Chapter Eight: The Mother-in-Law Is Overbearing

Li Weihong’s name carries a distinct aura of her era. In the time when she was born, ideological struggles nearly plunged the thriving young republic into chaos. Fortunately, the country’s leaders righted the course within three short years, steering the nation back onto a path centered on economic development.

Now in her fifties, Li Weihong is in excellent health, both physically and mentally. In her youth, she risked everything on the playing field, but after retiring, she took meticulous care of her body. Coupled with her innate drive and strength—the very essence of a formidable woman—Li Weihong has always maintained a sharp focus. Among the female volleyball players who dominated the courts in the 1980s, she has come the farthest. In fact, among the deputy leaders of the Republic’s Sports Administration, she stands as the only woman.

Yet Li Weihong is not entirely satisfied with her current life. Her position at work is significant—the management and commercial development of registered professional athletes is no easy task. Entangled with economic interests, her role is one that easily offends others; if not for her shrewdness, she might have been ousted long ago.

While Li Weihong pours her energies into maintaining her professional responsibilities, she often feels helpless in her daily life. She is fortunate to have married Ma Pingdong, a man whose patience rivals that of the Buddha himself, which has allowed her to focus on her career. But her daughter, Ma Dongmei, once a compliant child, has now become her greatest concern.

Li Weihong does not mind that her daughter did not join the Capital Women’s Volleyball Team as she had hoped. In terms of conditions and development mechanisms, the Yangtze Women’s Volleyball Team is clearly better for her daughter’s future. What troubles Li Weihong is her daughter’s relationship with Wang Lei.

Though Wang Lei is the son of an old teammate and close friend, this is her daughter’s lifelong happiness at stake. Li Weihong bears no real ill will toward Wang Lei, but now that he is disabled, no mother would willingly let her “perfect” daughter marry a man with such a fate.

It’s easy to be open-minded about others’ affairs, but when it comes to one’s own family, even the broadest mind will harbor selfish thoughts.

Li Weihong is indeed close to Wang Lei’s family, yet when it comes to her daughter, reservations arise. She had thought two years would be enough for Ma Dongmei to reconsider, but things have developed quite contrary to her expectations.

She had witnessed Wang Lei’s despondency after his accident, and cannot bear the thought of her daughter spending her life caring for a “broken man.” When she saw the photos her daughter posted online, she was almost ready to fly to Jinling and bring her back herself. In the end, her husband’s persuasion prevailed—this was not something to be blown out of proportion, as that would help no one.

After finishing a long day of work, Li Weihong took advantage of a quiet moment before leaving the office to turn on her computer. Logging into her Xunbo account, she followed Wang Lei. The tide of digitalization was surging, and Li Weihong was no stranger to the online world—she kept up with current trends.

She planned to use her alternate account to privately message Wang Lei on Xunbo, at the very least to clarify matters. She immediately saw a “story” Wang Lei had posted, and upon finding her daughter’s name within it, another wave of vexation washed over her.

“Neglecting his proper business—how did I never notice what kind of person he was? Ah, Old Liu left us too soon.”

Li Weihong’s heart was filled with fond memories of Wang Lei’s mother, Liu Jing; back in the day, Liu Jing was a senior member of the team who had helped Li Weihong in many ways.

Patiently, she read through part of Wang Lei’s story, then sent him a private message. She would have preferred to call him directly, but she knew Wang Lei had long since cut himself off from the outside world.

Gathering her things, Li Weihong prepared to head home, but Wang Lei’s story lingered in her mind. What ultimately happened to Ma Dongmei? What did Charlotte experience after traveling back in time? The story was unfinished, but she had to admit that Wang Lei’s calm prose told a bizarre yet captivating tale.

Few people can pass away without regrets, no matter their age or station in life. Everyone harbors certain past events they wish they could amend. The film “Goodbye Mr. Loser” managed to capture hearts precisely because of these universal yearnings.

Wang Lei spent the day adapting to his body and searching for information. At noon, he forced himself to make a modest meal. In the past, Ma Dongmei would have hurried home during her break, but today Wang Lei had specifically asked her not to return—he needed to learn to care for himself.

After posting the opening segment of “Goodbye Mr. Loser” on Xunbo, Wang Lei paid it no further attention. He didn’t care about others’ comments; this was just the beginning, and there would be plenty of time ahead.

However, when Wang Lei checked Xunbo again in the afternoon and saw Li Weihong’s brief private message, he couldn’t help but feel conflicted.

He knew exactly what kind of person Li Weihong was. Her forceful personality was, to some extent, the result of Ma Pingdong’s indulgence, but at her core, she possessed an intense need for control.

The reason Ma Dongmei left the capital was, in fact, because of Wang Lei—he was well aware of this, having witnessed Li Weihong slap Ma Dongmei across the face. Perhaps, out of a desire to defy this woman, he agreed to go to Jinling with Ma Dongmei.

Wang Lei had endured harrowing experiences. Although Li Weihong had helped him handle his parents’ affairs, when Ma Dongmei expressed her wish to take care of him, Li Weihong had adamantly refused. This had deeply wounded Wang Lei.

Now, Li Weihong was reaching out to him again, which left Wang Lei torn. He intended to spend his life with Ma Dongmei, but Li Weihong’s intentions were clear—she would not hesitate to break them apart.

Still, he couldn’t completely ignore her; she was, after all, Ma Dongmei’s mother. If he cut things off too harshly, it would only make things harder for Ma Dongmei later. Wang Lei didn’t want to trouble the girl he cherished, nor did he want to leave her.

Confronted with Li Weihong’s simple message—“This is Li Weihong. I need to speak with you. Call me.”—Wang Lei could only steel himself and prepare for an honest conversation with his formidable “mother-in-law.”