Rebirth Counterattack with Space

"Mom, if you really feel unwell tomorrow, just rest at home for the day. There’s no need to force yourself to attend Gu Meng’s wedding. After all, nothing is more important than your health," Xia Yuan said.

After dinner, Gu Tianming followed his father into their room, where he saw his mother leaning on the bed, clearly still in a mood from when he entered. He dropped the comment with a cold tone and left without waiting for her response.

Facing his mother, that deep feeling of helplessness returned, and after tonight, it was joined by a chill in his heart.

How his mother treated Shitou and Lu Yun’s family today was beyond his expectations. It made him feel extremely passive and ashamed, not knowing how to face his sister-in-law’s family.

Having been with Lu Group for a long time, he had come to know some secrets. He vaguely knew that the formula for the successful "Flower Face" products — the foundation of his and Xia Na’s fortune — actually came from Lu Yun.

Even without that, Shitou was one of the founders of Lu Group. And who didn’t know that Lu Aiguo and Xia Yuan doted on Lu Yun even more than on their own son, Lu Jinsheng?

What was his mother thinking? Knowing full well the place Lu Yun held in Lu Aiguo’s and Xia Yuan’s hearts, yet she still chose to snub them like that. How was that different from slapping the Lu Family in the face?

Heh, he couldn’t help but overthink. Did his mother even have a shred of affection for him? Xia Na might have been right; perhaps he was the child she simply didn’t care about, didn’t favor, didn’t see.

An unfavored child remains unfavored, no matter how successful they become.

Heh, if his own mother was treating him this way, why should he be so considerate of her? Anyway, he had done his duty; let the rest be as it may.

Thinking of the mess his mother had left behind, he let out a deep sigh. At this moment, he dared not even imagine how to face his wife’s fury later that night—

As soon as Gu Tianming left, his mother was stunned. She looked at Gu Father blankly and murmured, "He just left? Just like that? He doesn’t care about me anymore?"

Her second son had never treated her with such coldness before, not even when her relationship with his wife was at its tensest. There was even a time he had been so upset that he cried by himself, yet afterward, he still greeted her warmly.

She had always known that this son, whom she didn’t value much, was the most filial. The reason she dared to behave so fearlessly towards his family even after he had made his fortune was precisely because of his filial piety.

But for some reason, today she felt as if she had lifted a stone only to drop it on her own foot. This feeling made her inexplicably panic, something she hadn’t experienced even when he’d lashed out at her a few days ago.

"Hmph. Tomorrow is Gu Meng’s wedding, and what crazy thing are you doing now? Was everything I told you before just hot air? Just keep it up, keep on acting that way. Now that even your most filial son can’t stand it, are you happy?"

Gu Father lit a Chungwa cigarette, sat aside, and took a harsh drag. He was really infuriated by this foolish woman before him. He knew that once they returned to Haicheng, they were likely in for some "hard times."

He sighed. If he were in his shoes, he probably wouldn’t be lenient anymore. Fine, let this wife of his see what his second daughter-in-law was capable of. Otherwise, she might really think it’s still the time when they were poor and had no say, when she could do whatever she pleased with them!

"My life is so hard. My own son doesn’t even think about his birth mother. It’s as if he’s completely sided with his wife’s family. His own blood brothers and sisters are living outside, so why should his wife’s family be allowed to move in, even his married niece? It upsets me to see this, and I am not even allowed to get angry..."

Mrs. Gu slapped her thighs and wailed; she had mastered the art of using tears to her advantage. When she was young, she used this technique to keep Mr. Gu in check, and as she grew older, she used it to control her children. So every time something didn’t go her way, she would subconsciously resort to this tactic.

"You tell me why? How can you still have the face to throw a tantrum at this time? I really think you’ve made up your mind to not want your second son, his wife, and their two children anymore. Go ahead and keep making a scene, let’s see what good will come of it in the end."

Mr. Gu watched Mrs. Gu with a cold laugh, thinking she still believed she was in her youthful and attractive days. Old and ugly now, her tears and snot were mixing in an unsightly way. He stood up agitatedly and paced around in place.

Mrs. Gu’s tears continued to fall, but her voice became more restrained.

Only then did Mr. Gu angrily ask her, "Can you even remember what tomorrow is? Is this how you act as someone’s mother, as someone’s grandmother? You’re treating them like enemies, aren’t you? Even with enemies, one wouldn’t choose to be so spiteful on someone’s big happy day."

"I didn’t... How could I possibly do that... It wasn’t deliberate."

Mrs. Gu looked up in shock, then shuddered. Right, how could she forget such an important event? Tomorrow was Gu Meng’s big day, no wonder her second son was angry with her. His wife wouldn’t even show her face, and if things went wrong, it could really spoil everything.

She stared blankly at Mr. Gu, with a woeful face she asked, "What should I do then? I really didn’t think too much at the moment. And now that I’ve offended everyone, should I still go there and pour tea to apologize?"

"You’d better keep quiet; you don’t have to do a thing and be thankful for that."

Mr. Gu scoffed, "After all, you said it yourself, you’ve already offended everyone, what can you do? Even if you’re shameless enough to pour tea and make apologies, you must also have their willingness to accept it. No need to worry about what to do now; just stay put is better than causing more trouble with further actions."

Mrs. Gu looked at him with a vacant, uncomprehending expression.

Mr. Gu smoked and pondered on his own, becoming increasingly irritated and less willing to engage with her.

Leaving his parents’ room, Gu Tianming saw Lu Aiguo and Shitou talking in the living room. He walked over with a wry smile, showing a mix of embarrassment and apology, "The elders at home can never keep still; please don’t take it to heart."

"The elderly are like children; the older they get, the more childlike they become. We understand, we won’t take it to heart," said Lu Aiguo, patting his shoulder.

They were indeed close to Gu Tianming, but when it came to his parents, it was better to remain silent. After all, distance could not sever kinship. Their relationship with Gu Tianming was indeed much closer than with outsiders, but when compared to his own parents, there was still a significant gap. If it were them, they would feel the same; no matter the faults of one’s own parents, one might complain, but outsiders were not entitled to question.

"Ah--"

Gu Tianming sighed deeply, his gratitude for their understanding deepening his sense of guilt.

"Don’t overthink it, tomorrow is Gu Meng’s big day. What’s the point of all this sighing? Come on, those three lads were talking about having a friendly contest just now; let’s go watch the fun. Make sure they don’t get too rough, or if Gu Meng gets roughed up, we’ll have something to laugh about tomorrow, haha." Lu Aiguo stood up, pulling him and Shitou towards the yard.