Back To The 80s-Chapter 607 - 600: Rage_1

Fang Jing’s sister-in-law kept poisoning her brother’s ears, urging Fang Jing to get married as soon as possible. In these times, being divorced with a child not only made finding a suitable partner much harder, but it also often meant settling for a widower or another divorcee with children.

Her father, too, urged her to move on and find someone else as soon as possible, as their home could no longer accommodate her.

Out of desperation, Fang Jing went to a match-making event once. But even this single endeavor was ruined by Lu Aiguo.

This infuriated her sister-in-law even more. She was always around the house, hurling veiled insults at Fang Jing. Fang Jing endured in silence and rented a flat to live in with Yueyue.

Every day, she would have Yueyue wear their house key around her neck and wait by the school gates for her to finish work. When she worked the night shift, she feared Yueyue would be afraid, so she would bring Yueyue to the factory where they would stay for the night. She thought that even if times were tough, it would all be worth it in a couple of years.

However, her sister-in-law was scheming at home. Seeing that their father hardly bought quality groceries every month, she suspected he must be secretly supporting Fang Jing. One day, she took her ten-year-old son to Fang Jing’s rented flat to make a scene.

Yueyue cried as she tried to push them out and protect her mother.

But her cousin suddenly kicked her, launching her into a corner of the coffee table. It took her a while to recover.

Furious that her daughter was hit, Fang Jing rushed into the kitchen like a madwoman. With a kitchen knife in her hand, she was ready to stab her sister-in-law. She had endured their ill-treatment for far too long. But how can they dare to hurt Yueyue? There was no such thing as family sentiment for them anymore.

Her sister-in-law ran wailing around the house in fear when Fang Jing cut her arm.

Fang Jing was crazy with anger; she wanted to kill them to end her agony.

When Fang Jing’s brother arrived, he saw his wife bleeding from her arm, and Fang Jing was still chasing her with a knife. He immediately kicked Fang Jing down and brutally beat her.

Fang Jing fainted on the spot.

If not for the neighbors who heard the commotion and rushed in, Fang Jing might have been beaten to death by her brother.

After Fang Jing finished telling her story, she collapsed into tears with Yueyue, both of them sobbing uncontrollably.

Wen Xiuqing pounded the edge of her hand-woven sitting mat, crying in anger, "Are they bullying us because they think the Lu family has no one left? They’re treating us like animals!"

Both Gu Xiaobei and Bai Xiaolan were tearful. Gu Xiaobei knew that Fang Jing only mentioned a few incidents and that the grievances she suffered were far greater than what she had shared.

Bai Xiaolan, furious, slammed her hand down on the table. "Fang Jing, wait and see. I’ll ask my brother to break their fucking arms."

Fang Jing shook her head, saying how much mental torment she was enduring. She had thought about getting back together with Aiguo, but she couldn’t stop blaming herself for her mother’s death.

Lu Songyuan left the room to wipe his tears covertly. Mo Wang and Xiaopang stood quietly by their grandfather, none of them said a word.

Once Lu Songyuan had left, Gu Xiaobei asked, "Fang Jing, is there still an injury on your back? Let us have a look."

Tearfully, Yueyue replied, "Mommy’s arm was broken, and it just healed. That’s when we were able to travel here."

"Why didn’t you tell us? Why didn’t you call us?" sobbed Wen Xiuqing as she rushed towards Fang Jing, expressing her sympathies.

What was supposed to be breakfast turned into lunch. Wen Xiuqing, crying all the while, prepared Zha Jiang Mian (noodles with soybean paste).

Fang Jing looked at the big bowl of noodles Wen Xiuqing had cooked for her and tears welled up again. If her mother were still alive, life would never be like this.

"Fang Jing, let’s not talk about this anymore. You and Yueyue can stay here peacefully. Even if you and Aiguo don’t reconcile, you can live here for the rest of your life," said Wen Xiuqing, wiping away her tears.

Fang Jing opened her mouth to speak several times, but swallowed her words, burying what she had to say.

As soon as they finished their meal, Bai Xiaolan dashed off to call her third brother, determined to seek revenge on Fang Jing’s sister-and-brother-in-law.

To her surprise, her brother revealed shocking news: Fang Jing’s brother had been arrested for corruption. Her sister-in-law, for reasons unknown, had been left with a partial shaved head. Everyone knew that Lu Aiguo had his hand in this. His influence was strong even against a local district office head, let alone setting him up as a corrupt official. Lu was indeed powerful.

Bai Xiaolan hung up the call, pondered for a while, and then returned to the house. However, she chose not to reveal this development. She decided to wait until Lu Aiguo arrived before telling Fang Jing.

...

On the train from southern China to the provincial city, Lu Aiguo stood at the connection point of the train carriage, smoking. He felt as if a massive stone was lodged in his chest. After a long while, he finally spoke to the tall, handsome man next to him, "Luo Sen, thank you for everything."

With a cigarette in his mouth, Luo Sen waved his hand dismissively. "We’re brothers. No need for formalities. If it weren’t for you introducing me to the television manufacturing business, how could I have made this much money? Just give me a shout if you need assistance with anything in the future."

Lu Aiguo gave a forced smile, for aside from the issues with Fang Jing and Yueyue, what other problems did he have?

...

When Lu Zhanguo and Ji Xiangdong returned in the evening, they were surprised to see Fang Jing.

Ji Xiangdong, seeing the grim expressions on everyone’s faces, couldn’t help but ask Bai Xiaolan, "What’s happened?"

Bai Xiaolan told him about the ordeal in a very exaggerated manner. Then, fuming, she shouted, "If I had been in the capital city at the time, I would have broken every bone in that woman’s body. They’re absolutely inexcusable!"

Ji Xiangdong patted her head and said, "Alright, let’s not think of it too negatively. Things like this could actually turn out to be good. This could provide a chance for Aiguo and Fang Jing to reconcile."

Bai Xiaolan pouted, as this outcome was something everyone was hoping to see.

During dinner, Wen Xiuqing cooked an entire table’s worth of dishes, and yet everyone barely touched their food.

Lu Songyuan sighed, put down his chopsticks, and said, "Fang Jing, I’m not asking you to remarry Aiguo. Just listen to your heart. If you truly have no lingering feelings, from now on, consider yourself our daughter. If something happens, we, your family, will stand by you."

His words brought more tears to Fang Jing’s eyes. There were no issues with her feelings towards Aiguo; it was the guilt about her mother’s death that was stuck between them, causing her a continual sense of unease.

Wen Xiuqing was also teary-eyed as she added, "Yes, if it’s not convenient for you to care for Yueyue alone, you can leave her with us. Rest assured, whenever you miss Yueyue, you can come and take her anytime."

Fang Jing bit her lip and dared not speak, fearing that she would break down into tears.

Gu Xiaobei held Fang Jing’s hand. When they went to the residential compound in the afternoon, she insisted on examining Fang Jing’s back. There was still a large bruise that indicated recent beating. Fang Jing did not further elaborate, nor did Gu Xiaobei pry. She just felt pained for Fang Jing as well as for Yueyue.

Wen Xiuqing, worried that Fang Jing was thinking too much and did not push the topic further. To lighten the mood, she picked food for both Fang Jing and Yueyue, urging them to eat more.

After dinner, Lu Zhanguo and Gu Xiaobei took the two kids back to the residential compound.

On their way home, Xiaopang asked curiously, "Mum, what is divorce?"

Gu Xiaobei paused before answering, "Divorce means that mom and dad had some issues and couldn’t live together anymore."

However, Xiaopang found this explanation too complicated, so he simplified it to himself, "Divorce means you have no dad."

Surprised, Gu Xiaobei asked, "Who told you that?"

"Sister Lele. She said she hadn’t seen her dad in a long, long time. The kids at school said she didn’t have a father anymore."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiaobei suddenly felt a pang of sadness. They were so engrossed with discussing Fang Jing and Lu Aiguo’s problems that they seemed to have overlooked the feelings of Yueyue and Xiaopang.