Ning Ge had never in his life eaten such an indigestible meal; he felt what he swallowed wasn’t food but acid and resentment!
Indeed, Qi Taiguo had barged in to assert his status as the man of the house, and without needing Cheng Su to instruct him, he found a bowl and started eating, all the while glaring at him as if he were an unforgivable villain.
Cheng Su didn’t comment on Qi Taiguo’s actions, but throughout the meal, whenever Qi Taiguo wanted to pick up a dish, she would push it towards Ning Ge, displaying an unprecedented enthusiasm and care!
Ning Ge almost cried as he ate, barely stopping himself from saying to Cheng Su, "Please, don’t ’care’ for me anymore, I’m afraid Old Qi might knock me out with a sneak attack!"
After hastily gobbling down his food, Ning Ge claimed he was full and ran off in a puff of smoke.
The moment he left, Qi Taiguo turned to Cheng Su, who was eating calmly, and said, "Have you acted out enough of this drama?"
Cheng Su glanced over, a mocking smile on her lips, "What drama?"
Qi Taiguo put down his rice bowl, reached to grab her hand, and pleaded, "It’s my fault, I admit it. Can’t you just forgive me? This is torturing me!"
"Oh, our mighty Commander Qi has learned to admit his faults?" Cheng Su looked at him incredulously, "You’ve made a mistake? Where exactly did you go wrong? It’s all my fault, isn’t it? I’m the one being capricious and domineering, right?"
"No, that’s not it. Susu, my good Susu, my dear wife, I didn’t mean it. It was just a slip of the tongue; I misspoke. Please forgive me just this once!" Qi Taiguo tried to look pitiful, pleading his case.
Cheng Su put down her bowl and said nothing, just staring directly at him, making Qi Taiguo feel extremely anxious.
"Dear..."
"Qi Taiguo, it’s not just men who have self-esteem; I have it too, and I’m also very proud. What your mother did, that was trampling on my self-esteem. To give her some credit, maybe she’s too anxious for a grandchild to show respect—fine, I forgive her ignorance. But if she doesn’t understand, I’ll teach her. No matter how good the relationship is between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, it can never compare to that of a real mother and daughter. There should be mutual respect; I respect her, and I expect her to respect me."
She took a deep breath, "You blame me for breaking our agreement? I know you’d prefer to just let things slide, but would you ever talk about it? If I hadn’t brought it up, would you keep finding excuses to cover up the real reason why we don’t have children? How many times can you put off the issue? And would your mother ever stop trying to do these ridiculous things, or even worse?"
Qi Taiguo pursed his lips, tightening his grip on her hand.
"I’m tired of perpetuating lies, so I’d rather break the silence. Blame me if you will; either way, I’ve spoken up. If you think I’m not good enough and you really want children, if you want to please your mother, then fine—we can just get a divorce, and you can go find somebody else!"
Qi Taiguo’s expression changed, and he said, "Look at you, we were talking nicely, how did it come to this? Who wants to divorce you? Who’s desperate for children?"
Cheng Su turned her head away, saying, "Marrying someone is about having a person who feels for you and stands by your side when there’s trouble. But you? When conflicts arose, you didn’t choose to protect me."
That was the true source of her disappointment and sorrow.
"I know you’re angry; it’s all my fault. I failed to consider your perspective; I was just acting out of haste. I am a jerk. Hit me if you want!" Qi Taiguo grabbed her hand and began to hit his own face with it, "If hitting me makes you feel better, then do it, but please, just don’t mention divorce again."