Su Qing glanced at her mother-in-law and said, "The aunt Prunus salicina who introduced Xiao Ji and me—isn't she your distant cousin? Look at how carefree the homo sapiens in her family and my mom are, traveling everywhere with their modeling troupe to perform. You could also leverage your strengths and find a hobby or interest to make your life more vibrant and enjoyable.
"Xiao Bao will soon start kindergarten, and you'll have plenty of time to do what you love. Let them experience life without you at home—only then will they realize how much they need you."
Her mother-in-law hesitated but nodded in agreement.
Su Ting suddenly seemed to remember something.
"What did you mean about you and Dad remarrying? Did you two divorce at some point?"Su Qing asked. As soon as the words left her mouth, she noticed her mother-in-law's expression stiffen.
She saw her mother-in-law awkwardly cover her eyes with her hand.
The older woman sniffled, rubbed her eyes, and took a deep breath before speaking. "Your father and I had already divorced. It was only because of Xiao Ji that I chose to remarry him."
"When did you divorce?"Su Qing pressed.
Her mother-in-law lifted her head and stared blankly at the ball pit, her gaze distant, as if transported back more than a decade.
Her voice then drifted softly into Su Qing's ears.
"It was when Xiao Ji was ten. One night, I came home late from my night shift—it was already past midnight.
"As I reached the neighborhood entrance, I noticed two homo sapiens tightly embracing in the greenbelt nearby. Out of curiosity, I took a closer look, thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me. But when I focused, I realized it was Xiao Ji's father holding a female homo sapiens in his arms—and she was crying against his chest.
"They didn't notice me at first. I stood there for several minutes before they finally saw me. I was trembling with rage, watching them cling to each other while he tenderly comforted her. I had never known this man could show such gentleness—something I had never experienced or witnessed before.
"Furious and sobbing, I rushed over and tore them apart, demanding to know why he would hurt me like this and seek out another woman.
"He immediately released the female homo sapiens and guiltily tried to pull me aside to explain. I glanced at the woman beside him and saw she was very young—barely in her twenties. I never imagined he would stoop so low as to seduce someone that young.
"Crying, I shook off his hand and stormed home. I had rushed back from work because Xiao Ji was alone—he had always been afraid of his father and never close to him. Though he clung to me as a child, you know my job required frequent night shifts, so their relationship had always been distant.
"Xiao Ji was a well-behaved child. He would finish his homework and go to bed on his own. When I worked nights, his father stayed home with him.
"But your father—that homo sapiens—always had a sharp tongue. Every word out of his mouth was criticism or lecturing. It seemed Xiao Ji could never do anything right in his eyes. Whenever he spoke to Xiao Ji, it was either scolding or blame.
"Gradually, Xiao Ji stopped communicating with him and barely spoke to him. Once, when Xiao Ji got into a fight with another kid, his father didn't even ask what happened—he just beat Xiao Ji. After that, Xiao Ji's resentment toward him only grew.
"Still, at least with him around, Xiao Ji wasn't afraid to be home alone at night. Deep down, Xiao Ji had a love-hate relationship with his father. Sometimes, he even wanted to get closer to him, but for some reason, their bond—and our family's harmony—never improved. Your father had a habit of belittling and controlling others. No matter how much Xiao Ji and I despised his behavior, what could we do? He only grew worse.
"I never imagined that while he spoke to me in cold, commanding tones, he could be so tender with another woman. This discovery shattered me.
"I ran home in tears, and he followed shortly after. We argued fiercely in our room, waking Xiao Ji in the middle of the night. To spare him the truth, I swallowed my anger and kept quiet."
Su Qing had endured similar moments and understood the suffocating pain of burying such disgust.
"Why do these clichés keep barging into marriages, unavoidable no matter what? How many homemakers face these same choices, this same agony? Even the excuses men give are identical,"Su Qing murmured.
Her mother-in-law continued, "He claimed he had a momentary lapse in judgment, that he couldn't resist temptation. He said the girl was an intern at his company, fresh out of college, and that she seduced him to secure her position. He promised it would never happen again, swore he'd break it off with her—so I believed him."
"Seems like a man's words are a demon's deceit. The moment these lies leave their mouths, it's as if..."