Lu Tao passively allowed Du Xiaoyu to kiss him for a while before he hugged her and walked into the living room. He let her sit on the sofa and went into the kitchen to make her a cup of tea. He then sat next to her and asked, "Xiaoyu, is there any other reason why you hate your family so much other than your mother's painful experience of committing suicide?"
Du Xiaoyu was silent for a while before she answered, "Brother, you are the person closest to me and I trust the most. There are some things that I can tell you. When my mother committed suicide, it wasn't just because my father had a mistress outside. The main reason was that my eldest sister and second sister were defiled by two beastly officials and were forced to become their mistresses. For the sake of his underworld business and for the sake of seeking protection, not only did my father not seek justice from those two bastards, he even shamelessly encouraged and instigated my eldest sister and second sister to serve and curry favor with those two officials. He then used this shameful relationship to unscrupulously expand his territory and influence in the underworld, becoming the infamous underworld boss of Taolin County.
"My mother was originally a very respected teacher, but ever since my father stepped into the underworld, she felt that the respect others had for her turned into 'fear.' Because of this, she had earnestly advised my father many times, asking him to consider his original identity as a teacher of the people and the reputation of his family and children, and to stop doing those outrageous things, but my father didn't listen at all. At that time, I was in elementary school and often saw my mother and father arguing. I also often saw my mother hiding in her room and crying secretly.
"I remember it very clearly: When I was in the sixth grade, I came home from school one day and found my mother arguing with my father again. That time, my mother might have been mad. Her eyes were red, her hair was disheveled, and she had a kitchen knife in her hand. There were a few times when she wanted to rush out of the room, saying that she wanted to fight 'that beast' to the death, but my father firmly blocked her in the room, telling her to calm down and not to go to extremes...
"Later, I found out that when my mother found out that my elder sister was defiled by an official, she was so angry that she almost went crazy. She wanted to take a kitchen knife and fight that official to the death. Later, my father advised her: If she made a scene, the news of my elder sister being defiled would immediately spread. In the future, the Liu family's reputation would be ruined, and my daughter's lifelong happiness would also be ruined. My mother was a very proud and prideful person. After hearing my father's words, she could only give up on the idea of fighting with that official.
"I didn't expect that a few months later, my second sister would be defiled by another official. Furthermore, with my father's tacit approval and even instigation, my eldest sister and second sister willingly became the two officials' mistresses. It was also at that time that news about my eldest sister and second sister began to spread everywhere in Taolin County. Even some ordinary people knew that the two sisters of the Liu family were the mistresses of the head of the county committee at that time. Some people even jokingly called my father 'Hong Guo Zhang'.
"From then on, my mother felt that her colleagues and friends around her were looking at her with disdain and mockery. This greatly hurt her self-esteem. Not long after, someone told my mother that my father had found a mistress in her twenties in his company. He promised that mistress that if she could give birth to a boy for the Liu family, he would buy her a villa in the provincial capital and give her a hundred thousand yuan a month to raise the child.
"This news was the last straw that broke my mother's mental defenses. On the third evening after she received the news, she brought me to a big bridge and gave me a tearful reminder. Then, she jumped off the bridge and committed suicide. From that day onwards, I hated the Liu family and Liu Hong. I swore that I would never take a step into the Liu family's house again and would never call Liu Hong father again … "
At this point, Du Xiaoyu's eyes were filled with sparkling tears again.
Lu Tao held her cold hand and patted it gently a few times. He asked, "Do you still hate your father and sister as much as before?"
Du Xiaoyu lowered her head and pondered for a moment before answering, "Some people say that time can wash away everything and can also heal all psychological wounds. However, in my opinion, this is not the case. It has been more than ten years since my mother committed suicide, but the words she said to me before she left are still deeply engraved in my mind. Therefore, my hatred for Liu Hong and my disdain for my two sisters have always been difficult to erase. It is also because of the psychological wounds that are difficult to heal that I have been very antisocial and cold since junior high school. I have always been depressed and rarely have times when I am truly happy. I always feel that the world is cold and dark, and there is nothing worth being nostalgic about. This caused me to suffer from severe depression for a period of time, and I almost committed suicide a few times.
"However, ever since I met you, the cold, gloomy world in my heart suddenly became vibrant, splendid, and full of hope. In the past, I always felt like I had nothing to live for. However, ever since you walked into my heart, I felt that I have something to care about, something to be attached to, and have beautiful experiences and feelings. The most strange thing is that when I feel like I am in love, the resentment I had for Liu Hong and my two sisters seems to have lessened a lot. "
When Lu Tao heard her heartfelt narration, he felt both touched and a bit guilty. He took the initiative to reach out and pull her into his embrace. He lowered his head to kiss her forehead and asked, "Xiaoyu, I want to verify something with you. Before you returned to the peach forest, Liu Hong was preparing to go to the county's Public Security Bureau to apply for me to be held criminally responsible. However, he suddenly took the initiative to withdraw the application. He even uncharacteristically helped me remove the administrative punishment from the local tax bureau. Was this what you suggested to him?"
Du Xiaoyu looked at him with bright eyes and nodded, "That's right. At that time, Liu Hong sent Brother Song to persuade me to go home and to persuade me to call him father. Therefore, I made a condition to him: I can go back to the Liu family and call him father again. However, the condition is that he must not make things difficult for you or plot against you. Otherwise, I will never pay attention to the Liu family again. "
Speaking to this point, she paused for a moment before continuing, "Brother, sometimes people's feelings are very strange. For example, before I returned to the peach forest, I had a lot of resentment towards Liu Hong. However, when I returned home, I saw Liu Hong's white hair and wrinkled face. When he saw me, he was so emotional that he burst into tears. My heart softened, and I suddenly felt that he wasn't that hateful.
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