TPH Chapter 36.1

The Protagonist’s Halo [Arc 2] Chapter 36.1: True Love In Period Literature (20)

The Jiang family is currently engaged in a major family war.

“Mom, how could you take Xiaokang to see a psychiatrist?” the young man, Xiao Jiang, asked helplessly and with confusion.

The young and pretty wife, Qin Dong, sat at one end of the sofa, holding her sleeping son, fuming and silent, her face full of displeasure. If it weren’t for a phone call from her classmate at the hospital, she wouldn’t have known that her mother-in-law had taken her son, Jiang Kang, to see a psychiatrist.

What kind of mother-in-law would suspect her grandson of being mentally ill? Qin Dong rushed to the hospital in a fit of anger, snatched her son back, and immediately started making a scene at home.

When questioned by her son, Mother Jiang felt a little guilty. “I was just worried about my grandson.”

She then exclaimed, “I am his grandmother, and Xiaokang is my only grandson. How could I possibly wish for anything bad to happen to him?”

Xiao Jiang said with a headache, “But we can’t take him to a psychiatrist. Xiao Kang is still so young, what could be wrong with him? Mom, don’t listen to people talking nonsense.”

His mother spends all day chatting with people in the park. When she comes back, she says things like “this dish can’t be eaten” or “that thing can cause cancer.” She believes everything she hears.

“Qin Dong’s sister has a mental illness, and people say that mental illness is hereditary.” Mother Jiang blurted out the real reason.

Upon hearing the mention of Qin Dong’s sister, Qin Dong’s expression immediately darkened. She stood up, picked up the child, and went into the room, closing the door behind him.

Xiao Jiang sighed and explained to her mother, “Qin Dong’s sister, that’s not how it is at all, you know that.”

Mother Jiang then said matter-of-factly, “I’m just worried. If something is wrong, it’s better to find out sooner rather than later.”

She thought to herself, “Qin Dong’s sister is clearly mentally ill, otherwise why would she be locked up in a sanatorium for her entire life? Qin Dong and Qin Qiu are sisters, blood relatives, and Jiang Kang is her eldest grandson. What if he also inherits the disease?”

Mother Jiang felt that she was doing everything she could for her grandson, but she ended up being scolded by her son.

“Mom, don’t worry, Xiaokang is perfectly fine. You don’t need to take him for any checkups anymore. Qin Dong and I are here for him.” Xiao Jiang added, “And Mom, you know Xiao Dong doesn’t like to talk about her sister, and she doesn’t want her son to know he has an aunt. You should talk about it less in the future.”

After much persuasion, he finally convinced his mother not to listen to others and do something like taking her grandson to the hospital for a mental illness checkup again, as it would make her a laughingstock. When Xiao Jiang returned to the room, he comforted his wife Qin Dong, who was still angry and had a cold face, “This time it was my mother’s fault. I’ve already explained it to her, and she won’t do it again.”

Qin Dong turned her head and said resentfully, “Does your mother suspect that I also have a mental illness and might shoot someone at any time?”

Xiao Jiang frowned. “Why would you think that?”

He knew that Qin Qiu’s matter was a taboo subject for Qin Dong and even her family. Once it was touched upon, people would inevitably speak harshly. He tried his best to act as a mediator between his mother and daughter-in-law, and said softly, “We are all family now. Don’t say such things in the future. The child is already three years old. Mom is just easily swayed and confused.”

Qin Dong sneered, “I think your mother is regretting letting you marry me right now.”

If she hadn’t already married Xiao Jiang and been pregnant before that incident, Mother Jiang would have indeed had designs on him. After all, the incident was too sensational, known to everyone, and caused a great uproar. Not only did her mother quit her job, but she herself couldn’t stay at the Capital Hospital and had to be transferred to a less desirable hospital.

Then consider that after Father Qin was forced to retire early, her eldest brother also encountered many setbacks in the army, and in the end, his sister-in-law divorced him and went abroad without even wanting the child.

Faced with such a sudden and drastic change in circumstances, how could Qin Dong not be terrified, along with resentment towards her sister Qin Qiu? For so many years, she had been entangled in this relationship, going through divorce and job changes, only to end up doing something so insane. Qin Dong couldn’t believe her sister would have the audacity to steal her father’s gun and shoot someone at their wedding.

Just think about how many guests were at that wedding, all of them powerful and influential figures. Even though Qin Qiu only injured the groom, Chen Xi, and was quickly subdued by the guards, it was enough to terrify everyone else.

Qin Qiu acted impulsively and recklessly, but they had to bear all the consequences. Her father aged ten years overnight and suffered attacks from all sides. This was because of the lost gun and because of her failure to properly raise her daughter.

Now, her child is being suspected by his own grandmother of having inherited mental illness.

Because of this resentment, Qin Dong visited her older sister at the sanatorium very few times, and she didn’t even want to go back to her maternal family, the Qin family.

Because of Qin Qiu’s shot, the Chen family lost a promising and outstanding heir, as well as their patriarch, who could have protected them. They wanted Qin Qiu dead. And yet, they ended up bearing the brunt of this anger.

Qin Dong believed from the bottom of her heart that they favored her older sister. Why didn’t they think more about her and her older brother, who had such bright futures ahead of them? Because of Qin Qiu, their entire Qin family was ruined.

Mother Qin went to great lengths to save her eldest daughter, and the best outcome was that she was eventually diagnosed with mental illness and admitted to a sanatorium.

In fact, Father and Mother Qin regretted it afterward. If they hadn’t thought it was suitable and forced Qin Qiu into marriage, and if they hadn’t indulged Qin Qiu so much after the mistake, this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.

Even Father Qin, who had been stubborn and inflexible for most of his life, felt genuine heartache and sorrow after his initial anger when faced with this tragedy. His daughter, who had caused him both shame and anger, had completely ruined herself after committing such a terrible crime. At such a young age, she would be imprisoned in a sanatorium for the rest of her life and would be seen as a madwoman by the world.

As a father, he felt no better than anyone else.

Father Qin couldn’t help but reflect on himself, wondering if he had really done something wrong.

His daughter went mad and stole a gun to kill someone because of love. Just as others accused him, how could he, as a father, bear no responsibility at all?

…

Few people come to visit Qin Qiu at the sanatorium. Some, like Qin Dong, are unwilling to come, while others, like Qin Qiu’s aunt and friends, are turned away outside. Mother Qin has no goodwill towards those who supported and facilitated Qin Qiu and Chen Xi’s relationship.

Her daughter went mad because of this love affair, her husband, who had spent most of his life in the military, was attacked and forced to retire. After he left, the relationship turned cold and desolate. The marriages and careers of her other two children were also affected. Mother Qin really did not want to see those people again, not even her own sister.

One of these few exceptions was Bai Xiang, Qin Qiu’s assistant when she worked as an editor at the newspaper.

Qin Qiu had always been someone Bai Xiang both trusted and admired. In her eyes, Qin Qiu was perfect in every way. Later, she heard that Qin Qiu was sick and had taken leave, but she never expected that the news about Qin Qiu would be so shocking and devastating.

After everything had settled down and no one was discussing it anymore, she couldn’t help but visit Qin Qiu at the sanatorium. In the white ward, seeing the woman dressed simply sitting on the bed looking out the window, Bai Xiang called out, “Teacher Qin.”

Qin Qiu turned around and smiled at her, not at all like someone who had gone mad. “Bai Xiang, did you come to see me?”

Qin Qiu seemed to be doing well in the sanatorium, and her appearance was still beautiful. However, she would be imprisoned in this place for the rest of her life. It was hard to say whether she was better off than Chen Xi, who was forever confined to a wheelchair.

“Bai Xiang,” Qin Qiu’s voice was as gentle and soft as she remembered, “would you like to hear my story with him?”

From their first meeting in a university classroom, to his persistent pursuit of Qin Qiu, which made her heart flutter, to Qin Qiu divorcing her husband, ruining her reputation for him, traveling thousands of miles to the Northwest for him, waiting for him in the capital for four years, and finally returning home to hear that he was getting married, she was heartbroken and desperate.

Qin Qiu would rather Chen Xi be dead than watch him marry someone else and spend the rest of his life being laughed at by others. He had let her down. For Chen Xi, she lost everything: she gave up her marriage, defied her parents, endured all the pressure of public opinion, and sacrificed four years of her youth.

How can a perfunctory “I’m sorry” make up for it?

In that instant, Qin Qiu recalled the apologies she had said to her ex-husband Lin Hua during their divorce, and how similar they were.

Now that she herself is in this predicament, she realizes how ridiculous those words were. So no matter how sincere and moving Chen Xi’s words were, they could not move Qin Qiu.

Qin Qiu could imagine how she would become a laughingstock after Chen Xi got married. Her mother comforted her, saying there was still a future, and she could find a new partner. But the public opinion from four years ago had exhausted all her courage. How could she start over? Should she let others know how much of a failure she had been, how ridiculous and laughable her past was? Or should she change jobs several times, or even move to a new place to live?

Qin Qiu could not bear the thought of her life becoming such a mess.

Qin Qiu knew that her father always had a spare pistol locked in a cabinet in his study. She had seen it with her own eyes, and her mother also had a copy of the key.

She was the daughter of a general, and despite living under her father’s extreme and strict oppression, she always took pride in her identity. So, she thought of ending everything that made her feel ashamed in such a resolute and tragic way.

After firing the gun, she didn’t know whether Chen Xi was alive or dead. She trembled all over, feeling completely lost. All the love she once had for Chen Xi was now just resentment.

It’s better to be crazy, Qin Qiu hopes he’s crazy so he doesn’t have to face reality. In this way, Qin Qiu, who is deceiving himself, has truly gotten what he wanted.

Bai Xiang spent the entire afternoon at the sanatorium. Through Qin Qiu’s story, she learned how heartless and unfaithful Chen Xi was, shattering her beautiful illusions about love. She had witnessed Qin Qiu and Chen Xi’s reunion, a moment so moving, but at that time she had no idea that this seemingly perfect couple would so quickly end up in such a tragic way.

Bai Xiang sympathizes with and pities Teacher Qin, but Qin Qiu’s madness is also frightening.

“Teacher Qin, do you regret it?” Bai Xiang hesitated for a moment before asking. In Qin Qiu’s story, she could have had a peaceful but happy and comfortable married life. It was Chen Xi who ruined it, dragged her into a whirlwind of love, and in the end, he failed to protect her and abandoned her.

Qin Qiu fell silent and looked out the window again.

“It’s time for the patient to take their medication.” The nurse’s voice brought Bai Xiang’s visit to an end.

Downstairs, a few medical staff were chatting and gossiping, “Do you know that patient in room 504 on the third floor? How come she’s so young and already in a sanatorium?”

“She doesn’t seem to have any mental problems. She’s very cooperative when getting injections and taking medication, and she even reads books occasionally.”