Chapter 255: A Fight Between the Mothers-in-law
"Jiaojiao~ You’re in the Imperial City and you’re not even going to live with us?" Second Brother Gu grumbled under his breath, unable to accept this reality.
"Second Brother, we’ll actually be closer if we don’t live together~ Decorate the room you saved for us simply. I’ll only stay for a night when I come home to visit."
"Okay, okay, I’ll personally supervise the work. I’ll make sure it’s decorated as luxuriously as possible." Second Brother Gu’s attention was immediately diverted.
He then went on and on, telling Gu Jiaojiao how his jianbing guozi business in the Imperial City was booming.
Although he couldn’t afford the Gu Family’s ancestral home, he had more than enough to decorate a luxurious room.
"Second Brother, you should save that money to open a restaurant later. I like things low-key. Understated luxury has more substance, you know?"
Second Brother Gu: ... ’I don’t get ’understated luxury’! What the hell is that?’
But Second Brother Gu hadn’t had many years of formal schooling, and uneducated people hate it most when others call them uncultured.
So he said, "I get it. Being low-key is also a kind of luxury. I know what to do."
"Haha... You’re the best, Second Brother. Grandpa, Dad, goodbye. I’m hanging up now."
Gu Jiaojiao knew that Mrs. Gu and Eldest Brother Gu were next to the phone, but since they didn’t speak, she just pretended not to know.
"Goodbye, Jiaojiao~~"
When Second Brother Gu heard the line go dead, he reached out and pressed the button to hang up.
The entire family was glaring at Eldest Brother Gu. He touched his nose in embarrassment; he had heard what his biological sister said, too.
He had always been grateful to his biological sister for saving his life, and their bond as siblings was very deep.
But Yueyue was, after all, the sister he had personally raised. When he saw her crying so heartbrokenly, his heart had softened and he’d agreed.
’Grandpa and Dad left overnight. Now Yueyue must think I’m a liar who breaks his promises!’
’I don’t even blame them, so how can they look at me like that!’
Just as Eldest Brother Gu was about to say something, Grandpa Gu and Mr. Gu stood up in unison and returned to their respective rooms.
Eldest Brother Gu was left sitting alone by the telephone. He desperately wanted to call Yueyue and ask if she was okay.
Unfortunately, he had left in a hurry and didn’t have Yueyue’s number—not the Song Family’s number, nor the Sheng Family’s.
His second brother often spoke with Sheng Shiwu on the phone, but that was when Sheng Shiwu was at the Su family’s home; Gu Jingtai didn’t know the Sheng Family’s phone number either.
Eldest Brother Gu was worried about Sheng Yueyue and didn’t know how she was doing, but Gu Jiaojiao and Su Shuochi did.
From her usual phone calls with Su Qinchun, Gu Jiaojiao knew the details quite well, and Su Shuochi had also heard about it from Sheng Shiwu.
After Gu Jiaojiao hung up the phone, Su Shuochi brought over a plate of melon seeds, and the couple chatted while cracking them open.
Speaking of Eldest Brother Gu naturally led to Sheng Yueyue. She had been staying at the Sheng Family’s home for a few days, and Song Zijin had stubbornly refused to go get her.
At first, Mrs. Sheng was very patient in consoling her daughter. But then her husband was busy with work during the day and didn’t come home, and at night he went to the hospital to be with their second son.
Her third son didn’t come home either; he went out to do odd jobs for money during the day and went to the hospital to stay with his second brother at night.
Her eldest son didn’t call home either. She was full of grievances with no one to vent to.
Especially when Dong Yuanyuan from next door had her homecoming visit, the Dong Family’s home was filled with cheer and laughter, and Ren Xiaofang was laughing with particular pride.
But in her family? Not only had her daughter and son-in-law gotten into a physical fight, but they had also parted on bad terms, with the son-in-law leaving the daughter behind and walking away without a second glance.
In a fit of anger, Sheng Yueyue ran to the hospital, but not to see Sheng Shiwen. She went to curse out Divine Doctor Jiang.
Divine Doctor Jiang was so thoroughly humiliated by Sheng Yueyue’s tirade that he returned to the Imperial City without even packing his bags.
Mr. Sheng, furious, ordered his daughter not to go to the hospital without permission. After that, he stopped coming home as well.
Mrs. Sheng took three days off to take care of her daughter wholeheartedly, but it was more exhausting than going to work.
Her daughter, confined to the house by her father, cried day and night. Basically, whenever she woke up, she would start crying.
Mrs. Sheng had a headache all day long. It wasn’t that her sleep quality was poor, but that her daughter’s constant sobbing and wailing made it impossible for her to sleep peacefully.
Her mental state was terrible. Not only did she have heavy dark circles under her eyes, but in just a few days, she had been tormented to the point of a nervous breakdown.
But seeing her daughter crying hysterically, her heart ached terribly. Yet, unable to help, she could only stay by her side in silence, keeping her company.
When her daughter cried herself tired, she fell asleep in her arms. Looking at her daughter nestled obediently in her embrace, her face peaceful in sleep, Mrs. Sheng finally felt a bit of relief and gradually drifted into a drowsy sleep herself.
But she had only been asleep for a few minutes when her daughter started wailing again, "Mom~ Why isn’t Dad coming home? Why hasn’t Song Zijin come to take me home yet... WAHHH..."
Her daughter’s cries instantly jolted Mrs. Sheng from her dream. She broke out in a cold sweat, and her breathing became rapid.
Her heart clenched violently. She could only continue to patiently coax her, "Yueyue, don’t worry. Song Zijin is just angry right now. He’ll come get you once he’s calmed down.
"Your father is very busy with work during the day, and at night he has to go to the hospital to take care of your second brother. Let me tell you, as soon as your second brother gets better, Dad will come home."
"WAHHH... Then when will my second brother get better? He should be able to come home and recuperate after a week in the hospital, right?"
Mrs. Sheng: ...
’I haven’t been to the hospital to see my second son in days. I have no idea if he’s better or not!’
She could only lie. "Your second brother will be home in a week. By then, Song Zijin will have calmed down too. Yueyue, you should get some proper sleep."
As soon as she finished speaking, her daughter immediately stopped crying and pouted, "I believe Mom wouldn’t lie to me. I’ll go to sleep then."
In reality, Sheng Yueyue wasn’t worried at all. In her previous life, she had often argued with her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.
Whenever they argued, she would inevitably lose. And whenever she lost, she would run back to her parents’ house. Within two days, her straightforward husband, He Aijun, would come to her parents’ house to get her.
In this life, the man she married was the gentle and face-conscious Song Zijin, so he was even more certain to come and get her.
So, Sheng Yueyue fell asleep, reassured. Her fake wails were just to make her mother pity her more.
But Mrs. Sheng didn’t know what her daughter was thinking. Seeing her endlessly wailing daughter finally lulled to sleep, she couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh. Her daughter’s emotions had finally stabilized; she was no longer so agitated.
She gently kissed her daughter’s soft hair, but her eyes couldn’t help but sting, and tears trickled down one by one.
’I just lied to my daughter. I have no idea if my second son will really be well enough to leave the hospital in a week.
’My husband hasn’t come home in two days and hasn’t even called. He must blame me.
’And my eldest son hasn’t called home in three days, either. I don’t know if his injuries have worsened or if he has returned to his unit.
’I’m a failure as a mother. Both of my sons are injured, yet I have no time to care for them.’
After three agonizing days like this, Mrs. Sheng had to go back to work and had no time to look after her daughter during the day.
But Mrs. Sheng stubbornly held out for two more days. It was only when she truly couldn’t stand it anymore that she went to the Song Family’s home to confront them.
Aunt Song was not someone to be trifled with. The two mothers-in-law first started arguing, and it ended in a physical fight.
Mrs. Sheng was already exhausted and mentally drained. How could she possibly be a match for Aunt Song?
In an instant, Aunt Song had beaten her black and blue, and even ripped out a large handful of her hair.