Chapter 277: “i Won’t Forgive”
Yuan Qin made a scene at the reception room door for half a day, begging the sentry to call Meng Jiusi over.
The sentry soldier: “…” It was too difficult.
Doctor Meng had clearly stated that he did not want to see his ex-wife again; calling him several more times would be useless.
“Go away. Doctor Meng doesn’t want to see you.” The dark-skinned young comrade looked at the female comrade’s desperate face, sympathy flashing in his eyes, but he stuck to his duty and refused her.
Yuan Qin tried to grab the soldier’s arm, but he dodged away.
“Comrade, please help me say it one more time. Just say… just say I want to see our two sons, and beg Jiusi to allow it.”
Her eyes gradually grew wet. “My letter of introduction is about to expire; I have to go back soon. I haven’t seen my two sons yet. I came all the way from far away; I have to see them before I can leave. It’s been almost… almost a year since I’ve seen them. I don’t know if they’ve grown taller or gained weight…”
As she spoke, she bowed and scraped, her face full of earnest pleading.
The dark-skinned soldier hesitated for a moment but finally softened and compromised. “…I’ll say it one last time.”
Yuan Qin was full of gratitude. “Thank you, thank you.”
The young man went to make another call but was told Meng Jiusi was not there.
It wasn’t surprising. Seeing his ex-wife, he needed time to calm down; it was normal not to return so quickly.
“…Doctor Meng hasn’t come back yet. Why don’t you…”
Yuan Qin said urgently, “I can wait. I’ll wait inside. You help me contact him again later. Please.”
Faced with the plea in her eyes, the sentry young soldier could only swallow the refusal on the tip of his tongue.
“I’ll ask again in ten minutes. If he’s still not back, don’t make things difficult for me anymore.”
Yuan Qin quickly agreed. “I won’t make it difficult. I won’t make it difficult for you. I just want to see my two sons.”
She tugged at the corners of her mouth toward the dark-faced young man and turned to enter the reception room.
“Sigh!” The sentry soldier sighed.
Why bother.
If she couldn’t bear to part, why divorce in the first place?
Now that she regretted it, once the arrow left the bow, there was no turning back. Could spilled water be collected and reused?
Another ten minutes passed. He called again but still couldn’t reach anyone.
The sentry soldier gave a helpless look.
“Couldn’t reach him. Doctor Meng probably doesn’t want to see you. Go away; don’t wait anymore. Even waiting until dark won’t help.” He advised.
Yuan Qin didn’t believe Meng Jiusi would be so heartless toward her.
She shook her head. “No, absolutely impossible. It must be… it must be that Jiusi doesn’t know I’m waiting for him. Comrade, please help me contact him again. I beg you. It’s not easy for me to come once. I still have things to say. Help me find him. Help me. I can’t leave like this…”
Yuan Qin was very agitated, her words incoherent.
“I’ve helped as much as I can. Doctor Meng doesn’t want to see you; there’s no way around it. I can’t reach him. How about this: you go today and come back tomorrow morning?”
This female comrade kept pulling and tugging at him, which wasn’t good. The sentry soldier wanted to send her away first.
“…Alright.” Yuan Qin saw that the other was getting impatient and didn’t dare offend him completely, so she temporarily retreated a step.
“I’ll come again tomorrow morning. Thank you for the trouble today.” She spoke nicely.
Seeing she was reasonably cooperative, the young man’s expression eased, and he saw her off.
The commotion Yuan Qin caused was not small; quite a few people knew about it.
The family courtyard buzzed with gossip.
The news reached Jing Mo and Guang Bai’s ears.
Facing the gossip from some busybodies, the older Jing Mo said nothing and took his younger brother to find Meng Jiusi.
“Dad…” Jing Mo hesitated to speak.
Guang Bai was young but old enough to understand. Knowing mom had come, the little friend’s eyes lit up, his expectation easily visible.
He was not yet five, well protected by his brother. The Yuan family, whom he both hated and feared, was not his biological mother.
The little friend still felt deep attachment toward his biological mother.
Children this age were the most clingy; wanting mom was not strange.
Meng Jiusi set down the case file and beckoned to his two sons.
“Heard about it?” he asked, though he knew.
Jing Mo nodded with a taut face. “Yeah.”
“What’s your thought?” Meng Jiusi asked.
The question stunned Jing Mo.
Jing Mo hated the Yuan family and resented his biological mother too. From the time he took his brother and left home, he had thought that since mom only cared about the Yuan family and not him and his brother, they shouldn’t care about her either.
Even now, Jing Mo still felt the same.
This was…
He feared dad would think he was ungrateful. He kept his head down and said nothing for a long time.
Meng Jiusi put his arm around his son’s shoulders and said warmly, “What can’t you say to me?”
He cupped Jing Mo’s head with both hands, lifted his face, his brows earnest. “I’m your dad. You’re my sons. There’s nothing we can’t say to each other.”
His eyes were so deep, so inclusive, as if no matter what huge trouble they caused or outrageous words they said, it would be no big deal!
Jing Mo’s heart stirred slightly, and four words slipped out: “I don’t forgive.”
Once said, the rest came easily.
“Dad, I don’t like the Yuan family and don’t want to forgive them!”
He said it with utmost firmness.
Having expressed his view, he nervously clutched Meng Jiusi’s white coat. “Dad, will you think I’m petty and vindictive? I…”
“No.” Meng Jiusi interrupted him.
His clear, dark eyes looked at Jing Mo, full of gentleness.
“There’s an old saying: ‘Don’t advise others to be kind unless you’ve endured their suffering.’ You and Xiao Bai suffered; only you two have the right to decide whether to forgive. I won’t interfere.”
“As for what you said, if you don’t forgive, will I think you’re petty and vindictive? My answer is… no.”
He patted Jing Mo’s head. “I know my sons. You and Xiao Bai are both good children. If you don’t forgive, it means they did unforgivable things. No forgiveness is fine; nothing wrong with that. Just follow your heart.”
Meng Jiusi didn’t treat his two sons as two-year-olds who couldn’t understand reason; he patiently expressed his views.
Jing Mo’s tense little face fully relaxed.
“Dad, you’re so good.” he said.
His handsome little face bloomed with a brilliant smile.
Meng Jiusi looked gentle.
While dad and brother talked, Guang Bai stayed silent. Only after they finished did he speak: “Dad, brother, go find mom?”
He used a questioning tone.
It was rare for him to make a request proactively.
Meng Jiusi looked at him, unsure how to explain to such a young child that his dad and mom were divorced and things would never be the same as before.
“Dad, I’ll take Guang Bai home!”
Jing Mo left those words and pulled Guang Bai home.
Once home, he sat face-to-face with his brother and said a bunch of things.
As his words ended, Xiao Bai’s tears rolled down.
“Will there be no mom at home anymore?” The little friend’s soft, choking voice rang out.
Jing Mo couldn’t bear to look but felt Xiao Bai had to accept it sooner or later, so he nodded.
“Wah…” Guang Bai burst into tears and ran to the room. He pulled open the quilt, burrowed his little body in, and cried shuddering, tears and snot smearing his face.
Crying and crying, he felt tired. His little head hit the pillow and he fell asleep.
Outside the room, Jing Mo heard his brother’s cries, his own eyes reddening slightly.
After a while, he entered the room.
He pulled down the quilt on his brother, straightened his body, then went out. He returned with a damp towel, wiped the dirt from Xiao Bai’s face, and sat by the bed in a daze.
After a long time, Jing Mo said softly, “Aunt said something I remember clearly: ‘Hesitation leads to chaos.'”
“Mom is no good, the Yuan family is no good. They hurt us and hurt dad. If we go see mom, she’ll use us to pester dad, and then the Yuan family will come too. We won’t have good days anymore!”
“Xiao Bai, dad finally restored his reputation and normal life. We can’t harm dad. If you harm dad, I’ll hit you. Not just me; I’ll call Yu Bao and them to hit you too. Then you’ll be in trouble!”
All these words were heard by Meng Jiusi at the door.
His eyes stung slightly, his heart filled with indescribable warmth and heartache.
He didn’t regret that marriage because of these two sensible sons.
He didn’t disturb the children and left quietly as when he came.
At the military hospital gate.
“Doctor Meng.” A girl in her early twenties greeted him enthusiastically.
Meng Jiusi looked over, his expression unfamiliar.
Li Can lowered her eyes, disappointed in her heart.
“I’m an intern. I’ve attended Doctor Meng’s classes before.”
Understanding flashed in Meng Jiusi’s eyes, and he smiled apologetically. “There were a lot of people before; I didn’t remember all the names. Sorry.”
Li Can hadn’t expected such a skilled doctor like Meng Jiusi to be so modest and approachable. She showed a bright smile.
“No problem, I understand.”
“I have some questions I’d like to ask Doctor Meng. Are you free now?”
Meng Jiusi said modestly and mildly, “No need for ‘ask’; I’m happy to exchange and learn with any doctor.”
Li Can’s good impression of him deepened.
…
The next day, Yuan Qin came again.
Still the same request as yesterday.
Meng Jiusi had said all that needed saying. For his ex-wife’s request to see him once more, he ignored it.
Yuan Qin stood waiting for two hours without seeing Meng Jiusi’s shadow.
The longer she waited, the clearer she became. Seeing Meng Jiusi’s ruthlessness, Yuan Qin demanded to see the two sons instead.
She even threatened: If the troops wouldn’t let her see her sons, she wouldn’t leave; she’d wait forever.
After dropping the tough words, Yuan Qin returned to the reception room and settled in for the long haul.
No choice, the sentry young man reported to Meng Jiusi, asking him to think of a way. This commotion wasn’t good and would draw onlookers.
Doctor Meng had made such great contributions to the military region and soldiers; he couldn’t bear to see such a good person become a laughingstock.
“I know. I’ll come resolve it shortly. Sorry for the trouble.” Meng Jiusi expressed apology.
“No, no problem. It’s our duty. No need to be polite.”
After hanging up, not long after, Meng Jiusi appeared again.
Yuan Qin was delighted. “Jiusi, I knew it. I knew you’d come. You care about our family just like me, right?”
Hearing this, Meng Jiusi suddenly smiled. “Family?”
“You’re overthinking. That family in the capital dissolved long ago.” He said word by word: “I hope you wake up and stop entangling. You should know I don’t want ties to the past. Don’t add waves to my peaceful life, even for the sake that I never mistreated you before.”
His words weren’t heavy, but the resolute tone was clear.
Yuan Qin froze in place, her heart sinking nonstop.
“Not even… a sliver of possibility?” Her eyes red, she still tried to salvage.
Meng Jiusi shook his head.
“I know I was wrong, but… but I was scared. Choosing the wrong path in desperation is understandable, right? You’re back, and Jing Mo and Guang Bai are fine. Why can’t we… go back to how it was?” Yuan Qin said urgently. “I know I was wrong. I’ll change. From now on, my heart will be on our little family. Forgive me this once, okay? I beg you, Jiusi…”
Meng Jiusi stepped back a few steps.
“You’re too agitated.” His tone was flat. “If you stay this agitated, no need to talk today.”
Yuan Qin instantly sobered. “No, no, I’m not agitated. Let’s talk properly, properly.”
She was afraid.
She knew if Meng Jiusi left, she’d never see him again!
“Go back. Don’t trouble the comrade at the gate anymore. I won’t come out to see you again. Take care of yourself.” Meng Jiusi said.
Seeing him about to leave, Yuan Qin hurriedly called out: “I want to see the sons.”
Meng Jiusi didn’t stop, just turned slightly.
“They don’t want to see you.” he said coldly.
Yuan Qin faltered. “…I’m their mom.”
“Have you fulfilled your duties as a mom?” Meng Jiusi countered. “Not long after I left, because of your maternal family, you let them go hungry, leaving them unable to return home. If not for…”
Afraid Yuan Qin would senselessly go find Zhaozhao, he didn’t mention Lin Zhao.
He took a deep breath and reiterated: “Jing Mo and Guang Bai are taken care of by me. No need for you to worry.”
With those words, he strode away.
After that, no matter how Yuan Qin made a fuss, she never saw Meng Jiusi again.
The Meng family father and sons had just started a peaceful life, only to be dragged into rumors because of her.
Jing Mo heard the family courtyard’s criticism of dad and was furious.
Burning with anger, he found Yuan Qin and said something to her.
The same day, Yuan Qin left dispirited and lost.
Jing Mo going to find his mom— Meng Jiusi sensed it but didn’t ask more.
The Meng family father and sons had no intention of telling the Fengshou Brigade people about the upsetting matter of Yuan Qin coming.
But the military region had a little loudspeaker like Mao Dan’er.
Lin Zhao still found out.
Besides being angry, she was quite puzzled.
Her youngest brother had said his whereabouts were well protected; even his closest friends didn’t know. How did it suddenly leak back to the capital?
Strange.
Full of doubts, she wrote a letter asking Gu Chenghuai.
After receiving the urgent letter, Gu Chenghuai began investigating.
Before finding anything, a letter from a certain state-owned factory in the capital… provided the answer to all the inconsistencies.
The writer was the factory director of Meng Jiusi’s previous factory. He wrote to the military region leadership, stating their factory received a letter detailing Meng Jiusi’s current situation and work address, which involved leaking secrets. He hoped the military region would take it seriously.
Gu Chenghuai heard the news and found his fourth brother-in-law. “…Who did you offend?”
Meng Jiusi: “…” He was more bewildered than anyone.
“How would I know.” He frowned. “I have no clue at all.”
