Hearing this, Lin Chuluo's body suddenly stiffened. He opened his eyes and looked at Zhou Si, who was smiling faintly in front of him.
"That's what you deserve. You and your mother are both home - wreckers," Lin Chuluo gritted his teeth and said slowly, "Breaking into other people's marriages, you and your mother got what you deserved."
"Lin Chuluo, I'll say it one more time," Zhou Si leaned closer to him, his tone mocking, "I'm your elder brother."
After being repeatedly reminded by him, at this moment, Lin Chuluo finally woke up as if from a dream.
He and Zhou Si were three years apart in age. His mother had a flash marriage with his father and gave birth to him two years later.
That meant Mr. Lin had known Zhou Si's mother much earlier than his own mother, and Zhou Si was born much earlier than him.
He suddenly froze.
Zhou Si saw his panic and confusion. He slightly hooked his lips and said, "My dear little brother, calm down and think about it. Who exactly took what from whom?"
After saying that, he closed his eyes and slightly tugged at the corner of his lips. "Do you know how many days and nights my mother was looking forward to his arrival? She loved him so much, but he married another woman!"
This "he" referred to Mr. Lin, their biological father.
Lin Chuluo's scalp went numb. His hands, which were originally limp at his sides, slowly tightened.
This was completely different from what he had originally believed, and he couldn't accept it for a while.
"No, this is impossible..."
He shook his head and stood up, wanting to ask Mr. Lin for clarification. But as soon as he took a step, he remembered his mother who was being rescued in the operating room.
He thought his world was already dark enough, but now it seemed to be completely collapsing.
---
The operation was barely successful. Ming Qiao's life was saved, but she was barely hanging on, half - alive and half - dead.
When she was transferred to the ward, Lin Chuluo noticed the changes in his mother.
In the past few years, he had been busy scheming and paving the way for his future, rarely visiting his mother in the hospital.
Seeing her today, he found that she had lost a lot of weight.
Previously, Ming Qiao could still move her upper body freely. But this time, after being stimulated and having a sudden stroke, only her eyes and the fingers of her right hand could move.
Although she was only in her fifties, she seemed to be at the end of her life, as fragile as a piece of paper that could be torn at any time.
The doctor said that Ming Qiao could hear the outside world and think with her brain, but it was difficult for her to show it physically.
Lin Chuluo stood tall beside the bed, looking down at his somewhat unfamiliar mother. He wanted to say something, but for a moment, he couldn't utter a single word.
He wanted to ask so many things, but he couldn't ask any of them.
In the end, it only turned into a long sigh.
On the bed, Ming Qiao stared fixedly at the ceiling with her eyes wide open. Her right - hand fingers, the only part she could move, were trembling.
She was not willing to accept this.
She was so glamorous when she was young, but now she was in such a desolate state. She just couldn't swallow this breath!
Lin Chuluo pursed his lips and said in a hoarse voice, "Mom, let go of your unwillingness."
"This is what you owed their mother and son back then."
Anyway, it was his mother who had sent people to get rid of Zhou Si's mother.
Previously, Lin Chuluo didn't believe it, but today he finally understood that the so - called "good deeds are rewarded, and evil deeds are punished" was true.
Just like how Ming Qiao had killed Zhou Si's mother when she was young, and now in her old age, she ended up in a miserable state.
Just like how he had once used Jiang Xixi as a pawn, and now in the end, both his child and his wife had left him.
Once, Lin Chuluo thought that what people feared most was losing money and status.
But now, he finally understood that what people fear most is being alone.
...
After dealing with his mother's matters, Lin Chuluo dragged his tired body home. On the way driving, he still fantasized that Jiang Xixi would be waiting for him at home.
But he was wrong.
That stupid woman with a swollen belly waiting for him to come back didn't return.
She left gracefully and cleanly, not taking anything with her.
Lin Chuluo had never felt so desolate and lonely before. It seemed that he had lost the meaning of living.
He staggered and slumped heavily into the sofa.
He smoked one cigarette after another.
After finishing a cigarette, he reached into his pocket for the cigarette case and found it was empty. He could only throw the box away irritably.
After a whole day, he felt as if he had had a dream.
A nightmare that he could never wake up from.
He called Mr. Lin.
Lin Chuluo: "Dad, back then, you already had a woman. Why did you still be with my mom?"
Late at night, he finally dialed the phone.
The person on the other end of the phone was not happy. His voice was low and cold: "Lin Chuluo, you're disturbing my rest in the middle of the night just to ask this?"
Lin Chuluo was silent, waiting for his answer.
Mr. Lin, who had been woken up, was very irritated: "It's normal for a man to have had a few women when he was young and ignorant. What's there to ask about?"
Young and ignorant?
Lin Chuluo pulled at his lips and said faintly, "Because of your youth and ignorance, you directly ruined two women and your two children. Was it worth it?"
Mr. Lin's face instantly turned ashen: "Rascal! Who taught you to talk to me like this!"
Compared to Mr. Lin's anger, Lin Chuluo seemed much calmer than before: "It doesn't matter. Anyway, in your eyes, I'm already a failure."
Mr. Lin: "You do have some self - awareness."
The things that happened in the hospital couldn't be hidden from Mr. Lin. The news of Jiang Xixi's miscarriage had already reached his ears.
Previously, he had still been hesitating about the distribution of his property, but the miscarriage made his mind clear all of a sudden.
"I've been kind enough to your mother. I don't owe her anything."
Mr. Lin paused slightly and said slowly, "Also, your Aunt Chen passed away early, leaving only A Si. It's only natural for me to make up for him more."
"You've learned a lot in the Lin family. You can start your own business."
"I believe in you, son."
Hearing Mr. Lin's false approval on the phone, Lin Chuluo only felt extremely ironic.
His father thought he was being fair, thinking he didn't let either side down. In fact, he was just satisfied with himself.
Whom had Mr. Lin ever loved?
Aunt Chen or Ming Qiao?
He loved no one but himself.
Lin Chuluo didn't say a word. He held the phone for a long time and finally hung up.
Late at night.
Lin Chuluo, who had finally fallen asleep, suddenly woke up with a start, gasping for breath.
His back was soaked in sweat. He dreamed that Jiang Xixi had stabbed a knife into her own belly.
She was still shouting, "A selfish man like you doesn't deserve love!"