Chapter 225: Memories
Mu Qing raised his hand and covered his face, sighing emotionally. After a moment, he continued to say, “At that time, I discovered how unyielding and stubborn your mother was. She could not and would not tolerate my… actions outside the marriage at all. However, I’m a man; a man with a successful career. There are some things that couldn’t be helped; which man in the city isn’t like me? Do you understand?”
Mu Qing looked at Mu Chen hopefully after he finished speaking as though he hoped his son would understand him.
Mu Chen said directly, “I don’t understand; I didn’t understand before; I won’t understand in the future. I am, and will be, faithful to my wife.”
Mu Qing did not comment on Mu Chen’s words. He continued to say with a hint of resentment, “At that time, a rift had already formed between us, but we kept it from your grandmother. You were young so she focused most of her energy on you, and her remaining energy was poured into her work. I was happy since the pressure only me had lightened considerably with her attention elsewhere. It was at that time that Liang Zhou appeared.”
Mu Qing finally got to the point. “Initially, I didn’t know she was Liang Zhou; she had used an English name. At that time, she was the PR manager for a supplier. Due to our business relationship, we had many interactions, and from there, we slowly got to know each other. I didn’t have any intentions toward her, but intentionally or not, she kept approaching me. As a normal man, how could I resist? Most importantly, she resembled your mother slightly, but she was much more passionate. That… That’s how we came together…”
Mu Chen sneered. “Following that, she revealed she was Liang Zhou?”
Mu Qing nodded. “Mu Chen, you have to believe me. I’m innocent. From the beginning to the end, the entire thing was a game between the two sisters. I was just a pawn to both of them. At that time, Liang Zhou said she was pregnant and gave me an ultimatum; she asked me to choose between her and your mother. Not choosing her was no different from leaving her to her death. I had no choice…”
Mu Chen only chuckled coldly at these words.
Mu Qing sighed. “At that time, Liang Zhen’s career was flourishing, and the Mu family liked her very much. Her achievements had brought a lot of glory to the Mu family, after all. It would be unwise for me to admit to my extramarital affair. Liang Zhou is different from your mother. I had thought your mother would swallow her anger for your grandmother and the Mu family’s sake. Even if I wronged you and her, she would still care about the Mu family. However, Liang Zhou is different. She had always been straightforward and fiery. Moreover, she was pregnant at that time, making her even more temperamental. When she was I was hesitating for a long time, unable to choose, she looked for your mother…”
“In any case, I was wrong in my judgment of your mother. I assumed she would swallow her anger for the sake of the Mu family, your grandmother, and you. I didn’t know after all those years, she was already on the verge of breaking down. I had no idea her depression was so bad. In the end, the matter with Liang Zhou became the straw that broke the camel’s back…” Mu Qing said, “Your mother felt like everyone had let her down. However, don’t you think the Liang family were the ones to blame? They felt sorry for their eldest daughter so they forced their younger daughter to marry on their eldest daughter’s behalf. Our family was dragged into this matter because of them. How could Liang Zhen hate our family so much in the end and blame us?”
Mu Qing sighed. “Mu Chen, I’ve buried this matter in the depths of my heart for so many years that they’ve grown as heavy as a mountain. I had no one to talk to, and no one would understand. I truly didn’t expect Liang Zhen to be so ruthless; she used her death to nail all of us to the pillar of shame. In the end, Liang Zhou also lost her child… Following that, things escalated to where it is now…”