Mu Chen clenched his hands tightly, unable to vent his pain.
Upon seeing this, Song Ning moved to his side and hugged him.
Mu Chen rested his head against her chest as he said sorrowfully, "The person my father wanted to marry back then was my aunt. However, my aunt broke off the engagement and eloped with another man. In order to preserve their reputation, my maternal grandfather and grandmother decided to marry my mother off in her sister's place instead since they were twins. My mother did not want to deceive the Mu family and came clean about her identity to Grandma and my father despite the Liang family's wish."
"After the pain subsided, my father forgave my mother, and Grandma accepted her. To be honest, if there weren't any feelings between my parents at that time, they would not have given birth to me. My mother was stubborn, especially when it came to love and marriage."
"After marrying into the Mu family, my mother severed her ties with her family. She said when they used her as sister's replacement, essentially selling her off, she had already decided to sever ties with them. Therefore, she had no one to rely on since then and devoted herself wholeheartedly to Grandma, my father, and the Mu family."
"However, in the end, my father still betrayed her. What made it worse was he betrayed her with my aunt who put her in this predicament in the first place. How could my mother endure something like this? Her life was ruined by her parents, her sister, and her husband. In the end, even Grandma and I couldn't pull her away from the edge; she could no longer hold on. For a period, she found meaning in Yi Yao at the point when she was so badly hurt that she was barely holding on. Unfortunately, in the end, it was not enough; she no longer had the strength nor courage to hold on…"
This was the first time Mu Chen had spoken so much in a breath.
Song Ning could only hug him and pat him gently. She understood the pain he was suffering. Alas, although she could empathize with him, it was impossible for her to share his pain. All she could do was stay by his side and love him unconditionally. She would give him all her love to heal his wounds and fill the hole in his heart.
At this moment, Mu Chen said tiredly, "Song Ning, for Grandma's sake, I'll compromise."
Song Ning knew it took a lot out of Mu Chen to make these decisions. She could only imagine the immensity of the pain in his heart. She squatted down in front of him and looked up at him as she said, "Chen, I agree that you compromise for Grandma's sake, but I don't want you to suffer as well. We still have a long life ahead of us; we'll have children of our own in the future. I think we'll be very happy, don't you think so? You'll definitely make me and our children the happiest people on the planet, right?"
Mu Chen looked at Song Ning's honest and bright face. He reached out and held her face as he solemnly said, "I promise I'll definitely make you and our children happy. I won't ever do anything to let you down or make you sad!"
Mu Chen's tears finally fell. His tears dripped on Song Ning's face as he leaned down to kiss her.
Song Ning responded to his kiss gently. She knew some scars could take a lifetime to heal. She was not in a rush because she knew that she and Mu Chen had a long and happy life to look forward to.
…
The next day, Mu Chen's mood was visibly better.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Jin felt much relieved.
Cheng Che had also heard about what happened last night so during breakfast, Song Ning and Jiang Jin went along with his attempt to lighten the mood.
Mu Chen was the only one who remained expressionless.
Jiang Jin would sneak a look at her grandson once in a while; it was inevitable that she was distracted.
Cheng Che sighed. His skills were far inferior compared to his sister-in-law.
After Mu Chen put down his chopsticks, he called, "Mr. Jiang."
Mr. Jiang promptly entered the dining room.
Mu Chen said casually, "This is Ningning's first new year with us; it'll be rather lively. Go and ask Mr. Mu if he's interested in joining us at home for the new year…"
Everyone froze upon hearing these words except for Song Ning.
Mu Chen pretended not to notice everyone's reactions. He said nonchalantly, "Grandma, don't get too worked up. Song Ning, you concentrate on taking care of Grandma's health, don't do anything tiring like cooking dinner for new year's eve. You're the Young Madam of the Mu family; there's no one you need to take care of except for Grandma."
Song Ning smiled brightly. "Alright, I'll only take care of Grandma. The Young Madam of the Mu family will do her best to only serve grandma, alright?"
Jiang Jin's eyes reddened. She turned away to hide her tears as she said in a teary voice, "Alright, alright…"
Sister Yu chimed in with a smile, "How can we let the Young Madam work so hard? All she needs to do is accompany the Old Madam, and we'll do the rest." Tears fell from her face as well when she spoke.
At this moment, Mu Chen rose to his feet and patted Cheng Che's shoulder. "It's time to go to work. If you want to have a good new year, you better take advantage of these two days to arrange your work. Song Ning has invited Jiahui over on the second day of the new year. If you want to be here at that time…"
Cheng Che hurriedly stood up, the cream bun still in his mouth, as he said, "Brother, I'm going to work overtime over these two days!"
Everyone could not help but laugh at Cheng Che's reaction.. There was no doubt Cheng Che was smitten with Jiahui.