She did have ulterior motives in asking Li Jingchen to go abroad with her.
After all, he was Qin Guangsheng's savior.
However, Cen Wan did not hide anything from her and shared all the clues about her mother with her, so Song Nuan no longer needed to use Lu Ziyang's favor to blackmail her.
"Aunt Cen, Lu Ziyang and I are just ordinary friends."
It's better to avoid trouble.
Even if Cen Wan had some suspicions, she had no evidence. It was better to distance herself than to say something to Qin Yuchuan someday.
"Really?" Cen Wan asked doubtfully.
“Really, Aunt Cen, besides, my divorce from Yu Chuan wasn’t because of him.”
When the topic of divorce came up, Cen Wan sighed heavily again.
Fortunately, the topic ended there.
Upon arriving at the orphanage, Song Nuan was speechless at the sight of the dilapidated and shabby building. It was no exaggeration to say that it was a dangerous building that had been standing for decades. The corridors were damp and dark, and moss could be seen everywhere on the steps and the ground.
She never imagined the orphanage would be in such a state.
Lei Miao's room... it's more accurate to call it a warehouse than a room.
After all, apart from a wooden bed for sleeping, other clutter should not be in a room meant for sleeping, such as cement, tattered cotton cloth, etc.
"The facilities are limited, so the better rooms are reserved for the children."
Seemingly noticing Song Nuan's shock, the dean took the initiative to explain, "Actually, when Teacher Lei first came, she didn't live here. Later, as more and more children came, it was easy for them to get sick if they were all crowded together, so Teacher Lei gave up her room and moved to the warehouse herself."
Song Nuan opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
If Mother were still alive, would she be living in a damp and dark warehouse like Lei Miao?
She was afraid of gleaning glimpses of Du Fanyu's current situation from Lei Miao's life.
The warehouse was overflowing with stuff, but Lei Miao had almost nothing.
The dean pointed to a wooden cabinet and said, "Teacher Lei doesn't have much stuff; all her things are kept in that cabinet."
Cen Wan opened it.
A musty smell wafted over.
"This is……"
Picking up the neatly arranged photos from the cabinet, Cen Wan said to Song Nuan in surprise, "Nuan Nuan, this is a photo of Lei Miao and your mother!"
Du Fanyu looks very young in the photo.
Although the photos have some scratches, you can tell by touch that they are made of high-quality film; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to be preserved for so many years with the images still intact.
Cen Wan reminisced, "Fan Yu was truly a beauty."
Song Nuan did not deny it.
"Dean, can we take these things with us, Professor Lei?" Out of politeness, Song Nuan asked again.
The dean naturally had no reason to stop him.
Apart from this photo, there is nothing else related to Du Fanyu.
But Song Nuan still decided to bring all of Lei Miao's things back with her.
Before leaving, Song Nuan gave the director a check for two million yuan as a donation to the orphanage.
Cen Wan also gave one million.
On the way back, Song Nuan kept holding the photo, looking at it silently, seemingly lost in thought.
"Nuan Nuan, Aunt Cen is so sorry that I couldn't help you. Now the clues have gone cold again."
Upon hearing this, Song Nuan tugged at the corner of her lips and comforted her in return, "Aunt Cen, don't say that. If you hadn't found Lei Miao, I probably wouldn't have even been able to get this photo."
Cen Wan sighed softly, "Nuan Nuan, you need to look forward."
She phrased it tactfully, but Song Nuan still understood the hidden meaning.
It's hard to say whether Du Fanyu is dead or alive after being missing for so many years.
Before finding Lei Miao, there might still be some hope for survival, but Lei Miao's life was not going well. If Du Fanyu were still alive, he certainly wouldn't let Lei Miao live such a miserable life in the orphanage.
After all, when she married into the Song family, she brought Lei Miao with her, which shows how deep their relationship was.
"I know."
She accepted Cen Wan's kindness, but whether she listened or not was another matter entirely.
Putting away the photos, she changed the subject, "Aunt Cen, when are you coming back to China? Uncle Qin misses you after being away for so long."
"I've already bought my plane ticket for the day after tomorrow," Cen Wan said. "What about you? When are you going back?"
Counting the days, it's almost time for a divorce.
Song Nuan smiled and brushed it off vaguely.
The weather has warmed up these past few days.
The midday sun was still shining, and Song Nuan lay lazily while Li Jingchen packed his luggage.
They are preparing to return to their home country.
Watching his busy figure, exuding a mature and responsible husband vibe, Song Nuan couldn't help but ask, "Have you taken care of all your work abroad?"
"The Li family has a manager specifically in charge of overseas operations."
Song Nuan responded with an "oh".
"So, your cooperation with the Wen family..."
"The talks didn't go through."
His decisiveness made Song Nuan a little embarrassed. She scratched her head and asked, "Is it because of me?"
Not entirely.
"Then it exists."
Li Jingchen smiled helplessly at her, "Wen Hua didn't choose me because of my relationship with the Ouyang family. Even if he was resentful about Wen Sha taking the blame for you, didn't you help Wen Sha once later?"
etc--
Song Nuan suddenly sat up. "You know?"
He actually knew that she had given false testimony for Windsor...
"Song Nuan, there are many things you can't hide from me." His voice was calm and composed, as if it were nothing to him.
But the more he thought it was a small matter, the more embarrassed Song Nuan became.
"Since you know, why..."
She stopped talking.
Li Jingchen looked at her with amusement, "Why didn't I stop you? After all, my interests are aligned with those of the Ouyang family, aren't they?"
She nodded with difficulty.
The man walked up to her, looked down at her, and said, “I stopped you back then because I found out that the whole thing was orchestrated by Windsor herself. I was afraid that you would be used by the Wen family. If you offended the Ouyang family because of this, even though I would cover for you, it would still be a loss for you.”
Song Nuan was stunned.
"Windsor directed and acted in this herself?"
Li Jingchen hummed in agreement and sat down. "I asked around, and the classmate who went to lock the door received a message from Windsor and thought they had forgotten to lock it, so they went to lock it."
"Cheng Yi was also deliberately lured there by her."
Song Nuan's mind went blank for a moment, as if something had suddenly exploded. She said slowly, "So, Ouyang Chengyi is indeed innocent, right?"
Li Jingchen pursed his lips and remained silent.
She chuckled softly. She didn't know why she was laughing; she just felt a little ironic and unable to accept the truth that she had just learned.
The reason Li Jingchen didn't tell her was because he was afraid she would fall into a vicious cycle of self-blame.
"She is not innocent."
He said, "It is a fact that Cheng Yi deliberately did not save her, and I guess the development of events ultimately deviated from Windsor's original intention. That day's symposium was very important to her, and she would not be stupid enough to gamble on this."
"But she was indeed incredibly audacious. Although she successfully forced Cheng Yi to drop out of school, she also lost the opportunity to be selected for further studies."
Song Nuan pressed her temples, her forehead throbbing slightly.
Where is Ouyang Chengyi now?
“Go back to China,” Li Jingchen said. “Zhou Jing will arrange everything for her. This time, she’s met a tough opponent in Windsor. It’s good for her to learn a lesson from this experience.”
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