It was just a conversation between men, nothing more than an elder showing concern for a younger generation, which gradually eased Lin Xinyuan’s heart.
When the elderly uncle asked when the two of them would get married, so he could prepare a wedding gift.
During the subsequent chat, none of the uncles brought up the past, but inevitably, they still touched on her matter with the Yellow-Haired Brat.
The girl’s face flushed, unsure how to respond, but Qin Nanfeng answered calmly, “Xiaoyuan and I plan to get married right after graduation, though we can have the engagement this year. I’ve already discussed it with my family.”
Hearing this, the admiration in the old man’s eyes deepened.
“It’s good that you won’t have to deal with any more trouble… but I’m really happy for you two. Still, because of my nephew, even if you do get married, the Lin Family…” He shook his head with a sigh.
As he spoke, the elder glanced at the girl whose face was bright red with shyness, and sighed inwardly.
‘That sister-in-law and nephew of mine have not only ruined this girl’s life, but nearly dragged down my grandnephew… no, grandniece now…’
‘Cutting ties is better anyway, saves us all from endless turmoil…’
‘Surely, if my third brother were to learn of Chongshan’s actions, he would be furious.’
The elder unconsciously thought of his brother who had died young in a car accident, a wave of nostalgia washing over him.
After all, when they were kids, he and his third brother had been especially close…
Originally, his third brother had a good job as a driver, but then that man named Zai tricked him…
Tricked him into smuggling illegal goods, and on top of that, the car had broken down, killing someone.
He was made to take all the blame, and eventually, unable to bear it, he committed suicide.
But back then, I was just a minor village official, unable to do anything. My reports vanished into thin air.
In the end, I was threatened and had to endure, or else I might have endangered my family.
My own circumstances were far from good, only barely able to help my nephew a little.
Yet I couldn’t feel happy at all… The company was actually reported and finally caught.
The man is already gone… it’s too late… Surely that old bastard and his descendants are having a hard time now.
But I never expected that heaven would not let such injustice go unpunished. After so many years, the Zai Family has finally been brought to justice.
What’s the use of punishment now?
Even death is too merciful for them…
At the thought, even the weathered old man couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow, but he would not show it in front of the younger generation.
All the grieving had already been done…
After that, Lin Xinyuan and the others were kept talking by the three elders for a while, until Lin Xinyu, who had been waiting, couldn’t hold back and said, “Grandpa, let me take them down to wait for the Gong Zu?”
Hearing this, the elder wasn’t annoyed by the interruption, just smiled. “Go on, go on! Us old folks don’t have much to talk about with young people anyway.”
At that, Lin Xinyuan quickly pulled her boyfriend up, said their goodbyes to the elders, and followed her cousin, who gave them a meaningful look.
Clearly, the girl felt that the uncles were very kind to her, but they always liked to ask questions that embarrassed her… making her very uncomfortable.
The elder watched the girl drag the tall, handsome young man away in a hurry and chuckled.
“That child… her personality really does remind me of her grandaunt when she was young.”
Uncle Ming and Yaoquan exchanged glances, not knowing what to say.
The three continued to drink tea and chat…
At half past ten, the procession finally reached the villa.
Firecrackers crackled without end, red confetti scattered all over the ground, drums and gongs sounded, and the air was filled with excitement.
Lin Xinyuan and Qin Nanfeng stood by the roadside watching, while Lin Xinyu went to help his family set off firecrackers.
The girl didn’t react much; after all, she had seen the procession every year since she was a child. It was nothing new.
But Qin Nanfeng was different. It was his first time witnessing such a scene.
The lion dance troupe, the floating colors, even the young man standing on the divine palanquin with a spike piercing his cheek—all of it fascinated him.
Especially when the girl told him about the folk custom of piercing with the Ling Jian. Though surprised, he had no opinion on it—he was just a spectator.
By the time the procession ended, the chef hired by the elder’s family had almost finished preparing the food, and soon it would be time for the feast.
Since there were sixteen tables in total, even though the courtyard was fairly large, it couldn’t fit them all.
So besides the one table indoors for the immediate family, several tables were set up outside.
After watching the procession, Aunt Yi and Uncle Ming wanted Lin Xinyuan and Qin Nanfeng to sit at the indoor table, but the two politely declined.
After all, it was the host’s family table; they would feel out of place sitting there.
Besides, honestly, it would make the girl uncomfortable, so they decided to sit outside instead.
That way, the people at their table wouldn’t know them, and they wouldn’t feel awkward.
Seeing this, Aunt Yi didn’t insist.
The plan worked well, and Lin Xinyuan did enjoy the meal, since she wasn’t stuck with the elders and feeling awkward.
Though there were still many curious glances and whispers from nearby… overall, it was tolerable.
But just as the feast was halfway through, someone the girl really didn’t want to see at that moment suddenly appeared—
Lin Chongshan hadn’t been doing well lately. Ever since he borrowed money to pay off Mother Lin’s debts, his life had fallen apart.
Even though his wages at the electronics factory were decent, the pressure was immense.
Not only did he have to repay the friends who were pressing him for money, but he also had a monthly mortgage to cover.
What was left was barely enough to get by.
So after struggling for nearly a year, he was finally forced to sell the house in the county to barely clear his debts.
It was only then that he looked back and realized he had worked hard for half his life, only to end up with nothing… his wife and child gone, though it had never been a real marriage anyway…
But why did it turn out this way?
He couldn’t help but reflect on his past.
At twelve, his father committed suicide, leaving his mother to raise him and his younger siblings alone while also paying off debts.
He gave up his cherished studies to help his mother support the family.
He couldn’t bear to see his mother exhausted every day…
He walked for hours just to pick up leftover fish and shrimp from the beach to sell…
He farmed… herded cattle… and even got up early every day and walked miles.
He did every kind of hard labor without a single complaint, because he didn’t dare to complain.
Perhaps his sole mistake was giving in to temptation and violating the girl he had saved from human traffickers.
Later, he regretted it, but what use was regret?
What was done was done. He just wanted to take responsibility.
Even when the girl became pregnant with his child, and even when his mother forced her to give birth, she still chose to come back to him, maybe out of resignation.
They even got a marriage certificate.
But she still treated him coldly, ignored him, wouldn’t even let him touch her.
That was only to be expected…
It didn’t matter, really. He just wanted to earn enough money so his mother could have a good life someday.
But before he could achieve that goal, right after he had finally paid off his debts, his mother suddenly passed away.
He dropped everything and came back.
But watching his younger siblings shirk their share of the funeral expenses and even start discussing how to divide their mother’s savings…
He suddenly realized that after all his hard work and sacrifice, putting them through school, had it all been for nothing? Had their education gone straight to the dogs?
He had paid off debts, shouldered the family’s burden as the eldest, given up his most cherished dream of going to school—and this was what he got in return?
A chill ran through his heart, and something seemed to dawn on him. Gradually, he stopped asking about his son, stopped caring about anything.
He felt he should start living for himself… He wanted to be selfish…
He didn’t want to invest too much anymore, afraid of raising more ungrateful wretches…
He just wanted to no longer be so pathetic and humble, begging for extensions on monthly payments. He wanted to keep his dignity.
But when he learned that his only son had become a daughter, and saw that effeminate appearance, a feeling of betrayal surged up in him.
It made him feel that all his efforts had indeed been in vain. Even his son was a joke from fate, and he just couldn’t accept it…
Fearing that others would laugh at him, when Mother Lin proposed a divorce, he didn’t refuse or haggle for more benefits.
In a fit of rage, he kicked the girl out of the house. Later, Mother Lin came to him…
He didn’t want to be mocked anymore…
But now, he regretted it. He regretted not thinking before he acted.
But just like twenty years ago, when he regretted violating that girl, regret was useless. There’s no cure for regret in life.
Everything was his own choice… He quit his job and returned to this rundown old house he hadn’t been back to in ages.
Even during the New Year, he was all alone, desolate beyond words.
No one cared about him, this failure… He even disgusted himself…
Until today, hearing the noise outside, he finally remembered it was the fifth day of the lunar new year—the village’s annual Nianli celebration.
He got up and wandered aimlessly through the village, unconsciously ending up at his elder uncle’s house.
He thought, since he was here, he might as well go in and take a look.
But he never expected to see a figure that made his eyes sting.