Volume Ten: Those Few Years After She and I Broke Up
The So-Called Truth
“Why did you catch a cold?” Cong Hui asked, a look of complete bafflement on her face.
Wen Nuan clearly drank all the ginseng soup1 she stewed, so how could she catch a cold?
Even if her body hadn’t recovered to its peak condition, she still shouldn’t have caught a cold, right?
It really shouldn’t have happened!
Wen Nuan held a cup of hot water, her face’s color like the usual2. “Maybe it’s because I slept with the window open last night?”
“WHAT?” Cong Hui was shocked. “Your injuries haven’t even fully healed, and you still dared to sleep with the window open?!”
She put her hands on her hips and said angrily, “I’m going to tell Di Yi and the others that you’re being disobedient and have them come back to criticize you.”
Wen Nuan: “…”
Damn!
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Secretary Li placed cold medicine and hot water in front of Yi Jing. “Boss, take some medicine. You’ll get better faster.”
After taking the medicine, Yi Jing coughed lightly. “Thank you.”
“Did you get chilled last night, Boss?” Secretary Li looked at Yi Jing’s flushed face, which had a hint of an improper blush.
Yi Jing thought of last night’s passion in the car, pursing her lips. “Yes, I was exposed to a bit of a draft. It’s nothing.”
“In that case, Boss, you should get off work early today and go home to get some good rest.”
“Mm,” Yi Jing said. “Do you have the spending records I asked you to check yesterday?”
Secretary Li said, “Yes, I’ve already sent them to your email. You can view them at any time.”
“Okay, you can go back to work now.”
Yi Jing opened her email and looked at the message from Secretary Li. Her expression immediately grew much more solemn.
She quickly got up, left the company, and drove toward the Tan Family Compound.
The Tan Family Compound was in the suburbs, covering an area the size of a soccer field. It was called a compound, but it was more like an ancient medieval European manor.
The car drove into the center of the Tan Family Compound. Yi Jing left the car in the courtyard; someone would naturally help her drive it to the parking lot and park it properly.
The Butler received a message from the security guard at the gate and immediately went to the main entrance to greet her.
Seeing Yi Jing’s solemn expression as she strode over, he immediately went forward. “Eldest Young Miss, you’re back. Dinner will be ready soon. Please have a seat and eat first.”
“Where’s Grandfather?” Yi Jing asked.
The Butler replied respectfully, “The Old Master is practicing calligraphy in the third-floor study.”
“Don’t set a place for me for dinner. I’m going to find Grandfather to discuss something.”
The Butler watched Yi Jing’s departing figure; her arrival had been fierce and menacing.3
Yi Jing arrived at the third-floor study. Sandalwood incense was burning inside, its fragrance warm and delicate, mellow and full-bodied, yet it gave off a feeling that was both biting and rigid—just like Tan Yiping, headstrong and using his own judgment4, stubborn and not transforming.5
Tan Yiping heard the sound and continued practicing his calligraphy. He thought it was one of the household maids and didn’t look up. “Is dinner ready?”
“Almost.”
Hearing Yi Jing’s voice, Tan Yiping paused for a moment, then looked up. “Yi Jing, you’re back. Perfect, come downstairs and have dinner with Grandfather.”
“I’m afraid Grandfather will have to eat a little later.”
Tan Yiping asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”
Yi Jing’s eyes were cold. “Your Granddaughter would like to have a heart-to-heart talk with Grandfather.”
When Tan Yiping heard Yi Jing wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with him, he put down his brush and smiled. “Alright, Grandfather will talk with you.”
Yi Jing took out a piece of paper and a cell phone, placing them in front of Tan Yiping.
“Grandfather, take a look at these first. Then we’ll talk.”
Not understanding the situation, Tan Yiping picked up the paper and the phone to look. His expression changed from initial confusion to astonishment and shock.
His hands fell limply, and the phone dropped with a thud.
Seeing Tan Yiping’s reaction, Yi Jing knew that her suspicions had been confirmed.
“Three years ago, when you met with Wen Nuan, what did you say?”
She suppressed her anger, her voice so restrained it was somewhat deep and hoarse.
Tan Yiping’s expression was a bit unnatural. He said lightly, “I just wanted her to persuade you to acknowledge your ancestors and return to the family.”
“Is that so?” Yi Jing scoffed. “Somehow, I don’t believe you.”
“TAN YI JING, YOU DARE TO QUESTION ME?” Tan Yiping slammed the table and roared.
Yi Jing looked coldly at the man before her. Even in his twilight years, his spearhead and blade-point were all revealed6. Though the sharpness in his piercing eyes had been veiled by time, his authority and extraordinary presence were impossible to ignore.
Yi Jing gave a sarcastic smile. “What? Are you afraid of people finding out what you’ve done?”
“Are you going to keep lying to me about going to see Wen Nuan behind my back?” She pressed her pale lips together tightly.
Tan Yiping’s lips trembled with anger, his chest heaving violently. He pointed at Yi Jing. “SO? ARE YOU HERE TO LECTURE ME?”
“You are my, Tan Yiping’s, Granddaughter! How can you associate with that kind of person?”
“What kind of person is ‘that kind of person’?” Yi Jing retorted, turning her lips to mutually ridicule7. “Just because her parents are both dead? Just because her background is humble? Just because she’s a woman?”
“If we’re going by that measure, then she and I are a perfect match.”
Yi Jing glared fiercely at Tan Yiping. “Because my father and mother both perished, my background is also humble, and I’m also a woman. She doesn’t look down on me, so what right do I have to look down on her?”
Tan Yiping’s eyes widened. He stared at Yi Jing in disbelief, his hands trembling. “You… YOU…”
“Did you think I came back to the Tan family because Wen Nuan abandoned me and I had nowhere else to go?”
Yi Jing stepped closer, planting her hands on the desk and staring down Tan Yiping. “Actually, what I want to know is, how exactly did my parents die?”
Tan Yiping’s body tensed, as if all the strength had been drained from him. He collapsed limply onto the chair.
Yi Jing’s eyes reddened as she spoke in a trembling voice, “How should I even ask?”
“Why did my parents die?”
“How on earth did my parents die?”
“Or perhaps…” Yi Jing gnawed her teeth and ground her teeth, “…why did my ‘good’ Grandfather force my parents to their deaths?”
Yi Jing clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh, but she was completely oblivious to the pain.
She just wanted a reason. Why? Why would a parent have the heart to drive their own child to death? Was it merely because he loved an ordinary woman?
The desk lamp cast a dim light, illuminating only a small area where a photograph was placed—an old family portrait.
In the photo, the woman was elegant and refined, the man was serious and proper, and the young boy was cheerful and bright. The woman was smiling faintly, gazing at the boy. The man’s stern exterior held a hint of a smile. The boy was holding up a certificate, laughing heartily.
Tan Yiping sat in his chair, with only half his body visible, bathed in the dim yellow light, leaving an impression of nothing but the vicissitudes of time.
“There isn’t. There is no why,” Tan Yiping said with his head lowered, making it impossible to see his face.
Such a casual answer made Yi Jing begin to break down.
She screamed uncontrollably, “NO WHY? THAT WAS YOUR CHILD, YOUR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD! JUST BECAUSE HE LOVED MY MOTHER AND YOU DIDN’T APPROVE, YOU CRUELLY DROVE THEM BOTH TO THEIR DEATHS? EVEN NOW, YOU STILL FEEL NO REMORSE? YOU STILL THINK YOU WERE RIGHT?”
No why. Spoken so calmly, so indifferently.
“Are you even human? That was your child!” Yi Jing snatched the family portrait from the desk, pointing at her brightly smiling father in the picture. “This was the child you were once so proud of! You… how could you have the heart to force him to a dead end?”
“Yi Jing, GET OUT!” Tan Yiping’s expression was ugly, displeased and resentful.
Yi Jing was consumed by uncontrollable rage. Her reddened eyes stared directly into Tan Yiping’s ink-black pupils, determined to find the answer she wanted there.
“Back then, when Feili was in crisis, you forced my dad to marry the Auntie from the Lin family. When my dad refused, he ran away with my mom, trying to escape your control. When you found out, you sent people after them. Later, the Lin family still ended up cooperating with you, and only then did you reluctantly let my parents go.”
“My parents hid in Jinghai City hiding their surnames and burying their names8. They got married, gave birth to me, and lived a stable, happy life for seven years. Meanwhile, you were running Feili, making it bigger and bigger, gaining more and more fame and respect. But there were always people who said you were teaching your son without proper methods9. You were furious, incensed. The son you were once so proud of had become a laughingstock for others, a target of ridicule. You felt your own dignity was being trampled on.”
“So you sent people to find my father again, wanting to drag him back to inherit the company and continue your grand blueprint. You wanted to mold my father into one of heaven’s favored children10, admired and envied by all, not an unfilial son who only knew how to defy his father. You wanted to erase your dark history to make your own life perfect.”
“You forced your will upon my father. You endlessly mocked, despised, loathed, and suppressed my mother, putting my father in an impossible position between you and her. He gradually broke down, and in the end, step by step, he was completely forced by you to a dead end.”
Yi Jing spoke through gritted teeth, her own teeth biting down so hard they bled. Her hand, propped on the desk, dug tightly into the surface, carving a scratch mark.
“Am I right? My ‘good’ Grandfather, whose virtue is high and prestige heavy.”11
A sarcastic tone, ice-cold words.
Tan Yiping remained silent.
Yi Jing pressed him tightly step by step.12
“Why aren’t you speaking? Is it because I’ve pierced through your benevolent facade and exposed your cruel, cold-blooded heart? Are you scared?”
“Yi Jing, mind your status,” Tan Yiping said, his words making a sound when thrown on the ground.13
As if she had heard a joke, Yi Jing narrowed her eyes and smiled. “Status? The status of a murderer’s Granddaughter, one who is private to herself and beneficial to herself?”14
Smack—
“GET THE HELL OUT!” Tan Yiping immediately became angry, swinging a slap across her face. A five-fingered mark immediately appeared on Yi Jing’s fair cheek, turning from red to purple, extremely conspicuous.
For a moment, Tan Yiping was stunned. He felt the stinging pain in his hand, and the turbulent emotions in his heart surged. Helpless, he yelled to the outside.
“Lin Ping, take the Young Miss downstairs.”
Lin Ping came in from outside the door and said softly, “Young Miss, it’s late. You should get some rest. The Old Master is also tired.”
Yi Jing sneered, “Yes, we’re all tired. Grandfather, you’re tired, and I’m tired too. Your Granddaughter doesn’t think she has what it takes to continue managing Feili. This property should have the item return to its original owner.”
She gave a sarcastic smile. “After all, from the start until the end, my surname is Yi, not Tan.”
Ever since she was born, she had taken her mother’s surname. This could be considered a form of protest by her father against Tan Yiping.
Lin Ping frowned and gently tugged on Yi Jing’s sleeve, coaxing, “Young Miss…”
Yi Jing turned and left. Lin Ping glanced at Tan Yiping and immediately followed her.
Tan Yiping lowered his head, his sighs swallowed by the endless darkness, unknown to anyone…
“Young Miss, where are you going?” Lin Ping called out to stop Yi Jing.
He saw that she had no intention of staying at the compound.
“Uncle Lin, I’m leaving now.” Yi Jing took the car keys and walked straight out the door.
Yi Jing drove away from the Tan Family Compound and parked the car on Linjiang Avenue.
She slammed her hands on the steering wheel again and again, releasing the pain and bitterness in her heart.
Yi Jing clutched the fabric over her chest and howled in anguish, “AAAHHH—”
It hurt so much, so much.
My heart feels like it’s been split in two. Every beat pulls at the sinews, clings to the flesh, a pain so raw it’s a bloody, mangled mess.
So the real reason Wen Nuan had left her was because her Grandfather had been instigating it from behind the scenes.
She deliberately interacted with other men to make her heartbroken;
She deliberately accepted Wen Xiuning’s five million to make her disappointed;
She deliberately said those cruel words to make her give up completely;
Looking at her spending records from the past three years, they were empty, with almost no large expenditures.
This proved that Wen Nuan had never taken Wen Xiuning’s five million from beginning to end.
From start to finish, she had been living like a joke, deceived and lied to by everyone, and had nearly lost the love of her life.
Wen Nuan was just about to call Yi Jing to ask how her cold was.
When she heard the System suddenly announce that the blackening value had dropped. The blackening value was now 2.2!
“What… what’s going on?” Wen Nuan asked, surprised.
The System shook its head: 【It dropped suddenly. Could it be that the female lead has come to believe something?】
“What could she have figured out?”
【For example, we both know the female lead still thinks you’re close to her because you damaged your brain in a fall. So, we can deduce what the female lead has come to believe, can’t we?】 the System said, stroking its chin thoughtfully.
Wen Nuan asked earnestly, “What is it?”
The System stated with certainty: 【It’s that the female lead now believes your brain is truly damaged.】
Wen Nuan: “…”
【To better eliminate the blackening value, you should probably just keep pretending your brain is damaged,】 the System suggested sincerely.
Wen Nuan: “…GET LOST!”
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