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Chapter Thirty-Six (A Rare Affectionate Man)
Li Lingfei was not seriously injured, and she was discharged from the hospital the next day. Although the doctor’s skills were impressive and had stopped the bleeding from her wounds, the blood flowing in her heart could not be staunched by bandages alone.
Back home, she lay heavily on her bed, as if still trapped in a nightmare, her dazed eyes staring blankly at the floral-patterned ceiling, filled with despair. At that moment, her mother incessantly nagged at her, scolding her and expressing extreme disappointment over her suicide attempt. It was Li Dad who, sensing his daughter's pain, angrily confronted Li Mama, demanding that she stop berating their daughter with harsh words.
"What? You think I’m being harsh? I'm only doing this for her own good, hoping she can achieve something in the future. Do you want me to just watch her end up like me, marrying a useless man like you and suffering for a lifetime?" Li Mama pointed an accusing finger at Li Dad, her arguments sharp and precise.
Seeing that she was using him as a negative example to teach their daughter a lesson, Li Dad’s anger flared instantly.
"Is it so bad being with me? Have I not provided enough for you to eat and wear? Are you starving? Or freezing to death?"
"What do you mean? Your idea of a good life is just making sure I’m fed and clothed? Not starving or freezing to death?" Li Mama's eyes blazed with fury as she pointed out the window and shouted, "Look outside! Do you see any beggars starving or freezing to death? This is no longer the old society; the lives of the upper class are not as simple as whether you have enough to eat. Your vision is so short-sighted. Without me, Lingfei will eventually be ruined by your hands."
"Ruined by my hands?" Li Dad pointed at himself, furious and nearly beside himself with rage. "All I know is that it wasn’t me; last night she almost ruined herself because of you."
"You and I..."
Li Mama was so enraged that she could barely get out three words when the doorbell suddenly rang. Seeing someone had come to visit, she put away her anger and went to open the door, only to find a handsome young man standing there with an imposing demeanor. Upon seeing her, he respectfully bowed and greeted her.
"Who are you?" Li Mama looked at him, feeling a favorable impression towards this well-groomed young man, unable to suppress a faint smile.
"Auntie, don’t you remember me? I’m Wang Yuhan!"
Upon hearing that this young man was Wang Yuhan, Li Mama’s expression changed dramatically. Coldly, she replied:
"What do you want? You are not welcome here; please leave immediately."
"I came to see Lingfei today. Please let me in to meet her, and I promise I will leave immediately after," Wang Yuhan earnestly requested.
"My daughter has become so disobedient because of you. Now you still want to come in and see her? Aren't you satisfied with how much you've harmed her already?"
"I..."
Just as Wang Yuhan was about to explain himself, Li Dad suddenly emerged. He looked at Wang Yuhan with confusion and turned to Li Mama beside him to ask who he was.
"You want to know who he is?" Li Mama pointed at Wang Yuhan, sneering as she coldly huffed. "Isn't he the son of that murderer? It's been years, and he still looks like a deadbeat."
"Wang Yuhan?" Li Dad's eyes widened as he carefully scrutinized the handsome young man before him. His surprise quickly turned into delight. "You are Wang Yuhan! It's been years since we last met, and you've grown so tall."
"Hello, Uncle. Please forgive my impudent visit today."
"Not at all, not at all." Li Dad was overjoyed to see Wang Yuhan and hurriedly pulled him inside to sit down.
"You've lost your mind," Li Mama said, grabbing Li Dad's arm and glaring at him fiercely while blocking the doorway, preventing Wang Yuhan from entering.
"Has your father been released from prison?" Li Mama raised an eyebrow disdainfully and laughed mockingly.
Wang Yuhan felt a pang of discomfort at her words, but in order to see Li Lingfei, he had to swallow his anger.
"Yes, he was released a long time ago."
"Oh really? What has he been doing since he got out?"
"My father... he's not doing anything now. He passed away last year due to cancer."
Li Mama was momentarily taken aback, a hint of surprise flickering in her eyes, and the teasing expression on her face vanished.
"I know you have always held a prejudice against my family, but I have grown up now and understand that things are not simply black and white. The mistakes my father made in the past do not mean I will make the same ones in the future."
"Yes... yes... yes..." Li Dad chimed in with a smile, trying to smooth things over. "I have always believed you are a good child, different from your father, so please don’t let it bother you like your aunt does." With that, he pushed Li Mama aside and firmly pulled Wang Yuhan into the house.
Once inside, Wang Yuhan exchanged polite pleasantries with Li Dad before hurriedly making his way to Li Lingfei's room to check on her. He found her slumped against the headboard, listlessly staring out the window with vacant eyes, a sight that tugged painfully at his heart. Unable to hold back, he gently said, "You're being foolish. Is it really worth it for Yang Qianfan?"
Hearing Wang Yuhan's voice was like a thunderclap that shattered her dream, pulling her back from the nightmare. She turned to look at him, her gaze fixed on him for a long time, tears of sorrow spilling down her cheeks once more.
"I really am foolish—foolish enough not to know why I’m living," Li Lingfei said, sniffing back her tears. Suddenly she asked, "Wang Yuhan, can you tell me how one should live to be happy?"
Wang Yuhan was taken aback by her question and hesitated before answering, "Doing what you want to do is the greatest joy in life."
"Is that so?" Li Lingfei managed a sorrowful smile at him and said sadly, "It seems I have never been happy in my life because everything I’ve done has never been what I wanted."
Wang Yuhan remained silent, continuing to listen to the heartfelt words—or perhaps cries—coming from her.
"When my mother wanted me to learn piano, she never asked if I liked it. When she wanted me to learn ballet, she never asked if I wanted to learn. I felt like an obedient machine, silently enduring every task she assigned me. Now that I've grown up, I've finally realized that I am a person with feelings and thoughts. So I did something for myself for the first time: I started dating Yang Qianfan and tried to be my true self. But who would have thought that my first experience would end in such a disastrous failure?" Li Lingfei said as she struggled to contain her inner sense of loss and began to cry openly. She sobbed and asked, "Wang Yuhan, are we both so powerless and useless?"
"No... no! You can't blame yourself for this; don't lose confidence because of it," Wang Yuhan said, unable to suppress his own emotions as he tightly grasped her shoulders, his nails nearly digging into her skin.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Li Mama opened it to find Yang Qianfan standing outside. After politely explaining his purpose for coming to see Li Mama, he hurriedly entered the room, catching both Li Lingfei and Wang Yuhan off guard.
"What are you doing here? I don’t want to see you," Li Lingfei exclaimed as anger flared up again upon seeing Yang Qianfan.
" Lingfei, I'm sorry. It's all my fault; please forgive me," Yang Qianfan said with his head bowed apologetically, though his tone felt more like he was fulfilling an obligation than genuinely seeking forgiveness.
Wang Yuhan, though seeing Yang Qianfan come to apologize, felt quite dissatisfied with his tone. Coldly, she said,
"Is a simple 'I'm sorry' all you think it takes?"
"What exactly do you want from me?" Yang Qianfan asked, suppressing his anger and speaking harshly.
"Kneel down and repent. Did you hear that?"
"What? You want me to kneel?" Yang Qianfan's anger flared, veins bulging on his forehead as he clenched his fists tighter, barely able to control himself. He felt an overwhelming urge to rush forward and give Wang Yuhan a good beating.
"If you don't want to kneel, fine. We'll see who laughs last," Wang Yuhan threatened through gritted teeth.
Yang Qianfan glared at her in frustration, hesitating for a long time. The thought of her potentially harming Zhu Hui sent a shiver of fear through him. After a mental struggle, he ultimately set aside his pride and knelt before Li Lingfei to confess.
Li Lingfei, though confused as to why Yang Qianfan was so obedient to Wang Yuhan, was furious to see him kneeling submissively. She jumped off the bed in anger, raising her hand as if to strike him, but hesitated mid-air, unable to bring herself to do it.
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