Chapter 381

Chapter 381

Qi Yingying's mother, Guo Chunhua, was already seventy this year. Seeing how everyone in the room was unusually quiet and that their expressions were not good, she knew her daughter had done something wrong. Still, she couldn't help but feel sympathy for her.

So, she got up and prepared to go out, saying, "Yingying, since you've made the trip back, why don't you stay for lunch? I'll go buy some meat and make dumplings for you and Weiwei today."

"Mom, don't bother. I don't have time to eat at home. I need to head back soon," Qi Yingying said helplessly.

As she spoke, she cautiously glanced at her father. His gaze was unfriendly, though he said nothing. With a stern face, he looked as if he was interrogating someone, which made Qi Yingying feel uneasy.

This was the look that always made her feel guilty and on edge.

"How has your eldest son been getting along with you since you found him?" It took Qi Shizhong a while to process the fact that his grandson had been found and had been in the provincial city for some time before his daughter informed them.

After consoling himself for a while, he accepted that his granddaughter was getting married and they had only found out then because his daughter had been too busy.

Now, he could finally speak to his daughter calmly.

As soon as Qi Shizhong mentioned the eldest son, Qi Yingying couldn't help but pour out her grievances. "Don't even mention it. After finding him, he hasn't even called me 'Mom.' He's cold towards his father too. Old He and I don't know how to make this child close to us.

Dad, who does this child take after?

He's doing well in life and is a promising young man, but he won't help his younger siblings.

He even goes against me for his wife's sake.

I must have done something terrible in a past life...

I carried him for ten months, but he was never by my side after birth. Now that he's back, he's still not close to me.

Raising this child feels like raising someone else's child."

Qi Yingying sobbed uncontrollably, and He Wei watched in confusion.

What was her mother saying? Although she wasn't very fond of her elder brother, He Ming was right. Her brother wasn't a bad person.

If I were in his shoes, I might be even more distant.

After all, with Huihui and He Tian still in their home...

"Sweetie, I know you're hurting," Guo Chunhua, who loved this daughter the most, felt her heart ache as she watched her daughter, now at such an age, crying so bitterly. She hurriedly wiped her daughter's tears, her heart feeling as if it was being cut by a knife.

"What are you so upset about? He Zhifei brushed aside the fact that our child was taken, all because of his younger brother. Now that the child is back, how could she feel at ease?

He only cares about his younger brother and his uncouth father, so why is she going along with it?

After everything you went through to bring this child into the world, shouldn't you feel some heartache?

You must be out of your mind."

Qi Shizhong had never seen his daughter so confused. Ever since she married He Zhifei, it's like she forgot she even had a family.

And now, she doesn't even care about her own child!

Hearing this, Qi Yingying sobbed even harder.

"Good girl, don't cry." Guo Chunhua comforted her daughter, and she also started crying along.

"Why are you blaming Yingying for what happened with the son-in-law? If the son-in-law doesn't agree, what can Yingying do? She can't force him. Even if she made a fuss, if he still disagrees, what can be done?

At her age, are you really going to push for a divorce?"

Ever since her son was beaten, Guo Chunhua had been very dissatisfied with her son-in-law.

Seeing her daughter cry like this, she figured it must be the son-in-law's fault again.

Qi Shizhong glanced at his old wife, then at his still-crying daughter, and felt a headache coming on. "You always believe her when she cries. Have you thought about what she's done?

The son-in-law might be clueless, but she's not exactly smart either.

If she really cared, how could she have forgotten to bring the child to visit us all these years?

All her complaints were about the child.

Look at what she just said. Did any of it show she cares about the child?

It was all for herself!"

Qi Shizhong knew his disappointing daughter all too well. Now that she came back crying and making a fuss, it was probably because she had been muddle-headed before and hadn't done anything good.

The child was distant from her, and she couldn't explain it properly to them.

So, she was planning to push the blame for the distant relationship with the child onto the child himself.

This way, he and his old wife couldn't scold her and could only treat it as the eldest grandson's fault.

Qi Yingying had never been willing to take responsibility, even from a young age. When she was a child, she blamed everything on her siblings, and now she blamed everything on others.

"If you keep saying things like that, she'll feel terrible. After all, it's her own child—how could she not love him?" Guo Chunhua didn't believe her daughter was such a muddle-headed person. If she really didn't love him, how could she have searched for the child for so many years?

"Love what? How many years has it been since she looked for the child? This year, she's been searching so desperately because the other children aren't capable. She's afraid that her husband will focus on nurturing his own nephew in the future.

If you're here just to cry, then go back where you came from. As for the eldest grandson, your father and I will find time to visit him ourselves.

You said you bought a house for him, so we'll go visit him ourselves.

Just leave the address for us."

Qi Shizhong had long seen through his daughter's temperament and didn't want to waste any more words on her.

Qi Yingying was embarrassed. Of course, she had hoped that her parents could help her.

He Cheng was in urgent need of money, and there was also the eldest son. If her parents could act as mediators, maybe it would be easier to repair the relationship?

And for He Wei's wedding, if her parents could contribute something, that would be even better.

Now that she was being spoken to like this, Qi Yingying felt ashamed. "I wasn't in a good place before, so I was muddle-headed. I was hoping that you, Mom and Dad, could speak well of me when you visit the child."

"Yingying, what have you been up to?" Guo Chunhua was stunned.

Qi Yingying didn't want to explain. How could she tell them about her selfish thoughts without getting in trouble?

"You're not going to say?" Seeing her expression, Qi Shizhong didn't expect much and turned to ask his granddaughter instead.

"Your mom’s always so blunt, she can’t keep anything secret. How did she break it to you? What did she promise after bringing your brother back?"

He Wei was shocked; Grandpa still understood her mother so well!

"My mom said she wants my older brother and his wife to move back to the provincial city, but the jobs Dad promised them would go to He Cheng and me instead. She also said my sister-in-law would stay home to cook and take care of everyone."

He Wei spilled everything her mom had been rambling about lately.

Grandpa was speechless when he heard what He Wei said.

"What’s been going on in her head these past few years?"

"That’s your own flesh and blood!" Qi Shizhong shouted at her.

Qi Yingying hesitated, feeling guilty. "Blood is thicker than water, but I have to look out for my own family first."