Volume One, Chapter 12: The Horse Is Dead—Do You Know How to Feed It?

Two more days passed.

During this time, Yan Chen did not seek her out, nor did she reach out to him.

She had intended to wait for Yan Chen to come to her personally to discuss the divorce.

But instead of him, her parents showed up.

When she returned to the office after eating in the cafeteria, she saw her mother and father sitting nearby, waiting for her.

She wasn’t surprised; their reason for coming was obviously about Mo and Zhao Bei.

As soon as she entered, Ying immediately approached, grabbing her hand with concern. “Are you doing okay at the Yan family? You look like you’ve lost some weight.”

Gu Li pulled her hand back. The sudden warmth felt uncomfortable, and she frowned. “Is there something you need from me?”

“Let’s go to the café next door for a meal. Your father and I haven’t eaten yet,” Ying said with a smile.

Gu Li shook her head. “I just ate.”

Smack!

As soon as she refused, Zhuo slammed the table and glared at her angrily. “Do we have to ask your permission just to have a meal with you now?”

Gu Li inwardly sneered. They were here to plead for Mo’s sake, weren’t they?

Seeing her husband’s anger, Ying immediately came to his side and patted him gently. “Why are you angry at Li Li? Didn’t we agree not to lose our temper, so she’d forgive us? It was our fault for neglecting her all these years.”

Gu Li raised her brow at this. What were they trying to do?

Ying, seeing that her husband had calmed down, came over to Gu Li, holding her hand with tears streaming down her face. “We haven’t had a proper meal together in such a long time. Let’s go sit in the café. Your father and I haven’t eaten all day. Just keep us company, please?”

Gu Li glanced at the clock. There was still an hour and a half left before the workday ended, and staying here wouldn’t be restful for colleagues either. She nodded, grabbed her bag, and led the way out.

At the café, her mother ordered all the dishes she used to love as a child—dishes from her previous life. But Gu Li’s tastes had long since changed.

Her father sat opposite her, and Ying beside her, holding her hand as she began to speak.

“Your father and I are here to apologize. We did neglect you when you were young because of Mo Mo. That was our fault. We hope you can forgive us.”

Gu Li lowered her head in silence. Forgive?

They hadn’t neglected her—they had never truly cared for her, let alone loved her. Their eyes had only ever been on Mo, in the last life and in this one.

Seeing their daughter remain silent, Ying’s voice wavered with urgency and tears. “Li Li, we truly came to apologize and beg for your forgiveness. These dishes are all your favorites—please forgive your parents.”

Gu Li looked at the unappetizing food and smiled bitterly. “Forgive? Mom, how am I supposed to forgive? Who can heal the wounds you left me?”

“Do you think your pain can be wiped away just by saying forgive?”

It was absurd. The sudden apology made Gu Li uncomfortable enough, and now they had the nerve to talk about forgiveness?

“Your father and I sincerely came to apologize. Ever since you went to the Yan family, we’ve been thinking about you. How can you think so badly of us?”

“We treated you well enough. You never lacked for clothes or food. We supported you all the way through university. Even if… even if we favored your sister a bit, isn’t that to be expected?”

Gu Li sneered in reply. “Have you forgotten? I started working part-time in middle school and never took a penny from you until I graduated university.”

“Enough!” Zhuo slammed the table again, standing up. He pointed at Gu Li and shouted, “Now that you’ve grown wings and can fly, you give us this attitude when we’re trying to reconcile? Is this how you repay us?”

“Zhuo, don’t!” Ying looked around nervously at the onlookers and grabbed her husband, embarrassed.

Gu Li looked at her father and found it laughable. She stood up, tears welling in her eyes, her voice hoarse. “Did I ask you to come?”

“Did you really come to apologize, or just to beg me to let Mo and Zhao Bei off the hook?”

Slap!

Before she finished speaking, Zhuo raised his hand and slapped her hard. Gu Li’s already weak body collapsed to the floor, her head spinning.

“Zhuo, what are you doing?” Ying immediately burst into tears, clutching him. “We agreed to come apologize to Li Li. Why can’t you control your temper?”

Zhuo glared at Gu Li on the ground and pointed at her angrily. “Your mother and I are talking to you nicely, trying to apologize, and you, you beast…” He lifted his foot and kicked her again.

Thud!

Gu Li’s legs were kicked, and the pain made tears stream down her face. But she still stared at her father, looked around at the crowd, and smiled bitterly. “You say you came to apologize, but look at what’s happening now.”

Only then did Zhuo realize the whispers and pointing from the crowd. He looked down at his daughter, lying on the ground after his blow, and finally grasped the gravity of what he had done.

He looked at his daughter’s tear-streaked face with some regret for his impulsiveness, but also anger at her words.

“What are you doing, Zhuo? She’s your own daughter!”

Ying cried as she looked at Zhuo, then crouched down to check Gu Li’s legs. “Li Li, tell Mom, where does it hurt?”

Gu Li said nothing, stubbornly staring at her father. That silent defiance seemed weak, but she no longer trusted them.

She had no faith that her father and mother would truly treat her well or feel sorry for her. This moment was proof—they didn’t feel the least bit guilty.

“She’s grown up, and yet you beat your daughter in public like this?”

“That’s right. Look at your daughter now—can’t even stand after you hit her. What kind of father are you?”

“And all this talk of apologies and childhood favoritism—now that the horse is dead, you know to feed it?”

Zhuo’s face darkened at the criticism. All because of his daughter. He frowned at Gu Li. “Get up. You’re not ashamed? I’m the one who should be ashamed! We’re trying to talk to you nicely, but you won’t listen. Only if I hit you do you understand how good we’ve been to you.”

“Get up. I’ll take you to the hospital. What kind of image is it for you to be lying here?”

He reached out his hand to pull her up.

Gu Li saw through her father’s hollow gestures. The ugliness made her feel sick.

He always treated her like this, so fake that in the end, it was she who seemed to be at fault, while Mo received unconditional favoritism.

She looked at the outstretched hand and felt disgusted. No matter how much it hurt, she didn’t want to look at him again.

“Call the police immediately!”

A familiar voice snapped her head around. Yan Chen had entered, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on her, holding a suit jacket, his expression unreadable as he approached.