Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 320 - 320 317 My Brother is Very Serious

Chapter 320: Chapter 317 My Brother is Very Serious Chapter 320: Chapter 317 My Brother is Very Serious “Is it only when I get divorced that you all will stop?”

Ma Jiandong’s words came out and directly blocked Grandma Ma’s mouth, leaving her with a word stuck in her throat, unable to go up or down, extremely uncomfortable.

“Ridiculous!” Grandpa Ma frowned at Ma Jiandong, “Is marriage a child’s play? To divorce at the drop of a hat.”

“Dad is right, marriage is not a child’s play. If my first marriage hadn’t been impossible to continue, I wouldn’t have gotten a divorce. This failed marriage might seem like a stain to you, but in my heart, it is also a wound. You don’t want to face it, but do you think I ever want to bring it up? Yet every time I come to a family dinner, my sister-in-law can’t wait to pick at it with a knife until it bleeds.”

Shu Wan gave Wu Wenqin a glance without any expression, her lips tinged with a trace of mockery. She said to Grandpa Ma, “Dad, the family dinner is meant for you and mom to enjoy the happiness of a family reunion, not to expose each other’s shortcomings or pull each other down. I believe you don’t want to see such discord among your daughters-in-law, so perhaps it would be better if we split up for future meals…”

“What you think? Is it your place to decide?”

Finally recovering her voice, Grandma Ma glared at Shu Wan, “What does today’s matter have to do with your sister-in-law? If it weren’t for you protecting your eldest son…”

“Don’t you dare talk about my brother!”

“Ma Zheng!” Ma Jiandong promptly stopped Ma Zheng, “Who gave you permission to speak to Grandma like that? Apologize!”

Ma Zheng looked up at his father, puzzled, “They say my brother doesn’t have to apologize, so why should I? Do you forget how difficult it was for you to find a doctor to perform my surgery at the hospital in Beijing? With all the trouble you went through, have you forgotten? My brother helped find Doctor Yu, and you were so grateful before. It hasn’t been that long, have you already forgotten?”

Faced with his son’s words, Ma Jiandong’s expression turned slightly awkward. He glanced at Shu Wan and quickly turned to explain to Grandpa Ma and Grandma Ma, “The tumor in Ma Zheng’s head was in a difficult spot, and aside from that Doctor Yu, the chance of success with other doctors was slim. But when we got to the hospital, Doctor Yu’s surgeries were booked solid for a whole month; without connections, nobody cared about you. Jiang Yan happened to be at the hospital with a friend and we ran into each other by chance. Fortunately, he knew Doctor Yu and managed to get us a spot for surgery late at night. Otherwise, forget twenty days, we might not have gotten a chance even after a month.”

So that was the reason.

At last, Wu Wenqin’s gloating expression faded, and she silently stepped back, pressing her lips together and looking down.

But Grandma Ma’s face was still displeased, “Even if that Jiang… what’s his name?”

Ma Jiandong helplessly replied, “Jiang Yan.”

“Even if Jiang Yan helped you, you can’t talk to your grandmother like that. It’s impolite! Also, your only real brother is Ma Xu, he doesn’t count.” Hearing Ma Zheng constantly refer to ‘my brother’, Grandma Ma found it grating to her ears.

Ma Zheng absolutely disagreed with the statement that Jiang Yan wasn’t his real brother!

But he was a reasonable child and, even faced with his unreasonable grandmother, he still stood his ground, “Grandma, I was wrong to yell at you just now, and I apologize for that. But I don’t agree with you saying my brother isn’t decent. My brother is very decent. Besides, if all brothers were like Ma Xu, hitting me, stealing from me, bullying me, and the adults still taking his side, then I’d rather not have a brother at all.”

Ma Zheng’s words really weren’t unfair to Ma Xu, but at the same time, they caused his uncle and aunt to lose face.

Wu Wenqin said displeased, “Your brother was just playing with you, why are you making such a big deal out of it?”

Ma Zheng turned to Grandpa Ma, “Grandpa, do you see? Aunt always says this, isn’t that protecting him? If I were older than Ma Xu and he was the one getting hit every time, would Aunt say the same thing?”

Shu Wan suddenly felt very sorry for her son, because of her status as a remarried woman, she had always given way to Wu Wenqin, trying to avoid direct conflict with her, which meant her son had to endure being bullied and keep the peace.

But the others didn’t seem to think so, hiding behind the guise of “letting the children sort it out themselves” while blatantly taking advantage.

In that moment, she suddenly missed the reckless way Jiang Yan used to be as a child; children his age or even older didn’t dare to provoke him, as he would directly respond with his fists.

For that, she had made him stand as punishment countless times, with little effect.

Strangely enough, when she used the same method to educate Ma Zheng, he turned out to be so gentle and well-mannered, nothing like Jiang Yan. Of course, ever since the two had gotten in touch and frequently engaged in deep conversation, his brother had led his well-mannered younger brother astray.

But Shu Wan was immensely grateful that Jiang Yan had “led astray” Ma Zheng; she would now rather apologize to anyone than see Ma Zheng beaten and bullied again.

However, Grandma Ma didn’t see it that way, “What brothers don’t fight? Your eldest uncle and your dad used to fight like crazy when they were kids…”

“Mom!”

Ma Jiandong couldn’t listen any longer; glancing at Shu Wan, who was frowning, he knew if he didn’t speak up, she would immediately take Ma Zheng and leave.

The key point was that Ma Zheng no longer obeyed him as before; he would resist and would dislike this place even more than he used to.

“If you keep playing favorites, then in the future, our family of three will try to visit less often, to save you the displeasure of seeing us.”

He then turned to Grandpa Ma, “Dad, we won’t be eating this meal here today. To avoid any future unpleasantness, it’s best if my elder brother and I visit you at different times.”

After speaking, Ma Jiandong paused, then finally said, “We’ll be leaving first.”

“Jiandong…”

Ma Hongye wanted to stop him but Ma Jiandong ignored him, leading Shu Wan and Ma Zheng out the door without looking back.

Grandpa Ma snorted coldly, glanced at him and Wu Wenqin, then turned to Grandma Ma, “Are we all happy now?”

Grandma Ma kept a stern face and said nothing, while Wu Wenqin awkwardly avoided Grandpa Ma’s gaze. Actually, Shu Wan’s reaction today was beyond her expectations. She thought Shu Wan would continue to suppress her feelings as before, never expecting that she would throw off her apron and immediately want to leave.

Was it all an act before, or has she become bold now?

Why does she feel so bold? Because of her eldest son studying at Beijing University?

Wu Wenqin curled her lips in disdain.

Meanwhile, after the family of three left, they had just reached the entrance of the neighborhood when they received a call from Jiang Yan.

Shu Wan handed the phone to Ma Zheng.

She rarely took calls, knowing that Jiang Yan didn’t really want to talk to her; he called only because Ma Zheng had reached out to him first.

“Big brother!” Ma Zheng shouted excitedly, “You didn’t keep your word, you said you’d call me back soon, but it’s been hours.”

“You think I don’t have anything to do like you? I’m busy.”

Jiang Yan had indeed forgotten; had he not had to go through his call log for something, he wouldn’t have remembered that Ma Zheng had contacted him.

“You’re still busy even though it’s the holidays?”

“It’s precisely because it’s the holidays that I’m busy.”

“So, will you come back for the summer vacation?”

“No time.”

Ma Zheng’s expression visibly fell, but Jiang Yan’s next words immediately got him excited again, “I sent you a gift; it should arrive in a couple of days.”