Chapter 197 Han Ming's Past
Fu Lilian's breathing suddenly became heavy, and the knuckles of her fingers gripping the gun turned white from the force.
Father, this is the deepest thorn in her heart.
"Why?" Fu Lilian's voice was squeezed out from between her teeth, trembling with suppressed emotion. "Why did you... kill him back then? You two were... at least in everyone's eyes, you were very much in love, weren't you?" She almost shouted out the last sentence, and behind the night vision lens of her left eye, something warm was rapidly accumulating.
"Affectionate?" Madam Bai laughed as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. She even laughed out loud, the laughter echoing in the empty room, shrill and cold. "Hahahaha... Affectionate? Fu Lilian, you and your father are just as ridiculously naive! Affectionate?"
She stopped laughing, her eyes turning venomous and sharp, like poisoned ice picks: "I wish I could smother that beast who ruined my life with a pillow on our wedding night!"
For the first time, her emotions fluctuated violently; it was no longer the indifferent detachment that controlled everything, but a surging hatred that had been brewing for decades.
“If it weren’t for him, I should have lived a peaceful and happy life with my childhood sweetheart, a perfect match, with loving children! It was him! He forced me with the most despicable means! He made me pregnant with you! He forced me to marry a man I find utterly repulsive!” Her voice became shrill, her fingers gripping the wine glass trembling with force, the amber liquid swirling. “My family? They only care about their reputation! They only want to get rid of me, this ‘stain,’ as soon as possible! I was like a damaged piece of merchandise, stuffed into that piece of trash!”
She slammed the wine glass to the ground!
"Smack!"
The crisp sound of shattering crystal echoed in the room, and spilled wine onto the hem of her expensive white suit trousers, but she didn't care.
“So I’m going to get my revenge.” Her voice returned to calm, but beneath that calm lay a more terrifying madness. “I married him, used every means to drain him, control him, and make him live like a dog! Finally, when he trusted me the most, I sent him on his way… like crushing an insect.” Her gaze fell on Fu Lilian, with a hint of cruel pity. “As for you, my good daughter, I should have drowned you and your father together in the bathtub back then. Keeping you was definitely a mistake; you only cause me trouble.”
Every word was like a poisoned knife, piercing Fu Lilian's heart.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, not from fear, but from the excruciating pain and hatred that seemed to tear her apart.
It turns out that... all those fragmented and vaguely warm memories of her childhood were just illusions.
Her existence was, from the very beginning, a byproduct of conspiracy and hatred, a stain her mother desperately wanted to erase.
Han Ming listened silently, his breathing becoming heavy.
Madam Bai's words not only reopened Fu Lilian's wounds, but also subtly touched upon the doubts and anxieties that had always been deep in his heart.
"Childhood sweetheart?" Han Ming suddenly spoke, his voice low and frightening. "Who is your childhood sweetheart...?"
Madam Bai looked at him, her gaze softening instantly, but something mixed in with that softness made Han Ming's stomach churn.
"Him..." Madam Bai's voice held a touch of dreamy reminiscence, but it was quickly replaced by resentment. "He was the gentlest and most talented man in the world. We grew up together; he studied medicine, and I studied art... We had promised to marry him when he returned from his studies. But..." Her eyes suddenly turned fierce. "It's all that scumbag's fault! He ruined me! And he ruined him too!"
"What happened to him later?" Han Ming pressed, his ominous premonition growing stronger.
"Him?" Madam Bai twitched her lips. "Him? After learning that I 'voluntarily' married, he was heartbroken and followed the family's arrangement to marry a wealthy heiress of equal social standing." Her gaze was fixed on Han Ming's face, as if trying to see the shadow of another person through his face. "They had a son... that son looks just like his father when he was young."
Han Ming clenched his fist tightly, his nails digging deep into his palm, causing a sharp pain.
But his face remained expressionless, only his eyes gradually cooled, eventually freezing into a frozen lake.
He understood.
I understand everything now.
Why did Madam Bai always look at him with such a strange, burning, and obsessive gaze? Why did she react so strongly after he showed interest in Su Xiaonuan, going so far as to imprison him and even send people to arrest Su Xiaonuan? Why did she keep saying she couldn't bear to see him die...?
It turns out that she was looking at another man through him.
The man she loved but could not have, whose marriage was unhappy because of her, and who might ultimately die because of her—Han Ming's father.
She destroyed that man's family, caused the death of his young sister, and now she wants to keep his son by her side forever as a substitute for that man.
A cold, mixed feeling of nausea, anger, and sorrow swept over Han Ming.
He loosened his fist, then slowly clenched it again, repeating this several times before he could barely suppress the wave that was about to overwhelm his reason.
No wonder... In order to temporarily save Su Xiaonuan's life, he brought her to this deep-sea prison, trying to negotiate with a tiger for its skin, and dealing with this crazy woman, but he still couldn't find a breakthrough.
Because the other party is not something that can be measured by normal logic.
For the first time, his gaze finally fell clearly and firmly upon Fu Lilian.
At this moment, they might be the only two people in the room who truly understand each other's situation and hatred.
Fu Lilian received Han Ming's gaze.
There was no ambiguity, no sympathy, only a chilling signal of alliance—we must join forces, or we will all die here.
Fu Lilian bit her tongue hard, the sharp pain pulling her back to a sliver of clarity from the brink of emotional collapse.
She took a deep breath, her nostrils flaring slightly, trying to calm her breathing and heartbeat.
Just then—
A very faint smell, almost masked by the blood and alcohol in the room, drifted into her nostrils.
It was a... rich, smoky aroma of oil and a sweet, savory flavor... like braised pork?
Very authentic, very tempting... Suzhou-style braised pork.
Fu Lilian was stunned.
Han Ming's nose twitched almost imperceptibly, and a look of extreme astonishment flashed in his eyes.
Even Madam Bai, who was immersed in distorted memories and a desire for control, could smell this scent.
For the first time, her expression showed obvious, uncontrollable bewilderment and dazedness.
This taste...it's so familiar.
It was so familiar that it seemed to instantly pull her back to a afternoon in a small town in Jiangnan decades ago, to that boy with a gentle smile who held up a bowl of braised pork he had made himself, glistening with oil and reddish-brown, and said to her, "Try it, it's something I just learned, I'm sure it'll suit your taste."
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