Chapter 63 Refusing to Yield

Li Zhenguan softly called out Wang Zhao’s name.

Mindful of the elders’ presence, Wang Zhao couldn’t be too excessive. She still had a cold expression on her face as she grunted in response, then turned her head away, clearly indicating she had no intention of continuing the conversation with Li Zhenguan.

The young man’s face instantly turned pale. His lips moved a few times, not knowing how to make Wang Zhao stop being angry or what to say to appease her.

Zhang Ke also noticed the tense atmosphere between the young couple. He glanced at them, then pulled Li Zhenguan back into the kitchen, leaving Wang Zhao alone in the living room.

As he chopped vegetables, he asked Li Zhenguan, who seemed a bit distracted beside him, “Zhenguan, did you have a fight with Wang Zhao? Are you two having a conflict?”

Li Zhenguan pursed his lips. His hands, which were washing the dishes, paused for a moment. After a long while, he reluctantly shook his head, a forced smile on his face. “Dad, don’t worry. There’s nothing wrong between us.”

Zhang Ke didn’t quite believe Li Zhenguan’s words, but he understood that Li Zhenguan didn’t want to tell him.

When he was young, he also didn’t like complaining to Wang Xuechun’s parents about anything. After all, no matter how wrong Wang Xuechun was, her parents couldn’t do much except say a few words. It wouldn’t change her heart.

But today, the atmosphere between Li Zhenguan and Wang Zhao was off. Anyone with a bit of sensitivity could feel it.

He hesitated for a moment, but still didn’t ask about the reason for the conflict between Li Zhenguan and Wang Zhao. He only told Li Zhenguan that if Wang Zhao had wronged or bullied him, he should tell him as much as possible, and he would make sure not to let that brat off easily.

But that was all he said. It wasn’t appropriate for him to say much more.

After all, Wang Zhao was married now. He was in the position of a father-in-law. It wasn’t suitable for him to interfere too much in the life of this young couple. Besides, which couple doesn’t argue? When he and Wang Xuechun first got married, their fights were much more intense than Li Zhenguan and Wang Zhao’s.

There are some things that once the parents get involved in, it’s easy for the nature of the matter to change, turning small issues into big ones.

Hearing Zhang Ke’s words, Li Zhenguan nodded and softly said, “I understand. Thank you, Dad.”

Only then did Zhang Ke grunt in response and change the topic. However, he couldn’t help but notice that Li Zhenguan’s sleeves were tightly fastened. The edges of his sleeves were already wet from washing the vegetables.

So he couldn’t help but say, “Be careful, the edges of your sleeves are all wet.”

He wiped his hands clean, intending to help Li Zhenguan unfasten his sleeves, but was refused.

Li Zhenguan tidied his sleeves. His wrists were still wrapped in a layer of gauze. The wounds from a few days ago surely hadn’t healed yet. His temper flared up in the evening, and there were new marks on the wounds these past few days. As a result, not only did the wounds not heal, they worsened. Now, there might even be traces of blood visible.

Afraid that Zhang Ke would overthink if he saw, Li Zhenguan smiled and said, “No need to trouble yourself. I’ll blow dry them later. These dishes are almost done anyway.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but tidy his sleeves, wrapping his wrists even more tightly.

Zhang Ke didn’t think much of it. He swept a glance around the kitchen. All the dishes were almost ready, so he directly shooed Li Zhenguan out while whispering to him, “Wang Zhao’s temper is just like that. Go over and say some nice words. This conflict will pass. She’s not used to arguing with people.”

That’s good then. Even Li Zhenguan could sense that Wang Zhao was truly angry this time and couldn’t be bothered with him.

He was anxious, but hearing Zhang Ke’s words, he felt there was still a bit of hope. So he hesitantly walked out of the kitchen and saw Wang Zhao sitting in the living room, reading a book. Wang Xuechun was sitting beside her, watching the news on TV. The mother and daughter occasionally exchanged a few words.

When Wang Zhao’s gaze fell on the pages of the book, she would turn a few pages after a while, clearly dividing her attention.

Wang Xuechun was asking her about work, how her body was doing now, and if she felt any discomfort after starting her job.

Wang Zhao casually responded, “My body is much better. I haven’t had much work these past few days. I went on a business trip with colleagues a few days ago, but it was just to attend a meeting, to learn from the work experience of other units. It doesn’t require much mental or physical effort.”

To avoid worrying the two elders at home, Wang Zhao didn’t mind saying a few more words. “Besides, because I was just discharged from the hospital, my colleagues at the unit are mindful of my health and haven’t assigned me any work.”

Only then did Wang Xuechun feel relieved. She said, “That’s good. You’ve suffered two major injuries recently. You need to take good care of your body. There’s no need to rush with work matters. Working in a unit is different from working in a company. You shouldn’t be like before. You need to learn to manage your interpersonal relationships.”

It was just in the time it took for the two to talk that Li Zhenguan walked into the living room. He greeted Wang Xuechun and sat down next to Wang Zhao.

Wang Xuechun did show concern for his recent situation, asking a few questions about how his work was going, if the children at home were obedient, and why he didn’t bring them along today. To be honest, they hadn’t seen Wang Wen for a while and missed the child.

Especially Zhang Ke. Ever since Wang Zhao’s family moved out, he had been much more downcast.

When Wang Zhao and Li Zhenguan left, the entire house became much quieter. Zhang Ke had no energy in doing anything. The room that used to be full of life with the baby’s cries and Yang Shu’s soft comforting voice seemed to have left with them.

Wang Xuechun stayed at school every day, only coming home to sleep at night and leaving early the next morning. Sometimes the two wouldn’t exchange more than a few words in a day. These days, Zhang Ke could only visit the neighbors.

“Bring the child back to visit when you have time. Your dad keeps mentioning it.” Wang Xuechun said. She had noticed that Zhang Ke’s mood had been off recently.

People their age have spent most of their lives living for their children. When the children grow up and move out, the burden on their shoulders is gone, and they have fewer ties, but they always feel a sense of loss, as if a big part of their heart is missing.

He used to live for his children, but now that the children have their own lives, he suddenly feels a bit lost, not knowing what he can do in the future. He keeps thinking about the family of three on the other side of the Golden Avenue, worrying if these two young people can take good care of the child.