After Huang Chunlian left, Zhou Chenyu clutched her phone and smiled:
“Mom, we’ll turn this around, won’t we? As long as we get rid of Lin Wanyi, Ren Zhi will take us back, right?
“After all these years, we’re the only ones who never abandoned him.”
Wu Ma lay in bed, feeling uncertain:
“Xiao Yu, isn’t this a bit too bold?
“Ren Zhi has always treated Liu Siyue like a precious treasure. What if we really piss him off?
“Mom’s old bones don’t matter, but you’re still so young. You can’t afford this.”
Zhou Chenyu thought of Chen Siming, who had come with Huang Chunlian earlier.
A faint smirk crossed her lips:
“Mom, relax. I told Huang Chunlian to blame everything on Lin Wanyi, didn’t I?
“We’re all in the same boat now. She won’t betray us.
“And Liu Ren Zhi dotes on Liu Siyue so much that he’ll definitely pay for those photos.
“Liu Siyue won’t get hurt at all. Mom, I just can’t accept it. Liu Ren Zhi claims to treat me like a sister, but his feelings for Liu Siyue and for me are completely different.
“He’s just lying to me. What he feels for Liu Siyue is real.”
Zhou Chenyu had full confidence in Huang Chunlian, but Wu Ma wasn’t so sure.
She didn’t trust Huang Chunlian’s character.
In fact, she suspected Huang Chunlian had something to do with Liu Jianming’s death back then.
When that woman turned ruthless, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill.
At the Liu residence, the banquet ended on a lively note.
Just as Lin Wanyi was about to get into Lin Jiajun’s car, Liu Ren Zhi grabbed her hand:
“Your foot’s still healing. Jiajun’s car is too crowded. Let me drive you separately.”
Lin Wanyi thought it unnecessary:
“No need. That’ll mean another trip for you, and it’s already late.”
Liu Ren Zhi insisted: “If you really care about me, then don’t go back. Stay at my place.”
That, of course, was out of the question.
Though they had already been intimate, they weren’t married yet, and Lin Wanyi knew her boundaries.
So she got into Liu Ren Zhi’s car instead.
Lin Jiajun left ahead with the others, but Liu Ren Zhi didn’t drive back to the Lin residence.
He drove to the riverbank and stopped there.
Rolling down the window, he let the gentle river breeze brush against Lin Wanyi’s face.
He got out, leaned beside her, and lit a cigarette.
But after just one puff, remembering she was there, he immediately stubbed it out:
“Wanyi, seeing Wu Ma become like that today really broke my heart.
“When I was a kid, I always thought she truly cared for me.
“It wasn’t until I grew up that I saw the truth—she never meant it. It was all calculation.
“Still, I brainwashed myself. I thought, no matter how scheming she was, she did give me companionship.
“During those years when I needed a mother most, she was there.
“So I kept treating her like an elder. I gave her the best life in her old age.
“But why can’t she ever be satisfied? Why?”
Lin Wanyi slipped her fingers into Liu Ren Zhi’s palm:
“It’s her greed, Ren Zhi. This isn’t your fault.
“You did the right thing by cutting ties now, or they’d never stop haunting you.”
Liu Ren Zhi held her hand and gently rubbed it:
“Yeah, she’s just greedy. But Huang Chunlian?
“She’s plain evil.
“She left years ago, started a new family, had the son she wanted—so why does she have to come back and ruin my life?
“I don’t want to see her. Not one bit.
“Every time she shows up, she makes my mom miserable.
“Wanyi, the person I care about most in this world is my mom.”
Lin Wanyi understood completely.
Back then, Su Jing was only as old as Liu Siyue was now when she was forced to become a mother to a five-year-old boy.
She wasn’t forced against her will, but she never should have had to bear that burden.
Lin Wanyi listened quietly as Liu Ren Zhi poured out his heart.
She knew he had never spoken these words to anyone before.
And that made her ache for him even more.
At the same time, Su Jing had her own pain.
Since Huang Chunlian appeared, Su Jing had been forcing a smile the whole time.
After decades of marriage, Liu Jiannan could see right through her.
Sure enough, once the banquet ended and all the guests left, Su Jing couldn’t hold it together anymore.
She sat on the sofa with hollow eyes.
Liu Jiannan handed her a glass of milk:
“Have some milk. You barely ate anything all evening.”
Su Jing had neither the mood nor the appetite. She didn’t take a sip.
Liu Jiannan sighed:
“Honey, I know what you’re thinking, but I’m telling you, you’re overthinking it.
“Even if Huang Chunlian is back, nothing’s going to change.”
Su Jing disagreed:
“She’s still Ren Zhi’s biological mother, dear. The reason he hates her is because he loves her.
“If he didn’t love Huang Chunlian, why would he hate her?”
Liu Jiannan tried to comfort her:
“You’re not wrong, but I trust Ren Zhi. He can make his own clear-headed judgments.
“He knows how you’ve treated him all these years.”
Su Jing’s tears finally broke free:
“It’s not that I want to keep him to myself. I never said he couldn’t acknowledge his real mother.
“But I despise Huang Chunlian. I just don’t think she deserves such a good son.
“If she were even a decent mother, I would have brought Ren Zhi to her myself.
“But she’s not, honey. She’s not a decent mother.”
Liu Jiannan wiped away her tears with his thumb and pulled her into his arms.
Only he knew how much Su Jing had endured over the years—how many tears she had shed in the dark of night.
He knew it all.
Outside the door, Liu Siyue was heartbroken too.
She couldn’t sleep again.
It was so late, and she didn’t know who to talk to. Everyone else must be resting by now.
She went back to her room and took her medication.
Recently, she had been doing better. She had followed Liu Ren Zhi’s advice and taken her pills on time.
She wanted to get better as quickly as possible. She didn’t want to be a burden to her family.
Especially after hearing her mother cry, she was more determined than ever to recover.
She had to get better.
If her big brother ever left, she would have to hold the family together.
She simply had to.
But even after taking the medicine, she still couldn’t sleep.
Huang Chunlian’s return had disrupted everyone’s peace.
She went and sat in the garden again.
The night breeze was chilly, but she didn’t feel cold at all.
She looked up at the stars and thought of her childhood.
Back then, Su Jing and Liu Jiannan were both so busy.
She would secretly stay up late, forcing Liu Ren Zhi to watch the stars with her.
Liu Ren Zhi always teased her by pointing at the sky:
“Yueyue, if you can count how many stars are up there, I’ll buy you candy.”
She never got any candy, because she always fell asleep in his arms before finishing.
How happy those days were.
How blessed she felt back then.
But now?
Huang Chunlian was back. Mom had started to second-guess everything.
She didn’t know how to comfort her mother. She only knew she couldn’t let her worry anymore.
Those painful things were behind her. She had to pull herself together.
She had to look forward and live her own life so her mom wouldn’t worry.
She lay back on the bench and started counting stars.
If she couldn’t sleep, counting stars always did the trick.
She counted and counted until her eyes slowly closed.
When Liu Ren Zhi came back, he saw her lying on the bench, uncovered, but breathing evenly.
He knew she must have been counting stars, unable to fall asleep.
He gently lifted Liu Siyue and placed her back on the bed, then pulled the covers up over her.
To himself, he thought: She really is still just a kid who hasn't grown up yet.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, Liu Siyue suddenly grabbed his hand:
"Big brother, will you ever leave us... leave home?"
