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Seeing her birth mother and little brother truly at odds, the bond between mother and child severed—
Fan Hongshan felt no pleasure as she had imagined, but silently cooperated with her eldest brother, helping their mother clean up the long uninhabited old house before leaving with an uneasy heart.
Along the way, the siblings felt a heart-wrenching pain for their mother’s whimpering cries.
"Eldest brother, mom’s really not a bad person, it’s just that..." Fan Hongshan wanted to plead for their mother to her brother but then abruptly remembered her mother’s final, still-remaining request for Fan Fengshou from her eldest brother.
She had no children and could not understand this kind of ’maternal’ behavior of her mother.
"Hong Shan, don’t worry; she is my birth mother, no matter what, I will always remember the kindness of being born and raised by her, rest assured."
Fan Jiefang drove the car to the community building where his youngest sister lived and brought up a topic: "Do you want me to accompany you up, so he doesn’t get the wrong idea?"
"No need, eldest brother, I’m fine. Drive carefully, it’s too late now, and going back to the countryside isn’t safe. You also have work tomorrow; don’t tire yourself out."
"Alright, then I’ll head back. Hong Shan, no matter what happens, your eldest brother is always here for you, don’t be a stranger."
Even if Fan Jiefang wanted to help his youngest sister with her marriage, he was not Fan Hongshan and didn’t know what she was truly thinking. Besides, the warmth or coldness of a marriage is something only those involved can really know...
He could only feel sorry for her in his heart, never thinking of meddling in her marriage, he sighed inwardly and left after agreeing.
Fan Hongshan, feeling reassured by her eldest brother’s guarantee and his sudden offer, went upstairs wearily.
After returning to her marital home, Zhou Yilang saw the swelling on her face and furrowed his brows but didn’t ask her about it. He simply told her that if she wasn’t going to cook, she should tell him in advance, so he and the children wouldn’t have to wait for her.
Fan Hongshan just quietly acknowledged and hid the self-mockery at the corner of her mouth as she returned to her room with mixed emotions.
This left the man across from her and the children exchanging puzzled and strange looks.
"Daddy, what happened to that woman?" The little girl, only eleven years old, didn’t quite understand as she looked at her father. Yet in her heart, she felt unhappy. How had that woman gotten injured?
Seeing her father’s wife come back in disarray, with the advantage of height, she clearly saw the self-mockery on her face and especially the injuries on her face and forehead—it was obvious she had been hit.
Thinking of how the woman was usually at home, always showing a shallow and gentle smile to her and her brother, today she had a stony face and didn’t even greet them before going into her room!
Used to her gentle smile, being cold shouldered like this made the little girl feel uncomfortable. But what bothered her even more was that the woman didn’t say a word about being hurt!
"Adult problems are none of the children’s business; don’t ask too many questions. Take your brother back to your room to do homework, and then go to bed." The man glanced at his daughter’s pursed lips then at his son with his head lowered, holding his book upside down.
He didn’t bother much about his daughter’s impolite way of referring to his wife and simply commanded them after finishing his order, he continued reading his documents.
"Yes..." The girl and boy, seemingly quite afraid of the man, immediately nodded and quickly packed their bags and left the living room with the brother at the sound of his cold command.
For a moment, in the spacious living room, only the man’s tall figure remained, sitting as steady as a mountain.
Zhou Yilang moved the bone joint of his finger holding the file, adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and his long, narrow eyes slightly squinted.
What flashed in the bottom of his eyes were the blue bruise marks at the corner of her mouth and the purple swelling at her forehead under his gaze.
Originally, marrying this wife had been entirely an accident.
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