Chapter 11: No One Wants to Be a Stepmother for No Reason

“Grandma, it’s Congshuang, your Shuang’er. Don’t scare me!”

“Shuang’er? Do I know you?” Yi Yun’s cloudy eyes looked at Gu Congshuang blankly.

Then, like a happy child, she said, “You’re so pretty. Are you my third son’s wife?”

Gu Congshuang: ???

Li Yuqin came over, and after a moment’s hesitation, Yi Yun said, “Yuqin, why have you gotten so old?”

Li Yuqin: !!! This was more upsetting than being stabbed.

She was almost forty; of course, she was old! Was this old woman senile?

Seeing this strange situation, Gu Qinhai quickly asked, “Mom? It’s Qinhai. What’s wrong with you?”

“Qinhai, you’ve also gotten so old. Your hair has thinned so much. You’re almost like your father.”

Gu Qinhai: !!!

He touched his bald head, helplessly saying, “Mom, what are you talking about? I’m almost fifty.”

“Fifty? How old am I then?”

“Mom, you’re seventy-five. How could you forget your own age?”

“Nonsense! I’m only forty! How did I suddenly become seventy-five?” Yi Yun insisted, though her aged face clearly showed her age.

“Mom, you must be senile, suffering from dementia,” Gu Qinshan said fearfully.

Gu Congshuang felt a chill. It seemed Grandma Yi Yun had truly forgotten her.

Her memory was stuck at age forty, before Gu Congshuang was born. Of course, she wouldn’t remember her.

“What happened to Grandma?”

Gu Congshuang looked helplessly at Ye Bei.

Ye Bei shook his head and explained his recent experiences.

After parting ways with Gu Congshuang, Ye Bei returned home and immediately called his superiors, explaining the situation.

He also told his parents, who were overjoyed. Ye Bei had raised four children, causing them great worry.

His ex-wife, Bai Ruoting, had initiated the divorce. Although his parents were helpless, they couldn’t force him to stay.

Seeing that he had to guard Seagull Island and couldn’t come home for days, and that he was divorced with four children, finding him a wife was impossible.

In that era, no one wanted to be a stepmother for no reason.

“I’ve been waiting for the approval, and I finally got it. I drove here to propose marriage today. I happened to meet your grandmother on the road. She said she was looking for someone but couldn’t remember who, only that it was somewhere on Xingguang Road.”

“I thought you were on Xingguang Road, so I came to propose marriage and brought her along. It’s quite fated…”

Just as Gu Congshuang was about to thank Ye Bei, a piercing wail cut through the air.

Li Yuqin burst into tears, complaining bitterly:

“For so many years, the ancestral home has been with my eldest brother. It’s such a big house…”

“It could fit dozens of people, yet our family didn’t get a single room.”

“Now, because there’s one more person, they sent their mother-in-law to our house.”

“Now, she almost got lost, and the first people he hit were me and my husband… It’s so unfair! Everyone, please help me!”

Li Yuqin, clutching her swollen face, cried louder.

She wanted everyone to know her grievances.

Many of the onlookers had dispersed, as they wouldn’t get the fifty yuan. But Li Yuqin’s crying drew more people to watch.

Gu Qinhai’s face turned ashen as the crowd grew. He looked at Li Yuqin’s exaggerated crying with disgust.

“Yeah, that’s bullying.”

“This family division was so unfair.”

Many women in the crowd began whispering, sympathizing with Li Yuqin.

Gu Qinhai saw people pointing and whispering, “Sister-in-law, let’s talk this over at home. Crying on the ground is inappropriate.”

“Did you care about appearances when you hit me? Mother-in-law is fine now, yet you hit us both before finding out what happened. As the eldest son, you should act like it.”

“Quickly take Mom back, or this family won’t be able to live together.”

Gu Qinhai’s wife, Chen Hehua, rushed out, “Sister-in-law, don’t incite everyone. Don’t you know why we split up?”

“We didn’t say anything out of consideration for the second brother. Now you want to go back on your word!”

“Taking care of Mother is our responsibility. It’s just that the house is too small, and she was only staying for a few days. You lost her on the first day! If it weren’t for this young man, you’d be crying even harder today.”

Seeing the two families arguing, Grandma Yi Yun tried to mediate, “What’s going on? Why did we split up? You three brothers are a family.”

Her expression was blank. She couldn’t understand why everyone was so old, and why she was seventy-five.

Li Yuqin and Gu Qinshan exchanged glances. They had regretted giving up the ancestral home for five years.

This dementia probably didn’t appear suddenly.

Her eldest brother’s family was as insidious as ever.

They sent her over as soon as she showed symptoms. If she got sick, they would blame them for neglecting the family.

Li Yuqin thought, it would have been better if she had drowned in the pond. Now, she’d been slapped and might have to take care of a senile old woman, ruining her life.

She knew what it was like to care for someone with dementia.

At first, they remembered people, but later, they forgot everything. Their gentle personalities might turn volatile, yelling and hitting, and eventually, they might lose all bodily functions, becoming incontinent.

She didn’t want anything to do with it.

“Mom, you’re senile. We split up five years ago. The ancestral home is with Big Brother. We didn’t ask for a single room. It’s not that we’re unfilial; Big Brother is better suited to take care of you.”

Seeing her sons and daughter-in-law changed, Yi Yun seemed to understand something. Tears welled up in her cloudy eyes, and she lowered her head in silence.

“What about the third son? Has he not returned from Nanjiang City?”

Gu Qinhai sneered, “Mom, you don’t know. If it weren’t for the second brother, the third son would be a big leader now. Now, no one knows where he is.”

“I won’t talk about the second brother’s incident to upset you. Now, even the third brother won’t let you stay for a few days.”

“There are no such unfilial sons in the world!” Gu Qinhai used the third son’s situation to pressure Gu Qinshan.

Gu Qinshan’s face paled. “Brother, it’s been so many years! You’re going too far!”

The onlookers were excited, eager to see a fight.

“Stop arguing!”

“Grandma needs to see a doctor. I’ll take care of Grandma. I’ll fulfill my responsibilities as a granddaughter.” Gu Congshuang stepped forward.

“Grandma, I’ll be going to Seagull Island with Ye Bei after I get married. Would you like to come with me?”