Chapter 223 - 221: The Abacus Beads Flew into My Face

Jasmine Sterling had long since let go of the old grievances with the Fultons.

Back then, she had been too busy raising three children to have the energy to get entangled with the Fulton Family.

Now, so many years had passed. To Jasmine Sterling, no matter what the old folks had done in the past, they were getting on in years. If they truly missed their grandson, she wouldn’t stop Ethan from going back to see them.

Connor Fulton looked at Jasmine Sterling, his eyes filled with complex emotions. Although he hadn’t interacted with her much, he could tell from what happened back then that the woman before him, despite her slow, gentle, and amiable way of speaking and acting, was actually stubborn and unyielding to the bone.

How else could she have raised three children all by herself?

And raised them so well, at that!

In the end, it was Justin’s misfortune, and the Fulton Family’s misfortune as well.

Connor Fulton sighed, his tone filled with unconcealable sorrow. "Jasmine, I’m truly ashamed to be saying this to you, but the child is Justin’s, after all. I’d like Ethan to go to his father’s grave and kowtow. What do you think?"

When these words reached Cecilia Sterling’s ears, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

Jasmine Sterling’s expression turned ugly as well. She subconsciously glanced at her daughter, then replied irritably, "The way you put it, Big Brother... you want Ethan to go back and acknowledge his ancestors, but not the granddaughters, is that it? Right... If you were going to acknowledge the granddaughters, you would have done it back then. If you’d acknowledged the granddaughters back then, none of this would have happened, and Justin wouldn’t have died."

She hadn’t wanted to bring up old scores, but the Fultons’ actions were simply disgusting.

Cecilia Sterling’s heart ached for her mother, and she immediately let out a dismissive sneer. "How novel. I’ve lived for twenty years without ever meeting my grandparents. Suits me just fine. I don’t consider myself one of the Fultons anyway. My last name is Sterling. If Ethan wants to go back, he can. That’s his own choice. The Fulton Family doesn’t want to acknowledge me, and I will never go back either."

"I’m not going back!"

Ethan Sterling, his face full of anger, looked at Connor Fulton. "Uncle, please take a message back for me. My mom is the one who gave birth to me, and my mom is the one who raised me. I will never do anything to disappoint or hurt her as long as I live."

"Ethan, your grandparents are old, they..."

"They don’t lack for grandsons," Ethan interrupted Connor Fulton, looking at him seriously. "But my mom only has one son!"

Connor Fulton was at a loss for words. Ethan wasn’t a little kid anymore; he had his own independent thoughts and consciousness. He couldn’t be treated like a child who could be coaxed back with just a few nice words.

He looked at Jasmine Sterling as if asking for help. "Jasmine, look... just take pity on the old folks."

"Uncle, don’t you stand there and guilt-trip us. My mom takes pity on the old folks, but who has taken pity on my mom all these years?" Cecilia said.

Jasmine Sterling saw that Cecilia was genuinely angry, so she raised a hand and gently patted her daughter’s shoulder to show she was fine. Only then did she turn to Connor Fulton and say, "Big Brother, no one can be forced in this matter. I respect Ethan’s wishes. If he wants to go back, he can go back. I absolutely won’t stop him. But if he doesn’t want to, no one can force him."

Connor Fulton had already anticipated this outcome.

’If they knew it would come to this, why did they act that way back then?’

Choked with emotion, he remained silent for a long while before finally nodding. "So be it. Ethan’s grown up now and has a mind of his own. As his uncle, I don’t have much right to say anything more."

With that, he took three red envelopes out of his pocket. "I figured this would be a wasted trip. It’s the New Year, so I brought some red envelopes for the kids."

"I don’t want it!" Ethan turned his head away, refusing to even look.

Cecilia also said, "Uncle, you should just take them back. We haven’t accepted any red envelopes from the Fulton Family for all these years, and we don’t want any connection or contact in the future either."

Lily Sterling looked at her sister, then at her brother, but still said nothing.

Connor Fulton stood up, a bitter expression on his face. "Don’t treat your uncle like an enemy. It’s just for good luck, and it’s a token of your grandparents’ sentiment. Don’t overthink it."

With that, he said his goodbyes to Jasmine Sterling and headed for the door. "I’ll be heading back then."

Jasmine Sterling didn’t ask him to stay for a meal but simply saw him to the door. As he was leaving, she said a "thank you" to Connor Fulton.

Connor Fulton was slightly taken aback. "What are you thanking me for?"

Jasmine Sterling gave a wry smile. "The red envelope money was from the old folks. They definitely only gave it for Ethan. I know them too well. It was you, Big Brother, who secretly split it into three, wasn’t it?"

Caught off guard that Jasmine Sterling had figured it out, Connor Fulton gave an embarrassed, wry smile. "The old folks can’t get over their hang-ups, but not everyone in the Fulton Family is unreasonable. Don’t take it to heart. You’ve had it hard all these years."

Jasmine Sterling smiled and shook her head. "Alright then, Big Brother. Take care. I won’t see you out any further."

After closing the door, she turned around to see Cecilia holding the red envelopes and looking at her. "Judging by the amounts in these three envelopes, the money was definitely all intended for Ethan. Uncle deliberately split it into three. Is he just trying to fool himself?"

"Your uncle is just the messenger," Jasmine Sterling said helplessly.

Cecilia took the red envelopes, walked to the kitchen window, and leaned out to look down. Seeing Connor Fulton exit the apartment building’s main door, she shouted, "Uncle, Ethan doesn’t want them! Take them back with you!"

With that, she threw the red envelopes down. Before Connor Fulton could react, she had already pulled back inside and shut the window.

Jasmine Sterling didn’t try to stop her. She knew her daughter wouldn’t accept the money. Since the money in the envelopes was originally only for Ethan, and Ethan didn’t want it, Cecilia was bound to return it.

Back on the sofa, Cecilia said indignantly, "For twenty years, they didn’t care, didn’t even ask about us. Now that Ethan’s an adult and going to university, they suddenly miss their grandson? Their selfish calculations are so obvious it’s like the abacus beads are flying in my face."

"It’s the New Year. Let’s not talk about this." Jasmine didn’t want her daughter to be angry because of "outsiders," so she sat down and put an arm around her shoulder.

Cecilia sighed. "Of course I’m not angry for myself. I just feel it’s so unfair to you."

With that, she glanced at Lily and Ethan, then added, "Lily and Ethan are grown up now. Mom, I think there are some things you should let them know."

What really happened between their mother and the Fulton Family back then, how their father Justin Fulton died, and why there had been no contact for over twenty years.

Jasmine Sterling had never taken the initiative to explain any of this to her children, so Lily and Ethan knew nothing.

But Cecilia was different.

Jasmine Sterling looked at Cecilia with suspicion and asked, "How do you know?"

Cecilia sighed again. "Last time I came back, Auntie secretly told me."

Yvonne Sterling had been emotional after seeing her sister and niece finally resolve their issues. She revealed the past events to Cecilia, hoping that Cecilia would be more understanding of her mother in the future.

Because back then, Jasmine Sterling had truly endured far too much for her children’s sake.

When Jasmine Sterling heard this, her expression became a little unnatural. "She told you everything?"

"Is there something else?" Cecilia asked back, puzzled. She felt that there was a hidden meaning in her mother’s words, as if she was still hiding something from her.

Seeing her daughter’s reaction, Jasmine Sterling couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that although Yvonne had told her about what happened with the Fulton Family, she hadn’t told Cecilia about *that* matter.