Chapter 292: Chapter 292: Self-Awareness
Gu Jiaojiao and her husband were a good distance away, but they could still hear Ren Cuiping’s hysterical screams.
Su Shuochi was trembling with rage. He wanted nothing more than to go back and rip that woman’s mouth apart.
"Don’t be angry. I deliberately provoked her until she lost her mind. I hope she’ll come to her senses and repent soon.
Ren Cuiping has always been used to being the center of the universe. If no one gives her a wake-up call, she’ll just keep spiraling downward.
She’s only in her forties. If she lives a long life, she’s only halfway through. How she walks the rest of the path is up to her."
"Jiaojiao, you’re just too kind." Su Shuochi’s anger instantly evaporated.
He had always been sharp and perceptive, so he immediately understood what his wife meant.
The couple immediately started talking about work. They really didn’t have the spare time to gossip about such meaningless topics.
For the next two days, the couple went to the site to conduct their research. When she came home for meals, Gu Jiaojiao made time to visit the Ren family and give Mr. Ren his silver needle acupuncture.
Ever since that day, Ren Cuiping had been hiding upstairs and avoiding Gu Jiaojiao.
Mr. Sheng was still away on his business trip. No one knew if he was doing it on purpose, but in any case, he hadn’t returned home.
Sheng Shiwu followed Gu Jiaojiao and her husband’s car every day, leaving early and returning late to haul bricks.
He ate at the site during the day and came home to cook dinner for Sheng Shiwen. The two brothers still had nothing to say to each other.
He would also make breakfast for Sheng Shiwen, but he wouldn’t eat it himself because Gu Jiaojiao brought him breakfast made by Su’s mother every day.
Of everyone in the Sheng Family, his life was the most fulfilling and stable. He even got occasional calls from his eldest brother.
The two brothers would chatter on for a long time. Sheng Shijing never asked to speak with Sheng Shiwen before hanging up.
Sheng Shiwen, who was in a wheelchair, didn’t dare to leave the courtyard gate. His mother was his only source of emotional support now.
Luckily, the Ren family had a phone, so he called his mom every day to cry and complain.
But Ren Cuiping, on the other hand, was starting to dread her second son’s calls. They were filled with nothing but negativity, and listening to him left her feeling depressed.
Especially when Sheng Shiwen told her over the phone that Sheng Yueyue was now being held captive by the Song family.
Once his father returned home, the Song family planned to send Yueyue back to the Sheng Family to stop her from running her mouth and damaging their reputation.
Ren Cuiping would then recall what her precious daughter, whom she had once cherished like the apple of her eye, had said to her.
"You couldn’t even hold on to a man who loved you that much? How could you be so useless! If Dad really divorces you, don’t you ever come looking for me again!"
At the time, she had only felt wronged, sad, and disappointed, and she had pushed all the blame onto Gu Jiaojiao.
But after being warned by Gu Jiaojiao that day, her own father had also criticized her harshly.
She was starting to feel truly lost. All these years, although money had been tight, she had never worried about food or clothing.
’So why did things end up like this?’
She even began to suspect it was really karmic retribution. This suspicion made her grow increasingly terrified.
Before she knew Jiaojiao wasn’t her biological child, she had genuinely doted on her. But when she found out Jiaojiao wasn’t her own daughter...
...she found fault with everything she did. Although she never openly abused Jiaojiao, her favoritism was undeniable.
Everything revolved around her biological daughter. It didn’t matter if Jiaojiao was right or wrong—it was always her fault.
Now, wasn’t this retribution? She was divorced, and her daughter was being held captive by the Song family.
She didn’t have the power to rescue her precious daughter from the Song family, but her two brothers did.
’Should I take my daughter to Yun City, too?’
’But would that bring disaster upon my brothers’ families?’
At this moment, Ren Cuiping genuinely felt that Gu Jiaojiao had vision and foresight. How she wished she could ask Gu Jiaojiao for advice on whether to take Yueyue to Yun City.
Swallowing her pride, she asked her father, "Dad, when Jiaojiao comes to give you your acupuncture later, I’d like to stay by your side."
Mr. Ren refused without a second thought. "You. Whatever you’re planning, don’t you dare go and bother Jiaojiao again. Your two brothers will be here soon. You should just focus on your work."
"Dad, I’ve really thought things through these past two days. Xiao Wen said the Song family has locked Yueyue up. I want to ask Jiaojiao if I should take her with me to Yun City."
"Take her there to bring trouble to your two brothers? Your two sisters-in-law and your nieces and nephews can’t even stand you. Have you no self-awareness?"
Ren Cuiping was speechless.
"If you really care about your daughter, then stand on your own two feet. When you’re capable, then you can think about taking her away. You can go wherever you want."
Ren Cuiping was speechless again. It was true; she was still relying on her two brothers.
"When your two brothers get here later, we don’t even know if Jiaojiao will be willing to acknowledge them! This is all your fault for the mess you’ve made."
"Dad, it was Mr. Sheng who took out a newspaper ad to disown her. How can you blame me?"
"If you and your daughter hadn’t been causing endless trouble, would Liang Yuan have been heartless enough to publish that ad? Why does Jiaojiao call him Mr. Sheng, but call you Ren Cuiping?"
Ren Cuiping opened her mouth but was once again at a loss for words. However, she now knew how to answer her second son next time.
Xiao Wen was always complaining on the phone that Gu Jiaojiao would call their eldest and third brothers "brother," but refused to call him "second brother"!
"Do you think Jiaojiao calls me Grandpa now because we were good to her in the past?"
"Isn’t that why? You and my two brothers used to treat her like a precious jewel. If she still won’t acknowledge you, then she’s truly an ungrateful..."
"You foolish thing! Still so stubbornly blind! Jiaojiao said that the ’Jiaojiao of the past’ is dead. Don’t you know what that means?"
"What does it mean?" Ren Cuiping had pondered this question in the quiet of the night, but she could never figure it out.
"It means that when you people married her off to Su Shuochi and then unilaterally disowned her, everything from the past was over.
Who she’s willing to acknowledge is a matter of kindness, dependent on her mood. Not acknowledging us is her right. Do you understand?"
"Sir, your granddaughter is at the courtyard gate," a bodyguard said respectfully.
"Hurry up and get upstairs. I’m going to see my precious Jiaojiao." After saying this, Mr. Ren walked away slowly.
His chronic leg pain was excruciating when it flared up. He could walk normally at other times, but after just a few steps, a piercing pain would shoot through him.
After the minimally invasive surgery, he no longer felt pain when sleeping or walking. Jiaojiao said a few more days of silver needle treatments would help his body recuperate and consolidate the recovery.
"Grandpa, are you feeling any better today?" Gu Jiaojiao asked loudly as soon as she entered the house.
"Much better! My leg doesn’t hurt at all anymore. Jiaojiao, you’ve worked so hard coming here under this hot sun. Come in and have some iced mung bean soup."
Mr. Ren said with a kindly expression, his attitude a stark contrast to how he spoke with his daughter.
"I just put my bowl down. Let’s do the silver needles first. Today is the last session of this course of treatment, so I won’t need to come over tomorrow."
"Good, good. My two sons are coming over later. They just called and said they’re almost at the gate of the compound."
Mr. Ren said cautiously, not daring to directly say "your two uncles."
Gu Jiaojiao was incredibly sharp; of course she understood her maternal grandfather’s meaning. Whether or not she acknowledged her uncles was entirely up to her.
She liked people who were self-aware. "Grandpa, let’s start the acupuncture now. By the time they arrive, we should be finished."
