Chapter 196
“Don’t say that; Jiafei would be sad if he heard you,” Shen Shuyu comforted her softly. “So, Jiafei is here too, right?”
Wen Yue nodded. She suddenly stood up, walked to the bedside table, picked up a newspaper, returned to the small dining table, and handed it to him.
Shen Shuyu took the newspaper. There was a piece of news occupying a very large space on it.
[THE HELMSMAN OF THE NING FAMILY IS CRITICALLY ILL; THE HEIR WHO DISAPPEARED FOR OVER TEN YEARS HAS REAPPEARED; THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER IN THE NING FAMILY IS UNDERWAY!]
Shen Shuyu scanned it roughly. It basically said that more than ten years ago, the wife of the head of the Ning family had left with their son and their whereabouts had been unknown ever since. But just two days ago, the heir who had been missing for over ten years reappeared and participated in the struggle for power within the Ning family. He was described as ruthless and cruel, having already dealt with his second uncle within just two days of his return.
When Shen Shuyu first transmigrated, he only knew that the Villain was self-made, but he hadn’t expected there to be such a past!
The key point was that in the novel, it was never mentioned that the Villain had such a history from start to finish.
Shen Shuyu put down the newspaper and looked at Wen Yue. He frowned. “Wen Jiafei wouldn’t…”
Wen Yue nodded and said, “Yes, his original surname was Ning. More than ten years ago, I took him away from this planet and settled in Amour.”
This was the biggest secret between mother and son.
Wen Yue seemed to have prepared herself mentally for a long time before slowly telling Shen Shuyu about that extremely miserable past.
When Wen Yue first married into the Ning family, the groom wasn’t the eldest son, Ning Bai. But in order to get the support of Wen Yueās family, Ning Bai designed a scheme that forced Wen Yue to marry him.
After marrying into the family, Wen Yue fell into an eight-year nightmare. Ning Bai was a full twelve years older than Wen Yue. After forcibly taking her, he subjected Wen Yue to long-term mental and physical control. Wen Yue lived in deep misery, but her nature was weak, so she could only convince herself to endure within this endless fear.
Actually, the first two years were okay. She had a soft nature, but she had the Wen family behind her. It wasn’t until the second year after the marriage that the Wen family suddenly declared bankruptcy. Her parents passed away one after another, and her brother was arrested on fabricated charges, eventually dying of a sudden illness on the way to prison.
Within almost a single month, Wen Yue lost everything. But before she could even grieve, Ning Baiās true colors were exposed. He began domestic abuse, though he needed Wen Yue to cooperate with him in playing the role of a loving couple to stabilize his reputation. At first, he didn’t dare to go too far, until she became pregnant with Wen Jiafei.
After she became pregnant, Ning Bai was actually good to her for a while. After she gave birth to Wen Jiafei, Ning Bai officially took over all of the Ning family’s business. At that time, because of the high pressure, any anger he received outside would be taken out on Wen Yue when he returned.
On Wen Jiafeiās third birthday, Ning Bai returned home aggressively and questioned Wen Yue about whose child Wen Jiafei really was. No matter what Wen Yue said or how she confirmed the biological relationship between Wen Jiafei and him, Ning Bai didn’t believe it.
From then on, the victims of domestic abuse included both Wen Yue and Wen Jiafei.
Wen Yue couldn’t stop her tears from falling, and her body couldn’t help but tremble. She said, “Jiafei knew how to protect me even then. He would stand in front of me, and even when he was kicked down, he would get back up to protect me.”
Shen Shuyu was speechless. He hadn’t expected Wen Jiafeiās childhood to be like this.
Wen Yue wiped her tears. “Later, when he was six, there was a period when Ning Bai was often away on business trips. I thought, I couldn’t take it anymore; I wanted to end my own life. But then I thought, Jiafei is still so smallāif I leave, what will happen to him? Ning Bai definitely wouldn’t let him off.”
Wen Yue continued, “I thought about taking him with me. I took some money and wanted to leave with Jiafei, but we were caught by Ning Bai. After the two of us were brought back, that was when Jiafeiās gland was ruined by him.”
She choked up several times and was almost unable to continue. Shen Shuyu also wanted to tell her not to speak anymore, but Wen Yue grabbed his hand. Tears were flowing down her face, but a smile appeared on it. “Just let Auntie say it. All these years, Auntie hasn’t dared to tell anyone about these things.”
Shen Shuyu fell silent and held her hand back. “Please continue.”
“He has been alone since he was a child. His cousins and brothers who were about the same age knew he wasn’t favored and didn’t like playing with him, always bullying him. Perhaps because of the environment, he never spoke much. Even when his gland was injured, he never cried out in pain. At that time, if only I had paid more attention, there might have been a chance for recovery.”
“You can’t blame yourself,” Shen Shuyu gripped Wen Yueās hand tightly. “You were already very brave.”
“Fortunately, not long after, I found another way to escape. This time we left this planet successfully.” Although Wen Yue omitted how they escaped, Shen Shuyu could imagine that it wasn’t a simple thing for a weak woman to escape a prison with a six-year-old child.
“We went through many planets and finally arrived at Amour,” Wen Yue said. “The reason I decided to stay in Amour was because the Ning family had no influence there.”
Wen Yue went from a canary who knew nothing to slowly working and earning money to raise Wen Jiafei. The mother and son had a very happy timeāpoor, but without the need to live in constant fear.
But just as everything was developing for the better, Wen Yue fell ill.
At first, the illness wasn’t serious; she just felt dizzy and weak occasionally. But when Wen Jiafei turned eighteen, she began to lose consciousness frequently. She could no longer remember when she had been admitted to the hospital.
She only knew that she was in a daze. At first, she was awake for long periods, but later it was as if a hand was confining her soul, making her fall into an eternal sleep.
Shen Shuyuās heart felt heavy. In the book, the villain arc for Wen Jiafei wasn’t detailed; it only said that after Wen Yue passed away, he became blackened.
But after hearing what Wen Yue said, he understood. No wonder Wen Jiafei became a villain.
He and Wen Yue had depended on each other since they were young. After finally having a relatively happy life, Wen Yue could have left him at any time.
Shen Shuyu couldn’t help but wonder what kind of strong heart he possessed. In the long and dark times, he had traveled alone and worked for a living, yet he remained as resilient as a bamboo that would not break.
Shen Shuyu felt his heart ache with a dense, sour sensation.
Shen Shuyu asked in a raspy voice, “Then Auntie, why did he suddenly go back?”
Based on his understanding of Wen Jiafei, he wouldn’t have gone back for the power of the Ning family without saying anything. And looking at Wen Yue, Wen Jiafei didn’t want to go back himself.
Wen Yue said, “I don’t know what happened. Two days ago, he suddenly sent me a message saying he had returned to the Ning family and told me not to worry. But how could I not worry? The Ning family is a place where people are eaten without their bones being spat out. He is just a childāhow can he resist those people who are like wolves and tigers?”
Shen Shuyu pursed his lips. Wen Yue said urgently, “Shuyu, Auntie knows you are a clever child. Can Auntie ask you to help me? I can’t get in touch with Jiafei right now, and I don’t know how he is doing.”
Warm tears fell onto the back of his hand. Shen Shuyu comforted her, “Auntie, don’t worry. It’s too late today. You should rest first. I’ll come back to see you tomorrow.”
Wen Yue looked at the clock in the hotel room; unknowingly, it was already ten o’clock.
Wen Yue regained some of her rationality. She said, “Alright.”
Shen Shuyu wiped her tears with a tissue. “Auntie, can your terminal still reach you?”
“Yes, it ran out of power before, but I bought a charger today,” Wen Yue said. “You can reach me if you call now.”
Shen Shuyu nodded. “Okay, save my number. By the way, when are you planning to go back?”
“I was planning to go back tomorrow to settle Meimei, but since you’ve already taken care of her, I won’t go back for now,” Wen Yue said. “I want to wait until I see Jiafei before going back.”
She wanted to go back with Wen Jiafei, but reality proved that she couldn’t stay in Siro for too long; money was a very real factor.
Shen Shuyu agreed. “Don’t worry anymore. I’ll find a way. Don’t be anxious; rest first.”
Wen Yue was indeed tired. Since coming to Siro, she could be said to be struggling at every step, unable to even find a way to get close to the Ning family, and on top of that, she had been crying almost all night today.
Shen Shuyu comforted her softly for a while. Seeing that it was late, he made an appointment with Wen Yue for the next day and left.
After all, he also needed time to process the things he had learned today.
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