Back To The 80s

Lu Ruixue’s stubbornness kicked in, she barked carelessly, "What’s wrong, did I say something wrong? My eldest brother was taken away by you, and you’re wallowing in self-blame every day. What about the three of us who are still alive? You ignore us, is this how a mother acts? From the moment I was born, I’ve never had a taste of breastmilk. When I was one month old, you tossed me to the nanny. You didn’t care whether there were any germs around back then."

Wen Xiuqing quivered with rage. It took her a while to rise from the dining table. She walked up to Lu Ruixue, slapped her hard across the face, and hissed, "Get out, don’t ever come through this door again."

Lu Ruixue stood up abruptly, kicked her chair aside, covered her face and cried, "I really doubt if you’re our mother. If you want me to leave, so be it. I don’t care about this house anyways." She ran out crying as soon as she finished her sentence.

Wen Xiuqing, on the other side, seemed to have lost all her strength. She collapsed onto her chair, her hand shaking slightly.

Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, Gu Xiaobei was at a loss, uncertain whether to offer comfort or make her exit.

Lu Zhanguo’s expression also darkened. He let a few moments pass before he said, "Mother, you should go rest in your room."

Upon hearing this, Wen Xiuqing, supporting herself on the table, rose slowly and walked towards her bedroom. It seemed to Gu Xiaobei that a tear rolled down her cheek as she turned around.

By dinnertime, Lu Aiguo had returned with Fang Jing and Yueyue. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Fang Jing walked into the upstairs bedroom and saw Gu Xiaobei playing with the two children on the large bed. She said cheerfully, "I thought you all were napping, so I came to check." As she leaned over the edge of the bed to look at her children, she couldn’t help expressing her envy, "You’re so lucky, by avoiding the one-child policy and having two beautiful children. How is it that the Lu family’s twin genes didn’t get passed down to me?"

"Raising two kids might seem nice, but it’s very tiring. One child is quite enough," Gu Xiaobei said, speaking from experience.

Fang Jing nodded, "That’s true. Even raising one was hard enough for me. Thanks to the support of my mother, I didn’t lose my job and become a stay-at-home mom."

Gu Xiaobei could only give a wry smile. Her situation was worse, with no one to rely on in her own family, and in-laws who could hardly help. She had to grit her teeth and persevere.

Fang Jing held Xiaopang who was resting nearby and asked in a soft voice, "Has mom held the baby?"

Gu Xiaobei shook her head. Although Wen Xiuqing had looked at the children a few times, she never once held them.

Fang Jing grimaced and said, "See, it’s not about gender preference. If it were about favoring boys over girls, I could live with that, considering the way I am. But not caring about children at all... I just can’t make sense out of it. Everyone says grandchildren are a joy. Look at the way our dad dotes on Yueyue when he is around, it’s such a pity he is hardly ever home."

Gu Xiaobei didn’t know what to say to this, she just responded with a smile.

Not inclined to say more, Fang Jing hugged Xiaopang and said, "If the children aren’t sleeping, let’s take them downstairs so Yueyue can meet them. Yueyue has been wanting to see his little brother and sister."

The two of them carried the children downstairs, where Yueyue was sitting on the sofa eating an apple. He immediately got up and ran towards them, "Auntie, are these my little brother and sister?" Every time she heard Yueyue referring to her as ’Auntie’, Gu Xiaobei felt a tad flustered.

Fang Jing quickly said, "Yueyue, slow down. Sit on the sofa and then look at your brother and sister."

Gu Xiaobei followed Fang Jing and sat down on the sofa. She noticed that Lu Zhanguo and Lu Aiguo were engrossed in a game of Chinese chess at the dining table. She had no idea where Wen Xiuqing had gone, whether she was in her bedroom or had left the house.

As soon as she sat down, Fang Jing turned to Yueyue and said, "Yueyue, can you tell who’s your little brother and who’s your little sister?"

Unable to resist, Yueyue poked Xiaopang’s little face with his finger, giggling, "Mommy, this little brother’s face is so soft."

"This is your little sister. Your Auntie Gu is holding your little brother," Fang Jing corrected him.

It wasn’t until dinner time that Wen Xiuqing appeared. When Auntie Li brought a plate of food into the room, Gu Xiaobei realized that Wen Xiuqing had been home all along, presumably still upset about the morning’s incident.

As Lu Aiguo ate, he couldn’t help asking, "What’s the matter with mum? She’s not even coming out to eat?"

Lu Zhanguo, cradling a child with one hand and eating with the other, kept his head down and remained silent.

Gu Xiaobei didn’t know what to say, so she quickly started eating her vegetables.

Lu Aiguo took a glance and sighed, "Did Ruixue argue with mum again? That’s why I haven’t seen her since this evening. She must have touched mum’s raw nerve."

Fang Jing glared at Lu Aiguo, "Stop talking and eat."

From this conversation, Gu Xiaobei gathered that this wasn’t the first time Lu Ruixue and Wen Xiuqing had a dispute. The raw nerve probably referred to the oldest brother who had died prematurely.

She sighed inwardly. To her, Lu Ruixue was right. Why not cherish the ones who are still alive?

After dinner, Gu Xiaobei asked Lu Aiguo, "Aiguo, can you take some time off one of these days? Let’s take your second brother to the hospital for a checkup, and see how he is recovering. We should also get a brain scan."

Lu Aiguo nodded, "Sure. I’ll take a day off tomorrow and take my second brother to the Military General Hospital. They have lots of specialists there."

Lu Songyuan came back home, shivering from the cold. Seeing his grandchildren sitting in the living room, a friendly smile immediately spread across his face.

"Wasn’t expecting to have to attend another meeting in the evening. I had been hoping to get back before these little ones went to bed," Lu Songyuan talked as he took off his coat.

Once he warmed up, Lu Songyuan couldn’t resist asking, "Can I hold Mo Wang for a while?"

Gu Xiaobei promptly handed over Mo Wang, muttering under her breath that Lu Songyuan seemed to prefer boys.

Lu Aiguo bluntly pointed out, "Dad, you need to check yourself. Clearly favoring boys. I don’t remember you being so fond of Yueyue when he was young."

"Go away," Lu Songyuan snapped back, feeling a little embarrassed.

Lu Aiguo didn’t mind, he continued to joke, "But I’ve got to say my nephew is quite charming. If you want to favor him, then go right ahead."

Fang Jing laughed and scolded, "Do you ever stop talking?"

"Isn’t family the best place to chat?" Lu Aiguo continued to tease.

Getting tired of arguing with his third son, Lu Songyuan focused his attention on playing with Mo Wang.

Not until Xiaopang began to doze off did Lu Songyuan reluctantly hand the baby back to Gu Xiaobei and suggest they head upstairs to bed.

Lu Aiguo also took Fang Jing and Yueyue upstairs. On reaching the second-floor landing, he chuckled and said, "Actually, mum cares about you a lot. The bed in your room—she was the one who bought it."

Lu Zhanguo paused, and nodded his head. He then walked into his room, cradling his daughter.

Although Gu Xiaobei had guessed it might have been Wen Xiuqing, she was startled when it was finally confirmed. She couldn’t make sense of many of her mother-in-law’s actions.

Upon entering the bedroom, Lu Songyuan saw Wen Xiuqing staring out of the window. His voice softened as he asked, "When will you be able to get past this hurdle in your heart?"

At those words, a ripple of pain flashed across Wen Xiuqing’s face. She responded helplessly, "I don’t know. I’ve been trying hard, but I can’t control myself."