As night fell, the lights in my home were warm and soft, and I sat on the couch in the living room, holding the phone, softly comforting my daughter.
Her voice trembled, and the results of the English test clearly did not meet her expectations. I tried my best to reassure her with gentle words, telling her that failure was only temporary and that it was important to learn from it.
"Mom, I've tried really hard, but ......" the daughter's voice was full of disappointment.
"I know, baby, I know." I replied, my tone full of tenderness.
At that moment, a hurried phone ringing pierced the silence of the night.
I glanced at the caller ID, and it was the familiar and yet unfamiliar name - my ex-husband. My heart tightened, I pressed the reject button, and the bell stopped abruptly.
However, it wasn't long before the phone rang again, and the name was still flashing on the screen. I refused again, and mixed emotions welled up in my heart.
The phone rang relentlessly, again and again, like an uninvited visitor, breaking the peace of the home.
My husband Xue Lin walked out of the study, frowned slightly, and asked with concern, "Yuanyuan, why don't you answer the phone?" ”
I sighed, mixed feelings. "It's Lin Yong," I whispered, with a subtle tremor in my voice, "I don't want to talk to him." ”
A hint of clarity flashed in Xue Lin's eyes, and he walked over and gently held my hand, warm and firm.
"Don't worry, Yuanyuan, whatever you decide to do, I will support you." His words were full of care and protection for me.
I looked up at him, and a warm current welled up in my heart. Xue Lin is always like this, no matter when and where, always gives me the greatest support and comfort. I took a deep breath and decided not to let my ex-husband's harassment affect my mood and the peace of my family.
"Thank you, Xue Lin." I said gratefully, my heart filled with dependence and trust in him.
Xue Lin smiled slightly, patted my hand gently, and then turned back to the study, leaving me a peaceful space. I pressed the reject button again, and this time, I turned off my phone and completely blocked out my ex-husband's harassment.
As I continued to talk to my daughter, memories of the past were already brewing in my mind, and memories of pain and anger were pouring over me. I knew that I needed to face the past in order to move better into the future.
My name is He Yuan, I am 53 years old, and in the spring of 1970, I was born in an ordinary family in a small county. As a child, like many children, I enjoyed carefree times.
Although the family conditions were not wealthy and my parents' income was meager, in this loving family, I was held in the palm of my hands by my parents and older siblings, who tried their best not to let me feel the hardships of life.
"Yuanyuan, you have to study hard so that you can have a career in the future." My father always told me that, and his eyes were full of expectation.
I nodded, my heart filled with a thirst for knowledge. With their full support, I finished high school, but fate didn't seem to favor me, I failed in the college entrance examination, and I failed in World War II, so I had to leave campus.
Eventually, with the help of my relatives, I got a job and started my social life.
"Yuanyuan, you have to come on, don't give up your dreams." My brothers and sisters encouraged me, and their words gave me strength.
There, I met Lin Yong, a boy who graduated from junior high school and whose family conditions were even worse than mine. He has a mouth that can be spoken, and he can always make girls happy with sweet words. I was no exception, and I was quickly attracted by his sweet words and my heart was full of anticipation for him.
"Yuanyuan, I will be good to you for the rest of my life and make you the happiest woman in the world." Lin Yong took my hand, and his eyes flashed with sincerity.
I took his word for it and believed in his promises. I fell in love with him and decided not to marry him. In order to be able to be with him, I did whatever it took to get my parents' consent, even by going on a hunger strike and rolling around.
"Yuanyuan, have you really thought about it?" My mother looked at me with worry in her eyes.
"Mom, I think about it, I love him, and I believe he will give me happiness." I said firmly, my heart full of hope for the future.
In 1992, we had our wedding, which was the most glorious moment of my life, in my opinion.
At the wedding, there are no luxurious decorations, no expensive wedding dresses, only the blessings of relatives and friends and Lin Yong's loving eyes.
"I do." I replied firmly, filled with hope for the future.
Life after marriage is not as good as I imagined, but I believe that as long as we love each other, everything will be fine. I worked hard to contribute to this small family, and Lin Yong promised to give me a happy future.
However, as time went on, reality gradually revealed its cruel side, and I began to realize that Lin Yong's sweet words did not solve all of life's problems.
When we married Lin Yong, we had almost nothing. The conditions of my in-laws' family were extremely poor, and we didn't even have our own house, so we could only live in a dilapidated house with my in-laws and my eldest brother's family.
At that time, I naively thought that as long as there was love, no matter how hard and tiring life was, I could be happy. However, reality soon hit me hard, and my married life was far more difficult than I had imagined.
"How did you become a daughter-in-law? Can't even take care of a decent home! My mother-in-law's scolding became my daily "greeting".
The sister-in-law's bitterness and her father-in-law's irritable temper make the atmosphere at home forever tense, and life is very fast. In such an environment, I tried to maintain optimism, but deep down I was tired and helpless.
In 1994, I gave birth to my son, and the arrival of this little life gave me new hope, and I was determined to give him a better environment to grow up.
I persuaded Lin Yong to go out with me to work, and my parents had already helped us find a job. However, the opposition of our in-laws and Lin Yong's weakness made our plan come to naught.
"Your parents are not far away, why are you so ignorant?" Lin Yong's words hit me in the heart like a slap in the face.
I endured it for six years for the sake of my son. Life is stretched, Lin Yong can't make money, and he is unwilling to change the status quo.
Whenever he was angry outside, he would lose his temper at me when he came home, and I endured everything from bad words to throwing things.
After enduring years of married life, that day, I finally reached my limit.
One evening in 2000, the atmosphere at home was extremely tense, and the cost of my son's upcoming school was the last straw that crushed me.
Once again, I firmly proposed to Lin Yong that we need to change the status quo, and going out to work is the only way out. "You woman, you know money and money all day long, what else do you have in your eyes besides money?" Lin Yong's voice was sharp and harsh, and anger and impatience were written on his face. I tried to stay calm and responded, "Lin Yong, our son needs a better education, and we can't let him lose at the starting line." ”
"You know what?! Parents are not far away, you are not filial! His voice became louder and louder, his in-laws watched coldly, and the corner of his sister-in-law's mouth hung a sneer.
I felt powerless and hopeless like never before, but I couldn't give up, and for the sake of my son, I had to persevere. I took a deep breath and was about to speak again, but I didn't expect Lin Yong to suddenly stand up and slap me hard in the face.
"You ruined woman, you dare to talk back!" He roared, his eyes full of fierce light. I was knocked to the ground, and the burning pain in my face made me almost lose the ability to think.
I can't believe that this man who once kept saying that he would love me and protect me would actually start beating me. I felt a deep sense of betrayal and despair.
Lin Yong didn't stop, his fists raining down on me, each blow carrying his anger and disappointment.
I curled up on the ground, trying to protect myself, but the pain still kept me from breathing.
"Enough, Lin Yong!" I heard my mother-in-law's voice, but there was not a trace of sympathy in her words, only indifference and reproach.
I was finally taken to the hospital, bruised and purple, and every scar was a sign of this marriage.
I lay in my hospital bed, my heart full of pain and confusion. I don't understand why love has become like this, why what was once a vow has become so fragile.
The news soon reached my parents' home, and my parents and older siblings rushed to me in a rage, and they saw that I was covered in bruises, and their eyes were filled with distress and anger.
"We can't just forget it, for Yuanyuan's sake, we have to ask for an explanation!" The elder brother's voice was firm and powerful.
They rushed to Lin Yong's house and smashed everything they could, it was a mess, and it was my last struggle.
In the face of Lin Yong's plea for mercy, there were no more waves in my heart, only determination and determination.
"Yuanyuan, you can't take the child, he is the root of our family." The mother-in-law's words were like an ultimatum, and her eyes were full of threats and orders.
I looked at them with powerlessness and sorrow in my heart. I knew that if I took my son, they would really do extreme things.
My sister-in-law watched coldly from the sidelines, and her words pierced my heart like a needle: "Yuanyuan, don't be stupid, the dog can't change eating, even if you take the child away, what can you do?" ”
At that moment, my heart was so dead that I decided to give up custody of my son and end the marriage.
I relented, signed a divorce agreement, and left the home that had once been full of love and hope with a scar and a broken heart.
After the divorce, I tried to visit my son, but each time I was ruthlessly blocked by my ex-husband's family.
Once, I finally met him with great difficulty, only to find that my son, provoked by them, was already full of misunderstandings and resentments towards me.
He thought I had abandoned him, run away with someone else, and didn't want him anymore. In the face of my son's angry accusations and insults, I felt helplessness and pain like never before, and no matter how I explained it, he didn't want to listen.
In 2002, in order to prevent me from taking my son away, Lin Yong's family quietly moved away without leaving any news, and I lost my son's news.
During that time, I almost fell into despair, as if a part of my life had been stripped away.
In 2005, under the persuasion of my parents and sister-in-law, I began to try to get out of the shadow of a failed marriage. My second sister-in-law matched me, and I met Xue Lin, a gentle and reliable man.
With his care and love, I slowly regained the courage and confidence to live. We got married and started a new life.
In 2007, I gave birth to my daughter, and together with Xue Lin and my stepson, our family of four lived happily.
My in-laws treated me like a daughter, Xue Lin handed over the economic power to me, my stepson respected me very much, and my daughter was well-behaved and sensible, I felt unprecedented happiness and satisfaction. But even so, there is always a hole in my heart that cannot be filled, and that is the longing for my son.
Until a year ago, I received a strange phone call, and it turned out to be my son.
I was so excited that I went to see him and told him how much I missed and cared about him. However, my son didn't have the patience to listen to me, he told me that he was getting married and needed me to give him 200,000 yuan, which should be regarded as owing him child support.
I had mixed feelings, but for the sake of my son's happiness, I agreed to his request.
After her husband Xue Lin found out, he expressed his support, and he thought that this was his responsibility as a mother. I gave the money to my son in the hope that he would live a happy life.
However, when I heard that my daughter-in-law was about to give birth, I went to see them, but I heard a conversation between my son and Lin Yong's mother at the door.
I stood outside the door, holding gold jewelry for my soon-to-be-born grandson, my heart full of anticipation and joy. However, the conversation that came from inside was like a basin of cold water, dousing all my enthusiasm.
"Grandma, she's here and she's brought a lot of things." The son's voice came through the crack in the door, with a hint of reluctance.
"Hmph, what's the use of her coming? She owes us, and this little thing is satisfied? It was Lin Yong's mother, and her voice was full of contempt and disdain.
"That's... She has already given the 200,000. The son's voice hesitated.
"200,000? What's that for? She thought she would be able to erase the past? The mother-in-law's voice was sharp and mean.
"That's... So what do we do? The son seemed to be seeking her opinion.
"What to do? You're stupid! Continue to ask her for money, let her serve the confinement and take care of the child. When she can't come up with the money, drive her away. "My mother-in-law's words cut my heart like a knife.
"But... Grandma, is that good? The son seemed hesitant.
"What's so bad? This is what she owes us, the price she paid for abandoning you father and son! The mother-in-law's voice was full of malice.
I heard my son give me a soft "um", and that understatement made me feel completely chilled.
I understand that if there is a father, there must be a son, and the greed and selfishness of their family are engraved in their bones.
I didn't go in, I turned and left. I felt disappointment and pain like never before, but at the same time I felt a sense of relief. I understand that there may really be no mother-son relationship between me and my son.
When I got home, I told Xue Lin what had happened.
He was very angry when he heard this, took the phone, and warned Lin Yong's family fiercely, telling them not to harass me again.
Then, he comforted me and said, "Yuanyuan, you still have me, we have our daughter and stepson, and we will always be by your side." ”
I felt warmer and more relieved than I had ever been. I figured it out, I have a husband who loves me, a sensible daughter and stepson, and I'm already very satisfied.
As for my son, I can only bless him and hope that he can live the life he wants. And I should also let go of the past, cherish the people in front of me, and live my life well.