Chapter 672: Chapter 451 Persuasion_2

“Is it me?”

Zhou Shanping looked bewildered, which incited Old Master Zhou’s anger once more as he pointed fiercely at him, “If you didn’t want to commit, why did you hold her?

Do you still think it was wrong for her to confront you about this, that you are the victim? For a woman over thirty, do you think she’s not anxious to get married?

If she weren’t anxious, do you think she would have pursued you so actively? She thought it was hard to find someone younger, so she clung to you, but what have you done?

Would it have reached this point if you hadn’t given her the wrong impression? You said yourself, she has already disclosed your relationship to the whole office, and they believe it’s true.

So, what are you going to do next? If you don’t marry her, can she continue to work in that office? If you marry her, have you considered that she might be the second Liu Lingmei?

As a grown man, dragging your feet, indecisive and weak, how can you be my son? How could I have fathered such a son? Your mother and I don’t have this kind of temperament, so why do you?”

Old Master Zhou’s words turned in circles, it was only short of him getting up and spinning around. Old Madam Zhou was exasperated yet amused as she poked him, “Take a break, let Shanping speak for himself.”

“I…” Zhou Shanping stammered, not knowing what to say. These thoughts had indeed never crossed his mind. That day, he had been drinking, which might not have happened otherwise. But even so, these explanations seemed powerless, drinking was no excuse, especially since he genuinely considered marrying her.

Even though he later realized that such a woman was not fit to marry, he indeed had engaged in intimate behaviors with her, which, although not too excessive, were indeed inappropriate for an unmarried woman.

“Sanping, no matter how you put it, you handled this clumsily. You must feel extremely annoyed right now, and not just us, the younger generation also knows about you and Qin Mei, you can’t save face.

Chuxia is a doctor, but others are not, so now, do you feel like you can’t face going home or meeting with the younger ones?”

“Yes.” Zhou Shanping nodded as he indeed felt that way, especially unsure of how to face his son.

“Do you blame Chuxia?”

Zhou Shanping hurriedly shook his head, “Mom, I’m not that confused. If it weren’t for Chuxia, this would have blown up even more. I’d not only lose face in front of the family but probably become a joke in our entire circle. I’m just grateful to Chuxia.”

“Good to know. When Qin Mei came, everyone was there. From the start, there was no hiding it from anyone in this family.

When everyone went up to question Chuxia back then, she didn’t want to talk. Actually, by looking at her expression, I had guessed the gist of it, but I insisted she tell it.

Curiosity is natural in people; if she had stayed silent, it would only have made everyone more curious, and they might have suspected Chuxia of meddling. She was helping you, but if that made her take the blame on your behalf, I believe you wouldn’t have wanted that, right?”

Zhou Shanping sighed, “Mom, I understand, I understand all of it. Actually, this is already the best outcome, but I just can’t get over this inner hurdle.

Right now, I feel like a rogue in the eyes of the younger ones. I don’t want to overly explain myself; in the end, I’m just filled with regret, yet I don’t know how to make amends.”

“You’re just overthinking and too responsible. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have let Liu Lingmei entangle you back then…”

Old Master Zhou cut off Old Madam Zhou with a bitter tone, “Stop sugarcoating it for him. Is that being responsible? If he really was, he wouldn’t have pushed all the responsibility onto the woman.”

Old Madam Zhou rolled her eyes at Old Master Zhou, “Don’t talk about her like that. When your spirits were lowest, just after your divorce, with a young woman constantly pursuing you, could you have resisted?”

Old Madam Zhou’s remark was so bold that the children almost couldn’t help laughing, but they dared not, instead turning their faces beet red, all except for Zhou Shanping, who was presently out of sorts.

Old Master Zhou, stumped by Old Madam Zhou’s retort, reddened, paused, and replied, “If you were like that, I wouldn’t have married you; it’s incomparable.”

“Let’s drop these useless discussions. Anyway, you need to understand, Laosan acted this way for a reason. He never considered Qin Mei’s situation because she pressed him too urgently; he was only thinking about escaping, where does the will to think of her needs come from?

But now that we know, we can’t pretend to be confused. If we let this mistake lead that girl astray, our entire family will regret it.

Today, Chuxia has already made an appointment for her to see a doctor. Once her medical condition is confirmed, we can discuss with her whether to help her transfer to another department, or…” pausing, Old Madam Zhou added, “or you definitely have to take responsibility for damaging her reputation.”

Chuxia was not present at the moment, but had she been, she would have expressed complete incomprehension at the remarks by Old Madam Zhou and Old Master Zhou—why should one be responsible for a woman who isn’t responsible for her own life?

Although she appreciated Qin Mei’s “innocence” at her age, it doesn’t mean she approved of Qin Mei’s methods. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com), and your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)