Beg Me to Remarry
Chapter 586 - 587: Memories of the Past

Chapter 586: Chapter 587: Memories of the Past

The rustling of the leaves sounded akin to someone weeping, like a mournful lament, exceptionally plaintive and melancholy.

This sound had been drifting through Xia Guoxiong’s mind for more than a decade, specifically since Du Wanting had died, to the point where almost every deep night he could hear it.

For so many years, on New Year’s Eve, he seriously contemplated for the first time whether what he did was right or not.

Xia Guoxiong himself was a genuine pauper, with average looks and a bit of cleverness, yet he harbored grand ambitions, determined to achieve fame and success.

Twenty years ago, he resolutely came to A City, lured to the place rumored to be paved with gold; however, life quickly dealt him a harsh blow—without capital, trying to make something out of nothing was absolutely impossible.

After much thought, he ended up at the home of a wealthy family to work as a servant, with the objective of winning over the lady of the house.

Du Wanting, the pampered lady of a wealthy family, used to seeing people fawn over her, was taken aback by Xia Guoxiong, a man who would occasionally flatter, show temper, had a bit of smarts, and some capability; she fell for him.

Her naivety didn’t mean her parents were naive as well—her parents had kicked Xia Guoxiong out of their house as soon as they noticed something was brewing between Du Wanting and him.

But a gentleman is always at a loss when dealing with a villain, as malice lurks everywhere, waiting to slip through the cracks.

Xia Guoxiong, having bet everything on Du Wanting, wouldn’t leave himself without a backup plan; before he was thrown out of the Du Family, he had already bought off several of their servants.

Whenever Du Wanting’s parents and brothers were out, he would sneak in for a secret rendezvous; for young lovers inflamed by passion, brief separations always intensify affection, and soon enough Du Wanting, under Xia Guoxiong’s seduction, became intimate with him and got pregnant.

Such things cannot be hidden forever, and Du Wanting, along with Xia Guoxiong, knelt before her parents begging to be wed, but the Du Family still refused. They had seen through Xia Guoxiong’s true nature, planning for their daughter to abort the child and then for the entire family to leave A City.

But how could Xia Guoxiong give up so easily? While the Du Family sought peace, he had taken the money given by Du Wanting to bribe the Newspaper Office, coercing them to spread the news of Du Wanting’s pregnancy.

In the era of two decades ago, unwed pregnancy was much more grave than it is now, subject to lifetime stigma and endless gossip.

At that time, Du Wanting was so wrapped up in the fantasy Xia Guoxiong had spun for her that she regarded her own parents and brother as enemies. Far from blaming Xia Guoxiong for ruining her reputation, she thought him clever and even told the visiting journalists, as Xia Guoxiong had instructed, that everything was her choice alone and that she would marry no one but Xia Guoxiong.

Left with no options, the Du Family agreed to marry their daughter into the Xia Family.

Yet, the Du Family still didn’t let Xia Guoxiong get his way entirely. They stipulated that once Du Wanting was married to Xia Guoxiong, she would no longer be a daughter of the Du Family.

His cunning plan foiled, Xia Guoxiong was stunned; but Du Wanting, already seeing her parents and kin as enemies under Xia Guoxiong’s influence, agreed without a second thought, even declaring they would never see each other again.

If Du Wanting had been a bit more amiable and spoken some kind words, through her status as the Du Family’s youngest and only daughter and the affection of her parents and three brothers, they would never have truly abandoned her.

In the end, Xia Guoxiong took Du Wanting, pregnant and heavy, back to his rented digs, a notorious slum in A City where the rooms were so cramped turning around was difficult, a single bed felt crowded for two, rats could be seen in broad daylight, and clothes could never bask in the sunlight.

And as Xia Guoxiong hadn’t gotten what he wanted, he treated Du Wanting with increasing contempt, no longer even bothering to comfort her.

At that time, news came that the Du Family had emigrated overseas, liquidating all their assets, never to return.

Finally facing reality, Du Wanting was shattered and acknowledged that life was different from dreams; she cried day and night, nearly to the point of blindness.

A turning point came on the night before the Du Family’s departure, when the lady of the Du Family, led by a servant, arrived at their place, and upon seeing their living conditions, could not hold back her tears.

In the end, a mother’s love prevailed. She gave Du Wanting a house and all her private savings accumulated over the years.

Xia Guoxiong finally left the squalid gutter where he had lived for over a year, and with that first pot of gold—courtesy of the lady of the Du Family—he began to fight for his career in A City.

As for their love, it was merely a fantasy he had woven for Du Wanting. After he swindled the money given by the lady of the Du Family from Du Wanting, his impatience with her only grew.

But Du Wanting seemed quite content. Perhaps because they had moved from a cramped hovel, where not even the rats lingered, to a reasonably tidy house, she felt her life was improving; or maybe because Xia Guoxiong’s business was flourishing, she trusted her own judgment.

Yet, Du Wanting fell ill with cancer, the cause being that during the birth of Xia Cheng and her convalescence postpartum, she had received no care, leading to a host of health issues. She then fell pregnant with Xia Ning before her strength had returned.

She had taken care of both Xia Cheng and Xia Ning by herself, from pregnancy to postpartum recovery to their growing up, with Xia Guoxiong doing nothing to help. Worse, he would take out on her the frustrations he encountered elsewhere.

Strangely, no matter how terribly Xia Guoxiong treated her, Du Wanting never seemed to mind. She always tried to understand and sympathize with him from his perspective.

Upon getting the diagnosis, Du Wanting wasn’t excessively grief-stricken. She was more concerned about her young children and worried whether anyone would care for Xia Guoxiong afterward, never mentioning trying treatment.

Although Du Wanting’s illness was severe, it wasn’t completely hopeless with a substantial investment of money, but Xia Guoxiong was too sparing with funds, while Du Wanting assumed he had none.

Xia Guoxiong had never loved Du Wanting, a fact better known to him than to anyone else.

If the Du Family were still in A City, he could have feigned deep affection for Du Wanting, but with the Du Family gone, having provided no assistance, he refused to acknowledge that his first fortune had come from them. He felt entitled to the money he had taken.

So, whenever he saw Du Wanting, he only thought of his own humiliating past as a fawning servile fool; deep inside, he wished for her to die quickly. After Du Wanting’s diagnosis, he was elated inside.

How could he not be? His life was on track, and with continued effort, he could achieve his dreams.