Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Yuanting drew back his short legs and looked at Shu Zhilan with a feigned expression of confusion.

After watching him for a while, Shu Zhilan finally said softly, "Ting, you mustn't be so rude to grandpa, understand?"

Yuanting blinked his large eyes, appearing bewildered and uncomprehending.

Shu Zhilan smiled, "If you don't behave, Mommy will send you back to grandma's and take back the money for your brother's treatment. He will die then, do you understand?"

Yuanting: "…"

Damn! Isn't that just threatening a child?

Yuanting resembled Shu Zhilan, who was a great beauty. She had tried her hand in the entertainment industry but was blacklisted due to lack of connections and offending people.

At that time, Shu Zhilan, in her early twenties, although cunning, was frightened by such circumstances and thought she had no other options but to marry a decent man.

That decent man was Yuanting's biological father, Yuan Qingguang.

The Yuan family were rural folk. Yuan Qingguang, the second child, had an older brother and a younger sister. The family struggled financially, so he dropped out of school early to work in the city. Fortunately, he was lucky and became a contractor after several years of hard work.

Yuan Qingguang was quite handsome and generous with his earnings, making him an attractive target for Shu Zhilan. A man who was decent, good-looking, somewhat wealthy, and obedient was hard to find.

A rural lad who had made some money and married a "big star" who then bore him a handsome son - this made Yuan Qingguang quite proud. He catered to Shu Zhilan's every wish, spending all his money on her.

But contracting is a complicated business. It's tough to get payments from above and deal with workers below. Yuan Qingguang, being soft-hearted, often covered expenses from his own pocket, leading to financial strains. Shu Zhilan, unaccustomed to such a constrained lifestyle, eventually cheated on Yuan and left him and their son.

When Shu Zhilan divorced Yuan Qingguang, she took a substantial amount of money with her. However, after a year of lavish spending with her lover, the money ran out, and he left her for a wealthier woman.

Shu Zhilan met Cheng Shaolin at a social gathering.

She then meticulously crafted an image of a muse goddess specifically for Cheng Shaolin, ultimately succeeding in marrying into the Cheng family.

After Shu Zhilan and Yuan Qingguang divorced, Yuan Qingguang couldn’t handle the blow, turning to alcohol and getting harassed for debts. Ultimately, it was Yuanting’s uncle and aunt who pooled money to help him through the crisis, and then they took Yuanting to the countryside to be cared for by his grandmother.

Yuanting stayed with his grandmother for a few years until Shu Zhilan suddenly reappeared two months ago, claiming she wanted to take Yuanting with her. The family naturally disagreed, but Yuanting himself packed a small backpack and took Shu Zhilan's hand, telling his grandmother, uncle, and aunt, "I'm going to live a good life with Mommy now, don’t worry about me, goodbye."

At that time, seven-year-old Yuanting, who had been missing parental affection with his father rarely at home, was swayed by his mother's sudden tenderness and treats. Despite his affection for his kind grandmother, the main reason for leaving was Shu Zhilan’s promise to fund his cousin’s medical treatment.

His uncle’s son, a 12-year-old boy, suffered from a congenital heart condition and wouldn’t survive much longer without treatment.

But the family had no money. Yuan Qingguang had indeed contributed to the family with his earnings, but after his contracting business failed, the family’s financial aid had depleted, and the medical treatment required a large sum.

At that time, Yuanting couldn’t think too much. Following his mother seemed not too bad, especially if it meant helping his cousin.

Years later, Yuanting realized that Shu Zhilan had used him as a pawn.

When Shu Zhilan married Cheng Shaolin, she didn't hide her marital status since it was all on record. Cheng Shaolin, unconcerned, even showed special care for Shu Zhilan's child. To win over Cheng Shaolin, Shu Zhilan downplayed her previous marriage, making Cheng Shaolin sympathize more with the child, leading him to welcome Yuanting into their home.

At that time, Shu Zhilan hadn’t completely lost her conscience. Marrying into a wealthy family with a husband who didn’t mind an extra son, she was willing to let her own child live a better life, also proving to Cheng Shaolin that she was a loving mother.

Yuanting looked at Shu Zhilan, tears slowly welling up in his eyes, sobbing, "Mommy, I'll be good, please don't send me away." Her thought of sending him away just because of a little disobedience was a covert way to make her look bad, a tactic he couldn't openly employ.

“Who’s sending you away?” The bedroom door opened, and a scholarly man with glasses entered, a genial smile on his square face.

Yuanting stiffened at the sight of him.

This was his stepfather, Cheng Shaolin.

Before his rebirth, Cheng Shaolin, as a vegetative patient, lay in the hospital. Yuanting hadn’t seen this lively, smiling version of his stepfather in many years.

The day Cheng Shaolin fell down the stone steps was arranged by Yuanting.

At that time, shortly after the grandfather's death, Yuanting returned to the country for the funeral and had not yet left. He learned that Cheng Shaolin and Shu Zhilan were separated but was unclear about the details, prompting him to arrange a meeting.

As a child, Cheng Shaolin often took Yuanting to a seaside café he liked, so Yuanting chose that spot, hoping to provide some comfort.

Later, Cheng Shaolin inexplicably fell from the stone steps, hitting his head and becoming comatose.

Yuanting later learned the truth: Cheng Shaolin had started to suspect Shu Zhilan's involvement in Cheng Nanyi's car accident years ago and was planning to divorce her while investigating.

If they divorced, Shu Zhilan would lose any ties to the Cheng family. Faced with the choice between being a widow or an ex-wife, Shu Zhilan chose the former, leaving Cheng Shaolin in a vegetative state.

For Shu Zhilan, it was like drawing a winning lot.

“Daddy…” Yuanting rushed to embrace Cheng Shaolin, crying heart-wrenchingly, "Wuu wuu wuu..."

Yuanting of the past life only understood Shu Zhilan's actions after being imprisoned by Cheng Nanyi; before that, he knew nothing.

Yuanting only started living with Shu Zhilan at the age of seven. Their mother-son bond wasn’t strong, and at night, he would still cry for his grandmother. Shu Zhilan would then weep about failing as a mother, making his stepfather, who was overly sympathetic, send her to bed and take care of Yuanting himself.

With a nanny during the day and his stepfather at night, Shu Zhilan only sporadically sought Yuanting’s attention when bored, otherwise dismissing him. Their interactions were, frankly, limited.

But Yuanting, being adorable and charming, was a credit to Shu Zhilan, who never needed to threaten him or contemplate sending him back to his grandmother.

Later, Yuanting went abroad for high school, returning only once or twice a year. His calls to Shu Zhilan were met with perfunctory responses, and she never shared her ambitions with him.

Until the grandfather's death and Cheng Shaolin's vegetative state, when the long-dejected Cheng Nanyi finally revitalized and took back the company, Shu Zhilan, to save herself, deceitfully sent Yuanting to Cheng Nanyi…

Yuanting was heartbroken to learn of Shu Zhilan's actions. She was his mother, after all. Yet knowing Cheng Nanyi's instability, she chose to hand him over, effectively sending him to his death.

At that time, Yuanting was prepared to die for Shu Zhilan to repay their mother-son relationship. Although Cheng Nanyi didn’t kill him, in his heart, any connection with Shu Zhilan was severed.

“……”

Yuanting's crying startled Cheng Shaolin, as if he was about to be sent away.

After a moment of surprise, Cheng Shaolin happily lifted Yuanting and playfully tossed him into the air.

Cheng Shaolin had met Yuanting a few times before. Although Yuanting didn't show any hostility, he wasn't very close either. Cheng Shaolin never expected Yuanting to suddenly call him "Dad."

At over forty, Cheng Shaolin was hearing someone call him "Dad" for the first time, and it was quite moving.

Cheng Shaolin glanced tenderly at Shu Zhilan, who leaned in to kiss his cheek. Holding Yuanting in one arm and embracing Shu Zhilan with the other, Cheng Shaolin reassured, “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Tingting.”

“Thank you, dear,” Shu Zhilan looked up at him, eyes full of adoration, “I love you.”

Cheng Shaolin then leaned down to kiss her.

Yuanting rolled his eyes and, with one hand pulling Shu Zhilan's hair and the other hugging Cheng Shaolin's neck, he furiously tried to pull them apart.

A grown man in his forties, never been in love, acting all mushy.

Cheng Shaolin laughed heartily, ruffling Yuanting's hair: “Ah, Tingting is protecting Mommy, so filial.”

Yuanting: “…”

Love-struck fools know no age, and it's truly terrifying.

It had been years since Yuanting was last coddled with phrases like “Tingting is so good,” “Tingting is so cute,” “Come, let Daddy pat your head.” He couldn’t help but feel goosebumps.

Cheng Shaolin did have a bit of natural talent for being a father.

Cheng Shaolin left the room only after fostering some stepfather-son bond with Yuanting.

Yuanting flopped onto the bed, feeling exhausted, as if his CPU was about to overheat.

Unlike with the grandfather, it didn't matter to Cheng Shaolin whether Yuanting behaved well or not. Cheng Shaolin adored Shu Zhilan, viewing Yuanting through a biased lens. He would never blame Shu Zhilan for any of Yuanting's poor behaviors.

Moreover, if Shu Zhilan ever thought of sending him away again, he would have to rely on Cheng Shaolin.

The current situation was clear: they needed to divorce. If not, once Shu Zhilan's ambitions inflated, Yuanting alone couldn’t predict when she might act against the Cheng family.

But getting a love-struck fool to divorce is a tough task.

Did Shu Zhilan have any weaknesses left to exploit?

Yuanting racked his brain but couldn't come up with anything, as Shu Zhilan would naturally not confide her deeds to him.

Lying back on the bed, Yuanting stared at the ceiling, his thoughts drifting to Cheng Nanyi.

He wondered if his past self had died. If so, what would Cheng Nanyi feel upon waking up handcuffed to a corpse—relief or anger?

Likely anger, considering Cheng Nanyi probably wanted to kill him personally.

But over the years, Cheng Nanyi never did kill him, just kept him confined in the Cheng mansion.

With chefs and housekeepers at his service, and unrestricted access to takeout and deliveries, the only constraints were not leaving the mansion and accompanying Cheng Nanyi to bed at night.

The first time Yuanting saw Cheng Nanyi in his past life, he was awe-struck. Having grown up in the countryside, seeing rough and unrefined boys, he had never encountered someone so handsome and naturally aristocratic. Yuanting tried to cling to him but was quickly pushed away by Cheng Nanyi. Persistent at first, Yuanting eventually stopped bothering him after several rejections.

Cheng Nanyi was always cold, especially under the strict demands of the grandfather, maturing faster than other children.

Living under the same roof with different ages and interests, the two shared little more than meals at the same table, hardly communicating and coexisting without issue.

The opportunity for them to grow closer came after going abroad.

Both Cheng Nanyi and Yuanting started studying abroad in high school, with Cheng Nanyi leaving for a foreign country three years before Yuanting. When Yuanting left, the family asked Cheng Nanyi to look after him, to which he agreed.

Initially thought to be a mere formality, Yuanting didn’t expect Cheng Nanyi to actually fulfill the promise.

Cheng Nanyi was in university, and Yuanting in high school, located in neighboring countries just a three-hour drive apart.

Thus, every Saturday, Cheng Nanyi would drive over in the morning, they'd have lunch together, exchange updates on their lives, and then Cheng Nanyi would drive back to his school in the afternoon.

Yuanting often wondered why Cheng Nanyi, who didn’t seem to like him much in their childhood, was so obediently taking care of him abroad.

The accident happened on an ordinary Saturday, with Cheng Nanyi driving the three hundred kilometers to his school as usual.

It was a journey of three years of constant travel, a well-known route, a path inevitably leading to death.

Author's Note:

Thanks to the angels who voted for me with their King Tickets or nourished me with Nutrient Fluids from 2023-06-25 12:50:19 to 2023-06-26 14:01:20~

Thanks to the angel who nourished me with Nutrient Fluid: Ah Shan, 8 bottles; San Wu, 1 bottle;

I am very grateful for everyone's support and will continue to work hard!