Rejected by the Campus Belle, I Find My True Love-Chapter 415 - 413: Cousin, You’ve Regretted It, Haven’t You?
Perhaps it was just to clear her head. Then she could finally purge him from her heart.
The quarreling had been going on for a long time, and Chen Ying had been standing there just as long.
"Cousin, you’re back."
Upon hearing the voice, Chen Ying snapped back to reality. When she looked up, she saw a disheveled Chen Fang. There was a clear red mark on her cheek, and her eyes were rimmed with red, a clear sign she had been crying.
"Ah Fang, you..."
Chen Fang covered her face in embarrassment, hardly daring to meet her cousin’s eyes. "Cousin, I’m okay."
Indeed, no matter the situation, she could never hold her head high in front of her cousin.
"You look hurt. Come over to my house, I’ll put some ice on it for you," Chen Ying said, leading Chen Fang toward her home.
Chen Ying took some ice from the freezer, wrapped it in a towel, and carefully applied it to Chen Fang’s swollen cheek. In just that short time, her cheek had already swollen significantly. It was clear her father had struck her with real force.
Perhaps it was a case of tough love. Chen Fang was a rebellious teenager blinded by what she believed was the love of her life. Little did she know, her suffering had only just begun.
"Ah Fang, how many months along are you now?"
"A little over two months. The symptoms have been really strong lately. I can’t eat well, and I can’t sleep well either."
Chen Ying stared at her cousin’s flat stomach. "It’s still early. There’s still a chance."
She knew it was a delicate stage of the pregnancy and that Ah Fang’s father was still furious, yet the man had let her face him alone. Such a man was utterly devoid of any sense of responsibility.
Chen Fang understood her cousin’s words and immediately shielded her stomach with her hands.
"He’s quite good to me, really. It’s just that his mother is such a troublemaker, and he’s caught in the middle. It’s hard for him."
Xue Yuanxia was probably the most contentious elder she had ever met. She didn’t understand why. Before, although the woman liked to stir up trouble, she had her limits. But everything changed the moment she found out about the pregnancy. It had gotten worse and worse, and lately, Chen Fang really couldn’t take it anymore.
Fortunately, Xiao Zhi was still good to her. For his sake, and for the child’s, she endured. But she couldn’t keep enduring forever. If only her own family could help her... sigh.
Chen Fang had no choice but to fight this battle alone.
Chen Ying sighed. "If he really cared about you, he would find a way to keep his mother from bothering you. Don’t you understand that?"
"Cousin, you have regrets too, don’t you?" Chen Fang shot back. "Xue Yang is an influential figure in Hui City now. If you had stayed with him, our family would have risen with him, and you’d be the proprietress of the Auto Market by now."
"..."
"The truth is, no matter what choice you make in life, you’ll have regrets. I truly regret not continuing my studies, but what’s the use of regretting it? There are no do-overs in life. If I gave up on him now because of all this, I would truly regret it for the rest of my life."
The child was her everything. For her child, she could endure any hardship.
Chen Ying said quietly, "As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters."
Although Chen Ying had regrets, she also knew that if she and Xue Yang had actually gotten together, things might have turned out very differently. Otherwise, how could it be that for the six years Xue Yang pursued her, he remained so ordinary, yet less than half a year after he stopped, he completely transformed? The older generation used to say that a couple’s fate is written in the stars, and she was clearly not Xue Yang’s destiny. Even if they had forced it, they would have eventually split up. Or perhaps, she would have been destined for a life of mediocrity with him. That was the last thing she wanted to see.
"He already promised me that as soon as he makes some money, we’ll move out. Then it will just be the three of us. Life will be so much better then," Chen Fang said, her face brimming with anticipation as she tenderly caressed her belly. At least in this moment, she was happy. Very happy.
"Cousin, when are you going back to Yancheng?"
"In a couple of days. I’ve already bought my ticket."
"Oh." Chen Fang was reluctant to see her go. Although they rarely saw each other, being in her cousin’s presence always brought her a sense of peace. Perhaps it was because she was an older sister, and one who was doing well for herself at that.
"It’s getting late, I should head back," Chen Fang said as she stood, ready to return to Yang Xiaozhi’s home.
"Ah Fang..."
Chen Fang offered a slight smile. "Cousin, don’t worry about me. This is my life now. I hope you can live for yourself. That way, my own life won’t feel so hard."
With that, Chen Fang walked out. She had to get back before Xiao Zhi finished work. If he came home and dinner wasn’t ready, he would definitely get angry. Without realizing it, Chen Fang had been trained into subservience, though she herself was completely unaware.
Not long after Chen Fang left, Madam Chen returned home. Seeing Chen Fang leaving their house, she came inside and immediately questioned her daughter, "Why did you let her come over?"
"Mom, she’s my cousin. Isn’t it normal for her to visit for a bit?" Chen Ying didn’t want to argue and turned to go upstairs.
"You head upstairs the moment I say a few words! You’re home so rarely, can’t you talk to me for a little while?"
"Mom, you start grilling me the moment you walk in. How am I supposed to have a conversation with you?"
"I’m just afraid she’ll be a bad influence on you!"
"And how could she possibly be a bad influence?"
"Getting pregnant before marriage! What kind of mess is that? Moving in with his family before getting married, celebrating New Year’s with them, visiting all their relatives... and look what happened! She got pregnant before the wedding. Do you see his family taking her seriously now? That’s why I’m telling you, you must not follow her example..."
Madam Chen babbled on, but Chen Ying didn’t hear a single word.
"Did you hear what I said? It took so much work to get you through a prestigious university. If you just go and get married, wouldn’t all my years of effort be for nothing?"
"Mom, I’d be getting married, not selling myself. How would it be for nothing?"
"It’s not the same! Once a girl gets married, she belongs to another family. Your money won’t be your own, so there’d be no way for me to use it."
What Madam Chen was truly obsessed with was not having raised a daughter for nothing. Chen Ying understood her mother, and yet she didn’t. In short, she felt very conflicted.
"Mom, I’m never getting married," she said flatly, then turned, went upstairs, and walked into her room.
"I told you not to rush into marriage or get pregnant out of wedlock, not to avoid marriage altogether!" Hearing her daughter’s declaration, Madam Chen grew anxious.
She hurried upstairs to open Chen Ying’s door, but Chen Ying, knowing her mother all too well, had locked it the moment she entered. Unable to open it, her mother flew into a rage.
"You think you’ve grown up, that your wings are hard now, is that it? How dare you lock your door in my house! When you have your own home, will you refuse to even let me in the door?"
