Wan Donglin listened quietly.
"For all these years, my mother has turned a blind eye to that illegitimate child, enduring countless indignities. She put up with it her whole life, only for a major crisis to strike us now. The whole circle is buzzing with talk about this. For our family, it's like rubbing salt in the wound. If anything happens to my father, you know things won't end well for my mother either…"
"What do you want me to do?"
She said without hesitation, "I hope we can hold our wedding in two years. We need to present a strong, united front."
He laughed. "But we've already broken off our engagement."
"Donglin, please, I'm begging you this one time. In the future, whatever help you might need from me, I will definitely not refuse. My mother cries her eyes out every day, and I'm truly at my wit's end."
Wan Donglin remained noncommittal. "You should go back for now. We can discuss this after the New Year."
