Chapter 71: No One Will Save You, and You Shouldn’t Expect Anyone to

Chapter 71: No One Will Save You, and You Shouldn't Expect Anyone to Save You

Xu Lan looked up at Xu Moxing, his face full of disappointment for his own son.

"You're in your thirties now, time you settled down. Your mother has worked hard all these years—don't you want her to have a grandchild soon? Find a wife to take care of her."

Xu Moxing stayed silent.

Shen Qin, eating with her head down nearby, looked up at her husband when she heard this.

A smile she couldn't suppress spread across her face. Her husband cared about her—her hard work was acknowledged. She was happy.

Xu Moxing caught the expression on Shen Qin's face and couldn't help but smirk.

He seriously suspected his mother was a masochist. As long as Xu Lan showed her even a hint of kindness, she could completely forget that most of the time he was abusing her.

It wasn't just the abuse-then-treat routine.

She'd been abused her whole life, and the moment he paused, she was already grateful to him.

Physical abuse, mental abuse.

Xu Moxing admitted it: he was useless. He couldn't save anyone. He couldn't even handle his own affairs, so he had no business trying to save others.

His mother wasn't someone he—a worthless piece of trash—could save. Rescuing her from physical abuse was easier, but mental and ideological shackles? That was too hard, too difficult.

The imprint carved into the minds and souls of people like Shen Qin was not something he could liberate.

That was exactly why external forces tried to invade a nation through ideological education—because if they succeed, they can destroy at least several generations.

Xu Moxing had been analyzing them, understanding them, so much so that he almost forgot his father was putting on his "royal authority" act.

"Did you hear me?" His father's voice grew louder, his fingers tapping the table. "I'm talking to you."

Xu Moxing snapped back. "I heard you."

"Then why didn't you answer?"

Xu Moxing looked up at his father's face, which was flushed red with bulging veins.

Xu Moxing found it amusing—like the red backside of a female monkey in heat.

"What do you want me to say? You're so worried about Mom—so why haven't you gone out to work all these years to support the family? Even if you didn't support us, you never even did housework. You never taught us anything. Just lip service? Did you outsource your love for your wife to a future daughter-in-law you haven't even met?"

Xu Lan's face turned even redder at being challenged. He couldn't beat him in a fight, couldn't win an argument, and emotional blackmail didn't work either—because Xu Moxing and Xu Jianqing simply didn't care if he was angry.

If it weren't for Shen Qin, those two siblings probably wouldn't even come home.

Finally, Xu Lan could only manage to blurt out, "Your college education was wasted. I let you study for nothing. What's the use of all that reading?"

"I paid for my own books with my mother's money. What does that have to do with you? Other than smoking, drinking, playing mahjong, beating your wife, and scolding your kids, what else can you do?"

Xu Lan was so angry he couldn't breathe, unable to utter a single word.

Xu Lan never saw himself as a failed husband. In his mind, his logic was: I provided the sperm, so you have to treat me like an emperor forever.

In the end, Xu Lan could only blame Xu Moxing for reading too many books. He believed everything was because Xu Moxing studied too much.

"I shouldn't have let you go to high school. You should have gone to work after middle school. Too much reading makes a person heartless."

"Are you trying to say that righteous people are often butchers? I won't argue whether that's statistically correct. Every class and circle has its share of evil people and good people.

You barely read a book yourself, and I've never seen you be especially loyal. Why aren't you loyal to your own wife and children? Where's your conscience toward us?"

When Xu Moxing was on the offensive, his mind worked fast and his words came out rapid.

Xu Lan was left speechless, only repeating, "I let you study for nothing."

Shen Qin had enjoyed the feeling of her husband and children arguing over her long enough. Now she intervened.

"Alright, it's New Year's. Everyone say a little less."

Then she turned to Xu Moxing and said, "He's your father after all."

"Tch."

That 'tch' from Xu Moxing was not just for Xu Lan—it was for Shen Qin too.

This family was rotten to the core. When he first graduated, he thought about working hard, earning money, and making things better for the family. But now? Forget it.

Unless he suddenly struck it rich, he'd better just look after himself first. These two were hopeless.

No matter how much money he gave them, they'd just spend it to save face, lending it to their own siblings, wrecking their own family.

Hearing Xu Moxing's 'tch,' Xu Lan clicked his tongue again and glared at him.

Xu Moxing ate the deli food he had bought—it wasn't cheap. Whether they ate it or not, he was determined to get his money's worth.

After being told off by both his daughter and son, Xu Lan finally backed down and stopped making trouble.

Xu Jianqing finished eating and got up from the table. Xu Moxing followed suit.

Xu Lan was the last to finish. He didn't clean up anything, not even glancing at the mess, and went straight out to play mahjong again.

Xu Moxing was on his phone. In the company group chat, the boss was sending out red envelopes. He chatted with some online friends, having a great time.

Shen Qin came over and called to him.

"Clean up the table. Mom wants to take a shower first."

Xu Moxing's smile faded. He went to wash the dishes.

Everyone else spat their food scraps into disposable bowls. Only Xu Lan ignored that, spitting directly onto the table.

Suppressing his disgust, Xu Moxing cleaned the table and stacked the empty plates to carry to the kitchen.

It had been a long time since he'd washed this many dishes. Before, he and Su Lichen both hated washing dishes, so they agreed to buy a dishwasher.

After they broke up and he lived alone, he cooked in a way that minimized cleanup—ideally one pot for everything, so he only had to wash one pot and one pair of chopsticks.

Xu Moxing finished washing the dishes and turned off the tap.

He remembered how, in the past, every time he went home for Chinese New Year and finished the reunion dinner, he would vent to Su Lichen for a long time.

He kept talking, going on and on.

About his family, about what his father had done, about what his mother had done, about how miserable, helpless, and desperate he was for someone to hold him emotionally.

Su Lichen listened, often saying nothing.

Xu Moxing thought he was listening. Now he knows, he wasn't listening—he was just tolerating it.

But Xu Moxing couldn't understand what Su Lichen's silence meant; he thought Su Lichen was willing to listen.

When he realized that maybe they weren't as close as he thought, and that Su Lichen often wasn't willing to listen to him and even vented about him to his friends, Xu Moxing was in pain for a long time.

Thinking back now, the sadness still lingers, but it's no longer as painful.

He said to himself, "I'm already better than before. Back then, I was just like my mom, a slave to my emotions, pouring out my troubles to anyone who would listen. But because of this incident with Su Lichen, I realized that there will never be someone who will always be there to catch me. A person can only rely on themselves to walk out of the darkness. Just keep pushing forward."

After finishing the cleaning, Xu Moxing returned to his room, planning to spend the last moments of the year playing on his phone.

Su Lichen video-called him, and that's when he remembered he hadn't replied to Su Lichen's message.