Chapter 178 Confession

Chapter 178: Confession

Tan Yuwei suddenly calmed down, studied her for a long moment, then smiled. "Yes."

She admitted bluntly, as if there was no longer any need to hide anything at this point.

Shen Qingye frowned slightly. "There are so many women getting abortions in hospitals every day. If you just wanted a child of your own this way, there were countless fetuses to choose from—why insist on Zhou Xiangyun?"

Tan Yuwei seemed to find something amusing, laughing so hard her whole body shook.

After a long while, she wiped away tears from laughing so hard and spoke cheerfully, "How many women in Dong Xuyuan's hometown use such old wives' remedies every year because they can't conceive? But in reality, hardly any actually get results."

"If I decided to do it, I had to make sure it would succeed—after all, I'm not some sicko who enjoys eating human flesh, right?"

Shen Qingye's brow tightened slightly as she watched Tan Yuwei flip her hair casually and say lightly, "Besides, not every kid qualifies to be mine."

"Those aborted children—some were from poor families, some had defects, some were girls unwanted by their parents. Why would they deserve to be my child?"

Beside them, Zhou Qiming frowned deeply, but Tan Yuwei paid no mind, smiling brightly at Shen Qingye as she continued in a soft voice, "The child I want must be the best."

"So I pulled out all the stops and found a Taoist priest to calculate how I could obtain the best child."

"You wouldn’t believe it—that man initially refused to speak, saying it defied the heavens or some nonsense. What bullshit. Even if he didn’t want to talk, money made him open his mouth in the end, didn’t it?"

Her eyes curved with laughter. "He gave me a lucky birth time, saying that a person born at this exact time would bring me the greatest fortune. Similarly, the child she carried would be the best choice for me."

"So I took the lucky birth time he gave me and checked every hospital in Pingjiang, but couldn’t find a pregnant woman born at that time. I was about to give up when—Zhou Xiangyun appeared."

She grinned at Shen Qingye, her eyes gleaming. "Talk about perfect timing!"

She waved her hands excitedly. "I was ready to go to another city, another hospital, but then, just as I was about to give up, she showed up."

"Her child was so healthy—plus it was a boy!"

"Don't tell me that's not fate!"

"The moment I saw her, I knew—she was the one."

"With her, I knew I'd get the child I wanted!"

Zhou Qiming’s frown deepened, and he muttered under his breath, "Madness. Absolute madness."

Shen Qingye also shook her head and said quietly, "You believed that Taoist priest, believed in so-called fate, believed in what would bring you fortune—but did it ever occur to you that if those things truly existed, the fetus you cut out while still alive might hate you?"

"How could you possibly think he would bring you the child you wanted?"

Tan Yuwei’s smile dropped instantly, her expression darkening as she glared at Shen Qingye and snapped, "Shut up!"

"What do you know?!"

"That woman, that family—dirt poor and pathetic, what good were they? Just an ordinary working-class family, making in a year what I spend on a single outfit! What could he possibly gain from growing up in a place like that?"

"They could only afford cheap formula for him! Even his clothes had to be other kids' castoffs!"

"But if he were my child, it would be completely different!"

Tan Yuwei suddenly smiled creepily sweet. "If he were mine, I’d give him the very best. Food, clothes, toys... He’d never have to worry about money for the rest of his life. Wouldn't that be infinitely better than that dump of a home?"

Her gaze settled on Shen Qingye, her tone softening again. "To be honest, I never intended to kill her. I was about to have my own child—why would I dirty my hands? I wanted my hands to be clean, ready to welcome my baby."

"But what else could I do?" she said with an innocent expression. "I only wanted what's best for her. I told her your situation isn't stable enough yet, and now's not the best time for a baby. I said everything's getting so expensive, and having a child now would put a lot of pressure on them. I told them they could wait a little longer, until you're more ready, before considering a child—you could terminate this pregnancy first."

She seemed genuinely aggrieved. "I only wanted what's best for her. I advised her many times, but she just wouldn’t agree and insisted on keeping the baby."

"What else could I do?"

Tan Yuwei sighed. "Since only one of us could get what we wanted, she had to be the one to lose out."

She suddenly smiled sweetly, as if recalling something. "After all, any kid would pick me."

Shen Qingye looked at her for a beat before suddenly laughing. "Ridiculous."

"What's so great about your family, apart from your damn money?"

Tan Yuwei gave her a poisonous glare, but Shen Qingye remained unperturbed. "Zhou Xiangyun’s family might not be rolling in money, but they are loving and harmonious. They’re willing to work hard to create a good environment for their child. Under such conditions, the child would never go without and would grow up healthy and happy."

"But in your home? What else would he have besides your damn money?"

"Parents who constantly argue? A mother who’s obsessive to the point of madness? Or a father who's always screwing around and rarely comes home?"

"Oh, and maybe some bastard siblings too."

"Tan Yuwei, what makes you think the child would choose you over Zhou Xiangyun?"

Tan Yuwei’s face contorted with rage. "You're talking complete bullshit! Complete bullshit!"

"If we had a child, we wouldn’t argue so much! If we had a child, Wu Yuehua wouldn’t stay out god-knows-where—he wouldn’t go to his whores! If we had a child, our family would be the happiest!"

*We’ll be happy, we’ll be happy, we’ll be the happiest family—*

Shen Qingye scoffed, her tone laced with sarcasm.

"Whose delusion is it really?"

"All of this—it’s your delusion, isn’t it?"

Tan Yuwei’s breath came in short gasps, her chest heaving rapidly, her eyes bloodshot as she glared.

Shen Qingye said coolly:

"Tan Yuwei, you can fool others, but don’t fool yourself."

She collected her files and stood, heading for the door.

Yue Lingchuan and Zhou Qiming followed behind her.

The interrogation room door opened and closed, leaving only the sight of the woman’s blank stare and her rambling:

"I’m not wrong, I’m not wrong…"

"I’m not wrong, haha, I’m not wrong!"

"My child, my child!"

"Doctor, doctor, I need a doctor!"

"I’m pregnant, there’s a baby in my belly!"

"Doctor, come quick, I know I'm pregnant!"

"You have no right to do this—I’m pregnant! You have no right to treat me like this! I need to go to the hospital, I need to go to the hospital!"

"Doctor—"