"What do you call this? This is called 'evil begets evil'!"

Chu Xin'er pursed her lips, but her tone no longer carried the schadenfreude of the past; instead, it was more complicated.

"Although they were all bad people, it is truly shocking that they ended up with their family destroyed, their lineage cut off, and their descendants wiped out."

As she spoke, she looked at Ye Nian'an, who had remained silent, and asked, "Sister-in-law, what do you think?"

Ye Nian'an was looking down, scraping apple puree with a small spoon, preparing it as a complementary food for a baby who had just woken up.

She raised her head, sunlight shining on her fair face, her expression as calm as an ancient well, without the slightest ripple.

"I think Zhang Weiguo made the best choice."

Upon hearing this, the three people present were stunned.

"Sister-in-law, you...you're not mistaken, are you?"

Chu Xin'er stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Ye Nian'an fed a small spoonful of apple puree into the baby's mouth, watched him smack his lips in satisfaction, and then slowly spoke.

"Think about it, what would happen to his family if he didn't do this?"

"His father is paralyzed in bed, incontinent, and living is just torture. His sister has gone mad; she doesn't even know who she is, she just laughs and cries."

"As for himself, he lost an arm and became a cripple. He was bound to this rotten family and lived in hell for the rest of his life, with no peace."

"If he continues to suffer like this, all three of them will slowly rot in endless pain, and in the end, his elder brother and sister-in-law will all go insane and die. No one will escape."

She paused, a barely audible sigh escaping her lips.

"He killed them, then turned himself in and went to jail. It was cruel, but at least... everyone was free."

From an observer's perspective.

Zhang Weiguo indeed made the right choice.

At least Zhang Weimin and his family no longer have to live in hell.

Given Shi Fangfang's personality, she's probably incredibly grateful to Zhang Weiguo right now.

These words left Chi Xinyao and Jin Xiangyu speechless, exchanging bewildered glances.

Chu Xin'er fell silent.

yes……

Sometimes, living is more painful than dying.

Just then, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Who is it?

Ye Nian'an put down her spoon and got up to open the door.

Standing outside the door was someone who surprised her somewhat.

Shen Xiang.

After a long absence, she looked like a withered blade of grass, so thin she was unrecognizable.

The faded old clothes looked empty and baggy on her.

Only those eyes, after experiencing endless despair and pain, had settled into a calm like still water.

In her hand, she carried only a simple, patched cloth bundle.

"What's up?"

Ye Nian'an stood inside the door, showing no intention of moving aside, and spoke coldly.

Shen Xiang looked at the woman in front of her, who had a cold expression and completely shut herself out, and then glanced at the warm sunlight and the baby's babbling laughter in the courtyard behind her. She gave a self-deprecating smile.

"Jiang'er... he's gone. He left the night before last."

She spoke casually, as if she were talking about someone who had nothing to do with her.

But Ye Nian'an knew that the pain a mother feels when she pulls out her son's life support device is enough to completely crush her soul.

The hospital, probably considering her special circumstances and the fact that Tang Jiang truly had no hope of recovery, did not hold her responsible and even spoke on her behalf.

After all, for a mother who has been driven to the brink of despair, this is the greatest mercy.

"I quit my job too."

Shen Xiang looked at Ye Nian'an, her voice hoarse: "I want to leave Haicheng and go to a place where no one knows me to start over."

This place held too much of her pain and sorrow; she didn't want to stay there for even a second longer.

"Before I leave, I wanted to say something to you."

Shen Xiang's smile revealed complete relief: "Nian'an, I lost. I lost utterly and completely, and I accept it wholeheartedly."

Ye Nian'an suddenly interrupted.

"You didn't lose."

"Because I never loved Zhang Weiguo from beginning to end, so what is the point of winning or losing?"

"We have never been rivals in love."

Ye Nian'an's voice was cold, as if she were recounting an old story that had nothing to do with her.

"Shen Xiang, do you think I chose Zhang Weiguo because of love?"

“In those days, I was just a woman who needed to escape the fate of being sent to the countryside and find a place to settle down. Zhang Weiguo was just a lifeline I grabbed when I was desperate and grasping at straws, a safe haven that seemed to allow me to take root.”

“I admit that I did think about living a good life with him and being a good wife. But that was just a compromise with fate and a plan for survival, and it had nothing to do with love.”

"The only person I, Ye Nian'an, have ever truly loved in my heart is Chu Yan."

It's just that Ye Nian'an in her previous life was timid and cowardly, and dared not fight for it, so she missed out.

So you see—

Ye Nian'an's gaze fell on Shen Xiang, carrying a trace of utter, condescending pity.

"What you're trying so hard to take away is just a choice I made on a whim to survive. And what I love is something you can't even touch."

"Between us, what is there to win or lose?"

Shen Xiang was stunned.

Every word Ye Nian'an uttered was like a sharp knife, slowly tearing apart her ridiculous pride and obsession.

I see……

It turns out that what she painstakingly schemed and risked everything to fight for was, from beginning to end, just something that others didn't want, a helpless choice made for survival.

She was like a clown, performing a ridiculous one-woman show on a stage with a predetermined ending.

Then, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world, she tilted her head back, stood outside the cold threshold, and burst into laughter.

That laughter was filled with endless sorrow and self-mockery.

She laughed for a long time, until tears streamed down her face.

Yes... so what's the point of winning or losing?

She was utterly defeated from the very beginning.

"So that's how it is..."

Shen Xiang wiped away her tears and looked at Ye Nian'an. In those lifeless eyes, a glimmer of true relief finally appeared.

"Nian'an, thank you."

After saying that, she turned around, walked out of the courtyard without looking back, and disappeared at the end of the alley.

Ye Nian'an watched her disappearing figure, then expressionlessly slammed the door shut.

Completely shut out all the sorrow and past outside the door.

Chu Xin'er leaned closer, looking at the tightly closed door, and couldn't help but ask, "Sister-in-law, she's a widow, her son is gone, and her husband is practically gone too. Where could she possibly go?"

Ye Nian'an said calmly, "The world is vast, there's always a place to belong."

"As for her fate..."

"It has nothing to do with us anymore."