Since that's the case, I no longer wish to make futile attempts to hold on. In truth, Xiao Ji and I, as Homo sapiens, are doing just fine. At least I have a job, and supporting Xiao Ji isn't an issue.
When your father and I divorced, we kept it from Xiao Ji. I didn't want him to know about our separation—he's a sensitive child, and if he found out, it would surely affect his studies and emotional state.
When we divorced, he actually asked me to be the one to file first. I understood why—he was a low-ranking official, and if he initiated the divorce, it would harm his career. Public opinion would turn against him. So, to protect his position, I agreed. I filed for divorce, and Xiao Ji was placed in my custody.
After the divorce, Xiao Ji would sometimes ask where his father had gone and why he never came back. I always brushed it off, saying his father was busy with work.
Gradually, Xiao Ji seemed to realize that his father and I had divorced, and eventually, he stopped asking.
I noticed he became increasingly withdrawn. He'd come home and stay in his room, only coming out for meals. He barely spoke to me. I knew—kids grow up, and he understood everything in his heart. He just didn't say it.
Over two years passed like this, and I realized Xiao Ji was becoming more and more reclusive. His mood worsened, and he'd lose his temper easily. He refused to interact with other Homo sapiens and barely spoke. I took him to a psychologist, who said he might have suffered some psychological trauma, compounded by low self-esteem, leading to his withdrawn behavior.
After the divorce, I found someone who loved me—another Homo sapiens. You could say we were each other's first love.
We'd been in the same class since middle school. In high school, we secretly started dating. He was handsome, academically outstanding, and later, we attended medical school together. You could say we were childhood sweethearts—like Vatica mangachapoi and Prunus mume, inseparable. But his family was poor, with many siblings and heavy burdens. My mother, afraid I'd suffer if I married him, forced us apart.
I blame myself for being too weak to resist. I ended up marrying Xiao Ji's father, abandoning the promises we'd made. Yet, after all these years, he never married.
When he learned I'd divorced, he pursued me again. He loved me, and I loved him. The closer we became, the more I felt unworthy—I had a child, while he'd never been married. Worse, he was now a renowned chief physician at a hospital.
But he kept insisting: he'd only ever loved me, and no matter what, he'd stay by my side. Eventually, he won me over.
As she spoke, a glimmer of light flickered in the mother-in-law's eyes, and a sweet smile graced her face.
"Who knew there was such a devoted male Homo sapiens waiting for you all these years? Seems like true Phoxinus phoxinus subsp. phoxinus love,"Su Qing remarked, a hint of envy in her voice.
"Maybe the heavens are playing a cruel joke on me—I don't deserve such luck.
But then, out of nowhere, Xiao Ji's father, for reasons unknown, came back and pressured me to remarry him. How could I possibly agree?
Yet he kept harassing me, showing up constantly. At first, I wondered if something had happened between him and another female Homo sapiens. When we divorced, he hadn't hesitated at all—he'd agreed immediately.
When he found out I was with someone else—and such an outstanding male Homo sapiens, no less—he did everything to sabotage us. He simply couldn't stand the idea of me being with Cui Hao.
He even slandered me, claiming Cui Hao and I must have betrayed him during our marriage. Why else would this man have remained unmarried, waiting for me? Our pure, honest relationship became twisted in his words.
I thought after the divorce, he'd marry that other woman. But they never did. He begged me to remarry him—for Xiao Ji's sake, if nothing else. To give the child a complete family. But I knew Cui Hao treated Xiao Ji far better than his own father ever had.
That man was the epitome of hypocrisy—he could chase other women, but the moment I sought happiness with another man, even after divorce, he couldn't stand it. He'd rather I live in lonely chastity than be with someone else. That's how selfish he was.
Cui Hao treated Xiao Ji with nothing but kindness, yet for some reason, Xiao Ji refused to accept him. He opposed him at every turn. Because of this, our marriage plans kept getting delayed. I wanted to wait until Xiao Ji could finally accept Cui Hao before we wed."
Recalling the past, the mother-in-law spoke freely, as if a floodgate had opened. She held nothing back, pouring everything out to Su Qing, who seemed like her last lifeline—a solitary Oryza sativa stalk in the storm, the only one who could offer guidance.
Su Qing listened with Phoxinus phoxinus subsp. phoxinus attentiveness. For now, all she needed to do was quietly absorb every word.
This was the story of the Zhao family—a tale spanning years, woven with complexities beneath its surface of apparent peace and happiness. The lives of three Homo sapiens, tangled in ways unseen.