The More Independent, the Less Happy

Neither Li Juan nor Han Chunmei slept well the night they returned from the police station.

When they got up to head for the airport the next morning, Han Chunmei's eyes were wet again.

She and Li Ying had stayed in Hong Kong to await the birth. She had finally waited for her husband to come, yet after only a few days he had to leave again. How could she possibly hold back the reluctance in her heart?

A husband was the pillar holding up a home. Whenever there was no man by her side, Han Chunmei always felt unsettled.

Seeing her mother like that, Li Juan could not help saying, "Mother, don't cry at the drop of a hat. Be stronger. Don't be so weak."

Han Chunmei wiped her eyes and pretended to be angry. "When did I cry? You little brat, lecturing me now? You've gone to college for a few days and think you've grown capable, huh?"

"You were clearly crying. No matter what difficulties you face, you have to stay strong yourself."

Li Juan pursed her lips and stubbornly talked back.

It was not that she truly meant to "lecture" her own mother. After tossing and turning all night, she had developed a powerful sense of insecurity.

During the years Han Chunmei had been married to Li Kaijian, everyone could see how much Li Kaijian doted on her. At first, even Li Juan had not felt that her mother was unworthy of Li Kaijian.

In the late seventies, there was no such thing as young girls willingly coming to someone's door to become a stepmother—at least, Li Kaijian was not important enough for that.

Han Chunmei had been a famed pretty girl throughout the surrounding villages. Li Kaijian was nearly ten years older than her and