But, her first words were about leaving him, which scared him. She must have decided to leave him on her way here. Before he could think further, the conversation between the mother and daughter reached his ears again — “Do you remember when you were little, you always compared everything with Little Green, even wanted to have more braids than her? I made you a head full of little braids, and what did I say to you the next day?” “One should not be greedy, nor should one be vain. Be firm in heart, and contentment brings happiness!” “Do you still remember when we were short of money, and your Uncle Chen came to visit us, giving you a red envelope for the New Year, which I didn’t allow you to accept, and when you got angry with me, what did I say?” “The poor should not accept gifts lightly, for they have no means to repay!” “Do you remember when you asked me how one could become rich, how to have cookies and milk every day, what did I tell you?” “The source of wealth is from the labor of hands and feet.” “Did I ever teach you to be vain? Did I ever teach you to be fickle? Did I teach you to abandon a poor boyfriend for someone better? Did I teach you to sell yourself for money?” “No!” They were not speaking in dialect, yet Zhou Yuzhi still listened with surprise. It was the first time he had seen Lai Hui’s mother, who was emaciated from long-term illness, yet her words were firm and resonant. Lai Hui was raised by such a mother, how many parents teach their children moral values from a young age? No wonder she, in a circle full of temptations, still only took what was rightfully hers. If he had such a mother, in the same situation, he might also sell himself to save his mother’s life. Only at this moment did he truly believe that everything Lai Hui did was for her mother, though she might have lost her way briefly, but that was fleeting, and her aim in gathering wealth was solely to secure the life of her mother and herself. After such an ordeal, she probably understood better than anyone the importance of money. “Since I didn’t, then I certainly didn’t raise a vain daughter!” Everyone looked at Lai Ruoyun; she didn’t speak further, but Zhou Yuzhi felt her words were not finished, waiting for more. Xie Jiayi, however, couldn’t hold back, quickly defending Lai Hui: “Aunt Yun, she’s not like that…!” Lai Hui completely ignored his kindness, glaring at him to shut up, then tried to say something more to Lai Ruoyun, who interrupted her. “Yes, my daughter certainly isn’t like that!” She glanced at Zhang Zongxiang, who was ashamed beyond words, and added, “It’s to treat my illness, right?” Lai Hui firmly denied it. “No!” “Still lying!” Lai Ruoyun looked at her sadly and continued, “From five years ago when you transferred me to this hospital, saying you found a job here, I sensed something was wrong. Even with donations from your schoolmates and advances on your salary from your boss, we couldn’t afford to live in such a place. But when I asked, you always answered with a straight face, and I was cut off from the outside world, unable to verify the truth, and I—” She started crying again, tears mixed with a bit of shame. “And I wanted to live! So—” There were no more words, but everyone knew what followed, saying it out loud would be cruel, they thought. Only Lai Hui felt an inexplicable dizziness, almost falling, and Zhou Yuzhi, closest to her, half-squatted to support her, his hand touching her face, feeling tears, his heart aching, he hugged her tighter and said to Lai Ruoyun, “This can’t be blamed on you, nor on her. She was almost sold by her classmates to the underworld, and I bought her back from them, coerced her into being with me. You can ask her classmate Xu Nuo, Mr. Xie knows about it too!” Lai Ruoyun stopped crying, looked at Xie Jiayi, who nodded, “It’s true, but I only found out later.” She then turned to Zhou Yuzhi, questioning, “You bought her? You treated my hard-raised daughter, someone else’s friend, as an object to buy?” Faced with such a question, Zhou Yuzhi had no response, as Lai Hui struggled, trying to say something, but he held her down, calmly saying, “No, at that time, it was because I liked her!” At that time, he didn’t like her, he owed her nothing, hence the transaction. Now, he liked her, couldn’t leave her, so he owed her. Since he owed her, and she didn’t want her mother to feel guilty, he would fulfill her wish. “What about your child? Over five years, you’ve hurt another person like this?” This was what Lai Ruoyun could never forgive; she herself had been a victim, suffering a lifetime of loneliness, raising her daughter, only for her daughter to hurt another in the same plight! It was a complex issue, one Zhou Yuzhi would not delve into, nor would he explain to others; he didn’t care what others thought. Seeing no answer, Lai Ruoyun’s heart burned with anger, cursing at the two, “Why are you still holding each other? Aren’t you ashamed? Get out of here, both of you!” Zhou Yuzhi had never been scolded like this before; he was about to leave but thought of Lai Hui, and endured, maintaining his usual dignity, “This is your own daughter, how much has she suffered for you? Just because she’s with me, you tell her to leave? Who will take care of you if she leaves? Have you considered that you’re also hurting her?” He regretted his words as soon as they were out, as Lai Hui finally lifted her face, sharply retorting, “Can’t you stop saying these things? —” “You say she’s suffered for me? How much have I suffered to raise her, only for her to be ruined by you, and she’s willing to degrade herself? Even if you bought her, who said that paying money settled the matter? She could have left you and paid you back later, but now, she’s not willingly—” Lai Ruoyun stopped abruptly, the conversation looping back, she knew well her daughter’s “willing degradation” was for her, for her who was too proud to afford her medical bills. The cruel reality tore at her heart like a giant hand; she wanted to cry out in despair at the misfortune fate had dealt her, but ultimately, she was utterly helpless, unable to move an inch. Tears rolled down her cheeks, with no one stepping forward to wipe them away, all stunned by her harsh words. Lai Hui’s pain was inexpressible; she had heard others call her degraded behind her back, pretending it didn’t matter for years, just to prolong her mother’s life, never expecting the final insult to come from her own mother. The pain of having one’s heart gouged out with a knife could not be worse than this, she thought. What’s the point of living? What’s the point of enduring all this? She suddenly wanted to throw her head back and laugh wildly. Was all her effort worth it? Who cared? Who was grateful? She looked at Zhou Yuqian with a mix of desolation and confusion and said, “Mom wants to see you. Can you take me out?” Zhou Yuqian nodded, helping her to her feet. After kneeling for so long, her knees were in sharp pain the moment she tried to stand, causing her to collapse back onto the ground. He had no choice but to carry her in his arms. After a couple of steps, Lai Ruying called out, “Wait!”
Lai Ruying felt as if her heart was being stabbed repeatedly, hot blood rushing to her head instead of her numb limbs, making her temples throb. She regretted her harsh words; this was the only child she had, whom she had never bear to scold or hit, having missed countless good matches out of fear they wouldn’t treat her child well in the long run. How could she now say such hurtful things? If she could move, she would have grabbed her; since she couldn’t, she could only try to call her back. If she couldn’t come back, she would just be left with her sorrow. With tears streaming down, Lai Ruying called out, “Xiaohui, come here!”
