You need to raise your pet using a system [Era]

Chapter 338 Neglect of the Family

Cheng Xia grew up without a mother, and she longed to know what it felt like to have one more than anyone else.

But because she was focused on her studies, she didn't spend much time with her children as they grew up.

It wasn't until Mumu was in the third grade of elementary school that she realized she hadn't had a chance to participate in anything the children did.

Even after she went to university, it was still the same; it seemed like there was no difference between attending and not attending.

Cheng Xia felt she was neglecting the children, so she stayed home every day to look after them and put their needs first.

But Lu Mingdong felt that she wasn't as happy as she thought, even though she was with the children every day.

If you're not happy, why not change it?

Then, Lu Mingdong told her to go out and find something to do instead of staying at home all day.

After listening to the whole thing, Lu Yuanqing didn't know how to describe his expression at that moment.

"Uh, don't you think that the way you said it, and the tone you used, could easily make people misunderstand that you're disliking her?" Lu Yuanqing said, frankly, he would also misunderstand if he heard that.

A hint of doubt flashed in Lu Mingdong's eyes. "How could that be? Why would I dislike her?"

This is something that will never happen.

Lu Mingdong disliked Cheng Xia; this was a feeling that Lu Mingdong would never even consider.

Lu Yuanqing sighed: "I advise you to have a serious talk with Xiaxia!"

"Actually, the reason I asked her to come to Shenzhen with me was because I noticed something was wrong."

"Yes, over the years, you've been studying, and Yuanbo and the others have been working with me to make money. I haven't had much time to care for the children. But even if I wanted to make it up to them and be involved in their lives in time, Xiaxia's actions surprised me a bit."

Everything about myself seems unimportant now; living feels like it's just for the sake of the children.

Lu Yuanqing is not a parenting expert. Even after raising Lu Mingdong and the others, he has not become much better at raising children.

Lu Yuanqing believes that the reason why Lu Mingdong and the others did not develop in the wrong direction is largely due to their own efforts.

Therefore, he found it very strange that Cheng Xia only cared about her child and had no lifestyle of her own, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

Therefore, the only solution Lu Yuanqing could think of was to let Cheng Xia leave the children for a while, find something for herself to do, and figure out that while the children were very important, she was an independent person and needed to understand her own life first, rather than wasting her life by giving her all.

Qianyu is a good example.

She is career-oriented and very good to the children, spending most of her time with them outside of work.

She seems to have a knack for maintaining a balance between work and children.

Lu Mingdong remained silent. To be honest, his neglect of the children was probably even more serious than Cheng Xia's.

Especially since he was valued by his mentor, most of his energy was devoted to academic research.

But despite his guilt, he would only try to make amends to the children within his means.

It seems he would never do what Cheng Xia did—selflessly dedicate everything to the children.

"Third Uncle, am I being a bit cold?" Lu Mingdong said somewhat dejectedly.

Back in the village and later at school, many people said he was cold-hearted behind his back, and some even said much harsher things, but he never cared and never even thought of arguing back.

He can remain completely indifferent, and naturally, he won't bother to refute it.

But now he actually said such a thing, which greatly surprised Lu Yuanqing.

"How could that be? You've always been good to your family. You're just cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Others don't understand you, so they just say things like that. It's their fault." Lu Yuanqing was a little flustered.

Wasn't the idea to have Lu Mingdong properly comfort Cheng Xia?

How did Lu Mingdong become so stubborn?

Lu Mingdong chuckled, "Third Uncle, I think the reason I've never cared about what others think of me is probably because of you!"

"Me?" Lu Yuanqing pointed at himself in confusion.

Lu Mingdong nodded.

In everyone's hearts, Lu Yuanqing was the best elder.

They could talk for three days and three nights about what's so good about Lu Yuanqing.

Just now, Lu Mingdong was able to say that it was because of Lu Yuanqing's absolute favoritism towards him that he had the courage to face slander from others.

Only Lu Yuanqing would always be biased and think that others were the ones with problems, and that they were all innocent, when they encountered problems.

In other words, Lu Yuanqing was unaware of his thoughts; otherwise, he would have argued back.

These are the best and most obedient children in the family. Any conflicts that arise between them are simply due to envy, jealousy, or hatred from others.

The principle of siding with relatives regardless of right or wrong is perfectly exemplified in Lu Yuanqing's case.

"Third Uncle, I understand what you mean. I will go back and have a good talk with Cheng Xia." Lu Mingdong still felt that he had let his family down.

As a husband, he failed to notice his wife's troubles in time.

As a father, I haven't spent much time with them either.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuanqing patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction and said, "It's good that you think this way. You need to know that you are Cheng Xia's husband and Mu Mu's father. You have the obligation and responsibility to make them happy."

"After Xiaxia graduated, she wasn't assigned a job. You need to find out about this. Xiaoling was assigned a job, but she wanted to go back to the village, so she refused. I noticed that Xiaxia was unhappy when you mentioned going out to work, and she felt that you looked down on her. There must be a reason for that."

"Furthermore, we are all independent individuals. You yourself know that you have neglected the children for your own dreams, but you have forgotten that if Xiaxia devotes herself to taking care of the children, has she also given up her own dreams?"

“I have never believed that a person’s dream is to devote themselves entirely to taking care of their children. She is your wife. If she has not shared her thoughts with you, then it means that you, as her husband, have failed in your duty.”

"The person who has been with you the longest in your life is not us, your family, nor Mumu and the others, but your wife. You wanted to marry her with all your heart, so you should have made her happy."

Lu Yuanqing didn't know if he was starting to regret it.

Because of Lu Mingdong's intelligence, he thought that perhaps a scientist would emerge from his family.

Therefore, he was determined to get Lu Mingdong to pursue a career in scientific research and did not allow him to get involved in business.

Lu Mingdong lived up to expectations, and his intelligence and talent were indeed recognized.

However, as a result, Lu Mingdong's time was mostly consumed by scientific research.

This caused him to neglect his family somewhat.

There was nothing that could be done about it. Lu Yuanqing knew very well that the further Lu Mingdong went, the less time and energy he could devote to his home.

It was precisely because Lu Yuanqing knew all too well that his decision was somewhat troubling.

Lu Yuanqing was overthinking it.

Even without his guidance, Lu Mingdong would not have embarked on the path of business.

Given his personality and his way of speaking and dealing with people, he could never be the type to be humble and submissive.

Moreover, he was someone who never gave up learning during the ten years he was unable to attend school.

In fact, Xie Long and Ren Pingsheng had a greater influence on him.

In short, Lu Mingdong is a man born for academia.

However, after talking with Lu Yuanqing, Lu Mingdong also had an epiphany and took action.

Back at their home, Lu Mingdong patiently played with the children, helped them with their homework, and even had dinner with them.

It wasn't until dark that the children went back to their rooms to sleep, and Cheng He also went back to his own room. Only then did Lu Mingdong pull Cheng Xia, who was reluctant to go out, out the door.

By the 1980s, Kyoto already possessed some of the prosperity expected of a capital city.

Walking on the quiet path, a gentle breeze blows, refreshing and invigorating.

"Why didn't you invite your third uncle over for dinner tonight?" Cheng Xia wondered why Lu Mingdong suddenly felt like going for a walk instead of going into his study to read and study.

Lu Mingdong: "My third uncle said that he has recently become very fond of the cooking at a certain restaurant, so he is not planning to come to our house or my fourth uncle's house for meals."

Lu Yuanqing can't cook; he's always been the one helping out.

Now they have all bought their own houses and moved out, leaving Lu Yuanqing alone in the courtyard house.

Therefore, Lu Yuanbo's family and the Cheng family would usually prepare meals for him to eat.

Lu Mingdong stayed in the courtyard all afternoon. Cheng Xia subconsciously thought that Lu Yuanqing would come to her house for dinner, so she cooked extra, but he didn't come.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xia didn't ask any further questions, but simply replied with a nonchalant, "Oh!"

Lu Mingdong was originally thinking about how to start the conversation, but after taking the person out for a walk, he surprisingly felt a sense of calm.

They were all in too much of a rush.

Busy studying, busy graduating, busy making money, busy buying a house.

It seemed like they had so many things to do that they couldn't stop and kept running forward.

Once that initial enthusiasm subsided, looking back, I realized that I had overlooked so much.

He clearly understood what was most important to him and what he couldn't ignore back then. When did he suddenly forget all about it?

Lu Mingdong felt a pang of guilt.

Walking side by side with Cheng Xia on the path, Lu Mingdong felt a refreshing breeze that made him feel more awake than ever before.

He has always been a man of his word, and he never denies his mistakes, even when he is wrong.

"I'm sorry!" Lu Mingdong stopped and looked at Cheng Xia beside him.

Cheng Xia subconsciously stopped in her tracks, and just as she was about to ask him a question, she heard an apology.

Cheng Xia frowned. "Why would you apologize?"

She never found Lu Mingdong difficult to understand.

Even before, when Lu Mingdong wasn't smiling, she could quickly discern his true thoughts from his expressionless face.

Cheng Xia felt a chill run down her spine, a feeling that came from the bottom of her heart.

A flicker of panic flashed across Lu Mingdong's usually calm eyes. "Did I not do a good enough job? Are you disappointed in me?"

Cheng Xia frowned. Was she disappointed in him?

He insisted on marrying her.

Third Uncle said that his decision, made on his own, meant that once he got what he wanted, he had to make Cheng Xia happy for the rest of her life.

However, he seemed to have done something very wrong, which made Cheng Xia frown and feel sad.

Cheng Xia frowned even more deeply. "You're disappointed in me, aren't you!"

“I know I’m not good at anything. I feel like I can’t do anything right. I’m no match for anyone. All I can do is stay home and look after the kids. I know you’re so outstanding. Have you regretted it a long time ago? You shouldn’t have married me in the first place. You’re so good, but because of me, you’ve been burdened with the label of a live-in son-in-law for the rest of your life. I’m not good enough for you at all. Don’t you regret it…”

Cheng Xia became more and more agitated as she spoke, until tears finally welled up in her eyes, and her long-suppressed grievances burst forth like a broken pot, no longer willing to maintain a facade of calm.

Lu Mingdong was now really anxious.

"No, don't cry! What are you saying! What do you mean I regret it? How could I regret it? What do you mean by 'live-in son-in-law'? Why are you bringing this up again? I already said I don't mind. Even if the whole world criticizes me for this, I won't regret it. Please don't cry!"

Lu Mingdong only saw Xia cry twice during the process.

One time, it was because she learned that Cheng He had an accident, and when she returned to the village and saw Cheng He, she cried her eyes out.

She is a very strong person.

The second time is now.

Lu Mingdong felt a surge of guilt, his mind filled with the thought that he had made Cheng Xia cry, that he had actually made Cheng Xia cry, and that he deserved to die.

"Waaah, you must regret it, Lu Mingdong, you must regret it..."

"Don't cry, please don't cry. I don't regret it. Marrying you, Cheng Xia, I, Lu Mingdong, will never regret it..."

Cheng Xia cried uncontrollably, and Lu Mingdong held her in his arms, trying to comfort her.

Cheng Xia seemed not to hear anything Lu Mingdong said, immersed in her own emotions. She buried her face in Lu Mingdong's arms and cried uncontrollably, saying how bad she was and how excellent Lu Mingdong was, and that he must regret marrying her.

Lu Mingdong felt heartbroken, but he also comforted her very patiently.

Cheng Xia cried until she was exhausted. She raised her red eyes, nestled in Lu Mingdong's arms, and pouted aggrievedly, "If you don't want to, then I can grant your wish."

Even if she was in great pain, she was willing to let Lu Mingdong leave.

Lu Mingdong was so angry at her that he laughed, and couldn't even maintain his cool and indifferent expression.

"It wasn't Cheng Xia. You're quite good at framing people."

Cheng Xia: "I didn't wrong you."

"You have!"

"I don't!"

Lu Mingdong tightened his arms around Cheng Xia's back and said, "You framed me for Chen Shimei without my knowledge. Aren't you wronging me?"

Cheng Xia choked, "Well, I never said you were a heartless man!"

Lu Mingdong forcefully pulled the person who was trying to break free from his embrace back, slamming her hard against him. Cheng Xia couldn't help but let out a cry of "Ah!"

A fierce glint flashed across Lu Mingdong's face, an expression Cheng Xia had never seen before.

“Let me tell you, Cheng Xia, if you wanted to stay away from me before we got married, I wouldn’t have any objections. But now we’re married, and you’re my wife, Lu Mingdong’s wife. If you want to leave me, I will never agree to it. You’d better not even have that thought.”

Cheng Xia: "..."

"Slap!" Cheng Xia slapped Lu Mingdong on the forehead.