The smile on Mrs. Jiang’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a hint of somberness. She lifted her head, her gaze steady as she looked at Lin Sanshui, asking, "Why not be anxious? The child is grown, marriage is inevitable. As parents, shouldn’t we take advantage of the time we have to find a good girl for him to marry?"
Lin Sanshui knew he was in the wrong on this matter, and quickly adjusted his tone, though his dark expression did not change. He said, "I already have plans for Dahu’s marriage, I just haven’t had time to tell you yet. I didn’t expect that, even though I told you yesterday to hold off on this matter, you still went and talked to Zhu Sangu. Now it’s difficult, isn’t it? If you backtrack on something you’ve already agreed upon, you’re offending people for no reason, aren’t you?"
"Since you’re afraid of offending people, then don’t backtrack!" Mrs. Jiang spoke with a hard tone, clearly very unhappy. "Besides, I can’t understand what arrangement you have made that even a mother like me can’t know about our child’s marriage prospects."
At this, Lin Sanshui fell silent.
Mrs. Jiang looked up at him and suddenly slammed her chopsticks down on the dining table, got up, and left.
The children sat there in silence, except for the still naive Little Hu, though the others had their own thoughts.
That night, Gu Nian heard a noise.
By the time she came out, Lin Sanshui had just slammed the door and left. "I’ve said I have my own plans for Dahu’s marriage. Why do you, a woman, need to pry so much? With our current standing, there are many girls lining up to enter our home. If we offend just one Zhu Sangu, does it mean the child won’t find a wife?"
As Lin Sanshui finished saying this, he happened to see Gu Nian, who was coming out. His face showed some embarrassment, his eyes slightly evasive, and without another word, he left.
"Dad, it’s the middle of the night. Where are you going?" Erhu came out and asked, looking at his departing figure.
"It’s stifling staying at home. I’m going out for a while. You all go to sleep, no need to wait for my return."
Dahu, hearing these words, had a deep gaze, patted Erhu’s arm, and then said to Gu Nian, "Nian, you go check on mom. Erhu and I will see where dad is going!"
After Dahu and Erhu left, Gu Nian went to the main room, where Mrs. Jiang was sitting on the bed, looking down at the shattered chair in front of her, her tears silently falling.
"Mom, are you okay?" Gu Nian embraced her and asked, finding this state of Mrs. Jiang heart-wrenching.
Mrs. Jiang gave a bitter smile, "Niannian, tell me, does he have someone else out there?"
Mrs. Jiang wasn’t foolish. Lin Sanshui’s abnormal behavior hadn’t just started today; she wasn’t oblivious.
But life must go on, and there were some things she dared not think about.
However, today’s return of Dahu and Erhu shattered her self-deceptive thoughts. What shocked her even more was the influence that person outside had on Lin Sanshui, enough for him to lose his temper with her.
"Mom, don’t think too much. Maybe dad’s just in a bad mood today." Gu Nian could feel how powerless her words were.
Mrs. Jiang wiped her tears, turned her head, and said, "Go on back to sleep, mom’s fine now."
"Mom, let me stay and keep you company tonight?" Naturally, Gu Nian was worried.
But Mrs. Jiang shook her head, "Another time, today I want to be alone."
Gu Nian had no choice but to leave first.
Just as she was about to exit the door, she heard Mrs. Jiang muttering to herself, "It’s all money’s fault. When you don’t have money, you think of it every day, but once you have it, your mind becomes restless..."