After the divorce, my ex-husband and son lined up to pursue me.

Chapter 89 Still Protecting Her

The old man also fell silent.

The silent division resembled a quiet standoff.

Ruan Muhuai was raised by the old man, who knew his personality and character all too well. Despite his high level of education and years of upbringing, Ruan Muhuai was stubborn and inflexible at heart.

Especially things he's set his mind on.

When we pressured him to get married before, he said, "I understand all the reasons, Grandpa, Second Grandpa, and Grandma, you don't need to persuade me anymore. When it comes to marriage, I must marry a woman I really like and love very much!"

"Otherwise, even if you kill me, I will never agree!"

Once he made up his mind, not even ten or a hundred oxen could bring him back. He would hit the wall again and again, but he would get up, wipe away the blood, and continue to hit it relentlessly until the very end.

In the end, it was his grandmother, who threatened to starve herself and commit suicide if he refused treatment or medication, that forced him to compromise and give in.

The old man never imagined that he would still have to bring up his own grandmother.

"You know what? In my life, I've never been a good father or a good grandfather..." In the end, the old man couldn't hold back any longer and broke the silence with a sigh.

"It's all because of your grandma that I'm trying to be a decent father and a good grandfather... She's the most important person in my life. It's a pity you don't understand that feeling yet."

Ruan Muhuai frowned repeatedly as he held the phone, sensing that he didn't want to hear a single word that was about to be said, but it was too late to stop him.

The old man continued, “But on behalf of your grandmother, your second grandfather, and myself, I sincerely apologize to you. We were wrong back then. We shouldn’t have forced you to get married. We were terribly wrong, and we are unforgivable… But you and Jiang Xia still have a long life ahead of you. It’s time to cut your losses.”

"Let her go, and let yourself go too." The old man sighed deeply, his eyes clouded. "Your grandmother left behind a divorce agreement. Just do it according to this. You can marry whoever you want from now on. We won't interfere."

Ruan Muhuai pursed his lips in distress, "Grandpa, this..."

Before he could finish speaking, the old man used only one sentence to not only cut him off but also leave him speechless for a moment.

The old man only said, "Do you want your grandmother to be unable to close her eyes in peace?"

That was his grandmother, who raised him single-handedly and loved him even more than his own mother...

Ruan Muhuai's eyes suddenly felt damp. His Adam's apple bobbed back and forth, and after a long while, he finally murmured, "Okay, I'll do as you say."

After hanging up the phone, the old man sat under the tree for a very long time.

The great-aunt held Ruan Yuanchao and watched quietly by the archway in the distance. Worried, she still pulled Ruan Yuanchao to the side room.

After closing the door, her great-aunt knelt down kindly and gently rubbed Ruan Yuanchao's head with one hand: "Baby, tell your great-aunt the truth, do you want your father and mother to separate?"

"Separate?" Ruan Yuanchao was taken aback for a moment, then laughed heartlessly, "We haven't separated yet? Let's separate! I've wanted to change my mom for a long time! Now that Jiang Xia is gone, Aunt Xin Rou can be my mom! That's great!"

"..."

The great-aunt frowned and remained silent for a moment. She didn't like Jiang Xia, but she couldn't stand the child saying such nonsense.

"Sigh, are you too young, or are you just silly and stupid? In this world, no one can replace your biological father and mother. Stepfathers and stepmothers are all from behind. There's a world of difference between them. Didn't you understand those movies your second grandfather showed you recently? How badly do children without mothers suffer from being bullied and abused by their stepmothers?"

"Ah, this..." Ruan Yuanchao thought of the movies he had watched, and belatedly realized his mistake, he lowered his head in astonishment.

“Your mother is indeed not good enough for your father, and she doesn’t fit into our family, but in the end, she gave birth to you. If it weren’t for you, she could have left long ago, and your father wouldn’t have kept her around until now.”

Ruan Yuanchao hung her head, looking at her toes: "Because of me?"

"Yes, no matter how bad she is, she gave you your life. Without her, where would you be? Just because of your father? Men can't have children, and they have no right to force women to have children."

Although my great-aunt was mean and unreasonable, her inherent principles and ideas were still quite upright. "If your mother really leaves, that woman Xin Rou is no good. What will you be if she has another child?"

Ruan Yuanchao immediately raised her little head and argued, "Aunt Xinrou wouldn't do that, she's so good to me..."

"You can know a person's face but not their heart!" His great-aunt pointed at his little nose. "You're still young, you can't judge a book by its cover. You've suffered so much here all this time, crying several times a day, has Xin Rou ever come to see you? Has she tried to contact you? On the contrary, it's Jiang Xia!"

She didn't continue the conversation; her great-aunt also seemed reluctant to bring it up.

But Ruan Yuanchao blinked her big eyes in confusion: "What happened to Jiang Xia? She didn't come to check on me!"

My great-aunt glared at me and had no choice but to say, "She contacts Ade every few days, chatting about this and that, until Ade sends her videos of your daily life. What kind of person is she? She's always so aloof with everyone, and I don't know what she's so arrogant about, but when has she ever acted like this with anyone? Isn't it all for you!"

She was too embarrassed to directly ask for Ruan Yuanchao's video, nor could she ask any questions, so she could only make small talk to find topics to talk about. When Uncle De realized what was going on, he sent her the video, and she was only slightly relieved after watching it.

This is what a biological mother is like.

Because a mother and child are connected at heart!

There are only heartless children in the world; even if there are heartless fathers, there are very few heartless mothers.

Ruan Yuanchao didn't quite understand these things, but he had been through a lot of hardship and exhaustion during this period. When he thought that Jiang Xia was still silently caring for him, he felt quite happy and content.

Seeing his lips curving upwards in a wide, unyielding smile, his great-aunt was both amused and exasperated. She then deliberately added, "But your mother wasn't any better, just a whore! A slut everyone hated..."

Before her aunt could finish her scolding, Ruan Yuanchao glared at her with wide eyes: "No! She's not! Don't talk about her like that!"

He can say Jiang Xia is bad, he can abandon Jiang Xia, but Jiang Xia cannot abandon him, and others cannot say anything about Jiang Xia, after all... she is his biological mother.

His great-aunt poked his head in exasperation: "You, how did you learn to say one thing and mean another? Alright, do you want your dad and mom to get a divorce?"

"Then... I won't think about it." Ruan Yuanchao pouted, then thought of the food Jiang Xia had made, and his stomach was already rumbling.

The great-aunt had finally heard those words, and immediately hugged Ruan Yuanchao tightly, whispering, "Then you have to listen to your great-aunt..."

(End of this chapter)