Fang Yaoting and Lee Dachin sat at the dining table, and the servant placed the dishes before them. Madam Fang picked up a drumstick and handed it to Wang Shuchun. Then she picked another drumstick and gave it to Lee Dachin.
Madam Fang's smile widened as she spoke happily. "Dachin, even though you may not have children of your own, the children born, and yet to be born, to Yaoting and Shuchun, they are also your children." She then turned to Wang Shuchun, her expression softening. "Shuchun, I know it will be difficult for you to bear the full responsibility of having children, but from the bottom of my heart, I am truly grateful." She looked from Wang Shuchun to Lee Dachin, taking both their hands in hers. "I am happy that the two of you get along so well. I hope it will always stay that way."
Wang Shuchun looked at Lee Dachin, a stark realization settling deep within her: the man she loved so profoundly would never return her affection with the same intensity. If she wished to remain by his side, she knew she had to accept the one her husband truly loved. With a heavy heart, she resolved to treat Lee Dachin as any first wife would a husband's mistress, acknowledging the common practice of men having multiple wives.
Wang Shuchun smiled, her gaze reassuring. "Mother, please rest assured. Dachin has been very good to me, and I know he'll love my children as his own." She looked at Lee Dachin with a warm smile. "Dachin, from now on, I'll entrust the teaching of my children to you. I hope they can be as knowledgeable and kind as you."
Madam Fang smiled happily and said, "Everyone eat. Today is a special day. We are sitting and eating together. If Chongling is here, our family will be completed. I suggest that we celebrate the New Year together next year." She looked at everyone, her face beaming. "Everyone must be there." She smiled and looked at everyone again. "Eat... everyone, eat."
Fang Yaoting picked up some food and put it in Lee Dachin's bowl. "Here," he said, offering it to him.
Master Fang looked at Fang Yaoting and Lee Dachin. "Yaoting, Shuchun has just given birth to two children; you must take good care of her," he instructed, his tone firm.
Fang Yaoting said without looking back, his voice cold, "There are ten maids here to take care of her. If Father feels that this is not enough people caring for her, maybe she should go home. There are more maids to take care of her at home." He was not in a talkative mood with Master Fang, so he chewed his food grumpily.
Master Fang was irritated by Fang Yaoting's attitude. "She is your wife, and as her husband, you have the responsibility to take care of her emotionally and physically!" he slammed his hand on the table.
Fang Yaoting slammed down his own bowl and chopsticks on the table, the sound echoing sharply. "Father, may I remind you that we had a deal two year ago!"
"What deal?" Master Fang scoffed, feigning ignorance.
"The day Wang Shuchun gave birth to a son was the day I married Dachin," Fang Yaoting stated, his voice unwavering. "I hope that Father will go home and prepare for Dachin and my wedding!"
Master Fang looked at Fang Yaoting, and he reneged, "There will not be a wedding."
"Fang Chinmao...You..." Madam Fang said madly, shocked by her husband's betrayal.
Wang Shuchun looked at Master Fang and said softly, "Father... I don't mind... I accept..."
"Either you accept or not accept," Master Fang said, his voice hard, silencing her. "The wedding between Yaoting and Childe Lee will never happen." He breathed angrily through his nostrils. "That is the final decision."
Fang Yaoting looked at Master Fang, and he sneered, a bitter twist to his lips. "Dachin, look, you helped him, but he broke his promise."
Master Fang said angrily, his face red, "You are a married man! You have to go back to take care of your children and your wife!"
Fang Yaoting smirked and stood up to challenge Master Fang. "I will do no such thing."
Master Fang slammed on the table angrily. "Yaoting!"
The atmosphere in the dining room was heated by the anger of Fang Yaoting and Master Fang. The father and son were at each other's tipping point. A happy family dinner became a dinner in hell.
Fang Yaoting stared straight into Master Fang's eyes, his gaze piercing. "Father, if you accept Dachin and do as you promised, then you will have me back and another son. If you say no, then you will lose this son of yours. You can go and enjoy your two grandchildren."
"Are you threatening me?" Master Fang asked, his voice low with fury.
"Not at all, if you held your end of the deal," Fang Yaoting replied coolly.
Wang Shuchun burst into tears, the tension finally breaking her composure. "What am I to you? Some kind of bargaining chip? Is that it?!"
Fang Yaoting stared at Wang Shuchun frantically, his eyes sharp. "Wang Shuchun, let me remind you too. I told you clearly on the night of the wedding. I told you that the day you give birth to a son, I will remarry. Your answer was, since you married into the Fang family, you had no regret." He looked coldly at Wang Shuchun. "I have not settled the score for you hiding Dachin's letters from me."
Wang Shuchun sobbed, her voice broken. "I thought you were testing me." She looked at Fang Yaoting, tears streaming down her face. "I did that because I love you, and I really want us to be a family."
Fang Yaoting said indifferently, his voice devoid of warmth, "I, Fang Yaoting, never test anyone. I do everything straightforwardly. I love Dachin, and I will stay with Dachin." He turned to Wang Shuchun. "If you can't accept this, you can leave the Fang residence at any time. If you choose to stay, you will have just an empty title."
"Do you love this man?" Master Fang asked angrily, pointing at Lee Dachin.
Fang Yaoting provocatively said, "Until death does us part."
Master Fang breathed heavily, his chest heaving with rage. "Do you choose this person, or do you choose your family?"
"I choose Dachin," Fang Yaoting said firmly, his gaze unwavering.
Master Fang gritted his teeth with anger. "Okay, if you choose this person, don't ever come home!"
"Even so, I still choose Dachin," Fang Yaoting said firmly, his resolve unshakeable.
Lee Dachin's heart sank. This was what he had been most afraid of. A year ago, Lee Dachin was ready for this. He knew he had to sever ties with Fang Yaoting, but at the same time, he wanted to keep Fang Yaoting as long as possible. He slowly turned his head, took the hairpin that Fang Yaoting had given him, and put it on the table, a symbolic gesture of separation.
Lee Dachin resisted the tears, his voice trembling. "I'll give you back this." He smiled sadly at Fang Yaoting. "A year ago, I prepared for this day to come. Yaoting, listen to me. You have a great family that loves you very much. A family that can only exist in my dreams... I envy you in many ways. This time I did this with a clear conscience. Let's break up for real."
"Say it one more," Fang Yaoting gritted his teeth, his voice desperate. Fang Yaoting picked up the hairpin on the table, his hand shaking.
Madam Fang worried that Fang Yaoting would hurt Lee Dachin or himself, so she quickly said, "Yaoting, put down the hairpin!" She stood up and walked to Fang Yaoting, trying to intervene.
Master Fang also commanded, "What are you doing? Put down the hairpin!"
With tears in Lee Dachin's eyes, he softly said, "Let's break up."
Fang Yaoting smiled at Lee Dachin, a terrifying, heartbroken smile. "Until death does us part," he whispered, then raised the hairpin to his neck, threatening to take his own life.
Madam Fang screamed, "Yaoting!"
Lee Dachin burst into tears, and blood dripped from his hand onto Fang Yaoting's robe, having grabbed the hairpin. He said madly, "What are you doing?! Why hurt yourself?!"
"I promised you," Fang Yaoting said, his voice filled with a chilling resolve. "I will love you until death does us part."
"Are you mad?" Lee Dachin asked madly, horrified.
"No, are you?" Fang Yaoting said sadly, his eyes fixed on Dachin. "I am not the one leaving you. You are the one who is going to leave me. Now let go of the hairpin."
Lee Dachin shook his head, his resistance crumbling. He threw himself into Fang Yaoting's arms. "Please, don't love me too much!" he sobbed. "I surrender! I surrender!"
Fang Yaoting pinned the hairpin back onto Lee Dachin's hair again, a gesture of ownership and love. He smiled and said, "There, a beautiful hairpin for a beautiful person." Fang Yaoting hugged him tightly and kissed him passionately in front of Master Fang and Wang Shuchun, a defiant act of love.
Lee Dachin knelt and cried and begged Master Fang, "Please, Master Fang, I don't need you to recognize me as part of the family. I don't need you to agree to Yaoting's wedding. I know everyone here loves Yaoting dearly." Lee Dachin raised three fingers on his right hand. "I, Lee Dachin, swear to heaven, I will never step into the Fang family, and I will never claim to be a member of the Fang family. I will never spend a penny from the Fang treasure. If I break my promise, lightning may strike me to death. Please, don't force Yaoting anymore, and don't kick him out of the family home. I am willing to be a person who will always be in the shadows."
"Do you know that your love is wrong?" Master Fang asked, his voice cold.
"If our love is wrong, then I will never love again," Fang Yaoting stated, his voice firm. "Our love is as pure as any kind of love. For us, our love is not wrong."
Master Fang stared at Lee Dachin. "Childe Lee, remember what you said. The person I acknowledge as my daughter-in-law is Wang Shuchun, not you. In people's eyes, Wang Shuchun is Yaoting's wife, not you. For the rest of your life, you can never set foot inside the Fang Residence."
"I understand," Lee Dachin replied, his voice barely a whisper.
"Yaoting can come home whenever he likes," Master Fang conceded, "we are leaving with the children."
Master Fang, Madam Fang, and Wang Shuchun left with the two newborns, leaving Lee Dachin and Fang Yaoting alone in the dining room, the silence heavy with the aftermath of the confrontation.
"Never break up with me," Fang Yaoting whispered, touching Lee Dachin's face. "Because it hurts."
Lee Dachin nodded his head, tears still falling.
"Let's clean that hand," Fang Yaoting said gently, looking at the blood on Lee Dachin's hand.
Lee Dachin sobbed softly. "I'm sorry, I don't have many choices. I don't want you to be like Baiyu."
Fang Yaoting kissed him on the forehead. "I know, dear. I know. You did everything for me. Thank you for loving me."
The lovers hugged each other and cried in each other's arms, finding solace in their shared pain and the promise that, no matter the cost, they would remain together.