Perhaps some people might think that Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong’s actions are superfluous, a case of self-indulgent sentimentality.
Why dredge up something that is clearly in the past?
Going door to door to find the students who once bullied Wen Ying, forcing their parents to discipline them, compelling them to come and apologise to Wen Ying, can that really make up for the harm that occurred back then?
When Wen Ying needed her parents’ protection the most, they were absent. Now that Wen Ying no longer needs it, they insist on doing this. Is it not just Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong venting their guilt through this self-serving atonement?
Wen Ying does not know what others might think, but she herself does not see it that way.
Better late than never, better to act than not to act.
The Wen Ying of the past never told her parents about being bullied at school. This had to do with Wen Ying’s own personality, and also with the family atmosphere at the time.
Now that the matter is in the past, when Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong learned of it, the couple felt both angry and guilty.
They ought to do something for Wen Ying.
They must do something.
Both for Wen Ying’s sake, and for their own.
As Teacher Kang said, being a parent is a process of continual learning and improvement. Do not fall into the same pit as before, and in the future, anticipate and avoid such pitfalls in advance. When facing the same situation, different personalities lead to different approaches. Given Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong’s natures, this was the only way they could think of to express their apology. Wen Ying even felt it was the highest form of apology.
Parents like Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong are merely tardy. Far more terrifying are those of another kind: when a child is bullied outside and finally musters the courage to tell their parents, not only do the parents fail to stand up for the child, they turn it around and force the child to self-examine. With so many people at school, why bully you and not others? Is it not because there is something wrong with you?
Such parents never self-reflect; instead, they excel at forcing the child to self-reflect, using it to mask their own cowardice and timidity.
They lack even the courage to stand up for their child!
Only by facing past traumas can one reconcile with the world. Wen Ying wiped her eyes with her hand. In the chat window, Fang Hui was still chattering on with her criticisms, but Wen Ying felt not anger, but amusement.
“After all that, you still have to come and apologise. I feel no sympathy for you at all. People must pay for the wrongs they have done. I hope you truly recognise your errors.”
Having sent this message, Wen Ying went offline on QQ.
Of course, Fang Hui would not repent over such a light remark, but whether this person truly repents or not, Wen Ying does not care in the slightest!
As long as Wen Ying stops replying to Fang Hui’s messages, that alone is enough to make the other party fume and stamp her feet.
That night, Wen Ying no longer felt uneasy or restless.
There were explanations for Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong’s recent overly polite behaviour, and Wen Ying decided to give them more time to process the matter.
Wen Ying felt that the storm over “investing in Tianjiao” had passed, but the impact of that letter she wrote extended further. Her relationship with her parents would undergo new changes.
On Saturday morning, the three members of the Wen family each had their own tasks to attend to. Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong both had to go to their workplaces to catch up on overtime, and this time it was genuine overtime; they needed to make up for the work they had delayed.
Wen Ying also had to go out, but not to Xie Qian’s home; she was heading to Rongcheng Literature Publishing House.
Editor-in-Chief Bao Lixin, who often travelled for work, had finally had someone calculate the royalties due for “Teenage Idol” and “The Galaxy and You” after the influence of the “Rich Writers List” spread.
Not only that, Editor-in-Chief Bao had also proactively invited Wen Ying to discuss the publication of her new book “In Search of Yong”.
In the past, Wen Ying would handle such matters first and tell her parents afterwards. This time, Wen Ying wanted to make some changes as well.
During breakfast for the family of three, Wen Ying took the initiative to bring it up.
It had been a full week since the three of them had exchanged like this, and Chen Ru still felt a bit tense.
She carefully organised her words, trying to appear calm:
“Although you have entrusted the matter of your novel’s publication to Director Yuan as your agent, there are some occasions where you should still show your face. This Editor-in-Chief Bao may not truly realise his mistakes; he sees that despite dragging it out for so long, you have not yielded, and now with the influence from the ‘Rich Writers List’, he worries you might abandon cooperation with Rongcheng Literature Publishing House outright. With your current fame, the media will certainly pay attention to developments with your new book. If you suddenly cease cooperating with Rongcheng Literature Publishing House, the media will dig for reasons in every way possible, which would be very disadvantageous for Editor-in-Chief Bao, so he is panicking. I do not think Editor-in-Chief Bao is someone you can work with long-term. What do you think yourself?”
Chen Ru had not interacted with the new Editor-in-Chief Bao Lixin; only Wen Ying had.
In the past, Chen Ru would have thought Wen Ying was just a child who could not judge people accurately.
After reading Wen Ying’s letter and listening to Teacher Kang, Chen Ru was trying hard to trust Wen Ying’s own judgement.
Upon careful reflection, Wen Ying’s pursuit of writing novels and becoming an author had never relied on her parents’ help. From creation to publication, how to negotiate royalties, how to protect her reputation, Wen Ying had her own ideas.
Of course, Chen Ru could not completely let go and grant Wen Ying total “freedom”, but she was indeed making an effort to reflect and introspect. After voicing her own advice, she did not forget to ask for Wen Ying’s thoughts, which was already significant progress.
Wen Ying no longer treaded carefully and chose to speak plainly: “I do not like people who breach contracts.”
Having worked as a lawyer for so long in her previous life, Wen Ying herself had a strong sense of contractual obligation.
The terms were written in black and white on the contract, so why not honour them?
Take Editor-in-Chief Bao using Wen Ying to assert authority, for instance. If he had different views on the new book “In Search of Yong”, he could discuss issues with the new book with Wen Ying, whether to revise it, whether to delay publication. As long as Editor-in-Chief Bao had sufficient reasons, even if Wen Ying disagreed, she would respect it.
Deliberately delaying the royalty settlement for the two previous books because of disagreements over the content of the new book “In Search of Yong” was simply disgusting behaviour.
Editor-in-Chief Bao breached the contract first, and Wen Ying had lost all goodwill towards him. She no longer wished to cooperate with him. If not for Xiao Nin, Song Fotxiang, and Editor Wan still striving to replace Editor-in-Chief Bao, Wen Ying would have announced the end of cooperation with Rongcheng Literature Publishing House before the “Rich Writers List” was released!
Seeing that Wen Ying and Chen Ru could communicate normally, Wen Dongrong cleared his throat: “I have thought about it, and actually, I do not need to go to the unit for overtime today.”
He finished speaking and looked at Wen Ying with expectant eyes, wanting to accompany her to the publishing house.
Wen Dongrong had already equated Editor-in-Chief Bao with those junior high classmates who had bullied Wen Ying.
Having missed the past, seize the present. A foster father is used for a thousand days, but needed at one moment; Wen Dongrong was very willing to contribute.
Unfortunately, after so long as a “plastic” father-daughter pair, their brainwaves were rarely in sync. Wen Ying completely missed Old Wen’s hint and thought he was just making conversation.
After breakfast, Wen Ying left on her own. Wen Dongrong washed the dishes while sulking.
Why not let him go along?
The little black-hearted cotton would even cut off the monthly allowance she gave him.
Having said such words, Wen Dongrong could not thicken his face further to ask the black-hearted cotton for money.
Sponsoring impoverished students required funds, and the nature of Wen Dongrong’s job meant he had no chance of making a fortune.
But even within the system, there were some legitimate and compliant side incomes, and manuscript fees were one of them.
Writing novels… Wen Dongrong could not.
Writing some commentary articles and publishing them in newspapers or magazines, Wen Dongrong felt he could manage that.
