Chapter 99: Argument, Defense

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Argument, Defense

Zhao Huilan came in to see her grandmother and stepmother in a standoff. She immediately ran to her grandmother’s side, pointed a finger right in Xia Yingyu’s face, and screamed, "I’m telling you, Xia Yingyu, if you dare bully my grandma again, I’ll push you just like last time! Even if you die, my dad won’t do a thing to me!"

Zhao Huilan had often clashed with Xia Yingyu in the past. At most, her father would scold her but never truly punish her, so she wasn’t the least bit afraid of Xia Yingyu.

Hearing the argument outside, Zhao Jinghai strode out of the bedroom. He walked up and slapped Zhao Huilan twice across the face. "I never expected you to treat her like your birth mother, but I will not allow you to speak to her like that! You nearly caused a catastrophe last time. I was too busy to punish you then, but now you’ve only gotten worse! Get out! Get out of this house right now! If you think I don’t love you, you can go find that birth mother of yours who abandoned you!"

Seeing her father hit her for the first time, looking at her with such a stern and cold expression for the first time, and hearing him say such words, Zhao Huilan looked completely stunned. She stared at her father in disbelief and stammered through sobs, "Dad, you actually hit me... for that woman? I’m your own daughter! How could you treat me like this?"

"It’s because I’ve been too good to you, too indulgent, that you’ve become so insolent and don’t know your place," Zhao Jinghai said. "You’ve been petty-minded since you were a child, just like that mother of yours. If you don’t want to be in this house, you can get out. Get out right now and go find her. You think your birth mother is so great? Then go find her!"

Seeing her son yelling and berating her granddaughter, Wang Lianhua quickly tried to mediate. "Huilan is still young! Don’t take what she says to heart. Don’t stoop to her level."

Zhao Jinghai looked at his mother and at the item in her hands. "That belongs to Yingyu. You should give it back to her. Who she gives it to is her own business."

"No! She’s part of this family, so this belongs to this family! Why should we give it to an outsider?" Wang Lianhua hid the item behind her back, refusing to hand it over.

Xia Yingyu watched the antics of Zhao Jinghai, Wang Lianhua, and Zhao Huilan with a wry smile. She wanted to see if Zhao Jinghai could actually be the head of this household, to see if he really valued her as much as he’d claimed.

If Zhao Jinghai acted as he had in the past, Xia Yingyu was seriously considering taking her daughter’s advice and cutting ties with him for good.

Seeing this, Zhao Jinghai’s face flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "That was left behind by Zhao Nuanyang and Zhao Nuanyue’s father—my comrade-in-arms! It belongs to them."

"But that’s a courtyard house! It’s huge! We could live there in the future," Wang Lianhua said urgently, forgetting in her haste to be discreet in front of Xia Yingyu.

"Heh..." Xia Yingyu let out a dry laugh. "It’s just one courtyard house, and you’re already so green with envy, so desperate to claim it for yourselves. Now I’m starting to seriously doubt whether you were truly ’forced’ and ’coerced’ when you did what you did to Nuanyue..."

Her words hit Zhao Jinghai like a bombshell. He knew he couldn’t delay a second longer. He snatched the document pouch from his mother’s hands and gave it to Xia Yingyu, saying, "I really was forced and coerced! I would never do something so cruel and despicable. I never would have agreed if our entire family’s lives hadn’t been threatened. This house belongs to Nuanyang and Nuanyue. I’ll go with you right now to transfer it into their names."

With that, Zhao Jinghai grabbed a thick overcoat and helped Xia Yingyu put it on. He knew he couldn’t hesitate now. If he did, this family of his would truly fall apart.

’He could always earn back what was lost, but if Xia Yingyu didn’t forgive him, if she didn’t want to live a peaceful life with him, then even after their child was born, there would always be a rift between them. She would be suspicious all day long, paranoid that he would continue to frame Zhao Nuanyang and Zhao Man Yue.’

’That was not something he wanted to see. Therefore, he had to pay this price and give up the courtyard house.’

’On the other hand, if he didn’t give the courtyard to Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang, that sharp-tongued girl would surely raise hell and say all sorts of piercing things. In the end, Xia Yingyu would be the one to suffer, and the home he so wanted to cherish would be shattered.’

"Son, how can you be so foolish!" Wang Lianhua shrieked, slapping her thighs in frustration. "That’s a grand courtyard house! Such a nice, big place! I was planning on living there one day, surrounded by all my children and grandchildren!"

"Mom, that’s enough. If you want a courtyard house, I’ll earn you one in the future. We’re not taking one that belongs to someone else," Zhao Jinghai said sternly. This time, he could not align himself with his mother’s thinking.

’Xia Yingyu had already been hurt by his daughter; he couldn’t let his mother hurt her as well.’

After Zhao Jinghai and Xia Yingyu left, the sound of Wang Lianhua’s hysterical wailing filled the house. She was crying and screaming to the heavens, letting loose a stream of foul-mouthed curses against Xia Yingyu, Zhao Nuanyue, and Zhao Nuanyang...

Once they were outside, Zhao Jinghai looked at Xia Yingyu apologetically. "Yingyu, I’m sorry you had to witness that. My mom is just an old country woman who hasn’t seen much of the world. Her past experiences with poverty have left her terrified, so now she just tries to grab everything she can for the family."

"Yes. In this house, I’ve never cared about their attitude; I only care about yours. You know what kind of person I am. I’m weak and timid, and sometimes I refuse to see reality for what it is. But I am a mother, after all. I can’t just stand by and do nothing while Nuanyang and Nuanyue are being hurt. This time, the fact that you agreed so readily to transfer the house into their names... at the very least, it makes me believe that you still care about me, about the child in my belly, that you still want to build a life with me, that you still want this family."

"Of course I care about you. You’re the woman I love most in this world, the only one I’ve ever loved. And now, you’re about to be the mother of my child. I want a home—a home for the two of us. No, for the three of us," Zhao Jinghai quickly explained. "I can’t choose my mother. I’m her only son, so I have no choice but to have her live with us. I know it can be unfair to you at times, but she is our elder, after all. As for Huilan, she’s gone too far. She’s eighteen now. Once things settle down, I’ll arrange a marriage for her and send her off. And regarding Nuanyang and Nuanyue... they’ve never accepted me as their stepfather. Perhaps I didn’t do enough, and we’ve become estranged. Since that’s the case, let’s give them the house. Consider it a formal separation of assets. If they have it in their hearts, they’ll come back to visit you. If they don’t, our little family of three will be perfectly fine on our own."

Hearing Zhao Jinghai’s words, Xia Yingyu was touched. She also longed for peace and quiet.

’In this family, without Wang Lianhua, Zhao Huilan, Zhao Nuanyue, and Zhao Nuanyang... if it were just her, Zhao Jinghai, and the child in her belly, they would be an incredibly happy family of three.’

’It was precisely because this blended family was so full of conflict and prejudice that the past several years had been filled with endless arguments.’