Chapter 52: Let the One Who Stands in My Way Die p2
Yun Jingya found a comb and pulled Yun Lan to the side of the bed to sit down, gently combing her hair. She looked at the ignoring Yun Lan and felt an inexplicable sadness. “Mom, when I was little, I always thought that Mom was like a princess, beautiful and pretty. All your troubles and worries were solved by others. I always thought it should be like this. When I was in kindergarten and performed on stage, it was always the other mothers who came to watch. It was always Grandma who sat below. When I went to take my piano exam, it was also Grandma who remembered the date. Only when I got the certificate would you say with a happy voice, ‘Wow, Jingya is so amazing! When did you take the exam?’
“I was raised by Grandma, and so was Chengbin. You were always absent. Sleeping, getting beauty treatments, getting your nails done, getting your hair permed, and shopping and eating with your friends. And then you gave all your other time to Dad. Chengbin and I were like two pets you kept. When you had free time, you would think of us and hug and kiss us. You also doted on us, but you would also pet a cat or a dog, and you would also cry anxiously when they were sick. I can’t tell the meaning of your tears. Mom, do you love me and Chengbin? Do you love Grandma?
“So many of us are begging you. Why can’t you choose us?”
As Yun Jingya spoke, she couldn’t help but shed tears.
Yun Lan held Yun Jingya’s hand. “Jingya, I love you. When you were little, I loved to kiss your cheeks. They were so fair and tender and super cute. How could my daughter be so pretty? Chengbin is also cute, fair and chubby. His little chubby face is so soft to pinch. I love you. My love for you and my love for Zhiru are not in conflict. Why do you have to compare? It’s different. You’re still young. You’ll understand when you grow up.”
Yun Jingya lowered her head and silently combed her hair. Her heart had been secretly stabbed, and it was bleeding.
Mom, it’s not the same at all.
Zhou Wanfeng opened the door and came in. Yun Lan instinctively flinched and wanted to hide. But seeing that she hadn’t come over, and had just sat down on the sofa, she felt at ease again.
“Zhou Zhiru is here. Did he tell you that all his future property will be Chengbin’s? Something about the son inheriting the father’s business?”
Yun Lan nodded. The next second, she got off the bed, her face and eyes filled with anticipation. “Did Zhou Zhiru come and explain to you? I’ve been saying that you all don’t believe me. We have Chengbin. You should believe him.”
“Yes, I hope so. Because we told him that as long as he is willing to give his property to Yun Chengbin in advance, we will give him back the dirt on him. That way, you and he won’t have to divorce, and you can still be a couple in the future,” Zhou Wanfeng said with a smile, looking at Yun Lan’s bright and radiant face.
“Zhiru will definitely be willing. He has told me more than once that he is working so hard for us. Mom is worried that I will be deceived by Zhiru and has always wanted to control his money. This way, as long as Zhiru gives all his money to Chengbin, Mom’s worries will be gone, and Zhiru’s worries will be gone too,” Yun Lan said, spinning around happily.
She suddenly ran to Yun Jingya, her face full of smiles as she held her hands, her voice cheerful, her eyes sparkling. “Jingya, don’t be sad. You and Chengbin are siblings. Dad also loves you. He has promised me that he will give you a lot of money, as your dowry. You’re a girl, so the company and everything can only be given to Chengbin. But don’t worry, Mom will have Chengbin secretly transfer some to you in the future. Don’t be angry, and don’t be sad.”
Yun Lan was clearly happy. She was full of energy. Seeing herself in the mirror, she took the comb from Jingya’s hand and started to comb her own hair, turning her messy hair into a braid that hung down her chest in the blink of an eye. Not only did she braid her own hair, but she also pulled Jingya over and undid her hair. “Jingya, how about Mom braids your hair in the same way? This kind of braid makes a person look gentle and has the temperament of a well-bred young lady. Your grandmother was the one who taught me this kind of braid.”
Yun Jingya sat there. She was like an exquisite and beautiful doll, but her mother could not see the brokenness and sadness in her eyes.
“Jingya, see, I told you not to worry. As long as Zhiru gets the paperwork done, we’ll still be a happy family. Your grandmother’s worries will also be gone. I’ll persuade Zhiru to move back with me,” Yun Lan said, completely immersed in her excitement. All her worries were gone at this moment. She was wholeheartedly waiting for Zhou Zhiru to come and pick her up.
Zhou Wanfeng didn’t know when she had left.
She went straight up to the attic. It was getting dark. There was still a faint, dark color in the west, struggling not to set.
Her expression was gloomy, and her cold eyes were slightly narrowed, hiding an indescribable danger.
She stretched out her hand, clenched her fist, and then extended it, carefully examining each of her fingers, not even letting go of the fine lines on them.
She liked to look at her own hands, as if she could see the future and the past, what she had and what she had lost.
When the blood on her hands had clotted, it would become dry, like red paint had been spilled and had soaked into the skin, layer by layer, with shades of light and dark. The dry color was very ugly, like the morning glow and the lingering colors of the sunset, mixed with something dirty.
Zhou Wanfeng liked to use her fists, but she had known in her past life that sometimes, fists could not solve everything.
Fists would be stained with blood, and it was always a hassle to wash them. She liked to wear brass knuckles, but she was also told that she liked violence. She didn’t explain. The signal she sent out was also a form of protection for her.
Zhou Wanfeng raised her hand to the air. At least this hand was clean now.
Yang Yijun’s ideal result was for Zhou Zhiru to give all his assets to Chengbin. Yun Lan was more dependent on and trusted Zhou Zhiru than she had expected. This love that was ingrained in her bones was not formed in a day. It had been accumulated by Zhou Zhiru over the years. His words and actions were all purposeful.
She had given up on persuading Yun Lan.
But Saturday had passed, and even Zhou Zhiru, who came to stand there every day, had not shown up.
Yang Yijun comforted herself. After all, the gift contract was complicated, and many things required a lawyer’s help.
But the next day, Yang Yijun sat in the first-floor living room early in the morning, her mind uneasy, her eyes always looking out.
Yun Haisheng’s brow was furrowed. He was not optimistic.
By noon, Yang Yijun was getting a little impatient.
She even wanted to call Zhou Zhiru, but was stopped by Zhou Wanfeng.
By three or four in the afternoon, the sky was visibly darkening.
By six-thirty, it was completely dark outside, and there was still no sound of a car.
Yang Yijun was slumped on the sofa, her expression grim.
Zhou Wanfeng quietly went up to the second floor.
Yun Lan was braiding her hair again. Her hands were very deft. She could create all sorts of different hairstyles with just braids, and with different accessories, her temperament would also change.
Zhou Wanfeng felt that Yun Lan’s looks were a gift from God. At forty-something, she looked very young. There was a radiance in her eyes, a colorful halo from a fairy tale world.
“If Zhou Zhiru is not willing to give his property to Chengbin, what do you think is the reason?”
Yun Lan’s hands paused. She turned and subconsciously shook her head. “Impossible. Why wouldn’t he be willing? He wants the thing in Mom’s hands, and Mom has also agreed. As long as he transfers the family business to Chengbin in advance, we won’t have to be forced to divorce, and we can still live together in the future. Why wouldn’t he be willing?”
“That’s right. Why wouldn’t he be willing? Why is he so stingy with his own son? It will be his sooner or later. Why not give it to him now? It can solve all the problems in one fell swoop, can’t it? Why wouldn’t he be willing?” Zhou Wanfeng asked with a smile, looking at Yun Lan.
Yun Lan’s brow was furrowed, and her expression was once again panicked.
Zhou Wanfeng walked forward slowly and gently, carefully examining Yun Lan’s unmade-up face. She even tilted her head and leaned closer. “You’re over forty, right? How many years older are you than Zhou Zhiru? Your skin condition is so bad without makeup. I can see that your cheeks are sagging a little.”
Yun Lan suddenly covered her face with her hands and turned away, her eyes avoiding hers. “I… I just haven’t been to a beauty salon for a while. That’s why my skin condition is bad. It has nothing to do with my age.”
“Speaking of which, there’s one thing I’ve never been clear about. You always say that Zhou Zhiru loves you. But what exactly does he love about you?” Zhou Wanfeng’s lips were smiling, but her eyes were so deep that you couldn’t see the bottom.
Yun Lan frowned. “Of course he likes me… he likes that I’m pretty, simple, and kind… he just likes me.”
“But that’s not right. A woman’s youth is short. In a couple of years, you won’t even have the tail end of your youth. Your face will be like Auntie Zhang’s, with deep nasolabial folds, sagging eyelids, and weak muscles. Look at your arms now. They’re so loose. And you say you’re simple? Simple is a word to describe a girl of Jingya’s age. To say that a forty-something is simple is to say that you’re stupid. They say that at forty, you should have no doubts. And you’re still using simple and naive to describe yourself? Then how should a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl be described?”
Zhou Wanfeng continued to comment, “Kind? What kind things have you done? Have you donated to any charities? Helped poor children? Only when there’s really nothing else to praise about a person will you say that they’re kind. And kind has another explanation: easy to deceive.”
Yun Lan’s hands were constantly feeling her face, as if to confirm if she had any fine lines.
Suddenly, Zhou Wanfeng grabbed her wrist. “You say he loves you? If he loves you, why hasn’t he shown up yet? And there’s no gift contract. He doesn’t want to give the money to your son? Why is that?”
“Zhiru is too… too busy. Maybe he’ll have it ready and send it over tomorrow.”
“Do you think there’s a possibility that he does love you, but he loves the you from more than ten years ago, when you were young and beautiful, and dazzling? Now… he’s in a high position, not the poor young man he used to be. He’s seen more young and beautiful people, younger than you, prettier than you, and with a simpler family background, with no one trying to get their hands on his company. Do you think that’s possible?” Zhou Wanfeng said with a frown, a pensive look on her face. “So why is that?”
“No… it won’t be,” Yun Lan said, biting her lip, refusing to accept this possibility.
Zhou Wanfeng took a step back and sat down. “Perhaps he would rather agree to divorce you as he said before, than to give the company’s property to Chengbin. Do you think that’s possible?”
“That’s absolutely impossible.”
“I hope so,” Zhou Wanfeng said with a smile. “If it’s true, then you should think about it carefully.”
“Think… think about what?”
“You gave him your youth, and your family helped him to achieve his current success. You could have gotten half if you had divorced, but now you have nothing if you divorce. You’re being left with nothing. And he would rather divorce you than leave his property to your common son? You have nothing, and your son, Yun Chengbin, also has nothing? Yun Jingya has called him ‘Dad’ for more than ten years, and she has nothing either? Your parents helped him so much, and what did they get?”
Zhou Wanfeng stopped there. Seeing Yun Lan fall into a panic, she went downstairs.
Yang Yijun finally couldn’t resist and called Zhou Zhiru’s company.
More than half an hour later, the sound of a car came from the entrance of the Yun family’s house.
“Auntie Zhang, quick, quick, open the door!” Yang Yijun immediately stood up and urged Auntie Zhang to hurry.
Auntie Zhang hurried over. A moment later, a series of footsteps came from the covered corridor.