Huang Lina, fuming with anger, arrived at the hospital and saw Zhao Mei smiling cheerfully, which infuriated her.
"Smile, smile, smile, that’s all you ever do." She was truly on the verge of exploding with anger at her own mother.
"It was clearly you who was happiest when Huang Xin had his accident."
"Now you’re making me handle everything."
Just thinking about it made Huang Lina so angry that she unleashed a torrent of fury on Zhao Mei.
Zhao Mei was used to Huang Lina’s temper tantrums, "So what, no matter what, Huang Xin is my son."
"He fell from the rooftop; don’t tell me it’s possible he chose to jump."
"Don’t tell me he was in debt. He’s just a kid, his monthly income is so little; how could he rack up such debt?"
"Even if he really did have debts, it wouldn’t be enough to kill him. Could it be someone was pressuring him for money, and that pressure made Little Xin fall?"
Given the current situation, Zhao Mei wasn’t too heartbroken about her son; all she thought about was squeezing every last benefit out of him.
"If there really was nothing wrong, then why, why can’t we contact the police?" Zhao Mei didn’t actually know the specifics, all she knew was that Huang Xin had an incident at the nightclub.
Huang Man used the threat of calling the police against her, and now Zhao Mei was doing the same; Huang Lina was so angry she felt like she might pass out.
"You want to call the police, then go ahead and do it." It had already been quite some time, and if she insisted on contacting the police, Huang Lina wouldn’t stop her.
Some people really don’t turn back until they hit a wall.
"Don’t say I didn’t tell you, if you do call them, once something happens, you must remember I warned you."
"Hmph, we live in a society governed by law. My son came to work here in good faith, and then there’s this nonsense about gambling debts and falling from a building; do you think I’ll believe that?"
"I know what you’re going to say, it’s all because your boss has connections; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to run such a big nightclub. So what?"
"I refuse to believe that no one will handle this."
Zhao Mei knew the flaws in the story through the grapevine of men and knew that many people in this industry would avoid dealing with certain organizations at all costs.
"If no one in the city will handle it, I can go to the province."
"That’s right, you said it yourself, Huang Man tutors the son of some wealthy boss, I can ask them to help investigate the situation."
"I’m heartbroken; my young son had such an accident." Zhao Mei knew that Huang Lina had no money, but that didn’t matter to her.
Her sights were set on the big shot behind Huang Lina, "I know you can contact them, you decide for yourself what to do."
This remark enraged Huang Lina; she knew Zhao Mei wasn’t naming her price, just waiting for their side to make an offer. If the price was right, of course, there would be no problem.
"Without money, you have no evidence," Huang Lina said discontentedly, "Huang Xin is in this state, and you don’t even think about me."
"I’m still working there." Really, someone happily took the money and left, but what about her, still working there? How was she supposed to face the boss? She felt like no one considered her situation at all.
"Consider you?" Zhao Mei looked at Huang Lina’s morose face, "Stop playing the victim; do I need to remind you how you make your money?"
"Don’t think that just because time has passed and there is no evidence, everything’s fine. He’s my only son, and I have a life that’s falling apart. I’ll plant your brother at the nightclub’s entrance."
"I’ll be there every night; I’ll see how he conducts his business." Zhao Mei only cared about the money at this point; she didn’t worry about what would become of Huang Xin.
Huang Xin, with fractures all over his body, couldn’t move, but his mind was clear.
Listening to the entire discussion between Zhao Mei and Huang Lina, he knew that once Zhao Mei got the money, it would be the end of him.
At that moment, he thought of Huang Zhiqiang. Initially, he too had suffered from broken bones all over his body. There were ways to treat him if needed, but the cost of the medication was heart-wrenching.
The other party had approached them to discuss compensation, and for the sake of money, they didn’t let Huang Zhiqiang live.
Unexpectedly, it wasn’t long since Huang Zhiqiang’s death, and now it was his turn.
He hadn’t married yet; he hadn’t had children. There were many experiences in life that he hadn’t had the chance to try.
Was his life going to end ? Huang Xin couldn’t accept it, "Mom, Mom."
"I, I am your son; you, I want, I want to live."
Huang Xin shouted with all his might to show his desire to live.
Upon hearing Huang Xin’s voice, Zhao Mei looked at him with a complex expression. Her son, whom she had cherished for more than a decade, had come to this.
Thinking of what the doctor had said about his condition, the pity in Zhao Mei’s heart vanished, "Son, Mom knows you want to live, but do you understand your current situation? Your limbs are useless now; there is no response below your neck."
"That means you are a living corpse. You can’t do anything anymore."
"Are you willing to be laughed at for the rest of your life?"
"I am also getting old, and my health is failing. I can’t take care of you much longer, and you know the situation with your sisters. Do you think any of them would take care of you?"
Zhao Mei spoke of her helplessness, but no matter what she said, the result was that she wouldn’t let him live.
The light in Huang Xin’s eyes dimmed, "Mom, you, don’t worry, I won’t disturb your marriage anymore."
Now he truly regretted not studying hard before. Otherwise, things wouldn’t have ended up .
He really shouldn’t have fallen out with Zhao Mei. If not for their quarrel, considering the love she had for him, she definitely wouldn’t have given up on him.
But now there was no way to change things, and all Huang Xin could do was to be compliant in various ways.
Zhao Mei was quite pleased to see Huang Xin no longer blustering, but actually taking the initiative to concede.
"Even if you were fine, I would marry if I wanted to, without needing your approval."
"Now you’re just a piece of trash, a living corpse; how could you possibly stop me?" Zhao Mei remembered how Huang Xin used to curse at her, how he hit her, and she bristled with anger.
Knowing that Huang Xin had no sensation below his neck didn’t matter; as long as he could feel above his neck, it was enough.
She reached out and slapped Huang Xin several times, "You ungrateful son, who would have thought you’d end up ?"
"You were always so arrogant and thought you were the toughest, didn’t you?"
"How does it feel now?"
"If you insist on living, fine, you’ll get three beatings a day. If you urinate or defecate and no one takes care of you, I’ll let you die in a pile of filth, starve you to death."
"No, that’s wrong; you probably can’t feel hunger."
Remembering her past humiliation, Zhao Mei was furious, treating Huang Xin with utter disdain.
Huang Lina watched her, feeling so estranged. Now she thought that the coldest person in the family must be Huang Xin.
Huang Zhiqiang had been so kind to her, yet she had unhesitantly taken the money without letting him live.
Now it was Huang Xin’s turn to be treated with the same disdain: the message was clear, as long as the money was right, no son, no man mattered.
Huang Lina took a deep breath. From now on, she truly needed to stay away from Zhao Mei, or else in her heart, she would be just another price to be negotiated.