Chapter 156: Buying Clothes
After being hit by Meng Yunhan countless times, Han Ruochen had learnt her lesson. She had become accustomed to such situations. Her mother would bash her every time such a thing happened. Whenever her father refused to listen to her, she would raise her hand at her and sure enough. When she heard that Han Ruochen was bent on acting as a spendthrift, she raised her head and wanted to hit Han Ruochen a few times, but she couldn’t, as Han Ruochen was skilfully avoiding her.
When Han Yichen saw the ugly actions of his wife, his expression turned even more sombre. He knew that Meng Yunhan was not a good mother now, but he never thought that she was even hitting his children. He was furious when he looked at how skilfully his daughter was avoiding his wife. But then again, given how Meng Yunhan treated Han Ruochen and the rest, it was not a surprise.
"Ruochen, you go with Beijiang. Make sure to buy three sets of clothes; Dad still has some abilities even if we do not have much money at home." Moving away from Meng Yunhan, Han Yichen left the house immediately while pulling Han Ruochen and Han Beijiang along with him.
Han Ruochen did not know whether her father had been agitated after what happened last night or whether he was bent on teaching a lesson to her mother, but whatever the reason was, as long as he was putting the money in her hand, she did not have any qualms.
After they stepped out of the house, her father, just as promised, gave her five hundred yuan. He told her to use the money as she wished and buy as many clothes as he liked. While he was saying these words to her, she could see that her father was feeling guilty.
Guilty over the fact that he did not notice the torment that their mother was inflicting on them.
Han Ruochen did not say a word of comfort to her father. She knew she was being cruel, but Han Ruochen knew that this was necessary. If she comforted her father, she knew that it might backfire on her.
She looked at the money in her hand; Han Ruochen’s mind went blank. This was the first time she had received money from her parents or at least one parent; all this while, she had only been used to giving and handing out money to her mother.
"What’s the matter?" Han Ruochen looked like she was in too much awe. This made Han Yichen feel happy and sour. It seemed like he had shortchanged his children a lot. Even if Han Ziyan lost her mother at a very young age, they were not the one who harmed her mother. There was no need for them to be careful around Han Ziyan or even to treat her better than their own kids. He did not owe anything to the Meng family, and even if he did, he had repaid everything.
"It feels unreal that I have received money...usually I was only supposed to hand the money over to my mother."
This simple comment of Han Ruochen was accompanied by a lot of sadness. She could earn money, but the thought that her father cared for her and even wanted to take care of her and her brother was enough to touch her.
"Don’t worry, you don’t have to do it anymore. Dad will take care of you all from now on," said Han Yichen. He felt very bad when he saw the look on Han Ruochen’s face. He came from an era of poverty and hard life. At that time, the people could not even fill their stomachs, much less get enough money to buy clothes. So, because of this, he never paid attention to the situation at home.
Han Yichen believed that as long as his children were well fed and had clothes to cover their bodies, everything was alright. He never once thought that he was shortchanging them. Not until now did he realise that maybe he had indeed paid little to no attention to his children.
It seemed like he had made his children suffer quite a lot.
"Ruochen, did Dad make you all suffer a lot these past few years?"
"Dad, will you believe me if I coax you and say no?" Having lived a life like a fool, this time, Han Ruochen did not want to deny and continue to suffer as she did in her past life. She stayed quiet in the past because she did not want to trouble her father, and under her mother’s continued brainwashing, she even became distant from her father. In the end, it was her father who came to look for her when she was dying.
Two lifetimes she had suffered under her mother for two lifetimes.
She no longer wanted to suffer in the hands of her mother.
"Dad, we are your children. No matter how much you feel guilty toward mother, is it worth putting us all on the line?"
They were Han Yichen’s biological children, and yet the one who was taking advantage of him was Han Ziyan, the bastard who was born as a result of an affair. How could this be justified? The one suffering and living carefully should have been Han Ziyan and not them. Her brother should never have been forced to marry a woman he did not like, and her sister should not have been sold off.
But they were forced to suffer. In the end, who benefited from it? It was her mother and Han Ziyan, the culprits, who ruined their family!
"You are right; I was too muddleheaded in the past," said Han Yichen. "Here, take this fifty yuan and have a nice dinner at a restaurant. Don’t bring any money back." Compared to the ten thousand yuan that Meng Yunhan wasted, this five hundred yuan was nothing.
Han Ruochen agreed without saying anything. Even if her father had not said anything, she wouldn’t have brought the money back home because that would ultimately benefit Han Ziyan and she would never allow that to happen ever again in this life.
