Mrs. Hong’s words stunned Li Mu greatly. He looked at the woman in front of him in a daze, not knowing what to say.

That made Mrs. Hong chuckle as she continued to say, “There was only one boy from the Lin Family’s lineage for Lin Wan’s generation. Unfortunately, he passed away long ago because of poor health. So you must take over and be the man of the family. You’re not thinking of letting your wife charge into the battlefield while you are sitting back and relaxing, are you?”

Li Mu was scared to death and was at the brink of tears. Timidly, he said, “I can’t do it and I don’t know how to do it! I’m serious! Please don’t count on me! Please!”

“What don’t you know? You don’t know how to be evil? Or you don’t know how to kill someone?” Mrs. Hong interrogated him.

“Neither!” Li Mu answered honestly.

“It’s alright. I’m here to teach you all that. You can learn if you don’t know how to do something bad and practice if you don’t know how to kill. You’ll get the hang of them after learning,” Mrs. Hong said casually.

“I…”

“I’ll beat you to death right now if you dare to mention the divorce again!” Mrs. Hong threatened Li Mu without any mercy, “This is the responsibility you’ll need to bear for falling in love with and marrying Lin Wan! Don’t even try to escape from it!”

Li Mu was filled with regrets as he blamed himself for jumping into the river back then. None of this would have happened if there hadn’t been that incident. However, he’d jump again if he was given the choice.

How could he not? Even if he was given another 10,000 times to choose, he would still jump without any hesitation. It was just that it frustrated him whenever he thought about how to get rid of his identity as the husband of such a powerful woman.

“Well. Anyway, there’s one more thing you must agree to.” Mrs. Hong continued to say.

“Why do I need to agree to it again?” Li Mu asked dejectedly.

“Since you married Lin Wan, you’re now part of the Lin Family. You must always remember to act in the interest of the family no matter what you do. But this matter isn’t a complicated one, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for you.”

“What is it this time?”

“Well, you need to work hard to get Lin Wan pregnant. Your first two children, regardless of their genders, must take after the Lin Family’s surname. If both were girls, then the two of you need to work hard until Lin Wan gives birth to a son. This boy must have Lin as his surname too.”

Mrs. Hong was too straightforward with her words that she bewildered Li Mu. He could feel his wound hurting as he retorted, “What kind of nonsense is that? What do you take me for? Who the heck could keep giving birth? I’m not a pig!” What he said didn’t make Mrs. Hong angry. Instead, she was chuckling.

“You don’t have a say in this matter. When you arrive at the Lin House, I’m sure you’ll be eager to have your own children. I wouldn’t even need to rush you by then. Soon, you will come to realize that you can only trust your own blood to be loyal to you in managing such a prominent family.”

Li Mu was silent. He understood that Mrs. Hong wasn’t joking. The most important thing to renowned families was having descendants of their own lineage to continue the legacy. This was a deep-rooted belief in their faith. And it wasn’t something he could refuse to do just because he didn’t care about it.

After a moment of silence, Mrs. Hong asked, “Do you still hate Lin Wan because of Lu Fangliang’s matter?”

“I don’t anymore. After all, she was just sympathized with him. But…”

“But she still went overboard, didn’t she?”

Li Mu admitted to his thoughts honestly. Not hating her anymore didn’t mean that he had forgiven her for what she did. He still couldn’t understand why Lin Wan had to cross the line.

Mrs. Hong didn’t continue to persuade him. She took out her phone and showed Li Mu a few photos and a video.

A little girl, who looked to be about eight years old, was the main focus of the photos and video. She was adorable and looked slightly similar to Lin Wan.

“Is this Lin Wan when she was younger?” Li Mu asked.

“Yeah. Look closely. Do you have any other thoughts about it?”

Li Mu looked at the screen again in a scrutinizing manner this time around. He asked with uncertainty a while later, “Why does she look like that little girl?”

Mrs. Hong said with a smile, “I had the same thought as you when I first watched those videos. That little girl Lu Jiaxue looks like Lin Wan, especially in their eyes and expressions.”

“Mrs. Hong, what do you mean?”

“She was fulfilling her dream that she had always thought of by regarding Lu Jiaxue as herself. She wanted to leave a good memory for her before leaving. So she got fooled knowingly. It’s that simple.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Li Mu said, slightly awkward.

“It’s alright. It’s not too late to know now either. Just live happily with each other in the future and stop being mad at her. Lin Wan loves you a lot. What are you worried about? She’ll never betray you.”

Li Mu was having mixed feelings. He had initially thought that Lin Wan enjoyed being with other men. But he didn’t expect a hidden story behind her behaviors. Although she made a mistake, it wasn’t one so fatal that she couldn’t be forgiven.

However, they were now divorced. If he decided to reconcile with Lin Wan, how should he explain it to He Xiaoyu? He understood that Lin Wan would feel grievance. But He Xiaoyu would too.

Mrs. Hong stopped talking about the topic on hand, knowing that it was difficult for Li Mu to make a decision now. It wasn’t that Li Mu was a Casanova or anything. It was because Lin Wan made a mistake first. Being worthy of one’s forgiveness and making mistakes were two different concepts. The fact that a mistake was made shouldn’t be forgotten just because it could be forgiven.

She’d leave this tough matter to Lin Wan herself. Mrs. Hong was confident that Li Mu would make the right choice as long as he had a sound mind. After all, Lin Wan was superior in her looks, figure, charm, and loyalty as compared to all the other women.

Then again, could he ever run away with the Lover’s Curse? Lin Wan was not a foolishly kind woman who would show all of her emotions on the surface. She was a woman who would castrate her ex-husband so he couldn’t find himself another lover. Was it really possible to make a new choice?

“Mrs. Hong?”

“Yeah?”

“Is she still in contact with them?”

“Who? Oh, you mean the father-daughter duo? She broke off all contacts with them long ago. If I hadn’t begged her to spare them, they would’ve been dead by now. But Lin Wan isn’t going to let them off the hook this easily. They’re going to pay the price definitely.”

“She’s going to retaliate against them?”

Mrs. Hong nodded so naturally as if Li Mu had asked the most obvious question in the world.

“They set her up and ruined her marriage. Do you think she’s going to let them off easy? You should never underestimate your wife for how cruel she could be.”

Li Mu believed that Lin Wan could be ruthless. If it were in the past, he wouldn’t. Because Lin Wan always showed him her gentle side. She was the perfect wife in and out.

However, the world was indeed unpredictable. Ever since Lin Wan beat him up, he believed that she was a cruel and harsh woman. It was even more embarrassing for him when he realized that he couldn’t even fight back.

After Cheng Feng broke his ribs, Li Mu faced a dilemma on deciding whether Lin Wan was cruel or not. He felt that she was only mean to outsiders but not him. Now, he understood something, which was Lin Wan must’ve been merciful to him. She had hurt him slightly only but didn’t deliver any heavy blows. If she did, his ribs would’ve been broken way earlier.

Li Mu felt that he knew another new side of Lin Wan after listening to everything Mrs. Hong said. It was out of his expectations that Lin Wan had such an affluent background and had lived such a rough life. But all these things had nothing to do with him for the time being. Well, at least not before they reconciled.

Mrs. Hong didn’t know about his thoughts as she continued to say, “Li Mu, I hope you can stop blaming Lin Wan. She loves you with all her heart. This time, she just made a small mistake. And it’s not like you guys lost anything. It’s meaningless for you to keep holding on to your grudge.”

“I’m not. I just hope that she can remember her identity as my wife in the future and do not cross the line with other men anymore.”

“She won’t since she had learned a lesson that she will remember for a lifetime. I believe she has matured and is no longer a naive little girl anymore. Don’t worry. She won’t repeat the same mistake twice.

“I trust her too. And I know she won’t do so. She’s the kind of person who will learn from her wrongdoings.”

“So, are you going to remarry her?” Mrs. Hong asked excitedly.

“This matter is not so simple, Mrs. Hong. I don’t want to make empty promises to you either. But if she had told me about it before I found out the truth by myself, I wouldn’t have brought up the divorce. But now, sigh!”

“How far have you gone in your relationship with He Xiaoyu?” Mrs. Hong asked seriously.

“I kind of proposed to her. And she accepted it too,” Li Mu answered honestly.

Li Mu felt that he was in a tough spot. But Mrs. Hong thought otherwise. Li Mu had not formally proposed yet. So she believed that it wouldn’t be difficult to cut things off between them. They could just talk and sort the matter out, right?

“Li Mu, you can’t be indecisive when it comes to such things. Or you will hurt two women at once while you end up in a bad place too. As a man, decide right away! Stop hesitating like a woman.”

Li Mu did not say anything. He was in deep thoughts, concerned about many things.

“I just have one question for you. Who do you love? Lin Wan or He Xiaoyu? It can’t be both of them, right?” Mrs. Hong was angry at this point, unable to understand why it was so difficult for Li Mu to make a choice, unless he wanted both women.

“I love Lin Wan. And I will always do!” Li Mu answered without hesitation.

His answer made Mrs. Hong happy. Before she could praise him for being decisive, he continued to say, “But I can’t disappoint Xiaoyu too as she waited a long time for me. I should give her a happy marriage.”

Mrs. Hong wished she could slap him right now. She suppressed her anger and asked, “After we talked for this long, you’re still thinking of giving up on Lin Wan?”

“I know that my decision will upset Lin Wan a lot. But I don’t want to be a jackass. Since I’ve promised Xiaoyu, I’ll need to take responsibility for her life. Even if my true love is Lin Wan and that this decision will bring me a lifetime of pain, I’ll need to marry Xiaoyu!” Li Mu said stubbornly.

Mrs. Hong stared at him in daze, then sighed with a bitter smile on her face. She did not threaten or insult him, but mumbled to herself, “If only Lin Wan had told him the truth in time. How great would that be. Sigh. Lin Wan should be the one talking to Li Mu today. It’s best for them to let each other go on good terms.”

“Mrs. Hong, did you say something?” Li Mu asked in confusion.

“It’s nothing. You should sleep since you just had a surgery.”

Mrs. Hong changed her hand gesture and increased her strength gradually. Li Mu could feel a wave of drowsiness wash over him and he fell asleep soon.

“I’m sorry, Li Mu. I agree with what you said but Lin Wan wouldn’t. You must forgive her for her selfishness and know that you’re the only one she can depend on. So she can never let you go. Perhaps when the both of you are old, you would thank her for being selfish today.”