CHAPTER 42: 041: AWESOME

Ye He Ping has been under great pressure due to his daughter’s illness, needing to organize donations at his company, which made him feel embarrassed there. Now, back home, hearing his mother causing a fuss, he felt even more annoyed.

Suppressing his impatience, he placed his briefcase on the shoe rack, hung his hat on the wall, and entered the house, "Did Mom arrive today? Why has she been angry all day? You know the company is always full of issues. Why don’t you try to calm her down for me? If I’m not home for a day, does that mean Mom goes hungry?"

Bai Xue, seeing her husband’s anger directed at her, suppressed her grievance and admitted fault with a smile, "I didn’t think of that. I should have sent someone to let you know. Please, go and talk to her. It’s about not allowing Lingzi to go to school."

For the sake of her younger daughter, Bai Xue felt that enduring some grievance and her husband’s anger was manageable.

Ye He Ping frowned deeply and proceeded to the East Room with a nonchalant "Mm."

Ye He Ping did not agree with not letting their elder daughter continue her studies. No matter how difficult, the child had to study; without education, there was no future. Ye He Ping always remembered his mother’s words. Besides, even with the dire financial situation at home, saving the money from not educating their elder daughter wouldn’t help much at all.

Yet, his wife felt that since the family had to rely on donations for the younger daughter’s treatment, paying for the elder daughter’s education would surely invite gossip. Considering this was indeed a possibility, Ye He Ping reluctantly agreed, partly because he was annoyed by his wife’s constant nagging on the matter. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, not something he seriously considered, and naturally, his mother was upset when she found out.

Now, with the situation as it was, the blame was again thrown onto him. Ye He Ping had no choice but to face it and enter the room. Seeing his mother lying on the bed with her back to him, he gently called out, "Mom, let’s talk after dinner."

Yet, Old Mrs. Ye lying on the bed didn’t move.

Feeling embarrassed, Ye He Ping glanced at his elder daughter sitting by the bed reading, "Lingzi, go eat dinner in the living room."

"Dad, I’ve eaten." Ye Ling looked up,

then lowered her head to continue reading.

Seeing his daughter being so indifferent towards him made Ye He Ping feel uneasy. He sat on the bed with a heavy sigh, "Mom, I never had a father, you raised me all by yourself. I know you’re angry with me. You can scold or beat me if you like, just don’t hurt yourself. Take care of your health and eat first."

"Ye Qian’s illness is a rich man’s disease. It needs constant care. With our family’s condition, we have to tighten our belts to afford her treatment. Now that the community has raised funds, if Lingzi continues her studies, people will say we aren’t grateful, using others’ money to support our own child’s education."

"You shut up!" Before Ye He Ping could say more, Old Mrs. Ye sat up in anger, pointing at her son regardless of her granddaughter’s presence, "Look at what you’re saying. According to you, because others donated money, we can’t go to school, right? Fine, let me ask you, if Lingzi can’t study, then what about Ye Qian? Ye Qian is sick, can’t she handle stress? Shouldn’t she be the first not to study? Since she stays home to recover, she shouldn’t attend school or learn dance either. Listen to what you’re saying. Ye He Ping, I’m telling you, you’re not young anymore. Know where you stand when you speak or act. You stop Lingzi from going to school while letting Ye Qian study and dance. All of this because of Ye Qian, and yet, you allow her to do both. What kind of parent are you? Is your heart so biased?"

To say such things in front of your daughter, what kind of parent behaves like this?

Thinking that such a father is her son, Old Mrs. Ye became even more heart-stricken, "I only have you. From your childhood, our family was so poor that we had only a handful of rice. I saved it for you, willing to dig wild vegetables for myself and drink more water rather than ask others for help or borrow from them. Why is that? Because one needs dignity to live. Conditions now are better than when you were young, right? But listen to what you’re saying? You good-for-nothing, you’ve wasted these years living in vain, and everything you learned has gone to the dogs?"

Ye He Ping sat in silence on the bed. His mind, previously clouded, was cleared by his mother’s scolding, like the chaotic skies being split open with an ax, suddenly becoming clear.

Yes, people gossiping about sending the elder daughter to school while the younger one studies and dances cost us nothing. Astonished into silence, Ye He Ping listened to his mother, constantly asking himself why he didn’t think of this and how he could utter such foolish words and make such foolish decisions.

In the living room, Bai Xue’s face turned pale alternately red with confusion. She didn’t understand why Old Mrs. Ye couldn’t see who was more important in the family right now, even when Ye Qian was ill.

Opposite her sat Ye Qian, whose face also appeared uneasy, full of worry. "Mom, go take a look."

With Grandma scolding like this, what if Dad’s resentment turned on them?

"Let’s wait a bit longer." After all, it was her son, and Bai Xue didn’t believe Old Mrs. Ye would continue scolding him.

But before Bai Xue could intervene, Old Mrs. Ye laid down some harsh words in the East Room, delivering a heavy blow to everyone’s hearts, "You won’t let Lingzi study? Fine, then Ye Qian shouldn’t either. No more dancing, just stay at home and recover. Your wife won’t have to neglect the house for taking care of Ye Qian then."