Never again…
Muttering these words, Du Ruoxin felt as if her chest were being crushed by a wheel, again and again, repeatedly.
It choked her, leaving her breathless.
She felt like she was dying—
But she couldn't die; she had more important things to do.
Du Ruoxin propped herself up to a half-sitting position, took out her phone, scrolled to Feng Linwan’s WeChat, and initiated a video call.
“I thought I’d forgotten how to miss, and facing the sunset, I wished you back to yesterday.
I remember holding your face, in my hands, quietly looking into your eyes.
Like autumn leaves gently covering the whole world.
I want to be by your side…”
Hearing her mother-in-law’s ringtone, Du Ruoxin couldn’t help but cry harder.
Wordless pain gnawed at her very bones.
Feng Linwan was heartbroken. Ever since she had witnessed Ruoxin cruelly reject her son at the church, she felt the entire world had turned dim.
Devoid of color.
Her heart couldn't take it.
She felt miserable.
She—
Wanted to cry.
After crying in her husband’s arms for a long, long time, Rong Jianchen brought her back to their home country.
She thought leaving the place of sorrow, changing her environment, and Rong Jianchen’s constant efforts to cheer her up would stop her wife from grieving, from being triggered by memories.
However, fate had other plans.
Feng Linwan cried and cried. She said, “Brother Chen, will you let me cry for a while? Will you let me vent this sadness? I’m hurting.”
At that moment, seeing his wife’s endless tears, Rong Jianchen wanted to grab his son and beat him soundly.
The woman he had protected with his life, he had sworn not to let his wife shed tears again.
AND YET!!
What kind of wicked spawn had he produced?
Rong Jianchen felt like kicking his son all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
“Two hours.”
He only allowed her to grieve for that long, not a minute more.
Feng Linwan: “…………”
Ignoring the overbearing and dictatorial man beside her, Feng Linwan continued to cry. Two hours later, she still hadn’t regained her composure.
But, after another hour, three of her best friends arrived at the house.
They were calling out, “Three’s a crowd, need one more.”
Without regard for whether Feng Linwan was crying or if her eyes were sore from weeping, they pulled her to the table without a word.
“Two of bamboos!”
“Pong!”
“Purely Nine, with a dragon!”
Feng Linwan played mahjong for several hours, and her luck today was exceptionally good. Whatever she needed, she got, and her winning hands were loud and clear.
No matter how sad or heartbroken she was, it seemed to be healing?
The husbands of these ladies were chatting and drinking tea not far away. Rong Jianchen would occasionally check in, serving his beloved wife.
Washing fruit, bringing fruit, providing wet wipes, pouring tea… he served her with utmost care.
Just then, Feng Linwan’s phone rang.
Seeing that it was Du Ruoxin calling, her heart immediately tensed.
“Wait, I need to take a call.”
Feng Linwan stood up, slid the green button, “Ru…”
As her lips parted, Du Ruoxin’s tear-stricken face appeared on the screen, almost gasping for breath.
“Wuwuwu… hic… Mommy… hic…”
Everyone heard it.
Du Ruoxin was crying heartbrokenly, sobbing uncontrollably. What had happened?
Everyone looked at Feng Linwan in unison.
Feng Linwan’s heart was in a mess from her daughter-in-law’s crying, as if she were being grabbed, “Ruoxin, what is it? What happened? Don’t cry, don’t cry.”
“Tell Mommy, Mommy will stand up for you.”
Du Ruoxin sobbed uncontrollably for a long, long time.
Just as Feng Linwan was getting anxious, almost about to cry with her, Du Ruoxin, with a runny nose and tear-streaked face, said with immense sadness, “I’m sorry, Mommy, I didn’t protect the child.”
Feng Linwan froze at these words, petrified: …the child?
Her nerves snapped, as if she had fallen halfway into a cliff, teetering precariously, “What happened to Doudou? Ruoxin, Doudou…”
Feng Linwan’s heart couldn’t bear it, and her body swayed a few times.
Her brain felt as if it had been smashed by a hammer, leaving it blank.
Fortunately, Rong Jianchen was quick and supported his wife in time, otherwise, Feng Linwan would have collapsed.
“It’s not Doudou,” Du Ruoxin explained between sobs, “It’s the child in my belly. I… I didn’t protect her.”