Note: This article is a fictional novel, and the names of people and places are all apocryphal
My name is Li Yu, I am 35 years old and I am a middle school Chinese teacher. To be honest, I never thought that one day I would fall into such a bloody and confusing emotional entanglement...
The story starts 8 years ago, when I just graduated from college and married Xiaoshi, a college classmate and first love.
Xiaoshi is from our village, we grew up together, and the relationship has developed from a baby to a beloved lover, which can be described as a childhood sweetheart.
Not long after we got married, Xiaoshi became pregnant, and the two of us looked forward to the birth of our child every day. God played a big joke on me.
When Xiaoshi was 5 months pregnant, she suffered a car accident... The operation failed, Xiaoshi and the child in the womb could not be saved, so she left me, and when Xiaoshi left, the last thing she told me was to take care of her sister and mother.
My heart seemed to be torn apart, Xiaoshi was gone, her mother was also paralyzed in bed due to the pain and blow of losing her daughter, and I had to shoulder the burden of the whole family alone.
In those years, I was like a walking corpse every day, and my work was on the verge of unemployment, but fortunately, Xiaoshi's sister has been silently supporting me, and in order to take on the future of this family, I decided to sponsor her to go to college...
After Xiaoli went to university, I devoted my main energy to teaching and taking care of my paralyzed mother-in-law.
In those years, I suffered so many blows that I completely despaired of my feelings and could only bear it. However, during Xiaoli's study, our contact became more and more frequent, and she gradually became a positive force in my life.
Every winter and summer vacation, Xiaoli will come back and take the initiative to share the burden of housework and taking care of her mother-in-law. Once my mother-in-law was cold and feverish, Xiaoli rushed back overnight to accompany her, and silently guarded our family for three days and three nights.
To be honest, Xiaoli's gentle and considerate side gave me great comfort, and our relationship was sublimated imperceptibly in taking care of each other.
Even though she was just my sister-in-law, I don't know when I began to regard her as the most important woman in my life.
After graduating from university, Xiaoli could have chosen to stay in the city to develop, but she insisted on returning to her hometown and staying with me.
"Brother, I decided to come back first, it's better to be home. Xiaoli smiled and said to me, "Let me take care of you and our mother in the future." ”
When Lao Li, who was on the other side of the house, heard the news, he put a hot face on the same day and said to me with an unkind expression: "Li Yu, you are really not a thing! How old is Xiaoli, so you will leave her at home to serve others? Do you have other plans for her?"
I was stabbed in the heart by Lao Li's blunt and rude accusation, and I was immediately furious. But for the sake of Lao Li's deep friendship with me, I barely suppressed my anger.
Since then, whenever Lao Li meets me, he will look me up and down with mocking eyes, and secretly send Qiubo to Xiaoli, which makes us avoid it.
Until one day, Xiaoli couldn't hold back the love in her heart anymore, and choked up and said "I love you" to me. Lao Li inadvertently bumped into this scene, the expression on his face was playful and disdainful, and he snorted on the street: "Look, look, it's not that a family doesn't enter the door." ”
Lao Li's words pierced the last self-esteem in my heart. I knew that in order not to be ridiculed by the world, I had to make a choice...
On the one hand, Xiaoli has taken care of me meticulously over the years, and our relationship has long gone beyond a simple family relationship.
If she truly loves me, and I have other thoughts about her, should I be brave enough to grasp it?
But on the other hand, Xiao Shicai has only passed away a few years ago, and my mother-in-law is old and sick and paralyzed in bed, how can I ignore this family and do things that hurt nature?
What's more, outsiders will definitely criticize the "incest" relationship between me and Xiaoli, how much criticism and shame will we suffer?
My heart is caught in the contradictions of the war between heaven and man. There were a few late nights when I was tossing and turning in bed, almost going crazy with it.
Should I pursue my own personal happiness, or should I make sacrifices for my family and society?
Xiaoli saw that I had not replied for a long time, and her eyes were full of apprehension and anxiety. Until one day, she could no longer hold back the surging emotions in her heart.
Choked up and said to me, "Brother, why do you still turn a blind eye? I really love you... If you feel the same way, be brave and take it, and we'll get out of here and start over!"
It was a last-ditch effort to my heart. I know that in this emotional game, someone must make up their minds and make a brave choice, otherwise we will fall into a never-ending entanglement.
Xiaoli's words were undoubtedly the last fight in my heart. I know that this emotional dispute has reached an inextricable dead end, and someone must make a brave decision, otherwise we will fall into a never-ending entanglement.
I began to weigh it repeatedly, as long as I was with Xiaoli, I would have to bear: the pressure of public opinion and ethical condemnation from my family, the criticism and ridicule of society, and the permanent condemnation of conscience in my heart.
And if I miss it, I will lose: Xiaoli's sincere and persistent love for me, the warmth and love she gives, and the vision of personal happiness in the future.
Oh my God, this is a nightmare dilemma! Am I just imprisoned by the world, imprisoned by the so-called "ethics", and never able to pursue my own happiness? Or am I brave enough to break free from the old fetters, or am I going to pursue a new life with great ambition?
Yes, who hasn't made a mistake? How can love be so innocent? My heart is churning, my reason is struggling, my emotions are crying...
Until that night, I mustered up the courage and decided to face my true thoughts as a man. I found my elderly mother-in-law, who was still paralyzed in bed, and solemnly and slowly opened up to her...
That night, it took almost all my courage to speak to my mother-in-law with difficulty.
I didn't expect that my mother-in-law, who had always been traditional and conservative, would not denounce or show anger after hearing about my crimes.
She was silent for a long time, and gently stroked my face with her old, wrinkled hands. I saw that her eyes seemed to be crying tears, and she said in a trembling voice: "Li Yu, you have indeed regarded me as your biological mother over the years, I am also old, and my eyes are a little dizzy, and I really don't see the change in the relationship between you and Xiaoli..."
"But I'm not old and confused, since the little poem... When you die, you live in the shadows, listless all day long. Now that you have regained the hope and vitality of life, I am happy from the bottom of my heart. ”
"But... The older generation is more traditional, and your relationship is really difficult to accept in the eyes of outsiders. But who can get the love of love? Just do it yourself..."
Hearing my mother-in-law's words, my heart was full of mixed feelings, including surprise and relief, but more of a deep guilt.
Yes, although my mother-in-law is duplicitous, she, as an elder, has tried her best to support us.
I looked at my mother-in-law's thin figure, and suddenly felt like a knife in my heart. She was robbed of her daughter by illness and fate, and only me, the son-in-law, remained. Now that I am going to leave her, how can she not be grieved?
I know that this path to happiness is bound to have many obstacles to overcome.
Early the next morning, I immediately found Xiaoli and recounted the conversation with my mother-in-law last night.
Xiaoli was also clearly touched by her mother-in-law's unexpected openness and support, and looked at me with tears in her eyes.
Since then, we've informed friends and family about the news. As we expected, no one could accept this "incest" relationship at the beginning, and they accused us of ignorance of ethics and moral degradation.
But as time passed, through our practical actions, we all saw the pure and persistent love we had for each other.
Does this have anything to do with ethics? Love has always been selfish, and it has never needed the blessing of others.
Gradually, our steadfastness touched the hearts and minds of our family and friends, and won the understanding and recognition of our neighbors. As long as they truly love each other, what does it matter who their spouse is?
In this way, in the midst of secular criticism, after experiencing some twists and turns, Xiaoli and I finally achieved a positive result, and slowly walked through the red carpet full of blessings in the church of the small town, and held a grand and happy wedding...
In the church, when the pastor solemnly read to us the vow "whether sick or healthy, poor or rich, you should be faithful and love each other", I held Xiaoli's hand tightly, feeling that the happiness of this moment was not easy to come by.
Yes, the road to this relationship has indeed experienced many obstacles and criticism, but because of this, our feelings have become more and more pure and persistent.
On the wedding night, Xiaoli snuggled in my arms, her face full of happiness. "From now on, let's get old with each other and grow old together. She said sweetly.
I stared at her deeply, thinking to myself that it was all fate, that we were a natural pair.
Soon after, Xiaoli became pregnant, and we were looking forward to the arrival of a new life, and soon after the marriage, my mother-in-law passed away due to old age and frailty.
On her deathbed, she held my hand tightly, and although she spoke incoherently, I could hear her blessings to us.
In this way, a new family slowly took shape in our love and the arrival of a new life.
I often wonder if if I hadn't bravely pursued my heart's desires, would I have missed the best page of my life with Xiaoli?
Therefore, there is no right or wrong in love, and you should follow your heart's call. As long as you truly love each other, don't let any worldly shackles stop you in your pursuit of happiness. That's what I've experienced in life...
This story is purely fictional, the names and events in the story are fictional, and the purpose of using place names is only for the purpose of describing the plot and making it easy to read and understand