The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 111 - 110: The Truth 2

"From then on, your mother’s health was never very good. What I didn’t expect was that even with amnesia, she refused to abort the child. And after all that turmoil, the baby in her womb was always fine. I figured it must be fate."

"So Mom never remembered anything from before?" Xue Yue found it incredible.

Xue Changlin fell silent.

Seeing his expression, Xue Yue guessed, "She remembered?"

Xue Changlin nodded. "I don’t know when she recovered her memory. Or maybe she never lost it in the first place."

Xue Yue was astonished. "What?"

Bitterness spread through Xue Changlin’s heart, chilling him to the bone until he couldn’t help but tremble.

"Your mother followed me here, but she never asked about my past. At first, I was just a bit suspicious. In everyone else’s eyes, we were a married couple, but the truth is, we never even got a marriage certificate, and she wouldn’t let me touch her."

Xue Yue’s eyes widened. "Then I—"

Xue Changlin gave a bitter laugh. "I doted on her completely, cherished her, and couldn’t bear to see her suffer in the slightest. But in the dead of night, I’d look at her back and feel utterly spineless. Then one time, I had a bit to drink. The liquor gave me liquid courage. I forced myself on her... and you were the result. She hated my guts for it. Heh, but I don’t regret it. I knew her heart belonged to someone else."

"Why did Mom never tell us a single thing about her past?"

Xue Changlin shook his head. "I don’t know about that, either. I always felt she had something heavy on her mind, but I never dared to ask. I was afraid she’d bring up what I’d done, so I just played deaf and dumb. But I’ve always suspected her jumping in the river had something to do with the rest of the Li Family. Yue’er, Dad is telling you this so you’ll be on your guard against the Zheng family and the Li Family. They don’t have good intentions."

’What on earth could have happened?’ Xue Yue wondered. ’What made Mom run away from home and never go back?’

"Dad, is Xue Changlin your real name?"

"Mhm. That was my name before my adoptive father took me in. After he adopted me, I took his surname, and he gave me the name Zhou Lin."p>

"No wonder."

"What is it?" Xue Changlin asked her.

Xue Yue shook her head. "It’s nothing. Oh, by the way, what do you think Li Wanqing is like?"

"She’s fiery and ruthless. She always looked down on us servants, and would sometimes beat or curse at us. Others might not have noticed, but I could tell. The way she looked at the young master of the Zheng family wasn’t ordinary. She must have been in love with him. But since she was the younger sister, the marriage arrangement fell to your mother."

"So, do you think she had anything to do with what happened to Mom?"

"I don’t know. Your mother doted on her younger sister, taking her everywhere. The two of them had almost no secrets from each other, so I’m not sure."

When he finished, Xue Changlin let out a long sigh of relief, as if a secret he had been unable to voice for years had finally been released.

"I never told you because I didn’t want you to think I was a lowly and despicable person."

Xue Yue looked at her father. ’He’s both hateful and pitiful.’

He Lang had been waiting in the courtyard the whole time. It was a long while before he saw Xue Yue slowly walk out.

"Going back?"

Xue Yue nodded.

On the way back, He Lang didn’t ask, and Xue Yue didn’t speak.

After work, Xue Xingzhou went straight to the cowshed. He had brought Zheng Guofeng a thick, padded cotton jacket and pants, a thick quilt, and a thermos.

"You don’t have to go to all this trouble."

Xue Xingzhou spread the quilt for him and handed him the padded jacket, telling him to change.

"It’s no trouble. I said I’d take care of you. Whatever I bring, you just use it. I’ll come back tomorrow and build you a stove. This place is too cold."

Zheng Guofeng nodded. "Okay."

Before leaving, Xue Xingzhou took out a few meat buns from inside his coat.

"You haven’t had dinner yet, have you? Here, take these. I kept them in my coat, so they’re not too cold. Hurry up and eat."

"I can’t eat this many. Let’s eat them together."

Xue Xingzhou pushed them toward him. "It’s fine. I’m going to eat at Yue’er’s. You have them. I’m off."

Zheng Guofeng watched Xue Xingzhou walk away, then turned back to look at the new bedding spread on the kang, the thick padded jacket he was wearing, and the warm buns in his hands. He felt a searing heat spread through his chest.

Xue Xingzhou didn’t know that Xue Yue had gone to see Xue Changlin today. But after seeing her reaction last night, he was a little worried about her.

He Lang opened the door for Xue Xingzhou.

Xue Xingzhou asked him in a low voice, "How is Yue’er doing?"

He Lang sighed. "She seems okay on the surface, but she keeps spacing out. We went to Yangjia Gou today, though. Yue’er and your dad talked in the house for a long time. She probably knows everything now."

"I’ll go see her."

Entering the room, he saw Xue Yue on the kang with Ruanruan. Ruanruan was playing with toys, while Xue Yue was lost in thought.p>

"What’s on your mind?"

Xue Yue looked up and saw her brother standing by the kang. "Big Brother, have you eaten?"

"Not yet. That’s why I came here looking for food," Xue Xingzhou chuckled.

He Lang happened to walk in right then. "I’ll go make something," he said, before turning and heading to the kitchen.

Xue Yue stared blankly at Xue Xingzhou, not speaking, just staring.

Seeing her expression, Xue Xingzhou felt uneasy. "What’s wrong? You don’t recognize your own brother?"

Xue Yue shook her head. "Big Brother, Dad told me everything. You’re really not his biological son. Your father is Zheng Guofeng."

A flicker of shock passed through Xue Xingzhou’s eyes. "He told you everything?"

"Mhm."

"What else did he say?"

He Lang came in with a tray of food, just in time to hear Xue Yue talking and Xue Xingzhou listening. He Lang, also a bit surprised by what he heard, placed the food on the kang table and listened quietly.

By the time the food was almost cold, Xue Yue had finally finished speaking.

"So, one’s heart belonged to another, while the other was a willing accomplice, yet they just tormented each other. Tell me, what was it all for in the end? Love? Is a love like that even worth it?" Xue Yue struggled to understand.

Xue Xingzhou sighed. "That was their life. No matter what, they made their own choices. They have to bear the consequences themselves."

"They made their own choices, all right. One tormented herself into an early grave. If she really felt so wronged, why didn’t she go back and settle scores with them? Hiding away like that... she was a coward, a deserter. The other one couldn’t have the person he loved, so he forced it, and ended up hurting everyone, including himself. He’s a spineless loser." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

He Lang watched Xue Yue fuming. ’When she gets this fired up, she’d even chew out her own parents,’ he thought, almost wanting to laugh.

"All right, let Big Brother eat first. Otherwise, I’ll have to go heat it up again."

Xue Yue felt emotionally drained and waved a hand at Xue Xingzhou. "Just eat first."

After a while, Xue Yue asked him, "Big Brother, now that you know Zheng Guofeng is your biological father, what are you going to do?"

Xue Xingzhou looked at her. "What can I do? I can’t get him out of the cowshed."

"But you should at least do something, right? Aren’t you planning on calling him ’Dad’ or anything?"

A corner of Xue Xingzhou’s mouth twitched. "I can’t bring myself to say it."

"You’re right. If I suddenly had a biological father, I wouldn’t be able to say it either. I’ll just call him Uncle Zheng from now on. It feels a little rude to use his full name. Oh, right, that place he’s in must be freezing, it’s not fit for anyone to live in, is it? I’ll sneak him a quilt tomorrow. Yes, and grain! He definitely doesn’t have enough to eat. And also..."