Leng Ning had no choice but to continue sitting down, her fingers twisting subconsciously. What good would it do for her to have an opinion? 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Just like the song says—"torn between both sides"! How was she supposed to resolve this?

She wanted to be with Jin Yichen, for the two of them to have a happy ending.

But if that happy ending required her father to force himself to interact with someone he disliked, could she truly be at ease continuing her relationship with Jin Yichen?

Mrs. Leng lowered her gaze and tried to speak in a calm tone, "I just visited your grandfather’s house and heard what those two elders had to say—it really got me thinking!

When I first found out that Xiao Jin’s mother had some sort of past with your father, I was truly furious. I wanted to immediately confront him and demand to know what exactly was going on in his mind.

All these years, has he ever truly cared about me, about you and your brother, about this family of ours? That anger even extended toward Xiao Jin.

But now that I’ve calmed down, I’ve been asking myself: those events happened so many years ago—what good would it do to dig them all up now? That woman is already long gone!

The most important thing now is your happiness, Xiao Ning. If you truly like Xiao Jin and want to continue being with him, then I’ll handle your father’s objections!

What else can we, as parents, do for you? As long as you feel happy, what do those past grudges even matter?"

"Mom? I..." Leng Ning’s nose stung with emotion. She had never expected her mother to come around so quickly in such a short period of time.

Previously, she had been filled with worry, deeply afraid that her mother and father would argue and fall out over this matter!

Mrs. Leng lovingly hugged her daughter. "Xiao Ning, don’t carry this emotional burden. Just be honest with Mom, alright?"

After a brief moment of deliberation, Leng Ning looked seriously at her mother and said, "Mom! Even though I really like Jin Yichen, if it came down to choosing between him and our family, I’d undoubtedly side with you and Dad. The grudges between his father and mine aren’t something that can be resolved in a sentence or two.

I can’t be selfish and sacrifice Dad’s feelings for the sake of my own love! So... if Dad still disagrees when he comes back, I’ll break up with Jin Yichen!"

As she finished speaking, tears were already forming in Leng Ning’s eyes. She liked Jin Yichen so, so much, but she just couldn’t make such a difficult choice...

Mrs. Leng’s eyes also reddened. She gently patted Leng Ning’s back and said, "Silly girl! Don’t rush to be sad just yet! When your father comes back, I’ll talk to him. Things might not be as bad as you think!"

"Mhm..." Nestling into her mother’s embrace, Leng Ning sniffled in response.

Why was her love life so tumultuous? She envied her sister-in-law and brother for having such a smooth, natural progression to love and marriage—their first love had blossomed into a happy outcome!

If she and Jin Yichen broke up this time, it would already be her second failed relationship within such a short period.

Was she destined to go through several failed relationships, to have her heart shattered over and over, before finally meeting the person she was fated to be with?

When Mr. Leng returned home that day, he could immediately sense that something was off. His wife and daughter both had red eyes—clearly, they’d been crying.

In fact, even during Mrs. Leng’s earlier phone call, her tone had carried traces of reproach and frustration, though he hadn’t figured out why at the time.

He had simply attributed it to her menopausal mood swings acting up again!

Knowing her presence might inhibit her parents’ conversation, Leng Ning greeted her father briefly, then excused herself upstairs, saying she needed to study and work on her thesis.

After Leng Ning had gone, Mrs. Leng sat down on the sofa directly across from Mr. Leng, cleared her throat lightly, and asked, "Have you eaten out?"

"Mhm. You mentioned earlier that you had something to discuss—what is it?" Mr. Leng decided to bring it up himself, lest he be subjected to another round of nagging and complaints.

"Oh, it’s nothing serious! I just wanted to ask casually—do you know Xiao Jin’s father?" Mrs. Leng cut straight to the point, unwilling to beat around the bush.

Mr. Leng froze briefly, narrowing his eyes as he looked over at Mrs. Leng. "Why are you asking that? Who told you something?"

Mrs. Leng found this laughable. Even if no one had said anything, couldn’t she still make her own guesses?

"No one said anything. It just struck me as odd. Xiao Jin is seemingly flawless in both character and appearance, so why are you so adamantly against him? Isn’t that strange? And the first time I mentioned Xiao Jin’s name, you immediately reacted so strongly, grilling me about which ’Jin’ family he belonged to. Then when Xiao Jin came to visit, it was the same reaction!"

Tonight, it was a rare occurrence for Mrs. Leng to speak to him so calmly after crying. Her teary, glossy eyes appeared exceptionally bright—something he hadn’t seen in years.

So when Mr. Leng looked at her, he found himself momentarily distracted.

He instinctively clasped his hands together, raised an eyebrow, and replied with a faint smile, "You’re right to suspect—I do know his father. And yes, we have some personal grudges between us.

But my disapproval of Xiao Ning’s relationship with him isn’t just about our history. Their family values are problematic—I can’t let my daughter marry into such an unethical family!"

Mrs. Leng’s lips curled into a slight, sarcastic smile. "So, you’re saying it’s all for the sake of our daughter, is that it? But what exactly is this grudge you have? We’ve been married for over thirty years, and I’ve never even heard you mention it. Is it because of a woman? Xiao Jin’s late mother, perhaps?"

"Who told you that?" Mr. Leng stood up angrily. "I’m warning you, Ouyang Yan, watch your words!"

Su Ye was a deeply buried wound in Mr. Leng’s heart, and for Ouyang Yan to bring it up so lightly enraged him.

"Oh, you’ve lost your temper? Then I must’ve hit the mark! Leng Qiankai, let me tell you something—stop treating everyone else like fools! Xiao Ning and that boy genuinely care for each other. Why should your personal unhappiness force them to split up? Your overreaction just proves you still have feelings for that woman, doesn’t it?"

At that moment, Mrs. Leng felt cold to her core. Initially, she had resolved to discuss their daughter’s happiness calmly with him. But face-to-face with his indifferent demeanor and his angry rebukes, every word she tried to say grew more bitter and sarcastic. Was there even any point in continuing?

Pointing a finger at her angrily, Mr. Leng snapped, "You—you’re completely unreasonable! There’s no point even talking to you! My stance is clear—the Jin Family’s morals are crooked, and I won’t let my daughter leap into a fire pit!"

In the past couple of days, he had reflected on this countless times. At first, he thought he could let bygones be bygones and move on.

But the more vividly his memories resurfaced, the stronger his hatred for Jin Jiachao grew. The mere idea of his daughter marrying into the Jin Family and calling Jin Jiachao her father-in-law made his blood boil.

How could his precious daughter address that despicable man as ’Dad’?

Mrs. Leng thought back over these thirty-plus years of marriage. Looking at every moment involving Leng Qiankai, he only ever seemed busy, busy, busy, leaving her to handle everything at home by herself—raising their children, Leng Chen and Leng Ning. What had he done to help all these years?

And now, cloaked under the guise of "doing what’s best for Xiao Ning," wasn’t he just using their daughter’s future as another means of pursuing his own goals?