Chapter 761: Chapter 509: Everyone Has Their Own Agenda
The first watch of the night had arrived.
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Wang Jing’s father, Wang Guozhu, leaned on a crutch, inching forward with difficulty, the beads of sweat on his forehead and the bulging veins telegraphing his pain.
His step-mother, Wang Yuqin, sat to one side picking over dry string beans, glancing his way from time to time without any expression.
Stopping in his tracks, Wang Guozhu gasped for air and looked toward his wife, “Ah Qin, pass me a dry towel to wipe my back, please; it’s all soaked.”
“Get it yourself!” Wang Yuqin replied without lifting her head.
Glancing at the towel rack, Wang Guozhu sighed and moved toward it with difficulty. He had grown accustomed to such cold indifference in that time.
At first, he was angry, he was furious, he protested, but what he got in return was only doubled indifference and mockery, which made him clearly realize that if he wanted dignity, he had to stand up on his own.
He never imagined that one day the person he most looked forward to seeing would be his once-neglected biological daughter. And along with that, he began to miss his deceased wife’s kindness…
“Clang!”
“Clang-a-lang…”
Unsteady on his feet, Wang Guozhu lurched towards the washbasin stand, leading to him falling over, the stand toppling, and the basins rolling away…
“You good-for-nothing, unable to earn a cent but first class in causing trouble…” Wang Yuqin, who had been indifferent until now, quickly sprang to her feet and, cursing, ran towards Wang Guozhu.
Her curses were uncomfortable to the ears, but the fact that his wife ran over to help him up relieved Wang Guozhu considerably.
Unfortunately, it seemed he felt relieved too soon. Wang Yuqin did indeed rush in his direction, but her hand reached out for the basin instead…
Ha-ha…, so he was less important than that basin, Wang Guozhu thought to himself with a self-mocking laugh, struggling to get up. His hand slipped and he fell back down with a “plop,” the water from the basin mixing with the dirt on the ground, soaking his clothes and chilling his heart completely.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha…” He slapped the muddy ground beneath him as if he were mad, his voice a mixture of laughter and bitterness. Wang Yuqin kicked him spitefully, “Stop howling like you’re at a funeral! Get up quickly!”
“It’s karma! It’s karma!” Wang Guozhu simply rolled over and lay on the ground, looking tragically at Wang Yuqin, “Be careful, you will have your day too.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?!” Wang Yuqin stared at him with hatred, “You wanted to exercise to stand up sooner. What rubbish are you talking now?”
Wang Guozhu smiled at her, “Wang Yuqin, I’m serious. Back in the day, to make you happy, I abandoned Xiao Jing. Now I’ve received my retribution, and you, who were unkind to Xiao Jing back then and are scheming against her now, will get your retribution someday too.”
Having received poor care since his paralysis, Wang Guozhu had withered to almost skin and bones. Because he’d always been confined inside, his complexion was pale, and now, laughing so tragically, Wang Yuqin felt a chill in the bottom of her heart, and she unconsciously took a step back.
“Scared?” Wang Guozhu burst into laughter, “Are you afraid of your own retribution or scared that I’ll get revenge on you? Relax, I can’t lift a finger against you now; even if you killed me, all I could do is endure the affliction.”
“However, if I go down below, I’ll definitely ask King Yama to take you early. I’ll make you apologize to Xiao Jing’s mother. Your daughters are your daughters, and mine is my daughter too, aren’t they?
Over the years, I’ve treated your daughters as if they were my own. But how have you treated mine? Let me tell you frankly, if Xiao Jing and Xiao Lei hadn’t found a better life away from us, I would never have let go so easily.”
“What madness are you spouting?” Wang Yuqin hesitated, then helped Wang Guozhu up and sighed softly, “You really are so unpredictable. You were the one who wanted to exercise to stand up sooner, but now you’ve suffered a little and are cursing and swearing, even dragging me to King Yan. Is that how a man behaves?
“After all these years of marriage, you should know my nature. Why could you tolerate my bad temper before but not now? Honestly, if your sister hadn’t married into a wealthy family, if Xiao Jing wasn’t following in your sister’s footsteps, would you dare to treat me like this?
“It’s true I brought Xiao Lan and Little Nan with me, but didn’t I also give birth to Xiao Jun? He is your biological son and my only biological son. Tell me, with a son here, could I be disloyal to this family?
“I treat Xiao Lan and Little Nan well because, besides being my own daughters, they are obedient. What about Xiao Jing? Think about her stubbornness as a child. When did she ever listen to me?