Chapter 10: A Respectful Knock on the Door

Mubai said in a low rumble, "Either way, Xinghe is still Lin Lin鈥檚 mom. Yes, we are no longer legally married, but we can鈥檛 just close our eyes to her suffering."

Old Mrs. Xi frowned slightly as she retorted, "It鈥檚 the woman鈥檚 decision to slap our helping hand away. You, yourself, are familiar with her weird and stubborn attitude. It has been nothing but trouble since she came into the Xi Family. She鈥檚 unwilling to admit her mistakes and refuses to communicate with the rest of the family, causing all of us to walk on tiptoes around the house. I did the best I could by offering her help once but she refused it. We鈥檙e not running a charity here, I鈥檓 not going to beg her to accept our aid."

"Regardless, you should have at least told me..."

"Mubai, your marriage to her was from the beginning a huge mistake. Your father was obviously not thinking straight when he allowed that woman to marry into our family. I know it couldn鈥檛 have been easy for you having to live with that horrible woman. It was a blessing that she asked for a divorce so I鈥檓 not going to give her any chance to squirm her way back into our family. Plus, she鈥檚 a fully-grown woman, she鈥檚 not going to die from hunger."

[True, but she鈥檚 not doing much living either...

When the truth is revealed to Lin Lin in the future, he will definitely be mad at them.]

Without waiting for his breakfast to arrive, Mubai stood up and said, "I鈥檓 going to the office."

"But you haven鈥檛 had your breakfast yet." Old Mrs. Xi called after him but Mubai strode out of the house without even once turning his head.

"See, didn鈥檛 I tell you to not hide it from our son? I told you that he鈥檚 going to be angry when he finds out," Mubai鈥檚 dad, Xi Jiangsan, chided his wife.

Old Mrs. Xi leveled him a sidelong glance. "You鈥檙e blaming me now? This is entirely your fault. If you didn鈥檛 agree to the marriage in the first place, we wouldn鈥檛 have ended up in this hot soup. Now you see, none of the parties involved is happy."

Jiangsan sighed. "I owe Xinghe鈥檚 father my life and that was his dying wish, so how could I have said no? Plus, how could I have known the two of them won鈥檛 match. In any case, I鈥檝e learnt my lesson. I鈥檒l stay out of our son鈥檚 marriage in the future. He can choose whoever he likes to marry."

"What nonsense are you spouting this time? That person has been chosen and it is Tianxin. I鈥檝e known this girl since she was a baby and I鈥檝e always treated her as my own daughter. She is perfect for Mubai." Old Mrs. Xi鈥檚 mouth curved into a smile with the mention of Tianxin鈥檚 name.

Xinghe woke up with fatigue bearing down on her.

The sudden resurgence of her old memory must have added some pressure to her mental state. The fact that she was run down by a car didn鈥檛 help her situation either.

She decided to stay home that day to nurse her health.

It was a school holiday so Xia Zhi also stayed back to help take care of his sister.

"Sis, are you sure you鈥檙e feeling well? Shall we go to the hospital?" Xia Zhi enquired worriedly.

Xinghe shook her head, saying, "I鈥檓 fine. Doctor鈥檚 orders, I鈥檓 to stay home for a few days to rest. The injury is not so serious or else they wouldn鈥檛 have let me out."

"But you鈥檙e looking frighteningly pale."

"This is how a recovering patient normally looks..." Xinghe said with forced levity. She didn鈥檛 want to go back to the hospital.

Their family couldn鈥檛 afford to spend on her medical bill.

Mubai had obviously let the driver who knocked her down go. She didn鈥檛 want to owe Mubai so she opted to suffer in silence.

Xia Zhi couldn鈥檛 bear to see her like this, adding, "Sis, I think it鈥檚 better we go see the doctor. We still have some money left to spare. Even dad said to bring you to the hospital before he left for work so please listen to us!"

In truth, they barely had enough for a check-up.

Xinghe insisted her injury wasn鈥檛 serious and refused to leave her room.

Xia Zhi of course knew why she wouldn鈥檛 go. When he was at his wit鈥檚 end, someone knocked on their house鈥檚 door. It sounded slow and deliberate, a great contrast to the rushed ones normally done by their ruffian neighbors.