Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Zhou Lian’s Suspicion
After Li Xiu and Zhou Lian left, Eldest Li’s family fell into a heavy silence. It had finally happened, and in a way no one had expected. Li Xiu had suddenly exploded. Had he finally reached his limit, or was it because of his wife?
"Alright, stop mulling it over. He knows what he’s doing. Let him think it over and handle it himself," Grandma Li said calmly. "As the old saying goes, ’Water drips from the eaves, drop by drop, always landing in the same spot.’ But when you have a grandson like him, with unkind parents and disrespectful siblings, what do you expect him to do? It’s better this way. To keep their distance. Far, far away."
When they got home, Li Xiu had his wife sit down, poured her a glass of jujube water, and sat in front of her. "Bao’er, what’s wrong? Did that scare you?"
Looking at the gentle-faced man before her, Zhou Lian didn’t know what to ask. ’Is this man, who just so decisively cut ties with his siblings, the same man from my past life?’
"What is it, Bao’er? Is there something you want to say to me?"
"Li Xiu... those are your own parents and siblings. How could you be so ruthless?" Zhou Lian asked, looking down after a moment of staring at him.
"Then does Bao’er think I went too far?"
"I don’t know. I’m just surprised you would do something like that." ’The Li Xiu of my past life was so blindly filial it was unbearable. How could he have changed so much?’
Seeing his wife’s head lowered, Li Xiu chuckled silently. ’My treasure is getting suspicious again, isn’t she!’
Holding her hand, Li Xiu said gently, "To be honest, I didn’t intend for us to have a complete falling out. But things have reached a point where I can’t tolerate it anymore. You and our child are my line in the sand. Whoever crosses it, I’ll fight them to the death. It’s only because they’re my family that I let them off so easy."
"People talk about filial piety. It’s about respect first, obedience second. I’ll support my parents in their old age, so no one can call me unfilial. As for my siblings, they don’t consider me their brother, so why should I keep looking after them? Their parents are responsible for them, not me. If people show me a foot of respect, I’ll return it by a yard. By the same token, if they dare to wrong me, I will pay them back a hundred, a thousand times over."
Seeing the confusion on his wife’s face, Li Xiu smiled. ’She must be wondering why I wasn’t like this in our past life.’
"Bao’er, your husband has always been the type to repay kindness with kindness and enmity with enmity. With family, I try not to be too harsh, but... how should I put it? My mother and the others—their attitude toward you was just too strange. It made me suspicious."
"You know, the trouble starts when you really start to think things through. And once I did, the problems became obvious. I’m not an idiot. They started it; I’m just playing the same game. We’re all cut from the same cloth, so who do they think they’re scheming against? Besides, I act according to my conscience. I have a beautiful wife and a beloved child at home; I could never bear to let you take the blame for my actions."
Zhou Lian gave him a look that was hard to put into words. ’Can’t you just talk normally? Do you have to be laying on the sweet talk all the time? Aren’t you sick of how cheesy it is? He really will say anything, won’t he!’
Not understanding his wife’s expression, Li Xiu reached out, pulled her into his arms, and continued, "Bao’er, you have to know, what goes around comes around. The heavens spare no one. I just act according to my heart. As long as my conscience is clear, I don’t give a damn about the consequences. Life isn’t easy, and everything I want is right here in my arms. So what if I act a little recklessly!"
"Li Xiu, let me ask a hypothetical," Zhou Lian said softly, feeling that something was off about him. "What if you did something wrong, and I didn’t forgive you? What would you do?"
"Bao’er, you should know that I would never do anything to make you unhappy. But fine, if what you said really happened, I would follow you to the ends of the earth and never let you go." At this, Li Xiu had Zhou Lian sit facing him. Looking into her eyes, he said, word by word, "Bao’er, through the highest heavens and to the deepest underworld, you are my wife in this life, and you will be my wife for all of eternity. I will dote on you to my very bones and cherish you in my arms until you can’t bear to leave me."
"And what if I died without ever forgiving you?" Zhou Lian asked seriously.
"Then I’ll chase you into the next life. You can only be mine!" The resolute tone of his voice represented Li Xiu’s truest, deepest thoughts.
She looked at him, speechless. ’He hasn’t changed. He’s still that same obsessive, crazy man. It was just like this in our last life. She wouldn’t forgive him, so he just waited, never letting their children try to persuade her. They spent a whole lifetime like that.’
Seeing his wife at a loss for words, Li Xiu laughed—a hearty, open laugh. ’Oh, my silly wife!’
He gave his wife a kiss, gently smoothed her hair, and said softly, "Bao’er, it’s getting late. You must be hungry. I’ll make you something delicious. Is there anything you’re craving?"
"I want something sour, and spicy too," Zhou Lian said after a moment’s thought. "My mouth feels bland, so I’m craving something with strong flavors."
"Okay. We still have two live fish at home. I’ll make you fish with pickled bamboo shoots and some spicy chicken. And how about a luffa and egg soup?" Li Guo had brought over two fish yesterday that he’d caught in the reservoir. Each one weighed a few pounds. Afraid the fishy smell would bother Zhou Lian, Li Xiu had kept them alive in a wooden bucket. The pickled bamboo shoots would cover the fishiness well, so it was the perfect time to cook them and give his wife some extra nutrition.
Watching Li Xiu happily cooking, Zhou Lian drifted into a memory. In her past life, when she was in her sixties, she had caught a cold. Her mouth was tasteless, and she craved pickled bamboo shoots. At the time, she was staying at her daughter’s house. She couldn’t stand the taste of the pickled bamboo shoots from the city supermarkets, so her son-in-law searched everywhere for some that were farm-pickled. In the end, he brought her a plate of stir-fried pork with pickled bamboo shoots. It tasted perfect. When she asked her son-in-law where he got them, her daughter said she’d had someone bring them from the countryside. It wasn’t until later that her grandson let it slip: it was his grandfather, Li Xiu, who had braved a downpour to go to a village in the suburbs overnight to buy them.
There were many incidents like that. Back then, the mere sight of him annoyed her, and she forbade their children from speaking to him. But her grandchildren would secretly tell him what she wanted. No matter how hard it was to find, he would always find a way to get it for her, all while keeping it a secret. She only learned all of this when she was on her deathbed in the hospital, from her daughter-in-law.
Her daughter-in-law had said, "Dad gave us strict orders not to tell you. I know there’s a deep-seated grudge between you and Dad, Mom. I’m not trying to convince you to forgive him. I just want you to know that you have to get better. Otherwise, I’m afraid Dad will... follow you. He’s so calm right now, it’s unnatural. Xiang Rui and your daughter said that Dad gets too crazy when it comes to anything about you. We’re afraid he’ll do something rash when the time comes. So, Mom, you have to get well. Both you and Dad need to be okay!"
’Thinking back on it now,’ she thought, ’he probably followed her right after she passed away in their last life. That madman! There was truly nothing he wouldn’t do!’
Li Xiu, who was in the middle of cooking, glanced back at his wife. He knew she had let go of her suspicions. ’She’s probably remembering our past life again,’ he thought. He remembered the time his wife was sick and craved pickled bamboo shoots. She couldn’t stand the ones from the city, and their son-in-law was asking around everywhere. When he found out, he braved a downpour and went to the countryside overnight to buy some. All he could think at the time was that his wife had followed him for most of her life and had never had it easy. She just wanted a taste of farm-pickled bamboo shoots; how could he possibly let her down!
Later, when his wife found out he was the one who got them, she forbade the children from telling him what she wanted. But the little grandchildren would still tell him in secret. So he kept it from her, and also strictly forbade the children from telling her he knew. Back then, just bustling about for her was the happiest thing in his life, far happier than even spending time with his grandchildren. His daughter-in-law saw through him and would often have the kids coax their grandma into revealing what she wanted to eat or what she desired, then they would report back to him.
Once, he accidentally overheard his son and daughter-in-law talking. The daughter-in-law said, "Dad is so devoted to Mom."
His son replied with a bitter smile, "Yeah, but I’m afraid Mom’s heart has grown cold. She’ll never forgive him."
The daughter-in-law said, "It’s not our place to comment on the rights and wrongs of the past. Let’s just let Dad do more for Mom. It gives him a purpose."
"Yeah, let him do it," the son said. "Dad’s personality is too obsessive. It’s fine for now, but in the future... if he passes away first, that’d be one thing. But if Mom goes first... I don’t even know what Dad would do!"
They say ’like father, like son’ for a reason; his son understood him best. The moment his wife closed her eyes in that hospital, he felt a rage that could destroy heaven and earth. However, in the end, he still got the result he wanted most.
