CHAPTER 432: CHAPTER 432: THE FURTHER YOU ROLL, THE BETTER

In fact, many adults are well aware that they should try to keep children out of adult affairs, and not to expose things in front of the kids if they can avoid it. But at this moment, Song Yuantao was so angry that he had lost all reason, no longer caring about these considerations, and certainly not caring how Song Tianxin felt.

Song Tianxin was already quite sensitive by nature. As she grew older, she gradually learned about many things. In the countryside, there were many things she didn’t want to know, but she couldn’t help learning that her mother had cuckolded her father and even had another daughter with a different man, and now had married an old man. No matter how much she wished not to know, the gossipy old ladies in the village would always find a way to remind her. She knew the sordid details all too well. So, hearing Song Yuantao speak of these things now, she felt deeply hurt, and her emotions instantly collapsed.

"I wish... I wish you had never brought me into this world! Like that granddaughter of the woman in the neighboring village, just drown me in a scoop of ashes, or strangle me instead. Each one of you pretends to care for me, giving me life but not raising me properly. Do you have any idea how wronged I feel? I might as well be dead." Song Tianxin angrily shouted back, her tears falling involuntarily from a sense of injustice.

That heart-wrenching pain could be felt by everybody present.

"You..." Song Yuantao was somewhat taken aback, angrily pointing at Song Tianxin’s nose, "Fine, fine, you’re so grown up now, I can’t tell you what to do, am I right?" Repeating ’fine’ several times, Song Yuantao was obviously very angry.

"Alright! Alright! Everyone’s just a handful to deal with." Mrs. Song, seeing the father and daughter about to come to blows, felt she couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up to stop them, "Yuantao! How old are you already, and still spouting angry words. Tianxin is just a kid, what can’t you discuss with her calmly instead of shouting?" Mrs. Song spoke in defense, casting meaningful glances at her son, hoping he would calm down a bit.

"Mom, look at her now, she’s completely lawless, causing trouble every day. If I don’t discipline her, who knows if she’ll turn into a snake or an eel one day? Besides, I am her father, am I not allowed to speak to her?" Song Yuantao said irritably, glancing at Song Tianxin with the intention to really teach her a lesson.

"Enough, enough, just spare us a few words!" Mrs. Song replied helplessly, shaking her head and patting Song Yuantao’s arm before turning back to give a stern warning to Song Tianxin, her face full of indignation and puffed up with anger. After all, Tianxin was indeed at fault, having caused a lot of trouble since arriving in Z city. Even though as a grandmother she was inclined to protect her, she couldn’t help scolding her, "Niuniu, you really shouldn’t talk back to your dad like that. Don’t you know how worried your dad has been these past few days since he heard about your mishap? Hurry up and apologize to your dad. As a child, aren’t adults allowed to scold you when you’ve done wrong?" Her words were reproachful, but not harsh.

But Song Tianxin remained in a heightened emotional state, "If he really cared for me, I would accept his scolding, but do you think I don’t know? Of course, he’s anxious to find a woman to be my stepmother so he can live a comfortable life!" Song Tianxin continued to mock sharply, looking at Song Yuantao with an air of having seen right through him.

Perhaps this was just a child’s natural rebelliousness against divorced parents remarrying, rarely able to take it in stride. Song Tianxin herself disliked the idea, let alone accept it easily.

"Song Tianxin, you’re talking nonsense again, believe it or not I’ll beat you. You’re so young and still want to manage my life? I’m looking for someone partly to take care of you, given your current state. If there isn’t a woman to straighten you out, you’ll be causing an uproar!" Song Yuantao, enraged either by Song Tianxin’s pointed insinuations or by her nonsense, had never looked angrier, raising his hand as though he intended to strike her.

"Believe it? Why wouldn’t I? Haven’t you been itching to beat me to death? You think I don’t know what you’re thinking? Go ahead and hit me then! Kill me – that will solve your problem of me being in your way, keeping you from finding a woman to make your life easy." Song Tianxin fearlessly tipped her face up, moving it close to Song Yuantao’s, with a defiant attitude as if challenging him to strike her down.

"You..." Song Yuantao really wanted to swing his hand down, "Scoundrel."

"Big brother." Song Yuanming stepped forward to block the hand that Song Yuantao was about to swing down, and his stern tone pulled Song Yuantao back to reason.

After Xu Xiuxiu and Song Yuanming entered the ward, they just stood aside and watched as Song Tianxin, full of vigor, argued back and forth with Song Yuantao. The uncle and niece exchanged glances, neither intending to offer help; during normal times they might say a few nice words, but this was an argument between Song Yuantao and his daughter. They felt they had no place to intervene. In this room, probably only Mrs. Song could step in to mediate. Everyone else felt it was of little concern to them.

But seeing Song Yuantao’s anger rise to the point of hitting Song Tianxin, Song Yuanming, despite his headache, spoke up to stop Song Yuantao. After all, they were still in the hospital ward. Making too much noise and disturbing others wouldn’t be good. Fortunately, there were few patients at the time, and although Song Yuan Yao wasn’t in a private room, she was the only patient in it.

"Hmph." After being stopped by Song Yuanming, Song Yuantao sat in the hospital chair, puffing with anger, occasionally glaring up at Song Tianxin, grinding his teeth.

"Niuniu, come back home with grandma! Why stay in this big city? Wouldn’t it be better to study diligently back in our hometown? What’s the point of all this fuss? Please listen!" Mrs. Song sighed, stretching out her hand to pull at Song Tianxin’s hand, pleading with her.

"I’m not going back." Song Tianxin pushed away Mrs. Song’s hand, still stubbornly insisting on her own view.

"..." Mrs. Song felt helpless and turned to glance at Song Yuantao with a sigh.

"If you won’t go back, then get out of here, now. The farther, the better." Hearing Song Tianxin’s response, Song Yuantao instantly exploded like lit gunpowder, pointing at Song Tianxin’s nose, intending to drive her away.

"I’ll go, I’ll go; do you think I want to stay?" Song Tianxin, equally stubborn and confidently right, agreed and turned as if to leave, her dismissive attitude very serious.

Watching the father-daughter argument, Xu Xiuxiu stood by for a while. Although she really didn’t want to get involved, she couldn’t help it in the end. So, before Song Tianxin could run out of the ward, Xu Xiuxiu stepped forward to block her path.

Song Tianxin looked at Xu Xiuxiu with a startled gaze and abruptly halted her steps.