Chapter 151: Truly an Ungrateful Wretch

Truly, everyone has their own fate; her mother was just destined to live a life as a servant.

No, Wang Caiyun still felt it wouldn't do; she couldn't just leave like this, as casually as some random passerby.

She hadn't even made one last effort for her own happiness.

She thought for a moment and said to her mother, "I know I was wrong; I shouldn't have taken the wrong path. I will study hard from now on, and you should take good care of yourself, Mom."

Seeing her admit her mistake, Wu Ma's expression softened a little. "Fine, as long as you know you were wrong. We people must live with our feet firmly on the ground, one step at a time. Don't think about those crooked things; your father is just like that, and sooner or later he will meet with great misfortune!"

Wang Caiyun didn't like listening to her nagging. She took her schoolbag and said, "Mom, you go back! Doesn't the Madam have to drink lily porridge every afternoon? Don't be late. I'll go to the station and take the bus myself."

Thinking that her daughter was grown up now, Wu Ma took her savings out of her pocket, gave a few more words of instruction, and then headed back to the Jiang Family first.

……

The summer in Huaiyang was indeed extremely hot; the noisy cicadas were annoying but also lulled one to sleep.

Si Rong only remembered the glass bottle filled with stars after waking up from her nap.

She sat at the table by the window, opened the glass bottle, and poured out some of the stars inside.

She unfolded one of the star papers and saw a line of text written on it.

I see all living things as grass and trees, only seeing you as the green mountains.

This young girl certainly read a lot of poetry.

She opened a few more stars, and the contents were much the same as this one.

They were all poems by the ancients subtly describing love.

She folded the star paper back up and put it into the glass bottle just as it was.

It is actually normal for a young girl to fall for a mature and steady older man.

And since the person had already been sent away by Wu Ma and wouldn't come again, Si Rong felt there was no need to fuss over it.

During the first trimester, her mood swings were still significant, but now in the second trimester, she was much more peaceful.

She placed the glass bottle on the desk as an ornament.

A moment later, Wu Ma knocked on the door and brought over the lily porridge at the perfect temperature.

As Si Rong drank the lily porridge, she pondered that she should return to the Si Family in a few days; her father was about to celebrate his seventieth birthday.

Si Father was actually sixty-nine this year, but there is a saying that for people of such an age, one celebrates a major birthday on an odd year, not an even one.

It is generally done a year in advance.

Although she did not know the reason, Si Mother had notified her that they intended to hold the seventieth birthday celebration for Si Father this year.

Si Rong wanted to give her father a unique gift.

Her father was a teacher when he was young, and although he suffered some hardships during that period, he could be considered to have students everywhere.

Si Rong thought about going to Huaiyang No. 1 Middle School to photocopy the lesson plans her father used when he taught there.

Her father would surely be very pleasantly surprised to see them.

Thinking this, Si Rong went.

Wang Ma's legs had been uncomfortable for the past two days, so Wu Ma volunteered to accompany Si Rong.

On the way, Wu Ma took the initiative to apologize to Si Rong for her daughter's disgraceful thoughts.

"That daughter of mine, her heart is higher than the heavens, but her life is thinner than paper."

Si Rong didn't say much, only saying that it was inevitable for young people to be ignorant.

She was speaking of Wang Caiyun, but also of herself.

Wu Ma then understood that although the Madam looked quiet and reserved, she was actually as clear as a mirror inside.

Si Rong was originally a student who came out of Huaiyang No. 1 Middle School; now that she had returned to the school, it had changed greatly, giving her a sense of how things remain but people change.

The poplar trees on both sides of the tree-lined path were still tall, but those walking here were already new students.

She was old.

Perhaps everyone has such a moment of realization; Si Rong had had such reflections every so often since she turned thirty-five.

However, thinking of the child in her womb, she felt that the world had its own laws, and growing old while slowly watching the child grow up was also a kind of happiness.

The current Principal was no longer the kind old man from back then.

It took Si Rong quite some effort to get the Principal to help her find her father's old lesson plans from the archives.

Every stroke on them was very earnest and profound, just like her father's character.

After photocopying all the lesson plans, Si Rong went to a cake shop and ordered a longevity peach cake for her father.

"Health and Happiness" was what she squeezed onto it with cream by hand.

When paying, Si Rong also bought a small cake for Xiao Zhi.

Worried that her weight would increase too quickly, she resisted eating it herself, waiting to eat her father's birthday cake instead.

On the way home, she ran into Shen Yuan.

The two were separated by the road; Shen Yuan was carrying something in her hand, looking bulging and stuffed.

When she saw Si Rong, she glared at her fiercely, especially at her belly.

Shen Yuan truly couldn't understand how God could let such a vicious woman get pregnant!

Her mental illness had flared up again two days ago; she couldn't sleep, and her mind was filled with the child she never got to give birth to.

Shen Yuan would never forget that day when Si Rong stood by and watched her and her child suffer without helping, completely disregarding the mother-daughter bond of raising her.

And now, she was shamelessly having a child of her own.

She hoped that Si Rong's child would be like her own, never seeing the light of day.

Shen Yuan curled her lips; that day was coming soon.

It was a pity that she couldn't attend Si Father's seventieth birthday, missing out on such a good show for nothing.

Si Rong didn't bother to pay attention to such an ungrateful wretch and simply ignored her entirely.

Wu Ma could not stand such a little hussy and glared back at her fiercely.

She had heard her sister talk about the family the mistress had been married to before; regardless of the grudges between the adults, these two children had ultimately been raised by the mistress herself.

Times had changed, and even if they didn't offer a greeting upon meeting, to actually glare at the mistress was too much.

What an ungrateful wretch!

Looking at the child's character, one could tell her parents were certainly no good; it was fortunate the mistress had severed ties with those people.

Soon, the day of Father Si's seventieth birthday arrived.

Today, Jiang Cheng had taken leave, preparing to accompany his wife back to her maiden home to celebrate her father's birthday.

He had even specially brought a gift.

"What is it? So mysterious." Si Rong looked at the slender paper tube, guessing in her heart that it was likely a painting or calligraphy.

"You'll know when the time comes."

Originally, they had planned to take Wang Ma back with them, but Jiang Zhi was bored at home and followed them as well.

She was still curious about why Wang Caiyun had left so suddenly.

Si Rong did not say much, only stating that Wang Caiyun had returned to school for some business.

Soon, they arrived at the Si Family.

Today, the Si Family was extremely lively.

Si Rong had not expected that Lin Meixi and her mother would be so thick-skinned.

Even after her mother had explicitly told them not to visit, they still brought gifts to celebrate her father's birthday.

Because Huaiyang had a custom where guests could not be turned away on a joyous occasion, as doing so would drive away the good fortune.

Her mother must have had this concern, which was why she let the mother and daughter inside.

"Aunt Rong," Lin Meixi greeted her with a beaming smile, "I was just talking about you with Great-Aunt; come over quickly, Great-Aunt wants to see your belly."

Only then did Si Rong see the great-aunt behind the pillar, Si Nuan, the youngest sister of Father Si.

When Si Nuan was young, she had broken ties with her maiden family because of a man and rarely kept in touch; later, she heard from her mother that she had been beaten by the man until her mental state was not quite right.

She had caused scenes several times after returning to her maiden home, especially with her mother, with whom her relationship had severely deteriorated.

Today really was a case of all the unwelcome people gathering in one place.