Chapter 72
Tan Xi Yuan glanced at Lu Feng and saw that there was no expression on his face. She didn't know what the old lady wanted to say and felt a little nervous. After sitting down on the single sofa next to Lu Feng, she asked, "What's the matter, Mom?"
"It's like this. Your sister-in-law has given birth to another daughter. She has too many daughters already. This is her fourth one. She doesn't want to raise her and wants to give her away. I went to discuss with her and asked her to give this daughter to you two to raise. Your sister-in-law agreed."
"What?" Tan Xi Yuan was caught off guard for a moment. "Why do we need to raise my sister-in-law's daughter?"
The old lady glared at her viciously and said sarcastically, "Why? You can't give birth yourself yet you dare to ask why!"
Hearing the old lady say this, Tan Xi Yuan got angry and retorted, "Even if I can't give birth, I won't raise someone else's child!"
As soon as the old lady heard this, she trembled with anger and pointed at Tan Xi Yuan, saying, "You ungrateful thing, who do you think I'm doing this for? It's for you two! Tell me, how old are you already? How long more do you want to drag this on?"
The old lady then softened her tone, "Xi Yuan, just listen to your mother this once, okay? We have a saying that you should first adopt a child as an 'opener', and then you'll be able to conceive. Many infertile couples who adopted children eventually got pregnant. I'm really doing this for your own good."
"Mom, you said that's the case for most people. What if we turn out to be the minority? Anyway, I'll say it again - I don't want to raise someone else's child!" Tan Xi Yuan couldn't help but say.
"Tsk tsk tsk..." The old lady quickly spat a few times and angrily said, "You can eat carelessly but you can't speak carelessly. How can you curse yourself like this? If you don't adopt, how do you know you can't give birth? Or is there something you're hiding from me?"
Tan Xi Yuan didn't want to argue with the old lady anymore and turned her face away.
Seeing that Tan Xi Yuan was ignoring her, the old lady got even angrier. She scolded Lu Feng, "Lu Feng, look at your wife's attitude! She can't conceive herself yet she dares to act so arrogantly! In ancient times, a woman like her who was infertile would have been divorced long ago. How dare she be so brazen here!"
Over the years, the old lady had prodded Lu Feng to divorce her countless times, but Lu Feng was firm that he didn't want anyone else. Only then did the old lady let up.
Just as Tan Xi Yuan was about to retort, she heard Lu Feng say, "Mom, stop quarrelling. I don't want to adopt that child either."
"Why?" The old lady was so angry that her voice trembled. "Are you trying to anger me to death?"
The old lady's eyes reddened as she pounded her chest and cried, "What sin have I committed to deserve this? My son doesn't listen to me, my daughter-in-law can't conceive... You're going to make our Lu family line die out! When I die, how will I be able to face our Lu ancestors?"
Seeing his own mother becoming more and more unreasonable, Lu Feng quickly soothed, "Mom, what are you saying? We're still young, we'll definitely be able to have children."
"You're almost 40 and you still say you're young? Your cousin's children are already in high school, yet you don't even have one child! I don't even have the face to stay home anymore. Do you know others are laughing at us behind our backs, saying we must have done too many immoral things, which is why we can't conceive..."
"Mom, don't listen to their nonsense. I promise you, we will definitely have a child."
Hearing Lu Feng's firm tone, Tan Xi Yuan couldn't help but glance up at him. The image of that woman in the photos suddenly flashed through her mind.
Could that woman be pregnant?
As soon as this thought emerged, Tan Xi Yuan became flustered.
"What's the use of your promise? It's not you who can't conceive!" The old lady cried and said.
Lu Feng patiently coaxed, "Alright Mom, don't cry. Since I said there will be, then there definitely will be. Just set your mind at ease."
"Really?" The old lady looked up at Lu Feng with half trust and half doubt.