Chapter 477 - 465: I Was Wrong
’But now Liu Fang is talking about repaying his kindness without asking for any official status. What is that supposed to mean? If he accepted, wouldn’t that make him a villain? Besides, he has a perfectly good family; he can’t allow an outsider to cause this kind of trouble.’
"Is she there?"
Lin Shan asked Gu’er.
"She’s right here beside me."
Gu’er didn’t hide it.
"Let Liu Fang take the phone. I’ll tell her myself. We can help her through this crisis, but she absolutely cannot stay."
Lin Shan decided to tell Liu Fang personally.
"My dad wants to speak with you."
Gu’er handed the phone to Liu Fang, but she knew in her heart that her father wouldn’t be persuaded.
On the other end, it was unclear what Lin Shan said to Liu Fang. She just listened without speaking, silently shedding tears.
"Brother Lin, I’m so sorry. I know I’m not good enough, that I’m not worthy. I truly wasn’t thinking that way. How could someone like me ever be worthy of you? I never had those kinds of intentions. It’s just... it’s just that I really have nowhere else to go. You don’t know... back in the village, some men... they snuck into my house in the middle of the night. If I hadn’t hidden a pair of scissors on the kang... I’m afraid... I really can’t stay in the village anymore. They curse at me, and I can endure that. But I can’t let them defile me. If that happened, I’d have no choice but to die. But Chun Ya is still so little. If I died, what would she do? If Brother Lin thinks I’m a burden, it’s all right. I’ll take Chun Ya and leave right now. I absolutely won’t cause you any trouble, Brother Lin."
Liu Fang finally spoke, and when she finished, she covered her mouth and sobbed silently.
"No, no, Brother Lin, that’s not what I meant. I... I’m not good with words. The ladies must have misunderstood me. I really didn’t have any other intentions. I just thought I could help with chores around your house, and in return, you could give Chun Ya and me a bite to eat. Just enough to raise Chun Ya is all I ask. I know what Gu’er said was for my own good, but I... I really don’t want to go out and face people. I can’t go out to work. I... I can tidy up the house and cook; that’s about it. If Brother Lin won’t let me stay, then I’ll just leave. Chun Ya and I will go beg for food. I... I can raise her. Don’t worry, Brother Lin. You’re a good person. How could I have such thoughts? It was my fault for not explaining things clearly to the lady of the house. I’ll kowtow and apologize to her later. I will repay Brother Lin’s kindness in my next life."
After speaking, Liu Fang put down the phone and buried her face in her hands, crying.
"Dad."
Gu’er picked up the phone. On the other end, Lin Shan was silent. Gu’er knew he hadn’t hung up; he was clearly thinking about something.
"Gu’er, Dad was wrong."
It was a long time before Lin Shan said this. He wasn’t stupid. On the contrary, to have gotten where he was today, he had experienced many things and met all sorts of people. Liu Fang appeared weak on the outside. Furthermore, she was filial to her mother-in-law; even after being scalded by hot soup and becoming so ill, she never said a single bad word about her. Because of this, he had thought Liu Fang was a woman who looked delicate but was inwardly strong. His impression of her had been quite good.
’What Liu Fang just said seemed innocent on the surface, but it was tantamount to denying what Gu’er and Chen Fengjiao had said. She was claiming they had wronged her, that she had no ulterior motives and only wanted to stay at the Lin Family’s home to do some work in exchange for a way to survive. She was saying that Chen Fengjiao and the others had misunderstood her. If someone who didn’t know the whole story heard this, they would probably blame my wife for being narrow-minded, for being paranoid and suspicious when the woman was innocent. They’d end up dissatisfied with my wife.’
’But Lin Shan knew that while Chen Fengjiao could be a bit petty, she wasn’t one to make things up. Moreover, he trusted Gu’er. Gu’er knew about the situation between him and Liu Fang. She would never fabricate lies. Since Gu’er had said what she did, Liu Fang must have expressed those intentions. That’s why Gu’er had called him. But now, Liu Fang was denying Gu’er’s words. This proved there was definitely something wrong with this woman. Her motive for wanting to enter their home wasn’t as simple as she claimed. Otherwise, why would she refuse the job Gu’er arranged for her and insist on staying? Claiming she didn’t want to see people and only trusted him... that was all nonsense. She could endure the scornful looks and strange treatment from the villagers, and she could endure her mother-in-law’s abuse. That proved she was incredibly strong-willed.’
’Only now did Lin Shan realize that this woman wasn’t as fragile as she appeared. He had been deceived, letting his first impressions cloud his judgment.’
"Dad initially thought she was pitiful, filial, and strong, so I just wanted to give her a hand. She has a child, just a little bit older than you were when you were lost. I thought if I helped her through the hardest times, her child would suffer less too. But I never imagined she had such intentions."
Lin Shan added.
Gu’er understood that her father had figured everything out and hadn’t been deceived by Liu Fang’s words. That was good.
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Thank you to Pacific Stone Monkey for the monthly ticket. I’ve caught a cold, and this runny nose is miserable. I’ve already gone through several rolls of toilet paper. Everyone, please stay warm!