WBSGVS Chapter 83 V2

Qingli silently looked at them, her expression cold, as if she were facing strangers.

Du Chuan grew uneasy seeing her silence but, recalling their current situation, he couldn’t help but force a smile. “What’s wrong? Don’t you recognize us anymore? I’m your grandfather. I’ve heard that you visit your parents’ grave every year, and I always see fresh fruit there. You are a filial child.”

Qingli continued to watch them without any reaction.

Du Chuan grew quieter, his words faltering as he saw no response. The monologue he was trying to carry out lost its purpose, and his eyes reddened with emotion. “Are you still holding a grudge about what happened back then? You were just a child. I didn’t want to give you money because I was worried someone would take you away.”

Zhang Shuangshuang nodded in agreement, her voice soft and loving. “Your grandfather is right. He’s been regretting it all these years. He made a mistake back then, but he just couldn’t bring himself to apologize to you.”

Qingli smiled, but her expression was not warm. They used to be unsettled by her smile, but after all these years, it still had the same effect. However, it made her feel uneasy now.

As expected, Qingli spoke, “Don’t go on with these meaningless excuses. Do you think I don’t know how you felt back then?”

Du Chuan’s face turned pale, and he grew both angry and anxious, but mostly fearful. He had aged terribly, and with his only son emotionally distant, he realized that his savings—over a thousand yuan—wouldn’t even cover his living expenses as the cost of living rose and his health deteriorated. Unable to farm anymore, his money slowly dwindled, leaving him in a panic.

He tried to mend his relationship with his son but failed. Du Qing had never forgiven him for forcing him to borrow money years ago, and even though he followed the village’s customs, it was never enough.

Now, Du Chuan couldn’t even afford to buy cigarettes, his addiction was forced to go unfulfilled due to a lack of funds.

Since his son refused to help, Du Chuan had resigned himself to the idea that he would grow old and lonely. However, when he heard his granddaughter was now successful, he saw a glimmer of hope.

The two old people rushed to the town, hopping onto a tractor, hoping they might finally have a chance to talk to her. They waited by the gate, and eventually, they saw her.

Yet, when she spoke, it was as cold and distant as twelve years ago—no warmth, no recognition, just the feeling that they were strangers, not grandfather and granddaughter.

Du Chuan didn’t dare to be angry, only begging, “Qingli, I was wrong before, but I’m so old now. Please forgive me.”

Qingli smiled even wider, “Sure, I forgive you.”

Du Chuan was overjoyed, thinking he had made progress, but Qingli quickly added, “I still have something to do, I’ll be going now~” She turned and walked away swiftly, her steps large and purposeful. In an instant, she was back in the car, along with the two children.

The car soon started and drove off, leaving them behind with a face full of exhaust fumes.

Du Chuan stood frozen, slowly turning to look at his wife.

Zhang Shuangshuang, equally at a loss, met his gaze.

Du Chuan muttered, “Did she forgive us, or not?”

Zhang Shuangshuang replied in a similarly confused tone, “I think she forgave us…”

But what did forgiveness mean? Shouldn’t she at least have talked to them, heard them out, and then taken them home to care for them?

Du Chuan’s heart trembled. He wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye and had to admit that his granddaughter had no feelings for them anymore.

He had calculated everything, but in the end, he would grow old with no one to depend on.

—The End—

In the luxurious yet tasteful villa, a group of well-dressed men and women sat around a dining table. Behind them, chefs in white uniforms stood, with plates of exquisite food in front of them.

Everyone moved elegantly, taking their time. Soft classical music played in the background, contributing to the silence of the room.

Seated in the center of the table was a young woman, around twenty-four or twenty-five, who appeared especially nervous. As she carefully cut her steak, it seemed like she was facing a monumental challenge, handling the knife and fork with great caution.

Just then, a girl beside her, with a mischievous smile, pretended to be careless and shifted slightly, bumping into the woman.

The sound of a sharp “creak!” echoed as the knife, fork, and plate collided loudly.

Everyone turned to look at her, making the already nervous woman feel even more embarrassed. Cold sweat formed on her forehead as she lowered her head, trying to hide her distress from others.

A middle-aged woman sitting closer to the head of the table furrowed her brow and spoke up with a hint of displeasure, “Ah Xing, didn’t you say you were going to teach her some manners? Fortunately, we’re family, but if we were out in public, my Ye family’s reputation would be ruined.”

The person being called out was the young man beside the woman, and he frowned in response. “I know, Mom. Qingli has only just married into the family. Please try to be understanding.”

“Only just?” The middle-aged woman smiled ambiguously, not saying anything more.

But the implication was clear to everyone.

They had been married for almost a year now!

“Just ‘not long’?”

Yet, the middle-aged woman remained silent. However, the mischievous girl, without restraint, loudly said, “Big Brother, this is your fault. Sister-in-law’s been married for almost a year, and still doesn’t know proper etiquette. How embarrassing.”

“Ha!”

As soon as the girl finished speaking, a teenage boy with yellow-dyed hair laughed, unbothered by decorum. “Exactly! I stopped having etiquette lessons when I was eight.”

“So, how many years did you study? How many years did I study?” The woman, who had been keeping her head down, suddenly raised it, calmly and straightforwardly asking.

The boy’s smile faltered, and he instinctively answered, “Four… four years…”

“Oh, four years?” Qingli curled her lips into a smile, the corners of her eyes and brows showing a hint of amusement, though also a trace of sarcasm.

The boy’s face flushed, and he pursed his lips, feeling embarrassed. Unable to say anything further in front of everyone, he quietly fell silent.

The girl who had been laughing also sulked, but she had no way to argue.

They had all started learning manners at age three or four, studying daily, and by eight or nine, they were deemed qualified. But they were mocking someone who had only been learning for less than a month.

“Enough!” The middle-aged woman’s expression grew cold. “Let’s eat in peace!”

“Got it,” came a scattered chorus of responses.

The group continued their meal.

Qingli watched as the original owner, still uneasy, ate only a small portion of the tender steak, cautiously picking at the edges. Slowly, Qingli picked up her knife and fork and began cutting the steak seriously.

This time, her movements were less cautious and more relaxed.

The steak was of high quality, and the chef’s skills were impressive, so cutting it wasn’t difficult. The main issue was the original owner’s anxiety, rooted in the occasion and the lingering embarrassment from a previous mistake.

The original owner’s name was Fu Qingli. The young man beside her was her husband, Ye Minxing. The Ye family was a wealthy, well-known family, while the original owner came from humble, even impoverished, beginnings. By chance, the original owner and Ye Minxing had met, fallen in love, and eventually married.

It seemed like a fairy tale, a Cinderella story with a happy ending.

Unfortunately, life after marriage wasn’t what the original owner had imagined. It was stifling, frustrating, and filled with disappointment. The couple often argued. While the Ye family played a part in this, the more significant issue was the comparison with a certain woman who made the original owner feel inferior in the eyes of the Ye family.

This woman was Su Tang, the eldest daughter of the Su family, who had once pursued Ye Minxing and caused a stir before gracefully stepping aside after his marriage.

The story of this world unfolded from Su Tang’s perspective.

From Su Tang’s point of view, Ye Minxing and Fu Qingli’s love was like something from a sweet romance novel. They were destined for each other, mutually infatuated. Su Tang, who liked Ye Minxing, was like the villainess in a story—stirring things up only to end up playing matchmaker, making their love even stronger as they overcame every difficulty.

In the end, Su Tang, the villainess, caused the ruin of the Su family through her actions. A boy who had always liked her chose to confess his wrongdoings to take the blame for her, and in the process, he lost his life in a prison brawl.

But Su Tang was reborn.

She was reborn at the moment just before Ye Minxing and Fu Qingli were about to get married.

At that time, she loved him deeply, but after being reborn, Su Tang decided not to love him anymore. She turned to be with a loyal, devoted young man and decided to watch the lives of the protagonists unfold.

However, after watching them from a distance, Su Tang realized that without the “villainess” to stir the pot, the issues between Ye Minxing and Fu Qingli were far more numerous than she had thought!

For instance, Fu Qingli, with her humble background, knew so little about etiquette that just a few words from Su Tang could make her flustered and make mistakes, drawing the ridicule of those around her.

The Ye family also disliked their daughter-in-law. The Ye family had been around for centuries and had survived even the toughest of times. In their eyes, a proper daughter-in-law should be someone like Su Tang—well-matched in status—not someone from a poor, small background who had been in the entertainment industry.

Indeed, Fu Qingli and Ye Minxing met because both were in show business.

However, Fu Qingli was obscure, having been part of a popular TV series in the past, but never becoming famous herself. Her acting was decent enough to land roles, and her income was fair.

Su Tang, on the other hand, was a true “rich girl,” never lacking resources and having wealth to back her up.

By chance, Ye Minxing had been forced to visit Su Tang on set, and that’s where he met Fu Qingli, sparking this fateful encounter.

It could be said that Su Tang had been the biggest matchmaker for these two.

But once Su Tang stopped liking Ye Minxing and grew wiser, the situation began to change.

Even a simple visit to the Ye family with gifts caused them to lavish praise on her, while Fu Qingli, awkward and introverted, was barely noticed. The contrast was undeniable.

Caught between his family and Fu Qingli, Ye Minxing was exhausted from meditating. Meanwhile, his wife still clung to her career, leaving him in an even more difficult position. During a particularly stressful moment, Su Tang, once his admirer but now his supportive friend, would casually say a few words of comfort, making Ye Minxing and Fu Qingli’s relationship begin to cool.

Ye Minxing, who had once never even glanced at Su Tang, began to say, during a heated argument, “Why can’t you understand me like Su Tang does?”