novelraw Chapter 715 - 717: Sarcastic and Cutting
Chapter 715 - 717: Sarcastic and Cutting
Chapter 715: Chapter 717: Sarcastic and Cutting Xuebing He was at a loss for words regarding Yu Zhen’s attitude. Over the years, he had come to understand that Xia Xiao was the thorn in Yu Zhen’s side, often pressuring Xuebing to admit whether he harbored feelings for Xia Xiao.
Xuebing couldn’t be bothered with Yu Zhen. So what if Xia Xiao was in his heart? A relationship with Xia Xiao was impossible anyway, and after all these years, they’d barely seen each other. Some things were meant to remain deep in the heart. However, Yu Zhen’s relentless nagging over the years had led Xuebing to find her somewhat unreasonable.
Their marriage had never been particularly strong, and Xuebing had never fallen in love with Yu Zhen—sometimes he even found her rather annoying.
As a result, Xuebing devoted most of his attention to his duties in the military, and the emotional distance between him and his wife only grew.
But the more he distanced himself, the larger Yu Zhen’s grudge against Xia Xiao grew, blaming her for the disintegration of her family.
But these were thoughts she kept to herself, never voicing them aloud.
Xia Xiao, unaware of these sentiments, knew a little about the strained relationship between Xuebing and Yu Zhen from Yang Xuehua.
Xia Xiao was also aware of Yu Zhen’s dissatisfaction with her, but she didn’t believe that she was to blame for the issues between Xuebing and Yu Zhen. Yu Zhen was probably failing to recognize her own faults.
Although they came from the same production brigade, Gao Jia and Xuebing maintained a close brotherly bond since childhood. Considering that Xia Xiao and Xuebing almost dated, this made her relationship with Yu Zhen all the more complicated. Consequently, the two families hadn’t interacted much over the decades.
Gao Jia and Xuebing would catch up if they bumped into each other, maintaining private contact, but visits to each other’s homes were rare.
Feeling upset, Yu Zhen would phone her brother Yu Shijie to complain about feeling neglected by her husband, her children not taking her side, her daughter-in-law being two-faced, and her grandson being disobedient.
With both Yu Weiming and Xue Baozhu gone, Yu Zhen had no one but her family and her elder half-brother Yu Shijie, whom she had always relied on. Now that she felt aggrieved, it was natural for her to turn to Yu Shijie with her tears.
She poured out her sorrows in full measure, prompting Yu Shijie and Yang Xuehua to worry that something serious had happened to Yu Zhen and rush over to visit.
They didn’t expect that upon arrival, all they heard were Yu Zhen’s complaints, and Yang Xuehua, speechless, noted that Yu Zhen’s character remained unchanged over the years.
While Yu Shijie and Xuebing chatted elsewhere, Yu Zhen unloaded a litany of grievances onto Yang Xuehua, dissatisfied with everything at home.
"Sister-in-law, I know you’re close to Xia Xiao. I once disliked you because of her, and I resented Xia Xiao, too. But after all these years, it’s not that I can’t let go. It’s that Xuebing’s heart isn’t with me; he’s still hung up on Xia Xiao. How can that be my fault?" Yu Zhen blurted out, leaving Yang Xuehua unsure of what to say. Still, she couldn’t help but respond, "Xia Xiao and my brother-in-law are ancient history. When you fell for him, you knew he liked Xia Xiao. Over the decades, he’s had no contact with her. Instead, you keep mentioning her to him—that’s where you’re wrong."
"He thinks the same way," Yu Zhen retorted, not convinced.
"You know," Yang Xuehua said, "I don’t even know how to put this to you, but do you feel tired holding onto Xia Xiao for all these years? Xia Xiao’s living her life happily, having cast you off long ago—she doesn’t even remember who you are. Believe it or not, if you appeared before Xia Xiao now, she wouldn’t even recognize you."
Yang Xuehua pulled out her phone, turned on the mirror function, and held it up to Yu Zhen, "Look at how much you’ve changed compared to before."
Yu Zhen, viewing her reflection, showed little reaction but spoke to Yang Xuehua with a hint of sourness, "You have your husband’s affection and don’t need to work so hard; you look younger than me."
"Let me show you a photo of Xia Xiao; she’s about your age." Yang Xuehua fetched a photo of Xia Xiao on her phone to show Yu Zhen.
That certainly struck a nerve in Yu Zhen, "When was this taken?"
It had been a while since Yu Zhen had seen Xia Xiao. The radiance of Xia Xiao’s smile in the photo starkly contrasted with her own haggard and sharp features in the mirror.
Even unwilling to admit it, the Xia Xiao in the picture appeared at least a decade younger than her. Yu Zhen screamed out, "She must be a witch disguised as a human. How can anyone look that young? No, she must have had a facelift, gotten injections..."
Seeing Yu Zhen’s outburst, Yang Xuehua showed a glimmer of pity, "You probably think I’ve had injections too."
Yu Zhen looked hesitantly at Yang Xuehua’s face—they weren’t so different in age, but Yu Zhen dyed her hair black while Yang Xuehua didn’t. Yet her skin lacked the wrinkles and better complexion seen on Yang Xuehua, who also had no liver spots, unlike Yu Zhen.
Yu Zhen stopped short of accusing Yang Xuehua of getting injections or surgeries but instead remarked, "You must’ve spent a pretty penny at the beauty clinic each year."
"I’m old now; what’s the point in beautifying?" Yang Xuehua chuckled and shook her head. She was already in her late seventies and had stopped visiting beauty clinics.
Yu Zhen too had once spent a lot at beauty clinics, but those days were long past, and she felt they hadn’t done much good.
She had tried facelifts, wrinkle removal, and injections, but no matter how attractive, young, or beautiful she made herself, Xuebing remained indifferent, leaving Yu Zhen disheartened.
Her health had declined over the years; cosmetic concerns were the last thing on her mind.
"Sister-in-law, being natural like you, that’s normal. Xia Xiao, at over seventy, still fussing over her face, making herself up like some old witch, trying to entice who knows who at her age..."
At that point, Yang Xuehua furrowed her brows and spoke sternly, "Yu Zhen, you’re becoming increasingly tactless. I don’t even know what’s gotten into you. Stop blaming Xia Xiao. Whether or not you and Xuebing have a good relationship is your own business. You refuse to look within for reasons and instead push everything onto Xia Xiao. With a temperament like yours, no wonder Xuebing doesn’t like you. Just listening to you now grates on my ears. You weren’t always this caustic. Now it seems you’ve lost all your reservations, complaining about this and that—perhaps Xuebing, as well as your children, in-laws, and grandchildren, harbor resentment against you too. Look in the mirror! You’re past the age for bickering. Wouldn’t it be better to accumulate some good karma? Why make yourself so bitter and vitriolic? The more you act this way, the more Xuebing will dislike you."
"Sister-in-law, how can you talk to me like this? Am I wrong? Xia Xiao’s still afraid of people talking about her. I just don’t want my grandson to like Xia Xiao’s granddaughter. Can’t I make decisions regarding my own grandson?"