Chu Weixian and Chu Yu completely ignored her, both of them bickering incessantly. It seemed their meals were merely excuses for arguments, or perhaps, arguing was the only way they could prove they were still alive. The oppressive stillness here would otherwise make them believe they had already died.
The father and son began airing each other’s dirty laundry, saying anything and everything, as if desperate to confess every misdeed they had ever committed. Their heightened mental tension and fear had pushed them to the brink of collapse; only by doing this could they affirm they were still living beings.
"Why did you drug my mother? Didn't she treat you well? She's the best mother in the world! Why did you harm her like that? It's all your fault, it has nothing to do with me, absolutely nothing to do with me!" Chu Yu shouted in agitation.
"So now you want to distance yourself? You knew back then when I drugged Jin Qing, but you didn't stop me. You even helped me. How can you say it has nothing to do with you? Didn't you also want Jin Qing to die quickly so you could swallow her inheritance all by yourself? How are you any better? That was the mother who nursed you and raised you! She truly treated you like her most precious treasure." Chu Weixian thought that if he couldn't live, no one else would.
Chu Yu's face turned crimson from his words. His already feverish face grew even redder. What Chu Weixian said was indeed true. He had known for a long time that his father was drugging his mother, but not only had he not stopped him, he had actually helped.
"I was brainwashed by you back then. I didn't want to harm my mother. She's the one who loves me most in the world. It was you who kept brainwashing me, saying she wasn't my birth mother, and that other woman was. Once I was made to think clearly, and to stand on your side, I was misled by you. I didn't want this. I regret it, uncle. Believe me, I truly regret it. I regret it! I didn't want to harm my mother. She's the one who loves me most in the world. How could I have wanted to harm her? You have to believe me. I want to see my mother. I want to see my mother." Chu Yu was now sick and remembered how Jin Qing had tirelessly cared for him when he was ill. When he had surgery, she stayed by his bedside all night. Truly, no one in this world treated him better than Jin Qing.
Chu Yu's heart ached as he recalled this. Why had he believed Chu Weixian's nonsense and gone to harm the person who treated him best in the world?
"I regret it. Mother will forgive me. I believe my mother will definitely forgive me. Uncle, please give me another chance. I dare not do it again. I can help identify Chu Weixian for the murder of my maternal grandparents. I beg you, let me go. I miss my mother. Uncle, let me see my mother. If my mother wants me dead, I will no longer cling to life." Chu Yu's mind was now filled with thoughts of his mother. He truly regretted his actions, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Chu Yu, I'm telling you, it's useless. Jin Lan won't let you go, and he won't let you see Jin Qing. Just stop dreaming! I'm telling you, if I can't live, neither of you will. Without me, could you have lived a good life? For whom did I do bad things? It was all for you and your mother. If it weren't for you, how could I have killed people and stained my hands with blood!" Chu Weixian continued to defend himself.