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墨書 Inktalez
"Not me."
After I had launched into a lengthy tirade against Lu Ming, he finally told me.
"I can do whatever you want to see or not see. But it's not me."
"If the changes are beyond your expectations, I advise you to hold off and not make any rash decisions."
After Lu Ming and I fell silent, the phone did not emit the busy tone of a disconnection. After a prolonged stalemate, I was the first to hang up.
I didn't hear a single word of his advice; my mind was swirling around the clay pot beside me.
If it wasn't Lu Ming, then who else could it be? Only Wang Xu and Deng Xiaomei remained.
They really dared; they really could.
When I stood up again, feeling dizzy from squatting for too long, I leaned against the wall for a moment. Once I felt a bit better, I took one step at a time back to my front door and raised my heavy hand to knock.
As soon as my dad opened the door with a look of surprise and brought me inside, he pulled me down onto the sofa, his face filled with worry: "Daughter, Zhuang Jun."
"Dad." Hearing him call me that made my heart ache. I sobbed softly, tears welling up at the corners of my eyes: "I've disappointed you all, Dad. I'm sorry."
I'm sorry that I didn't fulfill my promise of having a complete and happy family. I'm sorry for being your daughter and doing so many embarrassing things.
"Good daughter, it's okay, it's okay. Dad is not disappointed; you are Dad's good daughter."
The weak me could only hide in my dad's embrace and cry. My mom must have seen me when she came out of the room; she quickly walked over and gently urged me: "Xiao Jun, don't cry, don't cry. It's okay, it's okay. Mom and Dad are here; don't be afraid."
My mom nagged at me for a while. Perhaps recalling something, she began to blame my dad: "It's all your fault. Look at our daughter now. You said to give Xiao Jun space without asking anything; look at this—how can you be a father?"
I could hear my father's helpless explanation: "I'm worried that Zhuang Jun feels embarrassed and doesn't want to tell us. As parents, shouldn't we give them the space to make their own decisions?"
"Space, space. Look at what’s happening now; our daughter is like this, she has lost weight. I can't just sit back, Lao Zhuang. You used to brag about how great your son-in-law was. Now look at Zhuang Jun. Don't cry, let's talk about it calmly."
I took the tissue my mother handed me and wiped my eyes. I lowered my gaze, unable to meet their eyes. After holding it in for a long time, I knew I couldn't hide it any longer and had to speak up.
“Dad, Mom. I want to divorce Wang Xu. He has someone else outside and she’s pregnant. They even bought her a house. I don’t want to continue like this.”
I thought they might have known something already, but unexpectedly, my parents' faces turned pale. My father slammed his hand on the coffee table and shouted, “Zhuang Jun, what did you say? What do you mean that Wang kid...”
My mother was beside herself, pounding her legs and wiping her tears furiously. “What is going on? What is happening?”
I looked at their disappointed and angry expressions in shock and panicked, “Dad, Mom, you…”
It was hard to believe that they didn’t know anything at all. Then why did they have that expression earlier when we were at home!?
“Zhuang Jun, why didn’t you say anything sooner? Do you even consider us family? What have you been going through all this time? Why are you only telling us now?” My father looked at me with disappointment and sighed deeply.
“It’s not that, Dad. I was afraid of worrying you; I didn’t want to let you down.”
“Child!” My father interrupted me with a heavy voice, his eyes red and filled with pain. It made me feel terrible: “As parents, how can we not worry about our child? But what worries us more is that you’ve been suffering outside while we knew nothing about it. What’s the point of being parents if we don’t know?”
After hearing my father say this, my mother cried even harder. I quickly took her trembling hand and tried to comfort them: “Dad, Mom, it’s my fault for not telling you sooner. Don’t worry; I will be okay.”
“Zhuang Jun,” my father sighed deeply and said softly, “You’re still young; don’t take this too seriously. Since that Wang kid has this attitude, you don’t need to care about him anymore. From today on, come back home to live with us. Your mother and I can take care of our daughter.”
“It’s Wang Xu who lacks vision; he will regret missing out on such a good daughter-in-law like you. Zhuang Jun, don’t be afraid; your parents are here with you. Don’t think too much; you’re a good child.”
“Yes, Zhuang Jun, don’t ever go back to that house again. Wang Xu said last time that your anger was because of an argument with your mother-in-law; we thought it was about the child. Who would have known that jerk would do this?”
My parents were getting more and more agitated, and my mind was a mess, but I still remembered one question.
“Dad, Mom, what’s up with that clay pot?”
“What clay pot? The one I just gave you,” my mom pointed to the kitchen. After I nodded, she suddenly realized, “Isn’t that the one Wang Xu had his colleague bring over?”
Her words became the key to the revelation.
Suddenly, everything clicked into place.
“Mom, what colleague? Wang Xu’s colleague?” My voice involuntarily became lighter. I already knew the answer in my heart, but I still felt tense and wanted to hear more.
“Yes, a couple of days ago Wang Xu’s colleague knocked on the door and said Wang Xu had made us some chicken soup. He was busy with something else and asked her to bring it over. I thought you two had reconciled and planned to call Wang Xu to talk about it, but that woman didn’t agree. She said Wang Xu was really busy, so I didn’t dare to call him again. Wasn’t it Wang Xu?”
At this point, I could almost guess everything. This clay pot originally came from Wang Nan’s home and was delivered to Deng Xiaomei’s house by Miao Miao.
Who else could it be?
“Mom, did you see the woman who came?”
“I saw her, yes. What’s wrong?”
“Did she say what her name was?”
“Um… I’m a bit confused and didn’t remember clearly. Old Wang, think about it.” My mom patted my dad’s leg, urging him to speak.
My dad looked troubled as if he hadn’t remembered either. He said regretfully, “I didn’t think to remember at the time. I think her last name was… Deng?”
I slowly closed my eyes, suppressing the turmoil inside me. During these ten aimless days, Deng Xiaomei had come to my house and brought that clay pot with chicken soup.
She repeated the actions she had taken before with Miao Miao. Does this mean she has discovered everything I did with Miao Miao? Does it also mean that Wang Xu knows about it?
"Zhuang Jun, what’s going on? Is there something wrong? Isn’t that woman a colleague of Wang Xu?"
"Did she say anything else?" Suddenly, I thought of something and reached out to grab my dad's hand resting on his lap, pressing my fingertip against the wrinkles on the back of his hand. "What about the things she brought? Did you all eat them? You’re not in any trouble, are you?"
I anxiously and urgently scrutinized my parents. Even if something had happened to them, they wouldn’t be sitting in front of me looking fine. But better safe than sorry; Deng Xiaomei's behavior was a declaration of war against me.
"There’s nothing wrong. Zhuang Jun, could that woman be the one that kid Deng is messing around with outside?!" My dad looked at me with a probing expression. I knew he was trying to hide his emotions because he couldn’t keep anything from me, but I was too agitated. My biggest worry was still their health.
Just then, I saw a look of realization on his face, and he hurriedly stood up, heading for the door. "I’m going to find that bastard and settle the score!"
I quickly hugged my dad to stop him from leaving. He was strong and tried to shake me off, determined to go, and even my mom couldn’t help restrain him. I cried out, begging him not to act impulsively.
"Dad, please don’t do this! Don’t do this, Dad! I’m begging you, please don’t be impulsive!"
My dad already had health issues from work, and if I continued to upset him like this, it might affect his condition. I wasn’t worried about Wang Xu; I didn’t care if he got beaten up by my dad, but I was concerned about my dad’s health.
"That woman dares to come to our house! She really thinks she can bully the daughter of the Old Zhuang Family! Fine! If I don’t get revenge for this, can I still expect you to call me 'Dad'?!"
My dad trembled with anger; his face was flushed with rage as he reached for the door. I gritted my teeth and blocked him, crying out in desperation until he finally calmed down.
This farce after returning home ended with my parents looking ten years older. I lay on my old bed in the room, staring at the ceiling for a long time.
I had been too naive before, thinking that standing on the side of truth would ensure protection and smooth sailing in everything I did. Now it seemed that my emotional intelligence was too low; even a clay pot sent by Deng Xiaomei could cause such a big commotion in my family.
She was plotting against me, setting traps for me to fall into. The chicken soup she sent was a warning, yet I easily walked right into it.
At this moment, I recalled what Lu Ming had advised me earlier.
"If there are changes that are beyond your expectations, I advise you to hold off and not make any rash decisions."
Indeed, if I had kept my composure at that moment and probed my parents' attitudes a bit more, it wouldn't have caused the two elderly people to be so troubled over my issues. When my mother sent me back to my room, her eyes were still swollen, which made me feel incredibly distressed.
The frustrating part is that her counterattack might have completely ruined my previous plans. It’s infuriating that I find myself in a helpless situation, feeling like an exception to everyone else. What should I do?
Suddenly, I remembered what Lu Ming had said: "If you have any difficulties, I can help you."
Yes, if only Lu Ming could help, everything would be easier.
With a hopeful expectation for the future, I began to feel sleepy, and Lu Ming's kind words echoed in my mind.
It seems that when a person is in the most difficult situation, they truly overlook everything else and focus solely on seeking an easy resolution.
But the beautiful olive branch comes at the wrong time; if it weren't for Lu Ming, perhaps I would still be hoping for assistance.
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