Chapter 101 The Ending of the Previous Life (The End)

Yan Mu froze, staring blankly at Yan Binghua, "Grandpa, you..."

“I know.” Yan Binghua extended his hand to Yan Mu. “Come on, get up.”

Yan Mu crawled to the bedside and placed his hand on that old, warm hand. "Grandpa."

Yan Binghua raised his hand slightly, and Yan Mu followed his lead and sat down on the stool next to him.

“I know you’ve been keeping this from me because you were afraid it would upset me, but Grandpa didn’t live his life in vain.”

Yan Mu and Yan Songyu were both stunned. So it turned out they hadn't been able to hide it from the beginning?

Feng Yu, on the other hand, seemed to understand perfectly.

Yan Binghua gripped Yan Mu's hand tightly. "I know everything. No matter what, you will always be my granddaughter, your mother's daughter, and a member of the Yan family, Feifei..."

Mentioning Feifei, Yan Binghua's face turned even more ashen. "It is the Yan family that owes her. We were unable to recognize each other in life, but after death, let us be buried together. Let our three generations be reunited in the underworld. Grandpa begs her for forgiveness."

"Grandpa...don't leave me." Yan Mu held Yan Binghua's hand tightly against her face, tears streaming down her face. "It's my fault, it's all my fault."

"It's my fault, Mom and Feifei died because of me. I shouldn't have been born, sob sob... It's all my fault."

Yan Binghua gently stroked Yan Mu's face with his hands, which were etched with the marks of time. His smile was kind. "Mu Mu, it's not your fault. You can't choose your birth, and you didn't want to be switched in your swaddling clothes. We are the ones who caused all of this. It was Song Yu and me who didn't take good care of Fei Fei. It was Zhou Yue who was as vicious as a snake, and it was Jiang Chengli who was wicked and greedy. Don't blame yourself. Don't let your emotions control you and trap you for the rest of your life."

Yan Mu kept crying and shaking his head, as if he felt even more ashamed.

"After Grandpa is gone, you must take good care of yourself and Xiaoxu. Ruixin is the result of Grandpa's life's work, and it no longer belongs to the Yan family alone. Only when it is in your hands can Grandpa rest assured."

He instructed Wan Yanmu, then looked at Yan Xu, who was silently shedding tears, "Xiao Xu..."

“Grandpa.” Yan Xu didn’t burst into tears like Yan Mu, but his eyes also reddened. The tears he had been trying to hold back fell as soon as he heard Yan Binghua’s call.

"Xiao Xu, you must listen to your older sister."

After saying his last words, Yan Binghua's hand, which had been holding Yan Mu's, fell limply to his side. The old man, who had dominated the business world his entire life, had reached the end of his life.

"grandfather!"

The siblings wept uncontrollably in the hospital room, while Feng Yu, standing in the corridor, also closed his eyes slightly.

"Dad..." Yan Songyu murmured silently, "I'm sorry..."

He clearly had at least ten years left after his surgery, but because of her…

After the Yan family held two funerals in succession, other families tried to take advantage of the instability in Ruixin to make some small moves, but Yan Mu, who turned her grief and anger into strength, fought back against them one by one. She also used swift and decisive means to kick out several shareholders who were trying to take advantage of the situation from the board of directors. From then on, no one dared to underestimate the newly appointed Chairman Yan.

Feifei's grave was moved by Yan Mu to the left of Yan Songyu, and Yan Binghua's grave is to the right of hers.

To Feifei's left, she had reserved a spot for herself.

Yan Xu once thought she was going to commit suicide, so he stayed by her side for a long time and said awkwardly, "Although you are not my biological sister, you are still the granddaughter that Grandpa approves of. He even entrusted Ruixin to you. Don't let Grandpa down."

"I know, I didn't want to commit suicide." Yan Mu remained calm despite the misunderstanding, and only after Yan Xu left did she softly say, "At least not now."

Yan Songyu had been in a daze since Yan Binghua's death. When she suddenly heard Yan Mu's words, it took her a long time to react before she said, "Mu Mu, no one blames you. Don't bear the sins that don't belong to you."

In the days that followed, Yan Songyu stayed by Yan Mu's side, watching her dominate the business world during the day and be invincible, while at night she was heartbroken, tossing and turning, and trapped in agonizing dreams.

Her demeanor grew increasingly cold and aloof; she spoke less and less, becoming an iron lady with absolute authority in the business world, but at home she became a solitary figure, all alone.

Every year on the anniversary of Feifei, Yan Songyu, and Yan Binghua's death, she would disappear for a whole day, talking alone in the cemetery about her life, the development of Ruixin, and the interesting things she had encountered. She never complained or shed a tear.

But Yan Songyu, who was by her side, knew how much she suffered, knew that she had devoted everything to Ruixin, knew that she had worked herself to the bone and even when she was sick, that she had vomited blood late at night from exhaustion, knew that she had to rely on sleeping pills to fall asleep every night, and knew how many times she had cried out "I'm sorry" and called out "Mom, Grandpa, Feifei" in her dreams...

Finally, after attending Feng Yu's funeral, Yan Mu forcefully arranged for Yan Xu to marry into the family.

Yan Xu did not resist. He switched to studying finance, but he was really not cut out for it. He didn't learn anything from Yan Mu, so he acquiesced to Yan Mu's plan to cultivate the next generation.

The year after Yan Xu got married, his wife gave birth to Yan Ling.

Yan Ling grew up by Yan Mu's side. He was a bright and obedient child with outstanding learning ability. In high school, he worked as an assistant to Yan Mu and participated in several projects, all of which he completed very well.

During the twenty-five years that Ruixin was under Yan Mu's control, it achieved tremendous development. The four-way power struggle between the Yan, Fu, and Jiang families, the top families in Shanghai, and the Xu family, which had influence in both the legal and illegal worlds, had been transformed into a situation where the Yan family was the only dominant force, leaving the other three families far behind.

After Yan Ling finished the college entrance examination, Yan Mu's health deteriorated completely within a day.

"aunt!"

In the same hospital room, Yan Ling held Yan Mu's hand, just as Yan Mu had held onto Yan Binghua's hand back then.

"Xiao Ling, I'm sorry, your aunt is leaving. Ruixin and the Yan family are now in your hands."

Even Yan Ling, a boy, was in tears. "No, Auntie, you're still so young. You'll get better. I'll help you with the company's affairs from now on. You should rest well."

Yan Mu smiled instead, her eyes filled with relief, "But... Auntie wants to rest, and Auntie also has people she wants to see, people she wants to personally apologize to, they've waited too long..."

Yan Ling was unaware of those past events and was somewhat stunned.

Yan Mu touched his hair and looked at Yan Xu behind him, "Xiao Xu."

Yan Xu looked at the frail Yan Mu on the hospital bed with mixed feelings and whispered, "Sister."

Upon hearing the word "sister," Yan Mu gave a genuine, weak smile. "You finally called me again."

Yan Xu lowered his head. "Whether I call you that or not, aren't you still my sister?"

"I'll be so bold as to ask you one last time, I hope you won't blame me."

Yan Xu didn't speak; he seemed to have already guessed what Yan Mu was going to say.

“Transfer 3% of your shares to Xiaoling. I’ll exchange half of my assets for it. He’s young, and I’m afraid he won’t be able to control those shareholders. I’m also afraid you might have other ideas in the future. The Yan family can’t fall into the hands of an incompetent person.”

"Yan Ling is my son. Do I need your assets in exchange for giving him shares?"

Yan Xu spoke very bluntly, but Yan Mu smiled and agreed.

She then handed another card to Yan Xu, and I considered this card as a gift from me, her aunt, to my little niece whom I had never met before.

She knew that after Yan Xu got married, the couple initially treated each other with respect, but after Yan Ling was born, they went their separate ways. She had no right to criticize them, since she was the one who influenced Yan Xu's marriage. He didn't make a scene, so she pretended not to know.

She could only make amends to Yan Ling, the child she had been waiting for. He was the hope for the future of the Yan family and her support over the years.

Yan Xu accepted it.

Yan Mu smiled and closed her eyes, a tear sliding down her cheek, "Mom..."

Yan Songyu also cried. She tried to reach out and touch, but her hands missed. "Mumu..."

It wasn't her fault, but in the end, she bore it all alone. She spent the rest of her life atoning for her sins, both those that were hers and those that weren't. Only she was repenting and atoning for her sins.

Yan Ling had always known about his parents' situation. He knew that his position in the Yan family was unshakeable, and he was long past the age of longing for his parents' love. However, the passing of his aunt, who had always been there for him and taught him, was a huge blow to him. She was perfectly fine when she picked him up from the exam hall yesterday.

"aunt……"

As Yan Songyu listened to Yan Ling's cries, her consciousness gradually faded. When she woke up again, she saw Feng Yu's worried face in front of her.