The girl recounted the past events calmly, without showing any other expression until the very end.
Wen Mo frowned. He had indeed noticed many strange things about Xia Lian during their time together, such as her being taciturn and expressionless, but he hadn't expected that this was something she had developed later in life.
The girl in front of me had experienced far more tragic things than I had imagined; it was as if she were a tragic heroine.
Especially when he heard Xia Lian think that he had killed his mother, Wen Mo felt a tightness in his chest, as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest and he couldn't breathe.
She has carried such a heavy burden of self-blame to this day.
Wen Mo didn't speak, but leaned to the side. By the time she finished explaining everything, several tens of minutes had passed.
"What happened to those people who bullied you in the end?"
Xia Lian lowered her head, her dull eyes unable to see any light. "Some dropped out of school...some were suspended from classes..."
She paused, then shook her head. "There are others, I don't know..."
Xia Lian only learned about the bullies' punishment notice later. At that time, her mother's funeral had just ended, and she didn't have the time to hear about those guys' fate.
Wen Mo hesitated for a moment without speaking, but subconsciously took her hand and said with a pursed mouth, "Do you want to come for a walk with me later, just the two of us?"
Xia Lian was a little puzzled. It was almost midnight, why was she still going out?
But she didn't ask any questions; she just went wherever Wenmo went.
"Um."
...
It's 10:30 p.m.
In big cities, this time of day isn't too late, but there are already far fewer pedestrians outside. Students have classes tomorrow, and those still out at this hour are mostly working professionals.
Instead of heading towards the main road, the two went to a riverside park not far away. It was called a park, but it was just a boardwalk along the river.
As the starlight grew stronger, even without streetlights, their faces could be vaguely seen. The night breeze blew through their hair, and Xia Lian's long, flowing hair was not tied up but draped behind her back and moved with the wind.
It's unclear what the girl was thinking at that moment; she just stared blankly at the river, her lifeless eyes revealing neither joy nor sorrow.
Do you miss your mom?
"Hmm." Xia Lian slowly turned her head and rested her head on Wen Mo's arm. "But Mom probably won't miss me..."
The girl's mood was visibly low when she said this.
"Why wouldn't I miss you?" Wen Mo looked into her eyes, more serious than ever before.
"Because I killed..."
"Stop, stop, stop." Wen Mo called out, reaching out to straighten her cheek, holding her face in his palm, and looking into Xia Lian's eyes as he spoke firmly, "Why do you think you killed Mom?"
In fact, Wen Mo had thought about it. If he had revealed the matter, Xia Lian's mother would have fainted from anger and become visibly weak.
But is it possible that if I don't tell my mother, she will be even more upset?
The doctor also said that her mother's illness was beyond saving, but she was just holding on and refused to tell Xia Lian the truth.
From God's perspective, this is a story of a mother and daughter hiding their secrets from each other. If you were to put yourself in Xia Lian's mother's shoes, being kept in the dark would be far more cruel than learning the truth.
"If I keep this from her, maybe..."
“Maybe Mom’s illness will get better, right?” Wen Mo blurted out.
These childish and laughable remarks are filled with a girl's longing for a better life, even though she subconsciously knows it's impossible.
Xia Lian was only living like a walking corpse in order to find a reason to live, and that reason was to bear a heavy sense of guilt as punishment for causing her mother's death.
Even though she didn't do anything to kill her mother.
"Tell me more about your mother," Wenmo said gently.
"My mother and I, what happened before...?" Xia Lian slowly raised her head, and when she met the serious look in the eyes of the person in front of her, her doubts slowly dissipated.
Perhaps the tragedy began from the moment Xia Lian was born.
Xia Lian's father was a typical womanizer who was good at pretending. Before marriage, he seemed quite honest, but after marriage, his true nature was revealed, and he would go out every now and then.
At the time, everyone was advising Xia Lian's mother to have a child, saying that after having a child, the man's heart would be tied down, and perhaps that would change him.
But from the moment Xia Lian was born, her mother filed for divorce. She had had enough of this man and just wanted him to get out of her sight as soon as possible.
Even during her pregnancy, the man never stayed by her side for more than a moment. Because those times were still very conservative, marriage was a lifelong commitment. This was the first time a couple had divorced in that village.
So from the moment Xia Lian was born, she didn't know what a father was.
Her mother is her everything.
"Later, my mother... took me to the county town to study..." Xia Lian spoke slowly, her eyes revealing no emotion, as if she were lost in memories.
Her grades were excellent, which was what her mother was most relieved about. She was admitted to the best junior high school in their county, which made her mother so happy that she couldn't sleep for days.
However, schools can only filter out academically weak students, but they can never filter out scumbags.
The hell began the moment I stepped into the school gates.
My mother is sick too.
The family didn't have much money to begin with, and even during her hospitalization, my mother tried her best to save money.
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