It was 12 o'clock at night. Lina was getting ready to sleep. Then Yuexin entered the room. Seeing Yuexin, Lina smiled and said,
"Mrs. Yuexin! You are here? Do you need anything?"
"No, nothing. I brought your salary."
Yuexin handed Lina a thick red envelope.
"Thank you." Lina smiled and said.
"Do you have a Plan to go somewhere?"
"No. But why? Do you need anything or going somewhere?"
"No. Tomorrow is the first day of the year. That's why I asked. You have a boyfriend. Aren't you going to meet him?"
Lina fell silent. She said, upset, "We broke up, Mrs. Yuexin."
"Oh My Gosh! Why?"
Yuexin asked in surprise.
Lina let out a sigh and said, "He cheated on me—with another girl."
Seeing Lina's pale expression, Yuexin tried to comfort her.
"You know, before I married Weisheng, I had another marriage. He never loved me, he tortured me. After I divorced him, I married Weisheng. Our marriage is a love marriage. it is a long story. But, it is impossible to describe in words how much Weisheng has done for me. Before I married Weisheng, Haoran and Meilin were born. They don't even know that their real father is not Weisheng. Weisheng never let them understand this. He has a sense of responsibility. If he ever takes responsibility for someone, he will never abandon them halfway. I suffered a lot before marrying Weisheng, but after marrying him, he never hurt me in any way. He always supported me. So, the wrong people leaving our lives doesn't mean we are not worthy of anything. Rather, just because they leave, someone new comes into our lives who can love and support us the way we deserve."
Lina understood that Yuexin had said these things just to comfort her. Lina looked at her and smiled. Just then, Meilin entered the room. Meilin frowned when she saw Lina in her nightgown.
"Do you always wear this around the house?"
Yuexin and Lina looked at her after hearing Meilin's words. Lina said without thinking,
"I only wear it at night. It's very hot—that's why."
"Is that so? Or do you want to attract my dad's attention?"
Lina was a little unprepared for Meilin's question. Yuexin immediately scolded her, "Meilin...."
"Mom, you don't know what girls are like these days. First, come and work in a rich man's house. Then attract the men of that house to...."
Before Meilin could finish speaking, Yuexin slapped her on the cheek.
"Do you know what you're saying? Have you lost your own sense of self-interest? You're pointing your finger at your father's character while belittling Lina. And you're proving how low your mentality is." Yuexin shouted angrily.
"Mom...." Meilin was surprised, her eyes widening.
"I have been sick for the past five years. I have been mentally and physically broken for four years. During this time, you have not been by my side even once! But Lina? She has served me, taken care of me like her own mother. I have never told her, yet she has done everything selflessly. And you are talking about her character like that? Shit!"
Meilin looked at her mother with her hand on her cheek.
"Okay. But remember one thing, mom... if my fears come true one day, if my words are even a little bit true, then never come to me. Never And Ever."
Meilin said this and left crying. Yuexin sat down on the bed. She lowered her head and apologized to Lina.
" Lina, I apologize to you on behalf of Meilin. Please forgive her. "
" Shit Shit! What are you saying? Please don't apologize to me. And I didn't think anything of it. You shouldn't think of it either. "
" Hmm. Go to sleep. It's late. "
Yuexin left Lina's room with this.
___
The next day. 8 pm. Weisheng still hadn't returned home. Meilin and Haoran had also gone out. Only Yuxi, Yuexin and Lina were home now.
Yuxi and Yuexin were sitting downstairs in the hall, playing. Just then, someone rang the doorbell. Hearing the sound of the doorbell, Yuxi started laughing and looked at Yuexin. Yuexin also started laughing with her—without opening the door.
Someone kept ringing the doorbell from the other side, but Yuexin didn't have the nerve to get up and open the door. After a while, Lina came. She came and was shocked to see all this. She immediately opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, Weisheng entered. His hands were full of groceries. He was sweating profusely. Lina quickly took the grocery bag from his hand.
As soon as Weisheng entered, he saw Yuexin sitting and laughing with Yuxi. He left angrily without saying anything. Yuexin didn't even notice Weisheng's presence. She continued to play with Yuxi casually.
___
Weisheng was sitting in the room, leaning on the bed, under the AC.
The top few buttons of his white shirt were unbuttoned, and the light sweat on his chest had dried long ago.
Although his hair was unkempt, there was a strange sense of neatness in it. Even though he was 58, every line of his body looked like that of a 30-year-old professional model. His body was strong, his neck was long, and his jawline was so perfect that even a glance would catch someone's eye.
While Weisheng was resting like this, Lina held a cup of coffee in front of him. Seeing the cup in front of him, he took it in his own hand. He took a sip of the coffee.
Seeing Weisheng's tired face, Lina asked without thinking.
"Mr. Weishen love Mrs. Yuexin very much, don't you? "
He glanced at Lina's question. Then, taking a sip of his coffee. After that he said,
"Are you asking this based on what happened a while ago?"
Lina replied curtly, "Hm.."
"Yuexin is my wife. I have a responsibility and duty towards him. She has never hurt me since we met. She has spent her time working hard so that I can focus on my career. No one else will do what she has sacrificed for me. She loves me. She is ready to do everything for me. No one else has done anything for me until now. No one...."
After hearing Weisheng's words, Lina said nothing more. She left from there. Watching Lina walk away, Weisheng took another sip of his coffee and glanced at her retreating figure from the corner of his eye.