When Shen Mingzhi returned home and entered her room, Song Wanyin's words were still echoing in her mind.
She also tried her best to tell herself not to be influenced by her words.
But... she couldn't help but think about all the things the Jiang family had done for her. When she first arrived at the Jiang family, Jiang Shao-chen said he wanted to marry her, almost without any hesitation.
He recognized himself.
There was a sudden knock on the door.
Shen Mingzhi turned her head and saw Wang Sao standing by the door. She smiled and asked, "Shao Chen is back?"
"Yes, I want you to eat in the main room." Aunt Wang's face showed concern. "Zhizhi, are you in a bad mood?"
"No, I had a little disagreement with the factory today, but it's nothing serious. Come here for a moment." Shen Mingzhi stood up, reached out, and took out the wooden plaque she had been hiding. "This was given to me by Shao Chen, but I think it's faded a bit. Should I take it off?"
As soon as Aunt Wang entered the house and saw the plaque around Shao Chen's neck, she smiled. "It hasn't faded. This wooden plaque was carved for him by Shao Chen's grandfather. It was pressed down by a statue of a great man, which was said to ensure that he would be protected every time he went out. The fact that he gave you this plaque shows how much he values you."
Shen Mingzhi looked at the sign for a while before saying, "Really?"
It really is his...
No wonder the Jiang family treated her so well; she absolutely refused to reveal who that man was.
That man was their son.
Were they afraid that if they made a scene, the Chiang family would lose face?
“Tell them I’m not feeling well and I won’t be eating dinner,” Shen Mingzhi said, tearing down the wooden sign.
Aunt Wang glanced at her, unsure of her situation, and could only agree and leave.
She knew very well that Song Wanyin told her the truth in order to ruin them.
But... if she knew the truth and still stayed with Jiang Shao Chen, then she must be out of her mind.
She sat in the room for a while, and then Jiang Shaochen came over.
As soon as he entered the room, he went to Shen Mingzhi, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, and asked with concern in his eyes, "Aunt Wang said you're not feeling well. Where do you feel unwell? Should I take you to the clinic?"
Shen Mingzhi displayed the wooden plaque in her hand, raised her eyes, and looked at him coldly, "Is this yours? Last year in Lishan, during a torrential downpour, you took me to a cave and bullied me for a long, long time, wasn't that you?!"
When Jiang Shaozhen saw the wooden sign, all the color drained from his lips.
He had planned to tell her the truth in the next couple of days, but he didn't expect her to find out so quickly.
"Seeing your reaction, I understand now." Shen Mingzhi threw the wooden sign on the ground, her face full of self-deprecating laughter. "I was wondering... why your Jiang family was so good to me. Turns out it was to cover for what you did. Today, Song Wanyin came to me and said you raped me, that you are a criminal, and I even spoke up for you."
“Zhizhi… I couldn’t control myself back then. My dad must have told you that I was sick…”
Shen Mingzhi interrupted him sharply, "How would I know if it was a lie your Jiang family made up in advance so they could confess to me later?"
A hint of sadness welled up in Jiang Shao Chen's eyes, and his lips trembled slightly. After a long while, he asked, "You miss me and my family that much?"
"It's not that I want to think this way, it's that you've been lying to me from the very beginning! And you bullied me, making me have two children, isn't that a fact?!" Shen Mingzhi questioned him.
Jiang Shaozhen was speechless.
He thought he would have a lot to explain to him, but when it really came to this, he realized that panic and helplessness were the most genuine reactions.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Guofu's voice suddenly rang out at the door.
Shen Mingzhi calmed down and didn't say anything. She turned her head to look to the side.
Seeing Jiang Shaozhen's expression, Jiang Guofu knew what had happened. He went into the room and said softly, "Zhizhi, can you listen to his explanation? It wasn't his intention, but he made a mistake, and taking responsibility for you is his duty as a man—"
“Uncle, I’ll leave the child here with you. I’ll move out for now,” Shen Mingzhi interrupted him. “I can’t face him.”
Now, whenever she sees Jiang Shao Chen's face, she is reminded of everything that happened in the cave.
She was in pain and scared at that time... which is why she later held a banquet with Zhang Ping.
Of course she didn't like Zhang Ping; to her, Zhang Ping was just a stranger.
But she was pregnant at that time and was afraid that if Zhang Ping's mother found out, she would be unable to face others and her two children would also be looked down upon.
Jiang Shaochen thought this was a reunion, a chance to rekindle their past romance, but to her, it was someone who had bullied her, sleeping next to her and becoming her husband.
“Zhizhi, it was wrong of us to keep this from you at first, but Shao Chen was genuinely unconscious at the time and had no idea what he was doing. Can you forgive him? Besides, you two are already husband and wife…”
"So, you're going to justify his mistake by holding a banquet and getting a marriage certificate?" Shen Mingzhi interrupted Jiang Guofu.
Jiang Guofu did not answer, but looked at Jiang Shaochen.
“He had no choice at the time, and since you came to our Jiang family, have we ever mistreated you?” Jiang Qing walked in from outside, frowning as she spoke.
Just when he was about to accept Shen Mingzhi, she caused this scene.
"So what?" Shen Mingzhi retorted, "You brought your daughter to my place, slapped me, and you think that's not mistreating me?"
Jiang Qing didn't expect her to bring up old grievances so quickly... and immediately fell silent.
Jiang Shaozhen looked at Shen Mingzhi and said sincerely, "Zhizhi, no matter what the situation was at the time, it was indeed my fault. I'm sorry."
“I don’t need your apology. The child belongs to your Jiang family. I can let you stay with them for now. Once I find a place to stay and settle myself down, I will take the child away.” After saying that, Shen Mingzhi went to pack her clothes.
Wang Sao, standing at the door, felt very guilty.
Did she blurt out that the sign belonged to the second young master, and he found out...?
"Shen Mingzhi, you're leaving this time—"
"Alright, we're the ones who wronged her, there's no need to be so harsh on her," Jiang Guofu said with a stern face.
Jiang Qing couldn't help but take a breath, but remained silent.
"It's too late tonight, you can stay here for the night. I'll go out, and you can leave tomorrow," Jiang Shaozhen said to her before turning and walking towards the door.
He really had nothing to say about Kuriyama's matter; any further explanation would be futile.
He couldn't empathize with Shen Mingzhi's fear and apprehension at the time, so he couldn't force her to understand his situation.
After the door was closed.
Jiang Qing was slightly dissatisfied. She took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Yes, she can blame you, but you have health problems, so who can I blame?!"
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