CHAPTER 694: CHAPTER 689: COMPROMISE

"Dad doesn’t know either, why not ask Mom?" Luo Zhiyong finished speaking, then looked at Fang Pingying with a pitiful face, hoping his aggrieved look would move her.

Seeing this, Yaoyao mimicked Luo Zhiyong’s expression, propping her chin and looking pitifully at Fang Pingying, waiting for her response.

Fang Pingying glanced at the father and daughter, too lazy to bother with them. Realizing it was rare to have a Sunday, and since Luo Zhiyong said he would take the two little ones to see Dashan later, she decided to visit Fang Xiu.

Over at Fang Xiu’s, because of the previous incident with Bai Jing revealing that Haohao is Luo Zhiming’s biological son, Fang Xiu and Fang Ping’an feared disturbance from the Luo Family and recently started living in the store with Haohao.

Fang Pingying had not seen Xiao Pang for a long time and missed him a little.

Moreover, because of Fang Xiu’s past being exposed by Bai Jing, Zhou Guangsheng’s parents had been refusing to accept Fang Xiu. Originally, Fang Xiu and Zhou Guangsheng had planned to get married during this period, but due to family reasons, it had been delayed, and cracks seemed to begin appearing between them once again.

Fang Pingying wasn’t very clear about the exact situation, as Fang Xiu hadn’t said much, but from Fang Xiu’s tone during phone calls in recent days, things didn’t seem to be going well.

Although these two deeply loved each other, they were always torn apart by family issues or other messy matters, which was indeed headache-inducing.

Fang Pingying said goodbye to Luo Zhiyong and Luo Honglan, told them to take care of Haohao, changed her clothes, and went to Fang Xiu’s store.

When she arrived at the store in the afternoon, it wasn’t very crowded. There was no one else in the store except for Fang Xiu, who was sitting idly by the cash register. Fang Xiu didn’t notice her until much later.

Seeing Fang Xiu looking quite exhausted, and seemingly having lost weight, Fang Pingying guessed that the pressure from Zhou’s parents recently had been quite heavy, and felt a bit of heartache. She approached, shook her, and called out, "Xiu’er, what are you thinking about?"

Fang Xiu looked at Fang Pingying, stunned for a while before it seemed like she suddenly came to her senses. She forced a weak smile, pulled Fang Pingying to sit beside her, and then asked, "Big sister, what brings you here? Isn’t it the weekend? Don’t you have to stay home to take care of Ruirui and Yaoyao?"

Fang Pingying glanced at her, "Their dad took them to grandpa’s place. I thought I’d take the opportunity to check on Haohao, I haven’t seen him for several days. How is Haohao doing?"

Speaking of Haohao, Fang Xiu gently smiled but then looked somewhat helpless and said, "Don’t mention that naughty boy. These past few days, he’s been causing trouble all day, saying he wants to go back and be with his brother and sister, complaining that this place isn’t fun, that the house isn’t as good as yours, that nothing is good."

Thinking of Xiao Pang’s complaints, Flash Pingying also smiled, then looked around the store, and suddenly remembered that Zhou Xiaoyan, Guangsheng’s sister, usually worked in this store. Normally, she should be here at this time.

But with no one in sight, Fang Pingying asked, "Why are you alone here? Where is Xiao Yan, didn’t she come to work today?"

"She went home." When she said this, Fang Xiu seemed a bit shaken, her body suddenly swayed, and her face turned somewhat pale, but she did not explain further, only adding in case Fang Pingying wasn’t aware, "Her parents took her back, said they are going back to their hometown these days."

"What?" Fang Pingying was startled, with a guess in her heart that it probably wasn’t good news.

Indeed, as soon as she finished speaking, Fang Xiu’s face turned pale as she began to recount the events of the past two days, "Just the day before yesterday morning, Guangsheng and his sister were helping unload goods in my shop when suddenly their parents came over. His mother threatened to die if he didn’t break up with me. They also demanded that we cut off our relationship and even forbade Xiao Yan from working in my shop. I thought about hiring someone else these days, but I haven’t found a suitable person. So my mother has been helping in the shop when it’s busy."

Fang Pingying was slightly stunned upon hearing this; she had thought that the situation between Fang Xiu and Zhou Guangsheng was just that they temporarily hadn’t convinced Zhou’s parents. She hadn’t expected Zhou’s parents to be so stubborn, but that was not the point. The main issue was Zhou Guangsheng’s attitude.

Fang Pingying asked, "What did Zhou Guangsheng say?"

Fang Xiu shook her head, indicating she didn’t want to talk much about it.

But after a moment of silence, fearing that Pingying would worry, she still endured the pain in her heart and explained a bit, "He already knew about my past and didn’t mind it. Initially, he even resisted his parents, but a few days ago his mother suddenly brought a bottle of pesticide to my shop’s doorstep, threatening that if Zhou Guangsheng didn’t leave with her, she would drink it right there."

Considering the magnitude of the situation, Fang Pingying was certainly not expecting this, "Then Zhou Guangsheng compromised?"

"It wasn’t him who compromised, it was me. No matter what, I didn’t dare to gamble. If his mother really died in front of me, Zhou Guangsheng and I wouldn’t be able to be together afterward. Rather than that, it’s better to let it be. After all this time, we have always been proper, nothing much. Let’s just treat it as a dream. From now on, I won’t have any expectations from men. I’ll just take Haohao and live with my parents." Even though Fang Xiu spoke lightly, tears were streaming down her face by the end.

Fang Pingying knew how much Fang Xiu and Zhou Guangsheng had been through, and she also knew how much Fang Xiu had invested her emotions in Zhou Guangsheng. Originally, even knowing that Zhou Guangsheng might become disabled, she didn’t mind at all. Now, to forcibly separate them like this, her heart must be beyond sadness.

From her expression, it was clear, she couldn’t even cry; it was as if she no longer knew what a smile was.

Fang Pingying, looking at Fang Xiu like this, felt immense heartache.

She wanted to say something to comfort her, but in this situation, it seemed like whatever she said would be futile.

The attitude of Zhou Guangsheng’s parents was really different from that of Zhou Yunmei. Zhou Yunmei used to be irrational for her own sake, or for Luo Zhiming, so Luo Zhiyong could ignore her.

But Zhou Guangsheng’s parents, in their hearts, were still thinking of their son.

In fact, in this era, most parents probably wouldn’t accept a daughter-in-law with a tarnished reputation or a past mistake.

In the end, Fang Pingying didn’t know what to say, just started with, "You..."

However, Fang Xiu understood that probably no one’s persuasion would work. She shook her head at Fang Pingying, signaling she didn’t want to bring it up anymore.

Later, she just sighed and said, "Sister, it’s rare for you and your husband to reconcile, just live well together from now on, don’t argue anymore. I’ve just realized how much hardship two people have to undergo to be together."

Fang Pingying also nodded, then patted her arm, "Since you’ve decided, don’t think about it anymore. Take one step at a time. If you feel uncomfortable, come stay at my place for a few days."