RPAGF Chapter 140 One set in front of the other and one set behind the back
Chapter 140 One set in front of the other and one set behind the back
Nana hurriedly and cautiously replied:
"Mom, it's me. Dad wants you to cook."
She couldn't understand why her father hated her so much, and why her mother hated her too.
She felt like an outsider in this family; no one liked her. That was why she wanted to stay at the Crown Prince's residence today—because she received care and warmth there that she had never experienced before.
"Come here."
The woman lying on the bed had disheveled hair and her face was deathly pale.
Nana cautiously took a few steps forward, when the woman suddenly shouted.
"Can't you hurry up? Put your shoes on."
Nana quickened her pace, skillfully picked up the shoes placed beside the bed, and squatted down next to the woman's bed.
"mother……"
The woman glared at her, then suddenly kicked her.
"You brat, if it weren't for you, would I be living this kind of life? You little nemesis, I hate myself for not killing you back then!"
This wasn't the first time this woman had said this, nor was it the first time Nana had heard it; she had even gotten used to it.
She returned to the woman's feet and, as before, carefully put on the woman's shoes, discussing the matter with her without getting annoyed.
"Mom, Dad says he's hungry and wants you to cook for him. You'd better hurry, or he'll get angry again."
The woman glared at her irritably, then reached out and pinched her ear.
"You brat, before you came along, your father loved me dearly. But ever since you came along, he hates me to the core. Why don't you just die? What are you doing alive? Go die!"
Nana, fighting back tears that threatened to spill, bit her lip and said humbly:
"Mother, I'm sorry, I deserve to die, I was wrong."
"Go to hell!"
After the woman roared, she pushed her to the ground, and the woman, as if nothing had happened, dusted off her clothes and walked towards the door.
Only after the woman left did Nana dare to let the tears in her eyes fall, but she quickly raised her sleeve to wipe them away, afraid that if her father and mother saw them, she would inevitably get a beating.
Because her father and mother both said that she couldn't cry, since no one in the family had died and she couldn't cry at a funeral.
Although she never understood why her parents disliked her so much, she still wanted to be filial to them. She tried to influence them with her filial piety, but no matter what she did, she only received their scolding and beatings. She really didn't know what to do.
Many times, she thought it would be better to die, but after seeing Mao Mao and Wei Ming this time, she changed her mind.
They were her friends, and she wanted to live a good life. She wanted to play with them and listen to them tell her interesting stories.
"You brat, you're dead, don't you know to come out and start a fire?"
"coming……"
When she heard a woman's voice, she quickly got up and ran to the kitchen.
Once the food was ready, Zhang Guodong sat at the table, while the woman and Nana stood to the side, not daring to sit down or even glance at the table.
Zhang Guodong picked up a leaf of vegetable, took a bite, and then spat it out.
"Too salty, rubbish."
The woman trembled with fear and quickly apologized.
"I'll use less salt next time."
"Next time? How many next times is there?"
"But...but you said you were indifferent yesterday."
"Snapped!"
Zhang Guodong suddenly slammed his chopsticks on the table, stood up abruptly, strode over to the woman, grabbed her hair, and demanded through gritted teeth, "..."
"You did this on purpose, didn't you? You wanted to kill me so you could go find that man, didn't you?"
The woman was terrified and shook her head frantically.
"I was wrong, I'll put less salt in tomorrow, I was wrong, please don't hit me, please don't hit me."
"Snapped!"
The more she begged for mercy, the angrier Zhang Guodong seemed to become.
He raised his hand and slapped her across the face. Seeing this, Nana knelt on the ground, her eyes red with tears.
"Father, please spare my mother, please don't hit her."
"Get out, you little bastard."
He glared at Nana hatefully, then punched her twice on the head. Still not satisfied, he picked up the plate of food again, grabbed the back of her head, and forced the food into her mouth.
"Eat it, eat it! You like to sneak food, so eat it!"
The woman cried and shook her head vigorously, but the man seemed unable to suppress his anger any longer, and he smashed the plate in his hand to the ground with a 'bang'.
Nana cowered and trembled with fear. Zhang Guodong's anger grew, and he simply straddled the woman and began to punch and kick her.
Instantly, sounds of hitting, cursing, crying, and a girl's soft sobs filled the room.
After a short while, Zhang Guodong seemed to have gotten tired of fighting. He suddenly overturned the table with a "crash," cursing under his breath.
"I'll feed you all, I won't be satisfied even if you starve to death."
He left those words behind and strode away.
This is what he does every day. Every day he makes the woman cook four or eight dishes, but he never eats a bite. He always overturns the perfectly good food on the ground, just like today, and then goes to a restaurant to eat and drink to his heart's content.
The woman dared not utter a sound or even speak about his behavior, because she had made the mistake first.
Seeing that Zhang Guodong had finally left, Nana carefully crawled to her side.
"Mom, are you okay?"
The woman lay on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
She had had enough of this kind of life. If it weren't for Nana, she would have ended it all long ago.
Although she hated Nana's arrival, she was still a piece of her own flesh and blood, and she still felt sorry for her.
She got up from the ground, looked at Nana who was crying her eyes out, and reached out to touch her face. "Nana, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you, shouldn't have pricked you, and shouldn't have bullied you."
Nana quickly shook her head.
"Mother, it's not your fault, it's Nana's fault."
"Nana, I'm giving you some silver. Go stay at an inn for the night and don't come back tonight. I need to have a good talk with your father."
"mother……"
Nana looked at her, puzzled.
"My dad treats me so well in front of others, but why does he beat me when he comes home, and he beats you too? Doesn't he like us?"
Upon hearing this, the woman's tears fell uncontrollably. She decided to tell Nana the truth, regardless of whether Nana could remember it or not.
“Nana, remember what I told you today, remember it for the rest of your life. No matter what you go through, you should never hate your father. If you must hate someone, hate me, because he is not your biological father…”
As she spoke, she began to sob softly, and Nana rushed forward to hug her in a panic.
"Mother, what are you saying? What's wrong?"
The woman shook her head.
“I’m telling the truth. Actually, your father was very good to me before, but several of our children died young. Later, a Taoist priest gave me a suggestion to have a child through artificial insemination, so I... I found a man and you were born.”
At this point, she raised her hand and, 'slap slap, slap,' forcefully slapped herself across the face twice in frustration.
"It's all my fault for being confused for a moment and doing something wrong."
She took a jade pendant from her bosom and put it around Nana's neck.
“I don’t know who your father is either. This jade pendant was left to you by him. Take it and try to find him when you have the chance. If you can’t find him…”
At this point, she covered her face and began to sob.
"What will you do if we can't find you? I really don't know who to entrust you to."