I am chasing a rough man in the 80s
Chapter 893 I Have a Friend

Chapter 893: Chapter 893 I Have a Friend

"When I was little, I got so annoyed with how my mom managed me, I swore in my heart that when I grew up, I wouldn’t become an authoritarian parent who moralistically kidnaps their children in the guise of ’it’s for your own good.’ But now that I’m a parent myself, I’m finding it extremely difficult to avoid being dogmatic while still raising my children to succeed."

Suizi felt a deep sense of reflection.

She constantly reminded herself not to become the kind of despot she hated during her childhood.

Yet with how she had just dealt with Su Zhe’s marriage issue, she herself had almost become stubborn and obstinate.

Before she rushed out to find Chen Lijun, she couldn’t take in a word of what Yu Jingting said.

But upon calming down and thinking it over, she found that every word he said made sense.

A good marriage always influences both parties, not just indulging each other, but pointing out problems in a timely manner, allowing each other to become better people.

Thinking of this, Suizi sighed deeply again.

"Fate is so unpredictable, how come good people don’t meet other good people?"

She so wished that Su Zhe, who dearly loved his two children, would also have such a stable marriage.

"Just think of Su Zhe as an old monkey constipated, it’s just not his time yet. Mom mumbles about fate all day long, but when fate comes, you can’t block it. Maybe one day, his fate will come running like diarrhea, unstoppable and swirling out."

"...How can a perfectly fine sentence turn so disgusting when it comes out of your mouth?!"

For dinner, they set up a hot pot in the courtyard.

Jiaojiao, filled with worries, sat next to Suizi, finding no taste even in her favorite mutton slices.

Suizi caressed Chen Lijun’s swollen belly, and the little one inside considerately moved around a bit.

"Your prenatal checkup is coming up, right? Will my dad have time to accompany you, or should I go with you instead?" Suizi asked.

These days, Fan Huang was particularly busy; he hadn’t come home for dinner that evening and often worked overtime until midnight. Sometimes when Chen Lijun suggested he should just sleep over at the office if it got too late, he refused, insisting on returning home.

"We’ll see when the time comes. I can go by myself too," she said.

"That won’t do, you can’t afford to be frightened in your condition. What if you see something scary in the hospital and it affects the fetal qi?"

"What could possibly scare me in the hospital?" Wang Cuihua asked.

"I heard from a classmate that the other day at the women and children’s hospital, a young girl secretly went to have an abortion without telling her family. The fetus was left in the restrooms without flushing, and the pregnant woman who came for a prenatal checkup afterwards fainted from the shock."

Jiaojiao let out a cry of shock, dropping her chopsticks.

Wang Cuihua kept saying what a sin it was.

"Stop talking about it, I’m getting the creeps - are kids these days really so reckless? Why not discuss such a thing with adults instead of making such a decision on their own?"

"Apparently, that girl was not very old, and she almost lost her life. These kids put too much importance on face and lack basic safety awareness. I’m not worried about our Jiaojiao, though, right, Jiaojiao?"

Suizi looked towards Jiaojiao, whose face had gone even paler.

"My stomach feels uncomfortable, I’ll go inside and lie down."

What was racing through Jiaojiao’s mind at that moment was what Suizi said about nearly losing her life.

Fourth Master squinted his eyes, looking at Yu Jingting, who was eating voraciously with his head down.

Wang Cuihua was eagerly discussing the young girl who had an abortion in the toilet with Chen Lijun, completely unaware of Jiaojiao’s abnormal behavior.

Fourth Master stretched his leg out and gave Yu Jingting a kick, not believing Suizi would say these things without reason; there had to be an implication.

"Ow—" The meatball Yu Jingting was about to pick up for Suizi fell into the bowl, splashing his face with sesame sauce.

"Daddy’s face looks like diarrhea." Luoluo pointed at Yu Jingting and vividly said.

After a gentle pinch on her cheek from Suizi, she stuck out her tongue and continued eating with her head down.

"Yu Tiegen, you come here this instant!" Siye said with a dark face.

Yu Jingting rolled his eyes, stood up, and first refilled Suizi’s bowl with meatballs, then followed his dad out of the courtyard.

"What’s gotten into everyone?" Wang Cuihua asked with a confused look as she noticed half the people were missing at dinner.

Chen Lijun, on the other hand, looked at Suizi, using her gaze to ask her daughter what kind of trouble was brewing now.

Suizi blinked, and under her mother’s watchful eye, she put a piece of the soft, sweet boiled cabbage onto her mother’s plate.

"Pregnant women should eat more vegetables. This is what your grandson or granddaughter brought back together, two hundred taels. We’ll split it between our two families in a bit."

When Chen Lijun heard about dividing the cabbage, she also felt like running away.

She didn’t even like the stuff!

Those words of Suizi were purposely meant for Jiaojiao to hear.

The effect was immediate.

After dinner, Suizi was fiddling with the abacus in the study room, while Jiaojiao peeked in and out from the outside.

"Sister-in-law, are you busy?"

"Not really, come in and have a seat."

The study room was empty except for Suizi. Jiaojiao closed the door carefully, sat down with much to say yet holding back, twisting her fingers nervously.

"Sister-in-law, I have a friend... She’s a bit confused about a problem, and I wanted to ask for your advice on her behalf."

"Hmm, what’s the issue?" Suizi put down the abacus, her fingers forming a steeple.

"Well, this friend of mine... she has a friend who was deceived by a bad person and... she got pregnant. I’m quite perplexed—I mean, my friend is quite perplexed."

"Hmm, perplexed about what?"

"I was thinking about what’s best for her, about helping her deal with this matter. She said if others found out, she wouldn’t be able to live on. She doesn’t have any money, and borrowing money is actually the least of her worries. The real concern is that aborting the baby carries risks..."

Suizi had taught her all of this before.

The risks of abortion were emphasized repeatedly as a key lesson. Jiaojiao had always known how to protect herself since she was young. She only realized not every girl knew these things after coming into contact with Liu Meimei, and not every parent educates their children like her sister-in-law.

"Knowing there are risks, then one should avoid the risks. Handling this matter alone is already risky. Her family elders must have the right to know."

"But she said her stepfather has always wanted to drive her out of the house. If he finds out, she will have nowhere to go."

"Hmm, she thinks just taking some medicine in secret is fine? What about continuing school afterward, or her body’s recovery? Who will take responsibility for the irreversible damage done to her body?"

With each word from Suizi, Jiaojiao’s head lowered even more. She too felt that she had been thinking about the problem too simply.

"When she told me, I was considering whether or not to tell her family, but I was just worried it would make her situation worse."

Jiaojiao stopped using "my friend" and directly said "I" instead. Suizi didn’t expose her but shared the recent experience of trying to find a partner for Su Zhe.

"The phrase ’for your own good’ can often carry a hint of moral coercion, imposing one’s personal opinions on others, which invariably leads to hurt that is against our expectations. My brother reminded me in time, and I suddenly saw the light."

"Yes, I need to reflect on myself," Jiaojiao said, her head lowering further.

She had thought keeping the secret was for her friend’s benefit but realized she’d been looking at it one-sidedly.

Suizi shook her head and patted her shoulder.

"I just want to remind you to think about what lies behind this friendship. The one exercising moral coercion isn’t you. Think it over carefully; I believe you can handle this situation well."

Suizi added, "There’s no need to seek perfection and be too hard on oneself. I’m a full ten years older and have experienced more than you, yet even I can’t always make correct judgments right away. It’s okay to make initial mistakes, as long as you can correct them in time without affecting the big picture, then the problem isn’t too serious."

Jiaojiao looked up, her eyes sparkling with understanding. She knew what to do now.