So You’re Saying I Should Thank You?
So You’re Saying I Should Thank You?
Hearing her daughter's stern and bold statement, Liu Ronghua frantically stood up, and before Ruan Danchen could leave, she grabbed onto her daughter's arm. Almost begging her, she said, "Danchen, even if you don't think about yourself or me, you'll need to think about Qi Chenglin's feelings right? I could tell he cares deeply for you. What if the Qi family refuses to let you date Qi Chenglin because of my status? Do you think Qi Chenglin would just agree to that? He will never give up without a fight. What happens if he has a falling out with his entire family because of you? You would be tearing his family apart, making him choose between the two things he loves the most. Do you wish to see him like that?"
Ruan Danchen's lips twitched a little as she replied, "I believe in Qi Chenglin's ability to defend me. I have faith in the entire Qi family's ability to fully accept me; I have even more faith that their family is able to ignore my past and accept me for who I am. You and I are two completely different people. They will never use the same judgement on me as they did you. I fully believe in their judgement and that they will treat me fairly. They will never judge me based on my past and on my familial ties. They are good people. If it mattered that much, then I would rather both families never meet at all. I never had plans to invite the Shen family to my wedding anyway."
Ruan Danchen felt tears forming at the edge of her eyes; her nose became increasingly stuffy as she desperately fought back the urge to cry her eyes out. Through her trembling voice she said, "I will not fight with you here. I will deal with you at another time. But for the record, I don't care if the Qi family rejects me for who I am, or for who my family is. I don't even care if I will never get married. I am sure that Qi Chenglin will love me for a lifetime, even without the piece of paper. We will live like a married couple does anyways it does not matter to me. I know for a fact that he will never betray my feelings. I have a man that loves me to the moon and back; he will never abandon me. Married or not, it matters so little to me, I trust that he will treat me as well as he possibly can and more. I already have a son, and I don't mind if Youxuan knew that I am his birth mom or not. Even if he never calls me mother, it does not matter. My feelings are clear and that's all that matters to me."
"Go ahead and do your worst! Tell Shen Jialiang! I would rather stay unmarried and live with Qi Chenglin for as long as I live, than abandon him for any formal status. I will never allow him to have even the smallest chance of using me to get to Qi Chenglin. He will gain nothing from Qi Chenglin," Ruan Danchen said, clenching her teeth.
"How could you be so cruel? Danchen, can't you think of your own mother? You would rather be looked down in the entire Shen family and by everyone else? You would you wish to hold any sort of higher status or class in your life?" Liu Ronghua started to bawl after saying this. Her tears were as if the floodgates were opened. It came out pouring. This was unexpected as she started bawling without any warning. "If I have any sort of higher status or class, you too will be able to benefit from it. Don't you get it?" Liu Ronghua added
"I can't understand, since you've remained at the bottom of the entirety of the Shen family's household for all these years, and just by using your own daughter, only then will he offer you a formal place in his house? Why are you so obsessed in staying there anyway? You know, by leaving that hell on Earth, just do you part as a single mother, no one in the Qi family will turn their back on you." Ruan Danchen explained as she fought back her overwhelming urge to cry as her heart wrenches.
"It's too late for me to escape now, everyone knew about my ties with the Shen family. If I get out now, people will know that I've been kicked out by them. I had nothing all these years, all I ever wanted was a name for myself, to climb higher on the social ladder, and to think that all my hard work amount to nothing, and being kicked out of the Shen family. I can't lose him now. I need him now more than ever, I had too much on the line to lose! Think about it, even if I do manage to leave that family, everyone knew what I did in the past. It will be the same as you!" Liu Ronghua explained frantically as she grabbed onto Ruan Danchen's arm.
"I am not young anymore, Danchen. Can't you just let me have this, just promise me this one little favor please? Being a part of the Shen family isn't all that bad. You will never be wronged by them; instead, you will be the golden girl, the star of the family. No one would dare cross you, all because of your ties with the Qi family." Liu Ronghua explained.
"I've helped you once back then, and I believed that I had made myself very clear then, that would be the first and last time I will ever help you. Back then, you made me leave, just because all you cared about was getting yourself into the Shen family. Was that not enough for you?" Ruan Danchen exclaimed as she pulled her arm away from Liu Ronghua's grip.
"It's all thanks to that incident, you were able to meet Qi Chenglin and have such an adorable boy with him. Think about it, if it wasn't for that, you will never have met him in the first place. The both of you were from a different world altogether, he would never have paid any attention to you right? So all that happened was fated to happen. Your meeting with him was all destiny's plan!" Liu Ronghua said as she tried to grip onto Ruan Danchen's arm again, however, this act alone made her took a step back, avoiding her grip.
Ruan Danchen could not believe what she heard from that woman's mouth. Every word from Liu Ronghua was filled with discrimination and judgement. As if she was looking down on her.
Liu Ronghua had her head caught in the clouds. She thought that by living in the Shen family's household, made her a person of a higher status, completely outright discriminating against her own daughter who had to climb her way up from the bottom.
So Liu Ronghua actually thought that her own daughter did not match a person like Qi Chenglin.
How could she even say something so vile?
"So you're saying that I should thank you? Thank you for being Qi Chenglin's matchmaker? I should probably thank Shen Jialiang and Shen Zhijing, then. If it wasn't for them, I would've never slept with Qi Chenglin. I would've never been noticed by him and I would've never met him! Not to mention, given him a son. Was that what you meant?" Ruan Danchen said as her heart grew colder. She felt the need to yell. She wanted to ask Liu Ronghua what exactly made her perceive her own daughter like this.
What kind of mother would be like Liu Ronghua!
"To be absolutely blunt, yes, exactly as you said." Liu Ronghua recoiled a little as she replied.
This reply finally made Ruan Danchen break. Without warning, she laughed. Then, just as suddenly, she began to sob. All that could be heard was her sad, depressing wheezing. Her shoulders were trembling violently as she dissolved into a puddle of tears.
Liu Ronghua was shocked to see her daughter crying.
Ruan Danchen felt the strong urge to ask Liu Ronghua if she was actually her birth daughter. She wanted to tell her there was no mother on the face of the Earth that would do something like this to their daughter.
"Then I am thankful for all of you." Ruan Danchen replied sarcastically.
"Danchen, no matter how things started, the outcome helped you out greatly…" Liu Ronghua sniffled.
"Enough!" Ruan Danchen snapped back at her. "Are you saying that you want me to repay you now as daughterly duty? You keep saying that you were helping me, but you never once asked about me, or cared for me for seven whole years! Yet here you are shamelessly expecting your daughter to fulfil her duty?" Ruan Danchen cried, her voice cracking.
"Look at how well you're doing now; is this not enough for you?" Liu Ronghua shrugged her shoulders.
"You can see that I am doing well now, but had the thought of how much I struggled to get to where I am now ever crossed your mind? I have not even mentioned my tuition fees. I worked to pay off my fees, slept for only 4 hours a day. I didn't even have the luxury of going home during semester break. Every year, during Chinese New Year, all I did was stare at the empty B City while everyone left to celebrate with their families. I felt so lonely. All I did was sit in my rented house, blasting my TV so I couldn't hear the fireworks. All those happy, laughing children downstairs, being shielded by their parent's love... I don't need to talk about the present. Even in my childhood, I have never felt the same love and warmth those kids did. You assumed I was doing well, but where were you then? Busy sucking up to Shen Jialiang and Shen Zhijing!
"You told me to thank all of you because, without you guys, I would never have been able to date Qi Chenglin now. What does that matter now anyway? Does it really matter if I'm doing quite well at the moment? What does my well-being have to do with you anyway? Just because of that little biological relation to you? I am lucky to have met him. What do you think my current fate would be if it was someone else instead? Even if that person was the scummiest of men, you would have done the same. You would have still forced me to sleep with him regardless of how much you would ruin my life. How could I still have the good fortune I do now?" Ruan Danchen ranted.
"But--but you're talking about possibilities and what-ifs. Since you're doing so well for yourself right now, why even think about what happened back then? There are no ifs or would'ves. It is all thanks to us you met Qi Chenglin, and that you have the life you live now. Danchen, you didn't have much back then, but now you do. Just help your mother out would you?" Liu Ronghua begged. Her thick, selfish skull had apparently stopped her from listening to her daughter's plea earlier.
Hearing her mother's skewed reasons, Ruan Danchen felt hopeless. There was no redemption for her mother. All she could do was shake her head in disbelief and painful disappointment.
"Mom."
Liu Ronghua was shocked. This was the first time in a very long while that she had called her mom.
"You told me before that I have never once called you mom. Now I'll do it. I'm calling you mom for once now. I'm begging you, just leave me alone alright? I've never begged before. Not even when your selfish needs to get into the Shen family's household made you do what you did to me back then. Even then, I never begged. So, I'm begging you now, with everything in my life and from the bottom of my heart, I beg you: please leave me alone okay? You want me to help you out, but I'm begging you, help me out here as well, alright?
"Just leave me alone. Just leave me with my peaceful and happy life, okay? Don't back me into a corner, and stop using me for your own gain." Ruan Danchen said. Some words were unclear due to the heavy sobbing. "I've never experienced a mother's love as a child growing up. When you married Uncle Lee back then, he treated me well. He loved me as his own daughter, he came to my school's Parents-Teachers conference, he came to support me for sport's day… But it didn't last till Chinese New Year. He could not stand you any longer. In my entire life, I have never had a perfect home, never had a mother's love. Anything that slightly resembled a father's love for a child was that short year I had with Uncle Lee. Now that I have met Qi Chenglin, and I have Youxuan, all I could ever want is to form a complete and happy, loving family with Qi Chenglin. I never want Youxuan to grow up without a mother, and I want nothing more than to experience the love of a complete family. That is my only wish. I want a home. So, I'm begging you, please leave me alone."
Ruan Danchen closed her eyes.
Liu Ronghua's mouth twitched as she began to speak. "You know, if you come live with the Shen family, it would be the same. I will be your mother, your Uncle Shen will be your father and Shen Zhijing will be your sister. You can still marry Qi Chenglin, but ,this way, you'll have two families. Wouldn't that be nice?"
Hearing her outrageous reply almost drove Ruan Danchen to the brink of insanity. She wanted to yell her lungs out. She squatted on the ground and covered her face with both her hands.
Liu Ronghua… How on Earth did she come up with reasons like this?
"If becoming part of the Shen family is what I need to do to get a family, then I would never! I would rather be without a family my entire life than to allow Shen Jialiang to use Qi Chenglin and Qi Youxuan! I would rather die than let the Shen family have their way! Do you wish death on me? Have I not made myself clear enough? It doesn't matter what you or anyone from the Shen family say to me, I will never give them what they want. Being used and manipulated by you once is enough for me. I will never allow you guys any possibility of interacting with Qi Chenglin and Qi Youxuan." Ruan Danchen snapped.
"How could you say something like that, Danchen? Can't you just think of my feelings? If I can't convince you, I'll be kicked out of the Shen family's home!" Liu Ronghua pleaded while sobbing hard as she gripped hard on her sleeves of her dress. "This was a good thing for everyone. It benefits everyone! Why can't you just agree to his terms? Do you actually want to see me kicked out from their home, being left alone on the streets? Danchen, is this about revenge? Because of what happened back then, you resent me to the core and nothing makes you happier than watching me left on my own? You want me to go through the same pain you did, right?" Liu Ronghua accused.
Ruan Danchen stared at Liu Ronghua hopelessly. The look in Ruan Danchen's eyes as she stared at Liu Ronghua dead and hollow. There was not a single hint of life left in her eyes. Looking at how pathetic Liu Ronghua was made Ruan Danchen shiver a little.
Ruan Danchen stood up from her squatting position. As she stood up, she suddenly felt dizzy, and her view went black. Before she could tip over and fall, she swiftly grabbed onto the edge of the table. She took a short break to compose herself. As her vision returned, the only thing she could see was the quiet and cold room before her.
"Danchen…" Liu Ronghua pleaded pathetically.
"From this day on, stay away from me," Ruan Danchen said through her tears as she took a deep breath. "Just forget you ever had me as a daughter. If the Qi family mind my familial ties and past, then so be it. That would mean that I was never lucky enough to marry Qi Chenglin to begin with. Whatever you choose to say to anyone from the Qi family is up to you, since I am mentally prepared to not marry Qi Chenglin now. I will spend my entire life with him, never marrying anyone else." Ruan Danchen declared.
"Whatever matters you have with the Shen family don't concern me. You will not come looking for me. I told you that before, seven years ago. You promised me then, and here you are now, not holding up your end of the bargain. Since nothing I say will get through your head, anyway, and you have somehow convinced yourself that you are free of guilt, if you decided to show up at Qilin to cause a scene for the sole purpose of destroying my reputation, you are welcome to do so as you please. I have completely come to terms with my inability to marry Qi Chenglin, so why should I care? Just do your worst, destroy my name as you please.
"Do what you and the Shen family please. Whatever you say or do will be up for you to decide," Ruan Danchen said calmly, though tears were streaming down her face. Her entire expression looked drained of life.
Liu Ronghua could only stare at her daughter. Ruan Danchen, at this very moment, resembled a living, breathing zombie. Completely devoid of life.
"That is all I had left to say to you. What else do you think you and the Shen family have to use as a leverage against me? To back me into a tighter corner? I have completely given up all hope of ever receiving any form of motherly love from you. All that I can hope for is for you to think about my feelings, even for the slightest moment. Even for that would be a request of luxury from a person like you."
"Danchen, you can't--"
Before Liu Ronghua could finish her sentence, the door swung open forcefully.
Liu Ronghua was shocked by the sudden intrusion, and she turned her head to look. She instantly grew pale as she saw the person that had barged into the room was Qi Chenglin.
Ruan Danchen had secretly sent the location of the cafe to Qi Chenglin the moment she had arrived with her mother. Upon knowing her exact location, Qi Chenglin had not wasted any time, and he had rushed to the cafe immediately.
He was worried that Ruan Danchen would be bullied in his absence. He knew exactly how unreasonable and shameless Liu Ronnghua could be.
However, the longer he listened to their conversation, the hotter his blood boiled. He was so furious, his arms were trembling.
As belligerent as he was, after hearing how willing Ruan Danchen was to sacrifice everything rather than to allow them any possible interaction with Qi Chenglin or Qi Youxuan, he was beyond touched by her selflessness. His heart was filled with compassion and the warm love of her.
Her heard Ruan Danchen's painful, depressing cries as she pleaded with all her heart to her mother, however, nothing was getting through her mother's ignorant, thick skull. All Liu Ronghua cared about was herself. Her selfish motives outweighs her rational mind.
Qi Chenglin could no longer take it as he felt awful for Ruan Danchen. His heart ached deeply for her current circumstances. All he could think of was how Ruan Danchen would be drowning in her own ocean of tears. That very thought alone made his heart throb in even more pain.
He could no longer keep his anger suppressed, and had barged in with the full intent of unleashing his unbound fury.
Ruan Danchen stared at Qi Chenglin through teary eyes. She never expected him to arrive this soon, she had nothing to worry about now.
Ruan Danchen's cries now possessed a second meaning. Her cries, before Qi Chenglin's arrival, were out of pure pain, however, now that Qi Chenglin was present, her wails had grown near melodramatic. She had someone to shield her from her mother's torment now, a cushion for her to fall back on. She was now able to allow herself to be fully vulnerable.
Qi Chenglin said nothing as he took long strides over to Ruan Danchen, hugging her with both his arms, and shielding her in his warm, loving embrace. His heart panged to see Ruan Danchen cry to such an extent.
He hugged her tightly against his body, never minding her tears and snot staining his shirt.
He felt that, before hugging her, her body was stiff and tense. However, after embracing her, he could feel her body relaxing as she continued sobbing and wheezing as if she was unloading all her emotional torment on Qi Chengling. She was like a child complaining to their parents about how much they were bullied.
Qi Chenglin lowered his head as he gave her a kiss on top of her head, comforting her. All while staring coldly at Liu Ronghua.
This entire interaction terrified Liu Ronghua and her entire expression grew pale. She had no idea what Qi Chenglin was thinking in that moment. The moment his sharp, cold stare met Liu Ronghua's eyes, she felt her legs grew weak as she unconsciously took a couple steps back.
Qi Chenglin said nothing as his lips were pressed together tightly. The only time his lips relaxed was when he had lowered his head to look at Ruan Danchen.
Just like that, he took Ruan Danchen with him and left the cafe.
…
…
Upon entering Qi Chenglin's car, instead of letting Ruan Danchen to be seated in the front seat, he placed her on his lap, cuddling her. Qi Chenglin said nothing, only patting her head to comfort her.
Qi Chenglin waited patiently for Ruan Danchen to calm down, which she eventually did, hiccupping. Her shoulders tensed with the motion.
Looking at Ruan Danchen's sorrowful state, Qi Chenlin's heart ached, and he took out a tissue to wipe her nose.
"I'm filthy, let me do it myself," Ruan Danchen said as she reached out to grab the tissue. He did not let go.
"Stay put alright? Let me do it for you," Qi Chenglin soothed.
After he was done wiping Ruan Danchen's nose, the entire tissue was soaked by her snot and some even got onto his fingers, however, he did not mind a single bit. Ruan Danchen could not help but feel slightly embarrassed for causing such a mess.
After that, Qi Chenglin simply took out another piece of tissue and gently wiped away her tears.
Her face was flushed from the violent crying. She managed to calm her mind and stop herself from feeling like an emotional wreck, though, since she was being so gently cared for and comforted by Qi Chenglin.
"Better?" Qi Chenglin's voice echoed in Ruan Danchen's head. She was focussed on Qi Chenglin's warm breath on her forehead. It was warm and comforting.
Ruan Danchen nodded, her heart was still clenching from the emotional torment earlier. She replied sadly, "She's my mother. I can't just leave her alone, but how could she?"
Ruan Danchen sighed deeply and said, "In my darkest moments, I used to think just how happy I would be if I wasn't her daughter. I would rather not have a mother like her. I felt awful because I know how bad of a person I was by thinking that."
"It's okay, you don't have to care about her any longer, it's all going to be okay," Qi Chenglin said as he lowered his head, kissing away the tears from her eyelashes. "Pay no mind to what she told you. There's nothing you need to worry about."
"You know?" Ruan Danchen asked, looking up. Qi Chenglin could not bear looking at her tearful eyes.
He said nothing in response to her question. All he said was, "I could guess," while staring out the window.
"I'm not afraid of what they will do, since I'm already mentally prepared for the worst. You told me once that, in order to preserve Shen Zhijing's reputation, they would not dare reveal anything about Qi Youxuan. As long as they keep Youxuan out of this mess, I have zero problems with it." Ruan Danchen said softly
"I'm here for you." Qi Chenglin said in a soothing voice,as he kissed her tears dry. "Now that you know what Liu Ronghua's purpose is, if she or anyone from the Shen family comes looking for you, there is no need for you to meet them at all. If Liu Ronghua preys on your compassion to meet her, just like today, she will not leave you alone. Let me know. I will meet her alongside you." Qi Chenglin added.
Ruan Danchen silently nodded her head as if she were a child being comforted by an adult. This adorable sight made Qi Chenglin felt conflicted, wondering if he should smile or feel hurt by this pitiful sight.
"It's all my fault. If only my family was slightly normal, you wouldn't be dragged into this mess." Ruan Danchen sighed. She was completely drained by Liu Ronghua's unreasonableness.
She felt guilty, since she was of no help in his daily tasks, and, instead, she was being completely shielded by him now,
It was like when she was being picked on in the city, he was the only person to stand up for her. When she needed a job, Qi Chenglin pulled some strings for her and gave her one. Afraid of internal rumors being spread, he was the one to make sure every single manager of her sector treated her well.
And now, he was being dragged into the mess with Liu Ronghua and the Shen family. This thought made her feel extremely guilty.
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Mini Scene
Regarding About A Nickname 4
The nickname for Qi Chengzhi had failed, however, the old lady would not relent.
The old lady said, "Liya, would you give Chenglin a nickname, please? We already have a not so adorable grandchild now, we can't allow Chenglin to have the same fate, now can we?"
Xia Wenna said nothing.
Qi Chengzhi paid no attention to their conversation as he was busy playing with his toy car on the side.
"Then… What do you think we should call him mom?" Guan Liya asked.
"What about Cheng Cheng?" The old lady asked.
"Isn't that Qi Chenzhi's nickname?"
Read the next chapter to know what happens next.
"Don't you think splitting a scene up in parts like this is a good idea?" said the old man.
"Good. It's better for the monthly ticket." The old lady replied.