Jacob sighed: “Nine out of ten internet celebrities are scammers, so he’s not important. If he makes money, my mom can live comfortably for a few days.”
Elaine Ma snorted coldly: “Him? Still want to live happily? God still doubts and hasn’t accepted him, that’s already cheap for him! He should have died a long time ago! When your father left, he should have taken him with him!”
Jacob was a little angry, and said with a red face: “My mother is old, how many more days can she live? Can’t you be more polite?”
At that moment, Claire felt a deep sense of helplessness in her heart. She couldn’t stop thinking about Charlie’s mother, Margaret An, an extraordinary woman whom many Chinese people had written about in books and biographies. Then she looked at her own mother. Although she didn’t hate her, ever since learning Charlie’s true identity, she couldn’t stop comparing herself to her mother.
An indescribable sense of shame made Claire feel her eyelids burn. She looked at Elaine Ma and couldn’t help but sigh, “Mom, it’s almost enough. We’ve been separated from grandma and uncle for so long. What grudge do you have that makes you hate them so much? Do you still want to curse them to death on New Year’s Day?”
Elaine Ma didn’t realize that her daughter’s current state was different from before. She thought her daughter was just ranting as usual and didn’t have the strength to attack, so she said coldly and disdainfully, “What’s wrong with me cursing her to death? Let’s just say, I didn’t kill that old lady with my own hands, so I’m already a very good person! If it were anyone else, your grandmother would have died countless times already. Maybe one of the issues of Today’s Statement will tell the story of her murder!”
After that, he sneered and said sarcastically, “To be honest, your grandfather is the only good person in the Willson family. A few years ago, I complained about him forcing a good son-in-law on you.”
“Now I understand that he must have done this for your own good, or we wouldn’t have lived well. Logically, he should have lived a few more years so your grandmother would have died earlier! Alas! It’s true that good people don’t live long, but bad people live a thousand years!”
Elaine Ma always loved to show off her eloquence, and her unrestrained outpouring of emotions would bring her a deep sense of joy. For years, when she was bullied outside, she basically relied on her outpourings at home to compensate for her emotions.
Sometimes, a person may develop a mentality to deliberately oppose others.
For example, just now, he was just casually mocking Old Mrs. Willson, but Jacob and Claire seemed to be blaming him, so he couldn’t help but feel angry, so he thought: “Oh, I just cursed the old man for a while, and you two dare to fight me, so I will curse you to death!”
As his emotions reached their peak, he spoke like a machine gun, venting his anger non-stop: “Damn it, that old hag has bullied me for so many years, and it was that damned old hag who broke my leg. If she really dies one day, I will definitely buy 20,000 yuan worth of firecrackers to celebrate!”
Even if it’s forbidden in this city, I’ll still set off firecrackers! I’ll still set off firecrackers even if I get arrested and thrown in jail for a few days! I just want that damned old hag to have no peace even after her death!”
The usually obedient Claire suddenly stood up, slammed the table, and shouted: “Enough!!!”
This sudden action not only scared Jacob and Elaine Ma, but also scared many guests around them.
Claire lost control of her emotions. Ignoring the shocked looks of those around her, she stood up and walked out quickly.
Seeing this, Charlie hurriedly followed, only to hear Elaine Ma speak stubbornly from behind: “This kid, his elbows are always bent outwards, not taking my side at all…”
As Claire rushed out the door, her tears kept flowing.
Charlie caught up with her and saw her crying. He immediately asked worriedly, “Wife, what’s wrong?”
Claire shook her head and said stubbornly: “It’s okay, I’m fine…”
Charlie realized something was wrong and immediately asked, “Why are you crying? Mom is always like this. Honestly, I’m used to it. You should have gotten used to it much earlier after all these years.”
Claire couldn’t hold back her tears and burst into tears. “I don’t want him to be like this for the rest of his life! I just want him to get a little better, to be a little better, and to not give up hope. Why can’t he do that?!”
“He’s been like this for almost thirty years, from childhood to adulthood! He’s suffered so much loss over the years, but he’s never really learned from his experiences!”
For years, he never fixed his mistakes and problems! He always blamed others and always thought that others had let him down!
“You know the only progress I’ve seen from him in all these years?”
Charlie shook his head awkwardly and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Claire cried and shouted, “It’s all because of his attitude towards you! Over the years, the only thing he’s improved is his attitude towards you. Other than that, there’s been no change or improvement at all!”
Charlie comforted her, “Even if you only see a little progress, at least it’s progress! So, you can’t completely deny that he hasn’t made any progress over the years, right?”
Claire sobbed, “Yes… there is some progress… but… but I know, it’s not him who is getting better! It’s you who is getting better!”
As she spoke, she raised her head and stared at Charlie with red eyes. Tears kept flowing, and she choked up and said, “It’s because your abilities have become stronger, your network of friends has become wider, and your income has increased, that’s why she calls you a good son-in-law and no longer dares to mock and insult you like before! In the end, she’s still the same old self, who has never changed!!!”
At this moment, Claire’s emotions were completely shattered. She crouched on the ground, burying her face in her arms, sobbing uncontrollably, her entire body trembling.
Charlie didn’t understand. He always felt Claire shouldn’t be so sensitive. They say too many fleas won’t itch. He’d been bitten by Elaine Ma for five or six years and had become completely immune to her bites.
Why did Claire suddenly lose her mind after living with her for thirty years? So he speculated that there was definitely something wrong with Claire’s condition, and her sudden loss of control didn’t seem to be entirely related to Elaine Ma.
But he couldn’t figure out what the reason was.
Some things in life are like this, like a math problem with one of the keys missing. You know something’s wrong, but you don’t know what, and you can’t guess the solution or the right answer.
Claire’s suffering is a combination of many things, including years of accumulated oppression, unspeakable suffering, and even suffering that she can’t express anywhere.
Thinking that she would disappear from Charlie’s world in another month, she felt even more tormented.
At this moment, he was the loneliest person in the world.