Chapter 841: Chapter 567: The Onlooker Is Clear, the Participant Is Confused
After sending Wang Jing to the alley entrance, as the car drove on for a bit, Zhou Xikang suddenly asked, "Has Yu Yang been transferred to your hospital?"
That sudden question left Chuxia temporarily stunned, and after a while, she nodded, "Yes, I thought big brother really didn’t recognize her. He’s quite the actor."
"Not recognizing is better than recognizing..." Zhou Xikang sighed and asked on his own, "You’ve known about this between Yu Yang and us for a long time, haven’t you?"
"Kind of."
Zhou Xikang snorted, "I knew it, Laosan certainly can’t keep things from you."
"You’ve misunderstood him. If I hadn’t asked, he wouldn’t have told me..." Chuxia then recounted how Yu Yang looked for her and she inquired about it with Zhou Mikang, adding, "We all felt it was inconvenient to talk to Sister-in-law about this right now, but today Teacher Song’s words made me hesitate. Even if big brother hadn’t run into Yu Yang or asked me, I would still seek his opinion."
"Sigh!" With a deep sigh, Zhou Xikang said, "Let me think it over before saying more. All these years, Yu Yang has been drifting alone. Although your sister-in-law doesn’t say it out loud, she still thinks about her. I’ve caught her staring at photos with Yu Yang more than once.
Many times, I’ve wanted to sit down and talk to her about it, to help her untie her heart’s knots, but every time I bring it up, she finds an excuse to change the topic. After enough times, I gave up."
It seems the incident back then was not as simple as Zhou Mikang said, otherwise, Yu Tao wouldn’t still be tangled about it today. From her behavior, it can be seen that she both misses Yu Yang and can’t forgive her.
But this is a matter between the eldest brother and his wife, and as a sister-in-law, it’s not good to ask too much, so Chuxia just shut her mouth and stayed silent.
After a long silence, Zhou Xikang added, "After the New Year, I’ll find some time to have a good talk with your sister-in-law. Otherwise, it’s not good for her health either. She tends to bottle everything up inside. But I’m also at fault; if I hadn’t kept Yu Yang’s letters a secret from the start, your sister-in-law wouldn’t still be unable to unlock her heart after all these years."
After hesitating, Chuxia asked, "Does Sister-in-law think big brother might have some feelings for Yu Yang?"
"Yes, although she hasn’t said it, I can tell that she doesn’t believe I have no feelings for Yu Yang. She’s a perfectionist. To be honest, her marrying me back then was already beyond my expectations."
"I wouldn’t have guessed..." Chuxia couldn’t help but sigh, "Seeing Sister-in-law so gentle, I never thought she’d be so strong-willed.
Big brother, I shouldn’t be meddling, but since you trust me enough to talk to me about this, I’ll weigh in a bit.
Sister-in-law has been dwelling on this issue, but the one who should be blamed the most is big brother. If before the marriage, regardless of whether Sister-in-law wanted to talk about it or not, you had made your intentions clear, this matter wouldn’t have ended up like this today.
The problem between you two is that you both thought that by staying silent, the issue would pass. Yet, after all these years, it hasn’t passed.
If I’m not mistaken, big brother and sister-in-law aren’t as happy together alone as when they’re with us, right?"
"Sister-in-law, you’re absolutely right. That’s exactly our situation. Now you understand why I don’t want to go back to the room at night, right?
In front of everyone, she talks and laughs with me, but in the room, she just lies down. Obviously, she can’t sleep, but she pretends to, deliberately to avoid talking to me. When I sit there and see her pretend to be motionless, it makes me feel bad.
Especially before she got pregnant, she blamed herself and bore some resentment for our past. On the surface, she seems happy to you all, but in private, she’s suffering."
"This is a big taboo for health. Big brother, have you never talked about this with the family?"
"No, this topic is taboo in the family. Everyone knows Yu Tao minds Yu Yang’s past involvement, so we never mention Yu Yang in front of her."
"Alright, I understand. This is like having a festering wound covered up; only you know the pain," Chuxia sighed. "Let’s not talk about it on New Year’s Eve today. Have a good talk with Sister-in-law after the third day of the first lunar month.
Yu Yang has also figured things out, but she doesn’t have the courage to face Yu Tao. Perhaps it’s because she is a senior. Anyway, continuing like this is just mutual torture for you two. Letting go earlier will lead to happiness for everyone." As she said this, she slapped herself in frustration, "I should have told you all earlier. Maybe then Yu Yang could’ve returned to the Yu family for the New Year."
"No matter if you say it early or late, Yu Yang couldn’t come home for New Year this year. Your sister-in-law’s grandfather is very stubborn, and it will take some time for Yu Tao to persuade him."
Chuxia showed a helpless expression, "If he weren’t stubborn, it’s unlikely he would let his daughter drift outside all these years, but I believe he doesn’t feel good about it either."
"Sister-in-law, it’s a pity you don’t become a psychologist."
"Big brother, you’re just flattering me. Anyone who thinks it over might come to the same conclusion..." Chuxia looked at him amusedly, "Or did big brother always think I was particularly dumb?"
"No, no..." Zhou Xikang waved his hand repeatedly, awkwardly smiling, "Maybe I’m just too close to it all, and since I can’t talk with anyone else about it, everything you’ve said is really the first time I’m hearing from someone else, and it really is helpful to me."
"Glad it was helpful." Chuxia said with a happy smile, "Actually, as long as my big brother doesn’t mind me meddling, I’m very happy."
"Why would I ever say that? You’re helping us out here. How could I mind you meddling?" Zhou Xikang said, unable to help but sigh again. "What I regret now is not talking to my sister-in-law earlier."
Chuxia blinked her big eyes: "Big brother, you said that, so now I have to ask directly, the reason my sister-in-law cares so much about this isn’t just that you didn’t show her the letter at first, right?"
After a long silence, Zhou Xikang smiled bitterly, "When Yu Yang came to find me, although I rejected her, my tone wasn’t very firm.
This might have given Yu Yang a bit of a misunderstanding, and she lunged at me and hugged me. I wanted to push her away, but I hesitated for a moment. It was this hesitation that broke Yu Tao’s heart.
If it weren’t for the years of affection between us, if it weren’t for her deep love for me, if it weren’t for me kneeling down to propose to her, she wouldn’t have married me.
All these years after marriage, she has deliberately forgotten these past events, always highlighting my good side. But actually, this shows that she minds it in her heart. I knew this, but I had no way to resolve it.
Sister-in-law, you’re the first to know about this. No one in the Zhou family, or even in the Yu family, knows about the matter between the three of us."
"Big... big brother..." Chuxia quickly covered her ears, "I... Can I pretend I didn’t hear any of this now?"
"If that’s how you want to think, of course you can."
With Zhou Xikang saying so, Chuxia felt embarrassed and awkwardly moved her hands away from her ears, "Just kidding, I’ve heard it all, how could I play dumb?
Actually, I imagined the real reason to be more complex earlier, but now I think Big Brother, Sister-in-law, and Doctor Yu are making life difficult for yourselves. It’s such a small matter, why let it trouble you for so many years?
Good communication is extremely important. I think, big brother, you usually talk a lot. Why when it comes to matters of the heart, do you turn into a mute gourd?"
"Isn’t that because I’m afraid of making your sister-in-law angry."
"The less you talk, the angrier she gets..." Chuxia couldn’t help but pout, "Big brother, you’re not doing a good enough job as a husband. You need to do some self-reflection."
Chatting all the way back home, it was just past six, and the faint sound of firecrackers was already going off. Once inside, a wave of heat and the scent of dumpling filling hit them.
Chuxia looked around and noticed that even Old Master Wan was wearing an apron and getting involved. Her mouth curled up involuntarily. She had actually been worried that New Year’s might bring up sad memories for Elder Wan. But now it seemed she was worrying for nothing.
After greeting the elders, she washed her hands and joined Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan, asking, "Dad, mom, did you go to Uncle Gangshun and Fat Auntie’s place this afternoon?"
Zhao Yulan smiled and said, "Yes, we went. Your mother-in-law and I went together to invite them to spend the New Year at our place. They insisted on staying at the guesthouse, saying it would feel more like New Year if they came over on the first day. We couldn’t persuade them otherwise, so we let them be."
That was the plan all along, so Chuxia wasn’t surprised by the outcome. In fact, her mom had expected this result early on. However, since her mother-in-law suggested it, representing the Zhou family’s intentions, they had to go through the motions. She then smiled at Lin Yanqiu, "Mom, thank you. I’m not just being polite—I’m speaking on behalf of Xiaoqiong."
"Yulan, did you see? Chuxia is on our side. If it was you who did this, she definitely wouldn’t say that."
Zhao Yulan, a bit embarrassed, pinched her daughter’s arm. Chuxia looked at her with an innocent face, "Mom, my mother-in-law is telling the truth. You raised me all these years, and if after getting married I’m closer to my mother-in-law than to you, wouldn’t you have raised an ungrateful child?"
"This child..."
"Hahaha..."
Everyone was amused by Chuxia’s honesty and burst into laughter. Yes, the logic is clear, but how many people dare to speak it out?
Zhao Yulan helplessly poked Chuxia’s forehead and joined in the laughter. Inside, however, she felt warm and happy. Being valued so much by her daughter, how could she not be pleased?
Lin Baohe was even happier, with a smile reaching almost to his ears. He now felt that all the hardships he had endured were worth it; heaven had been kind to him, reserving the good fortunes for later.
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