Since Dong Shuhua separated from her husband, she has been living elsewhere, and their marital relationship exists in name only. Fortunately, she was quite capable herself and spent her time tending to flowers and watching dramas; the initial plan to frequently visit her son was abandoned.
Since her last visit, when she witnessed her sonâs situation firsthand, Dong Shuhua never went again. She knew that her son definitely didnât want his mother to see him in such a miserable state, yet felt helpless.
In this moment, Dong Shuhua felt immense regret. Had she known earlier, she wouldnât have stubbornly made a deal with Hai Yunfeng.
What Shen Yu is enduring now is worse than death could be.
Dong Shuhua relies on alcohol every day to numb herself, often getting dead drunk at night and sleeping until the sun is high during the day. Today, before noon, there was a frantic knock on the door. She opened it, bleary-eyed, to find Han Xiaoqiu.
"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.
"Arenât you going to invite me in?"
"I canât help your daughter now; I canât even help my own son."
The last time Han Xiaoqiu came to her for help, she had already stated her position, and now her words held no weight.
"Itâs not about that." Han Xiaoqiu squeezed past her and walked in on her own.
"Then whatâs it about? Have you given up on your daughter?" In her muddled mind, Dong Shuhua could only say subconsciously, "Oh! Youâre such a ruthless person, it wouldnât be surprising if you gave up."
Han Xiaoqiuâs face instantly turned a ghastly blue.
Dong Shuhua continued talking to herself, "I advise you to give up the rescue! Someone is deliberately targeting you, and your efforts might not yield results. Just like me, you know? The last time I went to see Yuâer, Yuâer was actually...
She couldnât go on, crying uncontrollably.
Han Xiaoqiuâs eyes widened in shock, speechless at what Dong Shuhuaâs words implied.
"If I had known, if I had known it would be like this, I would have rather Yuâer had just died outright. Itâs Meng Ping, that evil, itâs all his doing..."
Dong Shuhua, never completely sober, drunkenly poured out all the things she had kept bottled up, not daring to speak. To Han Xiaoqiu, some of this inside information was undoubtedly a bombshell.
She... she must have been away for too long, unaware of how ruthless the next generation had become. The confidence she initially had now seemed like pure arrogance.
No wonder the Hai Family ignored her, no wonder her pleas to so many people went unanswered, met with indifference.
"Hehehe... we are truly old, the younger generation now is far more formidable than we were." Dong Shuhua laughed bitterly at herself, wobbling toward the liquor cabinet for a drink, but Han Xiaoqiu snatched it away.
"Stop drinking."
"If I donât, I canât sleep at all through the nights."
"Itâs daytime; why are you sleeping?"
"Oh!" Dong Shuhua looked at the sky, indeed seeing it was daytime, "Who told you to come looking for me so early? From now on, donât come in the morning, only after one in the afternoon."
"You... look at the state youâre in now. Are you the same Dong Shuhua I once knew?"
"No!"
Sheâs just a drunkard; reasoning with her is pointless. Han Xiaoqiu simply said nothing, fetched a towel from the bathroom, wet it, and forcibly wiped Dong Shuhuaâs face.
The cold water immediately cleared Dong Shuhuaâs muddled thoughts considerably.