As soon as He Jiang spoke, not only did Li Cuihua stare wide-eyed, but even He Qiang looked incredulous.
“He Jiang, what do you mean? Are you abandoning your own son?”
Li Cuihua moved as if to grab He Jiang, but he pushed her away.
“Look at him now. Is this still your son?”
“He has completely become a resentful and unrepentant person.”
If He Qiang had shown any remorse in the detention center or acknowledged his past mistakes, He Jiang wouldn’t have been so heartless as to disown him.
But now, it was clear that He Qiang was unrepentant, refused to recognize his errors, and blamed others for everything he had endured.
How could He Jiang still claim him as his son?
If he didn’t relinquish custody of He Qiang, there was a chance He Qiang would eventually be released, posing a threat to the He family.
Because of the family’s internal conflicts, the brothers had already split households, and tensions had arisen among them.
Cutting his losses was the most prudent course of action now.
“He Jiang, how dare you abandon me?!”
He Qiang, completely irrational, shouted He Jiang’s name in fury.
He Jiang shook his head, his eyes filled with disappointment.
His father was right.
Both sides shared the blame for He Qiang’s upbringing. If He Jiang had intervened earlier, perhaps He Qiang wouldn’t have turned out this way.
But now, it was too late for regrets.
He turned and left without another word.
Li Cuihua tried to say more to He Qiang, but their visitation time had run out.
As they reached the door, the officer looked at them.
“Given his current state, it’s highly likely he’ll spend over a decade in prison.”
“Depending on the circumstances, if his behavior remains this extreme, we won’t release him to pose further danger to society.”
“You can go back and prepare some belongings for him. We’ll transfer him out in a couple of days.”
After saying this, the officer went back inside.
Li Cuihua was sobbing uncontrollably, her eyes filled with resentment as she glared at He Jiang. She rushed over, pounding on his chest.
“You useless coward! You couldn’t protect your wife, and now you’re abandoning your son. Who would ever dare marry you in the future?”
Before she could continue, He Jiang pushed her away.
“Wasn’t our son raised by you? If you had been less greedy and more mindful, would our family have ended up like this?”
“In the past, your parents-in-law and the rest of the family turned a blind eye to your actions. Weren’t they good enough to you? Didn’t they always give you the best food and belongings before anyone else?”
“The east room originally belonged to He Yuan. You agreed back then that if his wife came, you’d move Qiangzi out.”
“But you still refused to yield, even treating others’ possessions as your own. Now that things have come to this, who can you blame?”
He Jiang poured out all the anger he had suppressed over the years.
After speaking, he sighed. “I’m at fault too. What’s done is done. There’s no use arguing about it now.”
Hearing his words, Li Cuihua’s tears stopped.
“Fine, He Jiang, you’ve grown a backbone now. You don’t want your son, is that it? Well, I’ll take him! Don’t you ever think about claiming him as your son again.”
After saying this, Li Cuihua left.
He Jiang took a cigarette out of his pocket and was about to light it, but then, as if remembering something, he put it away.
When he returned home, Wang Shufen, He Junshan, He Ze, He Han, and He Min were all waiting for him.
“Big brother, about Qiangzi…” He Ze was the first to speak.
Seeing the grim expression on He Jiang’s face, he knew the situation was serious.
He Jiang sat down and remained silent for a while before speaking.
“I’ve given up custody of Qiangzi. Li Cuihua said she wants him.”
“What? He Jiang, have you lost your mind? You’re abandoning your own son?” Wang Shufen exclaimed, still unaware of what He Qiang had done.
“Mom, do you know what He Qiang said to me today? He told me that everything that happened to him is my fault—because I failed to protect Li Cuihua and him.”
“He still shows no remorse in the detention center. He believes everything that happened to him is because of others.”
He Jiang paused, recalling the chilling look in He Qiang’s eyes.
“The way he looked at me wasn’t like a son looking at his father. It was the look you’d give an enemy. A son like that is better off disowned.”
He Jiang’s words left the entire He family in silence.
If this was truly the case, then He Qiang harbored deep hatred for all of them.
If he were ever released, there would be no peace in this family again.
That was why He Jiang had made the painful decision to relinquish custody.
“How did Qiangzi become like this? He used to be a little mischievous, but now he’s turned into…” He Min trailed off.
Just from He Jiang’s description, she could sense how extreme He Qiang’s personality had become.
“Dad, Mom, I’ve decided to leave the island to look for work. All these family troubles have caused you enough hardship. I don’t have the face to stay here any longer.”
This was a decision He Jiang had carefully considered on his way home.
He felt that only by leaving this place could he truly leave the past behind.
Wang Shufen wanted to say more, but He Junshan stopped her.
He sat down beside He Jiang and patted his shoulder.
“Since you’ve made your decision, I won’t stop you. You’re now a man who can take charge of your own life, not the little boy who needed his parents to make decisions for him.”
“Work hard out there, and don’t dwell on the troubles of the past.”
As a man, He Junshan understood what He Jiang was going through.
No one spoke further. After a silent meal, everyone returned to their rooms.
He Yuan and Ji Shuyu only learned about the situation the next day.
Li Cuihua had left with Zhang Zhiyuan and had taken custody of He Qiang.
Before leaving, He Jiang, as agreed, gave her a sum of money—He Qiang’s child support.
Zhang Zhiyuan had initially been reluctant, viewing He Qiang as a burden.
But since He Qiang was in a detention center and they would receive monthly payments from He Jiang, it wasn’t entirely unfavorable.
Before He Jiang departed, Ji Shuyu and He Yuan went to see him off.
“Big brother, these are things Shuyu prepared for you. They’ll come in handy out there. Life outside isn’t as comfortable as home, so if you need any help, just write to us.”
Hearing He Yuan’s words, He Jiang nodded.
“Please thank Shuyu for me.”
Unlike He Qiang and Li Cuihua, he didn’t blame Ji Shuyu for his current circumstances.
Now, he believed that leaving the island and finding a proper job elsewhere was the best path forward.
By distancing himself from everything here, he could focus on his work without being weighed down by the past.
“Big brother, may your journey be smooth.”
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