Chapter 158 Bringing You and Daughter Home
Shen Qingshu stared blankly at her mother.
What is Mother saying?
Did Lin Lanyi steal her husband?
Jiang Yuelan slowly closed her eyes, tears sliding down her cheeks.
She was still muttering, "Ah Shu, I'm sorry, it's all my fault, I'm so useless..."
Shen Qingshu knelt down and reached out to wipe away her mother's tears.
Tears welled in her eyes, and her voice choked with emotion, "Mom, Shu is here. Don't worry, we'll all be alright from now on."
"Ah Shu, Mom hates it so much! Mom's life has been such a failure. Why did I have to be Lin Lanyi's daughter? Why her of all people..."
Jiang Yuelan gradually fell silent.
As Shen Qingshu gazed at her sleeping mother, tears fell silently.
Half of his hair was white, and there were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
Five years in prison and four years missing, Jiang Yuelan has aged prematurely over these nine years. Although she is only in her forties, she looks like a seventy-year-old woman.
Jiang Yuelan's life was so bitter...
Shen Qingshu held her mother's hand. "Mom, sleep peacefully. I will guide you on your journey from now on. I will never let you suffer again."
Jin Que and Aunt Qin stood by the bed watching this scene, their expressions heavy.
Outside the door, Xiao Anning had been standing silently watching for a while, but the adults' attention was all on Jiang Yuelan, and they didn't notice her at all.
Xiao Anning walked into the room by herself.
"Mother……"
Shen Qingshu was stunned for a moment, then quickly raised her hand to wipe away her tears, took a deep breath, and turned her head away.
Xiao Anning's big eyes were slightly red as she gazed longingly at Shen Qingshu.
Shen Qingshu felt a pang of regret. She had forgotten that her daughter was still there, and she wondered if her mother's sudden illness had frightened her daughter.
"Little Anning, don't be afraid, Grandma is just sick."
"I'm not afraid." Little Anning raised her hand, her pink little hand touching Chen Qingshu's eyes. "Mommy, were you crying?"
Shen Qingshu pursed her lips and forced a smile. "No."
Xiao Anning tilted her head. "Mom, it's okay to cry. It's not shameful."
Shen Qingshu felt a lump in her throat, amused and exasperated by her daughter's precocious manner. "Mom just feels sorry for Grandma."
Xiao Anning opened her arms and hugged her, gently patting her back with her little hands.
"Mom, I will always stay with you and Grandma. Don't be afraid. Uncle Jin is so amazing, he will definitely be able to cure Grandma!"
Shen Qingshu hugged her daughter's small body and buried her face in her soft, fragrant shoulder.
She nodded vigorously, "Mommy isn't afraid. With Xiao Anning here, Mommy isn't afraid at all!"
…
Worried that Jiang Yuelan would fall ill again after waking up, and that the adults would be unable to take care of Xiao Anning, Shen Qingshu called Wen Jingxi.
Although Xiao Anning is precocious and sensible, she is still only a four-year-old child, and Shen Qingshu does not want her to face these things too early.
When Wen Jingxi arrived, Jiang Yuelan was still asleep.
Shen Qingshu first asked Aunt Qin and Jin Que to stay with Xiao Anning, while she and Wen Jingxi went to the balcony to talk.
She told Wen Jingxi what Jiang Yuelan had said when she fell ill.
Wen Jingxi was shocked after hearing this!
"So, Lin Lanyi stole your dad, and Zhou Yuchu stole your husband?!"
Shen Qingshu nodded.
"Damn it! Like father, like son!" Wen Jingxi was furious. "So Aunt Jiang is upset because she knows Zhou Yuchu is Lin Lanyi's daughter, and she can't handle that..."
Wen Jingxi sighed heavily as he said this, "Zhou Yuchu is too vicious; he kills people by destroying their spirit!"
“I had a strange sense of familiarity when I saw Lin Lanyi before. Now that the truth is out, I remember that I saw Lin Lanyi when I first returned to the Shen family. But she looks different now. She must have had plastic surgery. The only thing that hasn’t been changed is her eyes.”
"She actually went to the Shen family's house? How dare she be so blatant?"
“At that time, she went to the Shen family to find the second branch of the Shen family, which is my so-called aunt Lin Yunmei. She and Lin Lanyi are sisters.”
Shen Qingshu continued to deduce, "I didn't know before, so I didn't think in this direction. Now that I think about it, I realize that it was after Lin Lanyi went to the Shen family that Shen Mingxiong's attitude towards my mother became more and more hostile."
"Moreover, when my mother found out about Shen Mingxiong's affair, she initially made a scene. Lin Yunmei was the first to stand up against my mother. I used to think she was trying to curry favor with Shen Mingxiong and the old lady, but now it seems that she was going against my mother to help Lin Lanyi rise to power!"
"You mean..." Wen Jingxi's pupils widened, "Your aunt deliberately brought Lin Lanyi to the Shen family, and she was trying to set Lin Lanyi up?"
Shen Qingshu nodded, "That should be it!"
Wen Jingxi: "..."
The Wen family has upheld righteous values for generations, and the fathers and mothers were all loving couples with normal values. So much so that after hearing this, Wen Jingxi wanted to curse, but felt that no amount of cursing would be enough.
Finally, he managed to squeeze out only two words: "Garbage!"
“Both the Shen family and the Jiang family are families that prioritize profit above all else,” Shen Qingshu sighed. “How can my mother possibly fight them alone?”
Wen Jingxi really didn't know what to say. Being stuck with such a family was truly the worst luck imaginable!
So what do you plan to do now?
Shen Qingshu gazed into the distance, her eyes cold.
“When my mother had her attack today, I didn’t pay attention to Xiao Anning, but she saw it,” Shen Qingshu said, her eyes lowered and her voice filled with self-reproach. “Actually, she was probably still scared, but in order not to worry me, she pretended to be a little adult and comforted me instead.”
Wen Jingxi was also touched, "Our little Anning is truly an angel baby."
"Yes, she is really well-behaved and sensible, but I don't want her maturity and strength to be due to her mother's incompetence."
Wen Jingxi was taken aback, looking at her indifferent profile, and frowned slightly, "What nonsense are you talking about? How could you be incompetent? You are so capable, you take such good care of Xiao Anning, how many single mothers are as outstanding as you?"
Shen Qingshu smiled helplessly, “Material satisfaction cannot represent everything. I never understood why my mother wanted to jump into the river, but today I finally understand.”
Wen Jingxi was taken aback and asked, "Why?"
“My mom feels like she’s dragging me down. She can’t get over it in her heart. She wants revenge, but she’s powerless. She’s desperate because she realizes she has no ability at all. She breaks down because she realizes she’s become a burden to her daughter, or even…”
Shen Qingshu closed her eyes and uttered the two words with difficulty: "Disgrace."
Upon hearing this, Wen Jingxi's expression turned solemn.
"Although I've never thought of it that way, I know my mother. She's been too passive her whole life. Her family of origin raised her to be a good daughter who prioritizes the family's interests. After she got married, her in-laws told her to be a qualified and sensible wife. When she gave birth to a daughter, even though it was her in-laws' feudalistic and patriarchal thinking that made her daughter a jinx to her father and brothers, she was powerless and could only watch helplessly as her daughter was sent away..."
"Later, her husband cheated on her and abused her. She wanted a divorce, but her family told her to endure it, for the sake of the family's interests. She endured it, and in the end, she accidentally killed her husband in self-defense. Her husband's family retaliated against her, and her own family abandoned her heartlessly..."
"After five years in prison, she lost everything, with only her only daughter to rely on, only to discover that her daughter had followed the same path as her..."
"She wanted to help her daughter, but realized she was powerless to do so. She hated her own incompetence and cowardice. All the pent-up negative energy exploded the moment she learned the truth. She refused to compromise with herself, which is why she chose to drown herself..."
"Do you think she's stupid or not?" Shen Qingshu turned to look at Wen Jingxi, tears welling in her eyes.
Wen Jingxi looked at her, feeling an indescribable sense of helplessness. "Aunt Jiang is just being stubborn for a moment."
"She's not being stubborn, she's just too naive and kind! Even though all the suffering she endured was caused by other people's selfishness, she kept enduring it, trying to convince herself that things would get better once she got through it. But those who want to harm you won't let you go just because you're kind."
Shen Qingshu laughed, and said sarcastically, "Unfortunately, I used to be just like her..."
Wen Jingxi was stunned.
"I always thought that if I couldn't afford to offend them, I should just stay away. But as it turns out, it's no use hiding anywhere if they don't want to let me go."
The smile on Shen Qingshu's face faded, and her eyes gradually turned cold.
“That day, my mother met Zhou Yuchu at the law firm, and afterwards she threw herself into the river. Considering what she just said, it’s quite obvious that Zhou Yuchu knew all along that Shen Mingxiong’s mistress was Lin Lanyi, and that she might even be Shen Mingxiong’s illegitimate daughter…”
"An illegitimate daughter?" Wen Jingxi lost control of his expression. "Then you and Zhou Yuchu are..."
“Yes,” Shen Qingshu said, “we are very likely half-sisters.”
"What bad luck!" Wen Jingxi cursed. "So unlucky!"
"Now that I'm a mother myself, I have to make changes for Xiao Anning's sake." Shen Qingshu took a deep breath. "Lin Lanyi and Zhou Yuchu owe me and my mother what they owe us, and it's time to pay it back!"
Wen Jingxi pursed her lips and sighed, "A mother's love is strong. I will definitely support you if you want to retaliate!"
He paused for a moment, then added.
"But Ah Shu, you must remember one thing: Aunt Jiang didn't have anyone willing to support her back then, so it was very difficult for her to retaliate. But you're different. At least I will always stand unconditionally behind you, no matter what you do, I will always be your strongest support!"
Shen Qingshu looked at him.
The red glow of the setting sun shone on the man's resolute, fair face, and his peach blossom eyes had dark, bright pupils.
Shen Qingshu suddenly realized that she and Wen Jingxi had known each other for four years.
Over the past four years, Wen Jingxi has shown her countless acts of care as a family member and as her godfather.
He is truly a very good person.
She is a very good person.
Meeting him was one of the few lucky things in her life.
She looked at him, her beautiful eyes crinkling, her expression earnest. "Wen Jingxi, thank you. I've come this far because you've been with me, and that's why I feel so at ease."
Wen Jingxi was taken aback.
Their eyes met, and the air fell silent.
Someone's heartbeat became erratic...
Wen Jingxi's Adam's apple bobbed. "A-Shu, actually I..."
Buzzing—
A sudden phone call interrupted Wen Jingxi's words.
It was Qin Yancheng calling.
Shen Qingshu answered the phone immediately.
"Chen Qingshu, that's me."
Fu Siyan's voice came from the phone.
Shen Qingshu's face immediately turned cold. Just as she was about to hang up, she heard the man say—
"I'll go to the ancient town next week to pick you and our daughter up and take you home."
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