Chu Wuyang stood in front of the flowerbed, her gaze fixed on the land covered with flowers and grass, and remained silent.

That place that was once shrouded in shadow,

Now it has become gentle and peaceful.

Yet, a subtle, inexplicable unease still lingered within her.

Yang Jinchu noticed her change in mood, gently took her hand, his palm warm and firm, his voice low and gentle.

"If you feel afraid, face it... bravely dig out the festering 'flesh',"

"Even a little pain is better than a persistent festering sore that can't heal."

A hint of surprise flashed in Chu Wuyang's eyes.

You found out?

Yang Jinchu chuckled lightly, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

"How could I not know?"

"Keeping everything bottled up inside will definitely cause problems."

Chu Wuyang lowered her head and remained silent.

Yes, Yang Jinchu was always understanding.

Her decision to marry Jingmin against her grandmother's wishes indirectly led to her grandmother's death. Therefore, she didn't want to see Jingmin go to America. In fact, there was another reason...

She has a very serious mental illness.

Yang Jinchu had been paying close attention to her and finding her a reliable psychologist, so how could he not have known about her condition?

She gave a forced smile.

"Thank you, thank you for your unspoken concern,"

Yang Jinchu stared straight ahead.

"Do you want to say it?"

Chu Wuyang let out a soft breath.

He spoke frankly, as if he had finally made up his mind.

"My mother and uncle's family all died tragically, and my grandmother couldn't bear the shock and had been ill for a long time..."

"Alzheimer's disease made her eccentric and irritable, often getting angry for no reason at night, and then lovingly stroking my head in the morning..."

“Back then, Jingmin wanted to get revenge on me… Later, I insisted on canceling our engagement… My grandmother lost control of her emotions because of this,”

Her tone was calm, as if she were narrating someone else's story, but deep in her eyes lay an unspeakable shadow.

Yang Jinchu showed no surprise, simply listening quietly.

Chu Wuyang sat down on a stone bench and continued:

"I remember the first night I was thrown into the fish pond, my grandmother lost control and smashed the mirror in the house. She turned around and asked me with a smile if I liked the goldfish in the pond."

“I nodded, and then she pressed me against the edge of the pool, holding a shard of glass in her hand.”

"She cut her hand, and as the blood dripped into the water, the goldfish thrashed about wildly."

"She looked at the fish and said to me with a smile, 'If you're not good, I'll throw myself in to feed the fish.'"

"I was so scared that I cried and begged for mercy, but she gently touched my face and said that since I was disobedient, they would punish me."

"Later, she actually pushed me into the water."

"The pool water was icy cold. I struggled desperately, but schools of fish swam up from the water and nibbled at my skin. Stimulated by the smell of blood, they became excited like a group of hungry monsters."

“I tried to climb ashore, but my grandmother stepped on my wrist and held it down tightly—she said, ‘If you don’t behave, they will really eat you.’”

"When she finally pulled me out of the water, I was covered in bite marks, my skin was torn, and blood was dripping down my legs..."

"Later, she was not satisfied with just throwing me into the water, but wanted me to 'participate' in it myself."

"She would gut a live fish, stuff its still-beating heart into my hand, and force me to feel its last tremor."

"She made me crush the fish bones and listen to the sound of them twisting and twitching in my hands."

"Once, she held a pair of scissors to her own finger and asked me in a cold tone, 'Do you want me to lose a finger?'"

"That's when I realized that if I didn't comply, she would torture herself."

"But how could I bear to? It's all because I disobeyed her that she turned out like this..."

"The most terrifying time was the night she completely lost her mind."

“She dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night, tied me up, and pushed me into the pool, saying, ‘Tonight, you’ll sleep with them.’”

"I didn't dare refuse; she threatened to cut off her own finger with scissors..."

"That time, I sank even deeper and couldn't move. The fish surrounded me and started biting me."

“Whenever I struggled, she would say I was disobedient, and that I should be good, or Grandma would have to feed them myself.”

Chu Wuyang recounted the story with a bitter smile.

She took scissors, cut off the fish's tail, threw it into the pool, and then threw it on me...

"The sound of water was sticky and rustling, like countless tiny things stirring the surface of the water. Black and red intertwined, the swimming things were tearing at each other, their scales peeling off to reveal bare white bones."

Chu Wuyang sighed softly, slowly closed his eyes, and said in a low voice:

“Since then, I have been unable to approach any fish,”

"Whenever I see the water, I think of those deep pool bottoms... and those dense schools of fish that were tearing at me."

She opened her eyes, tears welling in them, and gazed at the place that had once been the koi pond, her voice filled with self-reproach.

"Later, my grandmother passed away, and I was finally free..."

"But I don't hate her. It was my disobedience that became the last straw that broke the camel's back for her. I know she still blames me for being disobedient... but actually, I'm the one who killed her."

Yang Jinchu remained silent throughout the entire process.

The shadows cast by the leaves concealed the emotions on his face.

The atmosphere was a little heavy.

After a while,

Yang Jinchu finally spoke, her tone revealing her heartache.

"Grandma didn't want to do this to you. If she were conscious, she would be the one suffering the most..."

Yang Jinchu's voice carried a hint of reassurance; Chu Wuyang was no longer so afraid.

"You're not wrong, and neither is Grandma. The fault lies with others."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!