fortune..." The binding was cracked, and the remaining threads hung loosely against the spine. The pages were scattered, some curled, some torn, and some completely peeling.
Graduation season was busy and she wrote few entries in her diary, only a few daily records. The whole process of her being cancelled by the city song and dance troupe happened to be one of them. It was not difficult to find out the driving force behind her performance. That year, the city song and dance troupe only recruited two people for the performance major. The first one was a well-known dancer who retained his student status and postponed his graduation. When he registered, he already had several mature repertoires. Tong Yufei ranked second. There is no gain without pain. When she was removed, someone else was promoted. Chen Jueyao was the beneficiary of the whole thing, the original third place.
When she heard the truth with her own ears, she burst into tears: "She has everything, why did she come to take my place?"
Official Lin said, "People who often wear old clothes will get used to having grass scraps and dust on them, but people who are used to fine clothes will find it unbearable if their clothes have even a little flaw."
They say a newborn calf is fearless, but who can stay that way forever? When she was still a wimp, she'd argued and made a scene, and then been considered "crazy," and rejected by many respectable jobs. Burning herself to death was an option, but she couldn't afford it. It was like someone shouting "fish to the death, net to be broken" when they had no way out. It had no real deterrent effect. If the net broke, they could just patch it up or buy a new one; the only thing that died was the fish.
She didn't want to be a dead fish, she still wanted to survive in the world and live the rest of her life in peace.
"My affairs with Chen Jueyao are over. Your blind intervention will only cause more trouble and harm both you and others."
Tong Yufei opened the diary and tore the pages into pieces. The profit was earned by Chen Jueyao, but the deed was done by Chen Ruchao. She had also racked her brains to use her marriage with Mo Daoyan to deliberately provoke Chen Ruchao into a dead end. Although she failed in the end, her hatred had dissipated. When she saw Chen Ruchao lying in the intensive care unit with a deathly pale face, she did not feel the pleasure of revenge. Revenge through a man's hands could not fill the emptiness in her heart. This grudge ended here, and from now on, they would not interfere with each other.
"Tong Yi, you don't have to be angry with me. I never prayed that you could be my pillar of support. I only prayed that you could be self-reliant and not live a dirty life that would soil my life."
Tong Yi's eyes reddened uncontrollably: "The person who really trapped you to death, you hold on to me and say that I have soiled your life? How fucking interesting!"
Even the usually arrogant Mo Daoyan, when he was powerless to resist, was willing to give him a way out and indirectly planned for his future. But his own sister treated him like a plague and shunned him, saying he would never recognize any relatives. Is this the life he wanted? From birth, he was accused of "killing his mother." At the age of three, he was blamed for his sister's adoption. He carried all the reasonable and unreasonable expectations of his family, but when those hopes were dashed, he became the object of everyone's disappointment and scorn. Has anyone ever asked him what he truly wanted?
If he could choose in life, he would rather never have been born. He only hopes that his mother is safe and his sister can stay with her family and never have to experience the pain of separation from her family.
She said she never prayed for him to be her pillar of support, but he had been praying to become strong, strong enough to protect them. But as Mo Daoyan said, overestimating oneself will only make one a laughing stock in the eyes of others. One should weigh the pros and cons before doing anything. If it is accomplished, it is a responsibility; if it is not accomplished, it is a disaster. He is now a true disaster.
He will live his life like a human being, and one day, he will make her look up to him.
"Mrs. Mo, I wish you great wealth and honor, and may this day come to you every year."
In April, when the tassel flowers were in bloom and the weather was as cold as frost and snow, Tong Yi left Xicheng and went to Hainan.
On a breezy spring night, the news that the central government had officially approved the development and opening of Pudong was being broadcast live on TV. Mo Changlin watched the news and explained to his old mother certain policies for implementing the economic and technological development zones. He said that national policies were a lever that could create huge earthquakes, and that Shanghai Pudong was going to be completely transformed. Old Mrs. Mo was confused and wanted to change the channel to watch the show, but seeing her son's passionate speech, she gave up.
She can listen to plays every day, but she can't see her son every day. When her son watches the news, she watches him.
Mo Daoyan sat opposite his father Mo Changlin and grandmother, and took advantage of the commercial time between the news broadcast and the weather forecast to insert a personal update. He received the title deed and keys to the commercial house he bought last month, and would move out of the old house this weekend. This time, Mo Changlin agreed with both hands. Although it is a beautiful inheritance for ancestors to bless their descendants, Mo Changlin hopes that his son can become the "ancestor" who founded the foundation, rather than the "grandson" who lives under the blessing of their ancestors, especially when there are famous figures like grandfather and father in the family. No matter what the younger generations do, they are always shrouded in their halo.
Take Mo Changlin, for example. When the factory distributed housing, he, in his steadfast demeanor, didn't even ask for a toilet, giving it all away to those in need. But some people privately said he didn't need a house to begin with, and that giving away things he didn't need could actually improve his reputation. They were so quick to criticize him, they said, "My reputation wasn't earned by giving away my house." If it weren't for his frail mother, who needed someone by her side, he would have moved into the machinery factory dormitories long ago. The air there smelled of machining fluids and metal cutting, and the mere presence of it was enough to lure him to a good night's sleep.
It's a good thing for a man to be self-reliant, but Mo Daoyan was acting on his own. Mo Changlin's eyes almost rolled up to the sky: "Your bad habits are incurable?"
Mo Daoyan took it lightly: "You are busy with many things every day, you don't have to take care of everything for me. This is not a matter of life and death."
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Mo Changlin suspected that Mo Daoyan was making insinuations. When he got married, Mo Daoyan had already been in his mother's womb for over a month. Only his sister, Mo Changying, knew about this, but they had always been close aunt and niece, so it was no surprise that Mo Changying told Mo Daoyan about it. But even if Mo Daoyan knew about it, he couldn't find fault with him as a father. After all, there were reasons for it. It wasn't that he didn't want to marry, but Meng Ruqing was afraid of being a burden to him and refused to marry. He had gone to great lengths to win her back, and his sincerity was evident to all. But today, his son used this sincerity as a handle. This was intolerable.
Meng Ruqing handed the peeled pear to Mo Changlin, staunching the volcanic eruption of the Three Character Classic of Chinese Curses. She and her husband shared similar views, though their initial intentions differed slightly. The child had grown up and couldn't always live under the watchful eye of their parents. Mo Daoyan had a few more years of free study abroad, and living away from home would be more comfortable. Her only concern was, "Buying a house will cost a lot of money. Do you have enough saved?"
Mo Daoyan replied to his mother: "I can handle it."
He'd found the house through Zhuo Yuan's real estate friend. The location and layout were perfect, and the price was within his budget. But when it came time to pay, he checked his bankbook and was shocked to find the balance was far from what he'd expected. Withdrawal records showed several withdrawals every month for the past six months, ranging from a few hundred to over a thousand. He had a regular monthly salary and rarely touched the money in his bankbook, so Tong Yufei had to be the one to withdraw the money. However, she lived at home and hadn't purchased any major items. The money wasn't spent on the family or on herself, but during the sensitive period of divorce, it made sense for her to secretly save some money. Ultimately, Zhuo Yuan had to temporarily cover the difference in the purchase price. The money was a drop in the bucket for Zhuo Yuan, but he insisted on repaying it monthly at the bank's interest rate.
Only Old Mrs. Mo looked dissatisfied. "You've only been here for a few days, and you're leaving now? Are you splitting up the family? I can thrive living outside, but I can't at home? That doesn't make sense. My family isn't helping me with the work. Does being independent mean I have to sever ties with my family?"
Mo Daoyan moved over to coax his grandmother: "I will definitely go home on Sunday. How can I be alone and spend time with you, grandma?"
Mrs. Mo's worry turned into joy: "That's about right. When you're done with this, sell the house and move back."
After finishing one busy period, there was another, one after another, and the period was endless. He had no intention of moving back after moving away, but he couldn't tell his grandmother about this: "That's natural."
Mo Daoyan wanted to move, but he didn't mention whether to take Tong Yufei with him or not. It made sense to take her with him. Other couples would stay together no matter what difficulties they faced. Their distance of less than half a city had not yet reached the sufficient conditions for necessary separation. Moreover, they also had the task of preparing for pregnancy, so it was understandable not to take her with them. The new house had not been decorated yet and the furniture was not complete. Mo Daoyan was often too busy to be home, and she needed to take care of her health. Of course, she would continue to live in the old house, with Aunt Lin taking good care of her. Besides, her grandmother was reluctant to let her go.
But Tong Yufei knew in her heart that once Mo Daoyan left, he would never come back. The day he came back every week was not for her, but for grandma. If she could not go with him, she would never have to go again. Many things cannot be delayed. If delayed, there will be no follow-up. Just like when everyone says "see you next time", there is often no next time.
Before going to sleep, she sat on the sofa bed and said to Mo Daoyan, "Take me with you."
Mo Daoyan lay down fully clothed, squinting her eyes and smiling, "If I follow you, not only will I not be able to live in a western-style building, I won't even have a nanny to make soup and cook for me. I won't be able to go in and out of the same courtyard with Director Mo and Deputy Minister Meng, and I won't be able to stay by the old lady's side. My status as the eldest daughter-in-law of the Mo family won't be apparent anymore."
She ignored Mo Daoyan's teasing words, smiled, and said in a soft but firm voice: "Without you, none of this would be true. I said I wanted to be the daughter-in-law of the Mo family, and I wanted to be your wife even more. You always don't believe me, so let's talk about practicality. You have a busy work schedule, and someone has to keep an eye on the decoration of your home. And as for your diet, I may not be as good as Aunt Lin, but I can still make simple meals. If you want to play tennis or go in your spare time, I can accompany you, and I'm also a free massage therapist..."
"It sounds like there are a lot of benefits, but you work so hard without complaint. Isn't it a lack of virtue for me to harm others for my own benefit? You are half-patient, so it's better for you to stay in the old house."
"I have an exam next month."
After all, being a journalist is contrary to proofreading. Although Sister Xin supports her study very much, she cannot take it as an excuse and use up too much of her working time. She can only study in the library or at home. Studying in the library will squeeze her presence at home, and studying at home will make her careless sometimes, such as forgetting that she is making tea, and frequently getting distracted when accompanying her grandmother to watch an opera. This is obviously inconsistent with the image of a "virtuous wife". She is not going to tell her grandmother that she wants to become a journalist. Being a journalist means running out from time to time. Mrs. Mo's dream of holding her great-grandson will have to be left to fate. If she is held accountable, she can't afford it.
The point is that if this continues, her study time can only be concentrated in the late night and early morning. Although staying up late is her forte, it is still a bit too much for her to balance work with it.
She was anxious and said sincerely: "Daoyan, I don't want to be separated from you."
Mo Daoyan remained silent for a long time before he slowly spoke: "Haven't you received the court summons yet?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
