Chapter 30: Actually, He Knows Everything
“Your sister-in-law seems eerily guilty. Do you reckon she’s seeing someone else?”
“Don’t speak nonsense. There’s no such thing,” Tang Zhinian cautioned his brother, “Though we’re getting divorced, she still remains your sister-in-law until it’s finalized.”
“But, bro…”
“Your sister-in-law definitely seems guilty. Do you think she’s with someone else?”
“Don’t speak nonsense. There’s no such thing,” Tang Zhinian chided his brother once again. “We may be headed for divorce, but until then, she’s still your sister-in-law.”
“But, bro…”
Tang Zhijun had a hunch that something was off. It was strange how, out of the blue, she stopped coming home, showed no affection for their daughter, and talked of divorce. It was far-fetched to believe that she bore no feeling of guilt in her heart.
He had wanted to discuss this with Tang Zhinian, but his older brother had turned away, focusing instead on their daughter, evidently uninterested in discussing these matters. He appeared completely convinced of his own cuckoldry.
Tang Zhinian tucked in Tang Yuxin with her blanket, his large hand resting on his little daughter’s head. This small, tender being was his daughter, the only child he’ll ever have in his life.
“I know,” he spoke, his eyes reflecting an unacknowledged hurt, “Your mother looked down on me. When we married, she wasn’t really interested in me. The only reason she agreed was because of the generous wedding gifts from my family.”
“Later, after I married her, I earnestly wanted to treat her well, regardless of how arduous or exhausting it was. But in her heart, I wasn’t the man she wanted.”
“I also know that our divorce is inevitable. Regardless of whether your mother is seeing someone else, it doesn’t matter. If she wants to leave, then she should just go. I still have you. What’s the use of keeping someone by force, if their heart is not here with you?”
Tang Yuxin wasn’t asleep, not really. She only opened her eyes after Tang Zhinian left. She had always perceived her father as an honest, simple farmer, with slow wits and focused solely on tilling the land.
But now, she finally understood.
He knew and understood everything. He had a clearer perspective than anyone else. The reason why he gave money to Sang Zhilan even after knowing about her marriage.
Perhaps he just wanted Sang Zhilan to owe him a favor.
In her previous life, her deepest regret was towards this father. Initially, it was Sang Zhilan who forbade her from meeting her father. She was too timid, too fearful. But later, it was her father who started avoiding her, probably threatened by Sang Zhilan. She could only realize how difficult her father’s life was after she started working. Yet, she didn’t know how to communicate with him properly anymore after all these years.
Just when she decided to completely disregard Zhang Yongnian and Sang Zhilan, intending to live safely with her father, she died and hurt her father’s heart all over again.
She was well aware that in her previous world, her death wouldn’t have elicited tears from anyone besides Tang Zhinian.
Perhaps in her view, her absence would make things a bit better, at least she wouldn’t stand in the way of certain people.
But her poor old father was left to outlive his child.
Sang Zhilan and Wei Jiani still carried on, but her father lost his only daughter.
At this thought, she felt a sudden chill in her eyes. She hurriedly reached out to wipe her face, only to discover that she had inadvertently been crying again.