Zhao Youlin sensed her son’s nervousness. She caressed his small head and comforted him, “We’re going to visit your… grandma first. She’s friendly. Joy, be a good boy and be polite later. If you do, Grandma would like you as much as Great-grandpa, got it?”
“Got it.” Joy nodded obediently and held Zhao Youlin’s hand. They walked around an elegant courtyard full of plain white flowers and into a secluded small loft.
When they opened the big wooden door, they were greeted by a graceful figure in white.
“Madam, the eldest lady and the young master of the third generation have arrived.”
Within Zhao Youlin’s expectation, she was a very elegant and dignified woman.
Her elegance was different than Li Hongyu’s who was of lower class and ostentatiously pretended to put on airs as a noblewoman. Meanwhile, the noble air she produced came from within her bones. Every movement she made, every smile she gave, and every furrow of her brow was perfect. No one could find any flaws.
The woman wore a plain white knee-length dress. As such, she looked younger than her actual age. Yet, she appeared elegant and mature.
Upon hearing Uncle Zhao’s words, the woman shuddered. She slowly withdrew her gaze from the outside of the window where she had been staring at. Then, she turned around and looked at Zhao Youlin and her son who were standing at the entrance.
At that moment, Zhao Youlin could see a hint of excitement and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Uncle Zhao, you may leave now. I would like to have a word with the eldest lady.”
Uncle Zhao smiled faintly and nodded. Then, he bowed and retreated. He was thoughtful enough to close the door of the room as he was leaving.
As soon as Uncle Zhao left, Duan Yarong could no longer hold back her excitement from the bottom of her heart. She strode forward, scanned Zhao Youlin from head to toe. She said with tearful eyes, “You’ve lost weight.”
When Zhao Youlin saw Duan Yarong’s sincere concern and her heartache for her, for some reason, she felt a sting in her eyes.
Perhaps, this was her first time being truly cared about by someone ever since she was reborn. Perhaps, Duan Yarong’s first few words had been very honest and touching. Perhaps, she felt that the woman before her was just like her own mother who had passed away.
Zhao Youlin felt touched. She felt that she could reveal her grievance to her and said, “Eldest aunt…”
Before Zhao Youlin finished speaking, Duan Yarong had already reached out and grabbed Zhao Youlin’s left hand. She personally rolled up Zhao Youlin’s sleeves.
When Duan Yarong saw the scar on Zhao Youlin’s wrist, the tears welled up in her eyes streamed down on her face and it dropped on the back of Zhao Youlin’s hand. She said, “You silly child, how could you really…”
Duan Yarong had just learned that Zhao Youlin had slit her wrist because of Mu Tingfeng today. A month ago, she had received a case and went abroad. So, she simply did not have any knowledge that her most beloved niece had nearly died this month.
Zhao Youlin glanced at the scar on her hand. In fact, the scar was not so deep. Perhaps, the previous Zhao Youlin had wanted to threaten Mu Tingfeng only and had not intended to end her life.
Unfortunately, even if the wound was shallow, it could still cause a fatality due to prolonged bleeding. The original Zhao Youlin had lost her life because of such a preposterous reason.
However, Zhao Youlin unwittingly felt heartache when she saw her eldest aunt being so sad for her.
After Zhao Youlin thought about it for a while, she took the initiative and held her eldest aunt’s hand to cover the scar without leaving a trace and comforted her, “Eldest aunt, I’m alright. Aren’t I in good shape now?”
Tears continued to stream down over Duan Yarong’s face. Her tearful eyes remained glued on Zhao Youlin, not willing to look away even once as she was afraid that Zhao Youlin might disappear again just like her mother.
“Good. Thankfully, you’re fine. Otherwise, I’ll blow the young master of the Mu family’s house up. I could turn the other cheek to him treating you coldly for all these years, but he even forced you to…”
Zhao Youlin was shocked by Duan Yarong’s sudden outburst. She had never expected a dignified and mature woman to turn out to be like this. She seemed to be thoroughly pissed off.
On second thought, Zhao Youlin could not help but feel touched because her loss of composure was all because of her.
“Eldest aunt, don’t get mad. I’ve divorced Mu Tingfeng. It’s not worthy to be angry because of this. Cool down,” Zhao Youlin wiped away her tears while helping her calm her breath.
It took some time to appease Duan Yarong.
Duan Yarong wiped away her tears as she studied Zhao Youlin. Then, she heaved a sigh, “I’ve already noticed that the young master Mu did not have any feelings for you since the beginning. Not only so, he even found you to be annoying. A marriage without love would only make both parties suffer. I was afraid that you’d suffer after marrying into his family. Yet, you refused to listen to me and insisted on marrying him. In the end, you even hurt yourself because of him…”
When Zhao Youlin heard Duan Yarong say so, she hurriedly played along with her, “Eldest aunt, it was my fault. I was still young and innocent at that time. I’d thought that man was my everything. But, now I understand that I can’t use force on certain things. This scar has taught me a lesson. I’ll never repeat such a stupid mistake in the future. Don’t worry about it.”
Upon hearing Zhao Youlin’s words, Duan Yarong was assured that she had really learned from her mistake. She felt relieved, nodded, and said, “Don’t worry, even though you’ve married Mu Tingfeng once, with your looks and background, you could easily find someone better than the guy from the Mu family. A man who knows how to treasure you.”
Despite knowing that Duan Yarong was just comforting her, Zhao Youlin could not bear the topic any further and so, she changed the topic awkwardly, “Eldest aunt, we shall talk about this again some other day. I’ve just divorced and am with a child… By the way, he’s Joy. Joy, come here.”
Duan Yarong knew that Zhao Youlin did not want to linger on this topic anymore and had deliberately changed the topic. Although Zhao Youlin said she had cut ties with Mu Tingfeng, she had not totally forgotten about him. Moreover, she had been hurt deeply by the previous marriage and only time could heal all wounds. So, she did not insist on it and shifted her attention to Joy.
Joy had occasionally peeked at the unusually young-looking elder when he entered from the beginning. However, he remembered Zhao Youlin’s instructions and thus, he did not dare to misbehave.
Finally, when he heard Zhao Youlin calling him over, he hurriedly raised his head, smiled obediently and greeted her, “Grandma…”
Duan Yarong never had a child even until now. So, she could not withstand it, especially when Joy called her grandma.
