Meng Wan's words fell silent.
The issues that I had been unwilling to acknowledge or think about in detail were so directly exposed by Meng Wan, inevitably leaving me with mixed feelings.
"If you feel offended, I'm sorry, just pretend I didn't ask this question."
Meng Wan's eyes darted around, and she made her judgment. She shrugged, appearing indifferent.
"Wanwan." Meng Boqun called out to Meng Wan, who was about to get up and leave.
She remained silent, waiting for Meng Boqun to continue.
“We don’t mean to doubt you. We’ve been avoiding this issue because we don’t want to admit our failure in education.” Meng Boqun gave a bitter smile. “Now that things have come to this, we also want an answer.”
Qin Yi nodded with red eyes, "Is it a misunderstanding or..." She paused and took a deep breath.
"We don't know when Zhiyi learned about her background, but her personality changed somewhat after she entered junior high school." Mothers are always the first to notice changes in their own children.
"But at the time, we just thought it was normal for a girl to love beauty and look pretty when she was in junior high school, so we didn't think much of it. Later, our family gradually declined, and her demands became more and more excessive. She would yell and scream if anything didn't go her way..."
Her eyes were filled with sorrow. It felt like just yesterday that Tang Zhiyi first called her "Mom," took her first steps, and started school... But all of that was like a mirage, vanished completely, as if it had never existed.
Where exactly did we go wrong?
Qin Yi felt waves of pain in her heart, but she had no choice but to accept this reality.
"So, the turning point was in junior high school?" Meng Wan's indifference contrasted sharply with the three others.
"Yes, ever since Yaoyao was born, she has been consciously or unconsciously trying to make herself known. We understand that girls are more sensitive, so we've been more indulgent towards her than before. When we were in junior high, Yaoyao was having health problems, so everyone naturally paid more attention to her. We thought that's what caused Zhiyi's personality change..."
"When exactly did the company run into trouble?" Meng Wan asked calmly and rationally, like a police officer questioning a victim about what happened.
“Three years ago,” Meng Boqun answered Meng Wan’s question.
“Yes, around the summer after we graduated from junior high school,” Meng Zhili added.
"The times are changing too fast. The company didn't have time to transform and it was getting less and less business. In addition, the Tang family successfully transformed and had technology and innovation, and quickly surpassed us. Although we tried our best to save it, we only lasted for three years before declaring bankruptcy."
Speaking of this past event, Meng Boqun has become somewhat at peace with it. In middle age, he has experienced both glory and setbacks, but his family is safe and healthy by his side—that's enough.
"Strangely, even though she knew that the family's situation was not as good as before, she seemed to want to squeeze the last drop of value out of the family. Instead of restraining herself, she made more and more outrageous demands."
Meng Zhili's words were full of disappointment; he couldn't believe that his younger sister, whom he had doted on since childhood, was such a scheming person.
Meng Wan tapped her fingers on the table, one tap after another, creating the only sound in the silent space.
"During the summer vacation after junior high school...did Tang Zhiyi have any unnatural reactions or strange behaviors at that time?"
The three of them fell silent for a moment.
“We were often away from home during that period, so we didn’t pay attention.”
As soon as Meng Zhili finished speaking, Qin Yi seemed to suddenly remember something and tugged at Meng Boqun's arm.
“Boqun, do you remember the day I said to you, ‘Zhiyi has been absent-minded these past few days, is something on her mind?’”
Meng Boqun frowned deeply, "It seems like he did mention it..."
During that time, he was busy with company affairs and was overwhelmed with work every day. He had no time to pay attention to these things, and Qin Yi had only mentioned it briefly. He couldn't remember the details at all.
"Did anything happen during that time?" Meng Wan tapped the table more frequently, sensing that she was one step away from the truth.
"What happened...nothing..."
Meng Boqun and Meng Zhili nodded.
The trail went cold, which left Meng Wan somewhat frustrated, but at least she had a direction to investigate.
"I'll ask my elder brother and Zhilian later to see if they can remember anything."
Meng Wan nodded and stood up. Turning around, she saw three people with their heads down and sighed softly.
“You don’t need to be too anxious. Qian Yixuan said that Zhiyao’s situation is much better than other autistic children. It seems that his current state is due to psychological trauma. I will take him to Qian Yixuan for psychological counseling in the next few weeks. As for Tang Zhiyi…”
Qin Yi and Meng Wan met eyes.
“I saw her today. She has a broken leg and will be discharged after a month of recovery. Let me make this clear upfront: if she does anything to Tang Li and the others like she did this time, don’t blame me for not giving you face.”
She looked down on Tang Zhiyi's petty tricks, but this time, Tang Zhiyi had firmly crossed her bottom line. She should be thankful that it was her who fell. If Tang Li were bedridden for a month, Meng Wan could make sure she'd be confined to bed for the rest of her life!
Thinking of this, Meng Wan's eyes grew even colder.
“I, Meng Wan, am not a kind person either; in fact, I can be described as vindictive. For me, there is no such thing as ‘taking a step back and the sea and sky will be clear.’ If you make me unhappy, I will make you even more unhappy.”
“I understand that you and Tang Zhiyi have been together for 17 years and can’t let go of this relationship, but that’s your business and has nothing to do with me. So I’m just being frank: if there is a next time, even if you beg for mercy, I will not let Tang Zhiyi off the hook.”
Meng Wan knew that her words were somewhat decisive. If it were anyone else, she wouldn't have spoken so absolutely. Leaving some room for maneuver to make things easier for both sides was her principle in doing things, a principle she had learned thoroughly from the Tang family.
For some reason, she felt extremely irritable and just wanted to inflict equal pain and destruction on everyone who made her unhappy. As for whether the Meng family would be upset by these words, well, that was not her concern.
“Wanwan…” Meng Zhili didn’t know what to say for a moment, but felt that if he didn’t say something, the little bit of family affection he had finally cultivated would dissipate.
Qin Yi was also stunned. Meng Wan's indifferent attitude made her feel inexplicably flustered, as if she was about to lose something completely.
“Zhiyi severed ties with us the day she returned to the Tang family. If she really did these inhumane things, then she has only herself to blame.”
Meng Boqun's words completely woke Qin Yi and Meng Zhili up.
They almost fell out with their own daughter/sister because of an ungrateful wretch!
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