After leaving the Gu Residence, Ming Li sat in her car and hesitated for a moment before driving home first.
When they had moved into the new house, Lady Ming had given her a key, but after getting married, she had never stayed over here.
During every Spring Festival, the Gu family was lively with the whole clan gathered, and Ming Li had to help Gu Xueqiang handle all sorts of chores. She was busy from the moment she opened her eyes, and though many tasks could be delegated to the servants, there were still plenty that required her personal attention.
Especially right after getting married, when she was unfamiliar with everything—following Gu Xueqiang around and learning had left her utterly exhausted.
But this house still had Ming Li’s room.
Ming Li had the key in her bag, but she still habitually knocked on the door.
After knocking a few times, the door opened. It was Ming Xi.
Over the course of the night, the red marks on her face had faded a lot, though there were short scratches on her cheekbones that had already scabbed over. Overall, she looked much better than yesterday.
“Sis.” Ming Xi naturally asked her, “Have you had breakfast?”
“I have.” Ming Li hung up her bag and glanced at the living room. Lady Ming was sitting at the dining table, not even turning her head—she seemed angry. Ming Li shot Ming Xi a look, and Ming Xi shook her head at her, mouthing, “She’s been like this since she got up this morning.”
Ming Xi had caused such a huge scene at school yesterday that her homeroom teacher made her stay home and reflect for two days.
She hadn’t gone to school today and had planned to get up early and hole up in the library for the day. But as soon as she opened her bedroom door, she ran straight into Lady Ming.
To be precise, Lady Ming had sensed something was off. She hadn’t caught her last night, so she got up early on purpose to block the doorway.
The marks on her face were naturally spotted by Lady Ming, and Ming Xi had given her a vague explanation, glossing over the worst parts.
The main reason she’d asked Ming Li to go to the school yesterday was to keep Lady Ming from worrying.
Lady Ming’s health was frail to begin with—if she’d seen a scene like yesterday’s, she might have fainted on the spot.
Unexpectedly, after hearing everything, Lady Ming fell silent. She didn’t scold Ming Xi or even mention Ming Li. Instead, she just set breakfast on the table and sat there staring into space.
Ming Xi had tried to coax her, but after a few attempts, Lady Ming barely reacted, repeating the same few phrases over and over: “Eat.” “It’s fine.”
In the end, Ming Xi had no idea what to do.
Lady Ming was usually very easy to appease. Whenever Ming Xi messed up in the past, a little coquetry, some soft words, and rubbing against her like a puppy would do the trick—ten minutes at most to break through her defenses.
But today, Lady Ming was like an impenetrable fortress.
Ming Li patted Ming Xi’s arm, signaling her to relax, then walked over to Lady Ming, squatting down halfway and asking gently, “Mom, are you mad?”
“No.” Lady Ming glanced at her and, seeing no injuries on her face, let out a breath of relief. She said gravely, “Are you hungry? Eat something.”
“I’ve already eaten.” Ming Li said, “I was just worried, so I came to check on you.”
“Oh.” Lady Ming paused, as if wanting to say something but holding back.
“Mom, just say whatever’s on your mind. We were wrong this time,” Ming Li said with an extremely good attitude. “We made you worry.”
The moment those words left her mouth, Lady Ming’s expression shifted slightly, her anger bubbling over uncontrollably. “Made me worry? How many times have I made you two worry over the years? Why didn’t you even tell me about something like this? Ming Li…”
She looked into Ming Li’s eyes—clear and bright, yet no longer the eyes of the daughter who had once frolicked at her knee three years ago.
She had grown so much since then, become even more mature, with a gentle air about her eyes and brows. But she was also full of wariness.
It was as if no one could enter her inner world.
Not even her own mother.
Ming Sasa had grown up without a care in the world. Though their family wasn’t fabulously wealthy, they had accumulated a fair bit of assets for her. Especially after her parents accidentally lost her twin sister, they poured all their guilt toward that sister onto her. And she was smart, obedient, and gentle. Later, she even met Zhou Bo.
They were university classmates. Back then, Zhou Bo was a poor kid from the countryside, but he was humble, polite, warm-hearted, and kind—just a bit shy. At one party, someone confessed to Ming Sasa in front of everyone, leaving her mortified amid the crowd’s jeers. He had spoken up to help her out of it.
He had no money, but he had many fine qualities.
Gradually, Ming Sasa was drawn to him. Even in his early entrepreneurial days, she provided him with startup funds, and he never betrayed her trust. After marriage, they always lived together with her parents.
It was right before their wedding that Ming Sasa learned Zhou Bo was actually an orphan. His father had died when he was ten, his mother remarried soon after and abandoned him in the village. The village only had a few rundown tile-roofed houses; he had made it to university thanks to villagers pooling money and government subsidies.
Back in that era, many romances were pure and simple.
When Ming Sasa gave birth to Ming Li, she initially wanted her to take her father’s surname, but Zhou Bo said, “This is the daughter you risked your life to bring into the world—she should take your surname. Besides, Ming is such a nice surname: tomorrow, brightness. It sounds full of hope, and our future will definitely be full of hope.”
Back then, their family was harmonious, life was smooth sailing, peaceful and happy. Ming Sasa had lived such carefree days for over fifty years.
She never imagined that in middle age, she would face family bankruptcy and her husband’s death. She had no resilience at all.
All the burdens had somehow been shouldered by her daughters.
Ming Sasa was wracked with guilt, her health deteriorating day by day. She kept deluding herself that things would get better once Ming Xi started university.
But she never expected her youngest daughter to get beaten at school without her knowing a thing.
Her whole life—protected by her parents before marriage, by her husband after, and by her daughters afterward. Thinking about it carefully, she felt nothing but shame.
Guilt gnawed at Ming Sasa’s heart like tiny insects, tormenting her endlessly.
