Chapter 1680 - 1100: Different
"No matter what our child turns out like, just because he (or she) is our child, I’m already completely satisfied." Lin Chuqiu looked at Chunni with doting eyes, the words he said so warm that Chunni’s face flushed. She gave him a coquettish glare. "Listen to you, talking nonsense all day! Aren’t you afraid Second Uncle, Second Aunt and Sister Chuxia will laugh at you for having no shame?"
"Second Uncle, Second Aunt and Sister Chuxia would never laugh at me..." Lin Chuqiu put his arm around his wife and, smiling, looked over at Chuxia’s family. "Seeing what I’m like now, Second Uncle, Second Aunt and Sister Chuxia will only be happy for me, right?"
"Right, right, right..." Zhao Yulan echoed repeatedly. "Never thought there’d be a day when Chuqiu is this sensible. This really is like brine meeting tofu—there’s always something that can tame something else. No matter how wild that boy was, he probably never dreamed he’d end up like this..." She looked at the clearly relieved Lin Chuchun. "Seeing your brother like this, you can rest easy and go take care of your own business now, right?"
"Mm." Lin Chuchun nodded. "Actually I already knew before that he wasn’t the same as before, but I still didn’t expect such a huge change now. This way I really have nothing left to worry about.
Chuqiu, if I stayed at home all the time, Grandpa, Grandma, and our parents definitely wouldn’t let me review in peace, so I’m going to the Capital City with Uncle Baohe and Auntie Lan, and I’ll come back when it’s time for the exam.
At first I was worried that your temper would change for a while and then go back, but now it seems I was overthinking it. I also know that what Grandpa, Grandma, and our parents have done makes you really dislike them.
But no matter what, they’re still your elders. When you have time, go back and see them. If they ask for something unreasonable, just refuse.
I’m not deliberately asking you to do anything, I just don’t want you to regret it in the future. After all, you’re going to be a father, and your job has more or less stabilized. From now on you should also be a role model for your child.
As for me, if I get in, after I finish university I’ll shoulder my share of the responsibility. If I don’t get in, I’ll come home and farm in peace and be responsible for providing for them in their old age.
Actually, that’s probably the real reason they don’t want me to go to university. Even though it might mean I’ll have more of a future, I’ll be farther away and they can’t get a hold on me..." With a sigh, Lin Chuchun gave a bitter smile. "If they hadn’t disappointed me so much, I wouldn’t have to rack my brains trying to stay a bit farther away from them. Ai..."
"Bro, you’re so ambitious, I’m proud of you..." Lin Chuqiu looked seriously at Lin Chuchun. "From the day we were born, I’ve never called you ’Bro.’ This ’Bro’ I’m saying now is from the bottom of my heart. Whether before or now, you’ve always been my role model.
Bro, just go do what you want to do without worry. Even though what Grandpa, Grandma, and our parents have done makes me really disgusted, you’re right—they’re still my blood. I can’t really cut ties with them.
After a while, once Chunni’s pregnancy is stable, I’ll go back to see them. No matter if they hit or scold me, I won’t stoop to their level. As for supporting them in their old age, I’ll shoulder it together with you, I’ll never let you carry it all by yourself!"
"You really figured it out?" Chuxia looked at Lin Chuqiu curiously. "There’s not a trace of resentment left in your heart?"
"Saying I don’t hold any resentment toward them at all would be a lie. Otherwise, I wouldn’t still be unwilling to go back to that house up till now. But like Bro said, they’re elders.
Sister Chuxia, you don’t have any blood ties with them anymore, so if you don’t want to see them you can stay far away. But I can’t. No one can just ignore their own parents, right?
Besides, what happened between me and Chunni, in a way we did let them down..." Sneaking a glance at his wife’s expression, Lin Chuqiu hurriedly added, "Of course, I don’t regret my decision at all. Even if I could do it all over again, I’d still make the same choice.
I feel like the best thing I’ve ever done in all these years is sticking to my own ideas and marrying Chunni as my wife. I still have some flaws she doesn’t like, and I’ll work hard to fix them so she won’t regret marrying me!"
While he was saying all this, Lin Chuqiu’s eyes were fixed on Li Chuni. Li Chuni had just calmed down, but her face instantly flushed crimson again, and she couldn’t help but give Lin Chuqiu a fierce glare. However, just looking at her expression, it was obvious she really appreciated what Chuqiu had just said.
Maybe this is the power of love. Thinking about what Chuqiu used to be like, then looking at what he’s like now, Chuxia could only use this sentence to explain his huge transformation.
Fortunately, not everyone in that family is selfish and greedy. Chuchun, Chuqiu, and Chudong really are different. This result is the best she could hope for. Even though some people in that family make her unhappy, she was once a member of that household. Deep down, she still hopes that family will get better and better...
Right at this moment, Lin Chudong also rode his bicycle with his luggage to his sister’s house. Lin Chuyue had already finished tidying up his room for him. As soon as the bike entered the yard, Lin Chuyue came out with Shuanshuan to greet him.
"You brought everything over?" Lin Chuyue asked.
"Yeah, I brought the quilts, mattresses, and all the clothes I can wear now, and also this..." Lin Chudong untied a bundle from the handlebars. "These are the snacks Sister Chuxia gave Shuanshuan, I brought them over too."
"Chuxia really is different from before. I used to worry so much for Second Uncle and Second Aunt, thinking they were stuck with such a troublesome daughter—how were they going to live in the future? But now it seems I really was worrying for nothing.
How can a person change so much? If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d never have believed it. When I used to hear people talk about it, I always thought they were exaggerating."
Now that I think about it, everyone was telling the truth. It was me who took myself too seriously. I even thought they were just trying to butter me up, so they deliberately said nice things about Chuxia in front of me." Speaking of this, Lin Chuyue laughed, a little embarrassed. "Bro, do you think I’m just being self-important?"
"Can’t really blame you. Back then, Xia really didn’t know much better. Actually, all of us grow up from that phase of not knowing any better. It’s just that, when we’re at that age, we never feel like we’re the ones who don’t know any better."
"Bro, what you just said sounds like a tongue twister, hey..."
"What’s wrong?" Lin Chudong turned his head to look at his little sister.
"Bro, look..." Lin Chuyue was holding the Pastry Package she’d untied. Inside was a stack of food coupons and money. She didn’t need to count; just one glance and she knew it was no small amount.
Lin Chudong frowned, hurriedly stopped unpacking the luggage, and took it over to look: "No wonder Xia told me this pastry must be personally given to Shuanshuan to eat, no one else was allowed to have it. I thought she said that on purpose to provoke Mom. So this is what she meant."
With a conditioned reflex, Lin Chuyue rummaged through the rest of the snacks in the bundle, and sure enough, at the very bottom she found a letter folded into a strip. The general meaning of the letter was that she wanted Lin Chudong to accept a little token of her feelings and wasn’t allowed to act polite. "Bro..." she called softly as she handed the letter to Lin Chudong.
"This girl..." With a helpless sigh, Lin Chudong’s eyes were filled with emotion. "She tells me not to be polite, but isn’t she being polite herself? I already said I can support myself, yet she still doesn’t believe it."
"Just accept it..." Lin Chuyue looked at her brother. "Even though I don’t think just because Chuxia’s doing well she’s obligated to help us, she likes you, and she’s willing to show it in her own way. You shouldn’t be too formal about it.
If you really feel guilty about it, then work hard and fight to become permanent at your job. When you return the favor to Chuxia later, she’ll be able to accept it with a clear conscience."
"Alright." Lin Chudong nodded, answering solemnly. He wasn’t that pedantic a person; since his little sister had this intention, there was no need for him to act so distant.
"Shuanshuan, when you grow up you have to be good to Auntie Chuxia. You have to treat her better than you treat anyone else, got it?" Lin Chuyue ruffled Shuanshuan’s hair, seriously instructing the little guy.
"I’ll be good to Little Aunt, and I’ll be good to Aunt too..." Shuanshuan looked at Lin Chuyue, equally serious. "Aunt loves Shuanshuan and loves Dad. Little Aunt also loves Shuanshuan and loves Dad. Shuanshuan knows all that."
"Then who doesn’t love Shuanshuan?" Lin Chuyue asked with a smile.
"Mom doesn’t love Shuanshuan." The little guy pouted. "Mom always secretly pinches Shuanshuan and won’t let Shuanshuan tell. Mom is the worst! When Shuanshuan grows up I won’t love her either, and I won’t buy anything tasty for her!"
"Good, our Shuanshuan understands things..." Lin Chuyue happily rubbed her little nephew’s head. "Starting today, you’ll live with Aunt and Uncle and Maomao. Dad has to go to work to earn money so you can go to school. You be good and listen to Aunt’s family, okay?"
The little guy nodded hard. "Mm. When Shuanshuan grows up I’ll earn money too, for Dad to spend, for Aunt and Uncle to spend, for Little Aunt to spend, just not for Mom to spend!"
"Right, don’t let Mom spend it. She bullied Shuanshuan, didn’t she?"
"Mm!"
Watching the aunt and nephew chatting away so warmly, lines practically forming on his forehead, Lin Chudong gave a light cough. "Yueyue, she’s still his birth mother. Teaching him like this isn’t good."
"What’s so bad about it?" Lin Chuyue glared at her brother, displeased. "Is what she’s doing anything like what a real mother should do? Sneaking food for herself and abusing her own son—if we’re talking about heartless mothers in this world, she tops the list!"
Lin Chudong gave a bitter, helpless smile. "She’s in the wrong, sure, but she’s still Shuanshuan’s mom. In the future they won’t be able to avoid living together. If Shuanshuan really comes to hate her, how are they supposed to live under the same roof later?"
"You still want to live with her?" Lin Chuyue raised her eyebrows. "Bro, do you feel uncomfortable if no one’s bullying you?"
"What kind of thing is that to say?" Lin Chudong looked at his sister, utterly speechless. "Even if I do become permanent at work, it’s impossible for me to never live with her again, right?"
"Why not?" Lin Chuyue raised her eyebrows. "You’ve already moved out. What’s so impossible about it?"
"Yueyue..." Lin Chudong stared at his sister in shock. "What are you trying to say?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)