Chapter 177: How Can I Not Hate?

That evening, Ji Mo Sheng came to call Lin Qing You for dinner.

Even though Lin Qing You had tried her best to cover up with makeup, Ji Mo Sheng saw through it at a glance.

With his intelligence, Ji Mo Sheng immediately guessed that the person who had hurt Lin Qing You was her father, Lin Zhi Wei.

However, Ji Mo Sheng did not question her or offer words of comfort.

Instead, while Lin Qing You ate, he continuously served her food and poured her soup.

Looking at the small mountain of food piling up in her bowl, Lin Qing You couldn’t help but chuckle. “Master, I can’t eat this much.”

“Take your time…” Ji Mo Sheng peeled a few shrimp for her. “I believe in your ability.”

Lin Qing You: “…” ╯□╰╯□╰╯□╰!

Does she not need her dignity?

“By the way, why hasn’t Yin Han Yu returned yet?” Lin Qing You poked her head out to look.

“Your grandfather called him out,” Ji Mo Sheng replied.

Lin Qing You pouted. “He’s really treating my husband like an errand boy.”

“It’s obvious that he actually approves of Yin Han Yu.”

Lin Qing You immediately puffed up with pride. “Of course! Because Yin Han Yu is the best!”

Ji Mo Sheng chuckled. “Qing You, your grandfather isn’t a bad person, but he is indeed an old-fashioned relic with very rigid beliefs.”

“He’s not just old-fashioned,” Lin Qing You scoffed. “He’s completely infected with feudal ideology! Otherwise, why would my mother and aunt resent him so much?”

“Aside from forbidding them from learning the Xiao family’s acupuncture techniques, he never really mistreated them in other ways,” Ji Mo Sheng said. “Back then, when your mother and aunt were struggling outside, they must have had his support to keep things going so smoothly.”

Lin Qing You gave a bitter smile. “But the one thing my mother wanted most was the Xiao family’s acupuncture techniques.”

Everything else was meaningless if it wasn’t what she truly desired.

Her mother’s dream was within reach, yet it remained forever unattainable.

Perhaps that was why she had been so rebellious and persistent about her father.

She had even willingly accepted being expelled from the Xiao family for his sake.

After dinner, Lin Qing You took a stroll in the courtyard with Ji Mo Sheng before returning to her room.

Ever since getting pregnant, she hadn’t suffered from severe morning sickness, just an increased tendency to feel sleepy.

Right now, she felt drowsy again…

But just as she was about to sleep, the doorbell rang.

Lin Qing You initially thought it was Yin Han Yu returning.

However, when she opened the door, she was met with the sight of her father, Lin Zhi Wei.

The moment she saw him, Lin Qing You instinctively tried to shut the door.

But before she could, a strong hand grabbed the doorframe, preventing it from closing.

“Qing You…”

Lin Zhi Wei called out her name anxiously, his eyes filled with a mix of regret and pleading.

“Qing You, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hit you…” He lowered his head, his voice heavy with remorse.

Lin Qing You gazed at him coldly.

His tone was utterly sincere, his once-determined eyes now filled with guilt. “Qing You, I was too impulsive… I shouldn’t have hit you.”

“It must have hurt a lot, didn’t it?” Lin Zhi Wei looked at her with distress, reaching out unconsciously.

Lin Qing You instinctively stepped back. “Don’t touch me…”

“Qing You, don’t be afraid of me. I really know I was wrong…”

His voice trembled, even carrying a hint of tears. He looked heartbreakingly sincere.

“Qing You, I really know I was wrong… I was too impulsive before. I’m here to apologize…”

“I’m sorry, Qing You…” Lin Zhi Wei even bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.

But despite his heartfelt apology, Lin Qing You remained unmoved.

Instead, she suddenly lifted her gaze and coldly questioned, “Dad, you treated Mom this way too, didn’t you?”

Her father’s apology triggered an involuntary memory—

A vision of her mother, hiding in a room alone, silently wiping away her tears.

Her mother was a strong and proud woman who rarely cried.

So if she had been reduced to tears back then, the fight with her father must have been truly unbearable.

But for Lin Qing You’s sake, her mother had chosen to endure in silence.

Thinking of this, Lin Qing You couldn’t help but see her father as no different from the men who committed domestic violence.

They would lash out in anger, then come back sobbing, begging for forgiveness, even kneeling if necessary.

“Qing You, how can you think of me like that?” Lin Zhi Wei said painfully. “The reason I hit you before… was because… because…”

“Because what?” Lin Qing You’s gaze was sharp as she stared at him.

Lin Zhi Wei looked tormented. “You let me stay in your mother’s old room. To you, it was an act of kindness. But to me, it was an insult.”

“An insult?” Lin Qing You was stunned. “How is that an insult?”

Lin Zhi Wei sighed. “The first time I came to the Xiao family, your grandfather looked down on me. He deliberately arranged my room as far away from your mother’s as possible.”

“But he… he…” Lin Zhi Wei’s expression twisted with humiliation as he pointed downstairs, where Ji Mo Sheng was playing chess with Yin Yi Xuan. “But he placed Ji Mo Sheng’s room right next to your mother’s.”

“I had nothing, while Ji Mo Sheng was a prince. The stark contrast made me feel utterly worthless…”

Lin Zhi Wei looked at Lin Qing You. “I only just found out that Ji Mo Sheng is your master. Qing You, don’t you realize what that means to me? It’s betrayal!”

“I only recently found out about my master’s true identity too…”

Lin Qing You had always told her father about her master, who treated her well.

But back then, Ji Mo Sheng had given her false information about himself. What could she have said?

She had never lied.

When she finally learned that Ji Mo Sheng was practically a regent of E Country, always targeted for assassination, she understood why he had kept it a secret.

To her, it wasn’t a big deal.

Ji Mo Sheng was still her master, no matter what his status was.

“My master is actually a very kind person. He’s just being used by Grandpa as a tool…”

“Shut up!” Lin Zhi Wei suddenly roared.

Ji Mo Sheng and Yin Yi Xuan, who were downstairs playing chess, immediately stopped and looked up.

Ji Mo Sheng set his chess piece down and got up.

But just as he stepped onto the stairs, Lin Zhi Wei’s furious voice rang out.

“What do you know?!”

“Do you know that back then, your grandfather deliberately locked Ji Mo Sheng and your mother in the same room to humiliate me?”

His voice trembled violently with rage.

Lin Qing You’s face turned deathly pale. She stared at Lin Zhi Wei in shock, her voice shaking. “W-what do you mean?”

“What do I mean?” Lin Zhi Wei let out a bitter laugh. “A man and a woman, alone in a room together—what else could it mean?”

His eyes burned with uncontrollable fury and humiliation.

“This kind of disgrace—no man could endure it. I will never forget it for the rest of my life…”

“How can I not hate?”