Chapter 254 Nobody Can Save You

You were caught in the whirlpool and swept away. The army searched for you for a full two weeks, but they never recovered your body. In the end, the higher-ups held a memorial service and gave your mother this certificate... saying you died a heroic death at the young age of nineteen..."

Her voice grew softer and softer until it almost became a sob.

Bian Jiang stared at the martyr's certificate, then looked up and stared intently at Zhao Lin.

The stamp was genuine, with clear lines and an intact seal; her tears were real too, streaming down her face without any pretense.

But his mind was completely empty, like a memory disk that had been cleaned, spotless and without a trace.

Even if the woman in front of him were his own mother, he wouldn't feel a ripple in his heart, let alone any motherly affection.

"How can you prove you're his mother?"

He finally spoke, his tone no longer one of shock, but one of calmness bordering on coldness: "You say you're Zhao Lin, then you need to provide evidence. Blood type? Birth certificate? Or a piece of my baby hair from when I was a child? My mind is blank. I can't let your words overturn more than twenty years of my life."

Zhao Lin sniffed, wiped away her tears haphazardly with the back of her hand, her shoulders still trembling slightly.

Her voice was low and hoarse, yet unusually firm: "Take this and go back to your old unit. Check the archives, the personnel department, they can find out anything. Your enlistment registration form has fingerprints, a photo, and family information. They'll know everything in a minute. They know who Dong Wenxuan is, and they know about the day he 'sacrificed' himself. I'm not a liar, and I can't lie to myself either..."

"I came here today to say this."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Bian Jiang's expressionless face, then at the little girl huddled in the woman's arms, before finally settling on Shen Cuifen, who was slumped on the ground, her eyes filled with pity.

"I'm not forcing you to remember, nor am I asking you to acknowledge me now. I just... don't want you to live without knowing who you are."

After she finished speaking, she raised her hand and forcefully wiped away the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes. She turned around and walked unsteadily towards the alley entrance, step by step.

But when he looked up, he saw Shen Cuifen lying on the ground, her face as pale as paper, her lips purple, her hands gripping her pants tightly, her knuckles turning blue.

Her eyes were unfocused, yet she stubbornly stared in the direction of Bianjiang, muttering something in a voice so faint it was almost inaudible.

After the family split up, she only wanted to bring Shen Cuifen to the city to see Dong Wenxuan.

After all, their two families used to live next door. When they were little, Cuifen would hug Zhongguo's arm and call him brother. Later, they were even betrothed as children.

She thought that perhaps a meeting would allow Cuifen to let go of her obsession and live her own life properly.

But why?

Why did Cuifen insist on coming along?

He remained silent the whole way until he saw Bian Jiang appear...

Bian Jiang instinctively rushed out of the house, not even changing his shoes, and ran over in his slippers.

He immediately saw Zhao Lin rush to Shen Cuifen's side, squat down, and frantically pull open her trouser leg—in that instant, a glaring red spread across the dark alleyway floor, a shocking sight.

Blood flowed down Shen Cuifen's thigh, forming a small puddle on the cement floor.

Bian Jiang's wife also came out and saw Shen Cuifen with tears streaming down her face and her eyes red. She screamed at Dong Wenxuan, "You..."

You've forgotten everything? You promised to marry me! You said you'd come back after the war… Do you even remember the red ribbon under the old locust tree? You married someone else?! You became a father?! Do you know how many thirty years I've waited for you, until my hair turned white, until the children grew up?!

Dong Wenxuan was stunned, as if his heart had been suddenly gripped.

He couldn't remember her, but that weathered yet still gentle face kept flashing in the depths of his hazy memory like a distant dream.

He had dreamed countless times of a girl with a red ribbon in her hair standing at the entrance of the village waiting for him. The wind blew through her hair, and she was both laughing and crying.

At that moment, reality and dream suddenly overlapped. His heart tightened, his breathing quickened, and he rushed over, speaking rapidly: "I have a car! I'll take you to the hospital! Hurry! Don't stand there, you'll go into shock if you lose too much blood!"

"Bianjiang!"

Zhao Lin turned around and shouted the name in a hoarse voice, his voice filled with despair and pleading.

But she could no longer stand up and could only kneel on the ground, using her body to support Shen Cuifen's increasingly weak body, waiting for her son—or rather, waiting for the man who was once called Dong Wenxuan—to make a choice.

Dong Wenxuan turned around abruptly and found his current wife, Xiuye, slumped on the ground, clutching her stomach tightly with both hands, her face as pale as paper, and a fine layer of cold sweat seeping from her forehead.

Her lips were slightly purple, and she was curled up as if surrounded by pain from all sides, her breathing becoming intermittent.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Lin's heart leaped into his throat. Without thinking, he immediately shouted, "They're all your children! Don't just stand there, get them to the hospital right now! If we delay any longer, no one can bear the responsibility if something happens!"

His voice was urgent and loud, echoing in the small room, carrying a hint of reproach and an undisguised anxiety.

These words were like a bucket of ice-cold water poured over Dong Wenxuan's head.

He shuddered, as if he had been abruptly pulled awake from a hazy dream.

His eyes cleared from a dazed look, and without thinking, he turned and rushed into the store.

His steps were unsteady, yet unusually resolute.

He rushed back into the shop, picked up his still-sleeping son, and, ignoring the child's loud cries after being startled awake, hurriedly placed him in Aunt Zhang's arms next door.

Aunt Zhang looked shocked and was about to ask a question when Dong Wenxuan only said, "Keep an eye on my wife for me, something happened to her!"

After saying that, he rushed back to the door and hurriedly locked the shop door.

He rushed to the garage, his trembling fingers barely able to hold the key, and it took him two tries to insert it into the lock.

He opened the car door, took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and quickly started the car.

The engine roared, as if responding to his inner anxiety.

Back at the door, he helped Xiuye ​​up, gently supporting her shoulders as he could, feeling her body convulsing uncontrollably.

Then he bent down and reached out to pull Shen Cuifen, who was also groaning in pain.

He practically carried the two of them, slowly and laboriously squeezing them into the back seat.

Shen Cuifen pressed her forehead against the car window, her breathing rapid, her eyes tightly closed, as if she didn't even have the strength to speak.

Zhao Lin shoved himself into the passenger seat, slammed the door shut, and while fastening his seatbelt, urged urgently, "Don't panic, drive slowly, keep the car steady, and everyone will be fine! If you panic now, no one can save you!"

He spoke rapidly, his eyes fixed on the front, as if afraid that Dong Wenxuan might make a mistake that could lead to disaster.

In the rearview mirror, two women were huddled on the back of the back seat, their faces as pale as paper, cold sweat constantly seeping from their foreheads, their lips bitten until they turned white and even bled.

Their bodies trembled violently from the pain; even the slightest jolt would cause them to convulse in agony.

Dong Wenxuan's palms were already soaked in cold sweat, so slippery that he could hardly grip the steering wheel.