Chapter 195: An Indulgent Father Raises a Spoiled Child
In Dong Jianjun’s memory, his younger sister was spoiled and always clung to their parents.
She expected every tasty morsel in the house to end up in her mouth. When she was little, no one thought much of it.
But now that Dong Yuanyuan was old enough to be married, that same disposition just made her seem selfish and quite irritating.
To this day, she still believed everyone should treat her well unconditionally, and was now openly demanding dowry money.
As far as Dong Jianjun was concerned, his sister was the very definition of incorrigible.
Yet today, Dong Yuanyuan had caused a scene over her dowry, dragging their elderly father and him into it, and she still didn’t seem to realize she’d done anything wrong.
She was still prattling on, "Dad, you have to stand up for me! I used to like Su Shuochi and wanted to marry him, but none of you approved.
If I had married Shuoci, I’d be living the high life every day. Why would I need to fight over a dowry?!
I listened to you all and married that shorty He Aiguo, so my dowry has to be generous to make me happy, you know~"
Dong Jianjun looked as if he’d just seen a pig fly. He was so shocked he couldn’t control his expression as his gaze shifted toward Dong Yuanyuan.
"You like Su Shuochi? Don’t you dare insult the word ’like.’ If you really liked him, would you have left when he got injured?"
"Brother~! How could you think of your Yuanyuan like that?~ That was because of work! WAH... Brother, you don’t love me anymore, do you?~~"
"Dong Jianjun! How dare you speak to your sister like that? Why did you have to make her cry?" came Mr. Dong’s scolding voice.
Uncle Dong took a long, hard look at his father. His wife and daughter were always telling him that Father (or Grandfather, in his daughter’s case) was incredibly biased.
Back then, he had just thought his wife and daughter were being dramatic. Now, however, he could see that his father wasn’t just biased—the favoritism ran bone-deep.
"Dad, you can give Yuanyuan as much as you want, but if you expect to get dowry money out of us, you can forget it.
My son is getting married soon, and my daughter needs a dowry prepared for her, too. We’re already stretched thin as it is."
Dong Jianjun’s words were firm and final. He turned and headed upstairs without a backward glance. It was the first time he had ever refused to give his father face.
Aunt Dong was secretly thrilled. She grabbed her daughter and followed him upstairs.
Seeing his parents go upstairs, Dong Qihua naturally followed them to his room.
But before going upstairs, he twisted the knife. "Grandpa, isn’t my eldest aunt your biological daughter? When she came home, she was driven off without even being offered a meal. So why are you forcing us to empty our family’s coffers for my youngest aunt’s wedding?"
Second Uncle Dong stared, dumbfounded, at his eldest nephew’s retreating back. ’Is this really the same nephew who’s always laughing and never argues about anything?’
He opened his mouth to say something, but his son, Dong Qiming, pulled him away. "Grandpa, Dad’s in a bad mood. We’re going to head to bed."
This left Mr. Dong in the living room with his young wife and his precious daughter. Caught between his wife and his daughter,
Mr. Dong could only turn his anger on his young wife. "Ren Xiaofang, are you only happy when this family is in turmoil?"
Ren Xiaofang: ...
’But I didn’t dare say a single thing!’
She knew Mr. Dong had a violent temper. If she said the wrong thing and made him truly angry,
he wouldn’t hesitate to use violence. The bamboo cane he used was half a palm wide, and it was excruciatingly painful.
She’d tasted it once before. It had left rows of bruises, and the searing pain was unbearable.
’Back then, I was young and foolish, always needing to win every argument. But there are no winners and losers in a marriage!’
’It just comes down to who is more ruthless. I was screaming and crying in pain, but the old man didn’t stop his hand. My two stepsons were probably watching the whole show, gloating.’
Ever since that day, Ren Xiaofang had learned to read people’s expressions and tread carefully, never daring to provoke the three Dong men.
’A few days ago, she’d seen the old man whip his second son, and the sight had been deeply satisfying.’
For the first time, a Dong Family affair ended on a sour note. Dong Yuanyuan, having gained nothing, could only retreat to her room in resentment.
At the Sheng residence, Mrs. Sheng stood on her balcony, listening to the gossip from her archenemy’s family. It was a real eye-opener.
She felt utterly content, both in body and spirit. She could finally laugh at her rival’s expense, and on top of that, her own daughter had become obedient and sensible again.
"Old Sheng, you’ve got to hear this! That Dong Yuanyuan is such a drama queen. She got the Dong family’s eldest son so mad that he actually talked back to his father for the first time! Haha!"
"Someone who causes so much trouble like her... it’s a good thing she didn’t marry Su Shuochi. Our Jiaojiao is the one who’s truly fortunate..."
Mr. Sheng: ...
He didn’t want to discuss another family’s affairs. ’Hasn’t our own daughter become enough of a laughingstock lately?’
’It had only been two good days, and his wife finally had a smile on her face. How wonderful it would be if things could stay like this.’
But he knew his daughter wouldn’t stay this obedient for long. Her eyes were filled with defiance.
He had major reservations about Sheng Yueyue now. He pitied her, but at the same time, he was wary of her.
He pitied her for the genuine hardships she had suffered in the past, but that didn’t give her a free pass to act out so recklessly.
He was afraid her recklessness would lead to some huge disaster, and he was even more worried that Yueyue was cooking up some grand scheme to use against Jiaojiao.
Mr. Sheng could only pray that his daughter could keep up the act until she was married. If she started causing trouble after that, he’d let Boss Song deal with her...
It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to discipline her, he just didn’t have the heart to be cruel.
"Old Sheng, are you even listening to me?" Mrs. Sheng asked, having not received an answer after several tries.
"I’m listening," he sighed. "You know the saying, ’spare the rod, spoil the child.’ I think the Dong Family is in this mess precisely because the old man spoils his youngest daughter so much."
Mrs. Sheng: ...
’Her husband was implying that she spoiled their daughter too much!’
"Old Sheng, it’s getting late. Let’s go to bed!"
Mrs. Sheng’s earlier cheerfulness vanished without a trace. After all, was her own daughter really any better than Dong Yuanyuan?
Sheng Shiwen watched his parents shake their heads and sigh. ’He really wanted to add, a doting *father* spoils a child!’
He was uncharacteristically watching TV in the living room tonight. Earlier, he had been leaning over the balcony railing with his mother, watching the commotion next door.
He could only remember one thing Uncle Dong had said: "My daughter needs a dowry prepared for her, too!"
’Does that mean Dong Lili is seeing someone?’
’Or has she already been successfully matched?’
How did he not hear anything about this? He wanted to ask Xiao Wu, but Xiao Wu hadn’t spoken to him in a long time.
’He didn’t know when it had started, but he and his brother had reached a point where they had nothing left to say to each other.’
Sheng Shiwen wanted to go find Xiao Wu and ask, but he was too proud. He could only return to his room, his mind filled with countless questions.
Gu Jiaojiao and Su Shuochi were as sweet as ever. Lately, Gu Jiaojiao had been exhausted from performing acupuncture with her silver needles on three different people, and she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
Su Shuochi watched his wife sleeping soundly and gently kissed her forehead, not daring to be too intimate.
Never mind that his wife was still young; his own legs weren’t even strong enough for him to stand yet.
’He didn’t want their wedding night to be filled with regrets. He had to wait until he was fully recovered.’
So, he just held his wife, cleared his mind, and soon fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
「The next day.」
Su Shuochi was up early to do his exercises, not lazing in bed as usual.
When Gu Jiaojiao woke up, the spot beside her was empty for the first time. "Su Shuochi? Su—"
"Wife, you’re awake?"