Chapter 102: White Moonlight

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: White Moonlight

"But what was she doing behind our backs?"

"Back then, Big Sister, you, and I—all three of us—were waiting on her hand and foot. She never even touched a single diaper."

"I said she was deliberately not feeding the baby, but Big Brother immediately glared at me and scolded me for talking nonsense."

"Then, when it was time for Rong Dan, she had a threatened miscarriage. But I was the one who saw it. She was standing at the top of the stairs and deliberately jumped backward! But she insisted she felt dizzy and missed a step."

"By the time I called you all over, she was clutching her forehead, whimpering and moaning about being dizzy."

"But you all believed her. You insisted the bright sun was playing tricks on my eyes. No one believed me, but I have to say it today! I saw it with my own two eyes!"

She strode over to stand beside Shen Songyao.

"You didn’t believe me before, but now, I believe my niece."

"Yao Yuzhen... she’s faking it, nine times out of ten."

Yang Wanqing still shook her head.

"But they’re mother and child, flesh and blood. How could a biological mother be so cruel...?"

As Shen Songyao listened, the weight in her heart actually lifted.

She stared at Yang Wanqing and asked softly,

"Grandma... has she always disliked Dad?"

Yang Wanqing forced a smile.

"Dislike? What’s to like or dislike? Back in our day, marriage was about living a life together, not about romance. Life had to be stable, and people had to know their place. Feelings and all that... that came last."

Shen Jiajia, however, leaned close to Shen Songyao and whispered,

"I’ve said it all along. She just can’t stand your dad."

"I’m not just gossiping, I genuinely feel bad for your dad. When she was young, she never once gave him a pleasant look. She couldn’t even be bothered to say an extra word to him, let alone serve him tea or ask how he was doing."

"Aiyo, if you ask me, she must have burned some high-quality incense in her past life to marry my brother! Just look at her status when she first arrived! Only my brother was foolish enough to only care about her pretty face and nothing else, insisting on marrying her into the family."

"Anyone else in his shoes? They would’ve kicked her out long ago! Who would dare to take on that hot potato?"

Shen Songyao was stunned, her heart pounding.

’The original novel never mentioned the original owner of this body being brought back to the Shen family, so of course it never went into detail about the Shen family or their background.’

’Especially when it came to Yao Yuzhen’s history, she was completely in the dark, with no idea whatsoever.’

Now that someone was talking, she immediately leaned in closer to ask.

"Auntie, my mom... what’s her background, exactly?"

Shen Jiajia answered without hesitation.

"The daughter of a rich family! Her father was a famous shipping magnate in Hai City. He used to own three buildings on the Bund and had two shipyards to his name."

Shen Songyao’s mind reeled.

’Hot damn. A progressive young woman and a military officer. It’s the opening scene of a classic romance drama.’

She pressed on,

"So how did my mom and dad meet?"

Yang Wanqing took over the story.

"Your dad was visiting a comrade-in-arms back then and happened to meet your mom at the man’s factory. His comrade played matchmaker, and the two of them started seeing each other. Your mom agreed to it herself, and that’s how they got married."

’It doesn’t sound like he forced her into it,’ Shen Songyao mused.

She decided to ask another question.

"Did my mom... ever date anyone before?"

Yang Wanqing and Shen Jiayue both shook their heads in unison.

Shen Jiayue said,

"Probably not. Your dad is a very discerning man who values rules above all else. Grandpa made him memorize the family precepts since he was a child; even the order of serving dishes at dinner had to follow seniority. Once he sets his mind on something, nine bulls can’t pull him back. And if he doesn’t approve of someone, they can’t even dream of setting foot in our courtyard."

Yang Wanqing nodded in agreement.

"If there had really been someone else, your dad would have turned around and walked away without a second thought."

But Shen Jiajia suddenly pressed her lips together, her gaze flickering evasively.

Everyone turned to look at her.

She paused for a moment, then finally spoke.

"Actually... there’s something I’ve never dared to say."

"I was afraid that if I said it, the family would erupt into a massive fight. I was even more afraid it would create a rift between my brother and sister-in-law that could never be mended."

"Not long after Rong Dan was born, I once saw a man come to the house looking for my sister-in-law."

"It was an overcast day, around three in the afternoon. The man stood outside the courtyard gate without coming in, just handing her a coarse cloth bag. My sister-in-law took the bag, and in return, she pulled out a stack of ration coupons and a few small bills from her clothes and stuffed them all into his hand."

"I’d never seen the man before. He wasn’t one of our relatives, nor did he seem like an acquaintance. He took the things and left without even lifting his head."

Yang Wanqing’s brow furrowed immediately.

"Are you sure you didn’t mistake her for someone else? Did you get a clear look at his face? What was he wearing? Did he speak with an accent?"

Shen Jiajia was silent for two seconds, then sighed.

"I know you don’t believe me. The moment Yao Yuzhen sheds a single tear, my brother is ready to tear the roof off. How could I dare say anything? But I swear, I could draw that man’s face with my eyes closed."

"He wasn’t tall or short, about half a head shorter than my brother. His skin was quite fair, and he had a scholarly air about him, maybe wearing glasses, like a middle school teacher. Once the money and coupons were exchanged, he turned and left. I only ever saw him that one time."

Shen Songyao blurted out.

"Don’t tell me... he was her ex?"

"Her what?"

Yang Wanqing and Shen Jiayue glanced at each other, both completely baffled.

The mother and daughter duo today felt like they’d been put through a blender eight hundred times; they were utterly dizzy.

Shen Jiajia, on the other hand, wasn’t confused. After all...

...she was the one who had sown the seeds of confusion in the first place.

Shen Songyao blinked, then suddenly slapped her thigh.

"Oh, so a ’white moonlight’ is someone you can’t even dare to think about, someone you can never touch! Like the moon in the sky—it looks bright, but when you reach for it, you only grasp a handful of cold air."

The moment she finished speaking, she froze for two seconds. Then, something clicked in her head.

’If Yao Yuzhen really had someone like that hidden in her heart, then her indifferent attitude toward Shen Songyao would immediately make sense!’

’Based on the tropes from all the novels she’d read, Yao Yuzhen had someone she loved in her youth, but because of the turbulent times and her strict family, she couldn’t be with him.’

’In the end, she had to choose a safe option: Shen Zhenwu.’

’And Shen Zhenwu?’

’In her eyes, he was probably like the leftover greens you pick up when grocery shopping.’

’Not what she wanted most, but at least he could fill the pot and keep her from starving.’

’It was even possible that her marriage to Shen Zhenwu was a source of shame for her.’

’If you followed that line of thought, didn’t it lead directly to a classic rebirth novel plot?’

’The rich young lady marries a guy from the countryside. After the wedding, she spends her days thinking about her old love, finding her husband disagreeable, and even seeing her own child as an eyesore.’

’In the end, she ends up all alone. Only on her deathbed does she feel regret, crying and screaming for a chance to live her life over again.’

’It might sound crazy, but this was a novel’s world!’

’No matter how fantastical the plot, Shen Songyao could accept it.’

’If things were really going down this path...’

’Then there was an eighty-percent chance something was wrong with Shen Shuangshuang’s identity!’

Shen Songyao immediately turned her head to ask.

"Grandma, Auntie, where did Mom adopt Shuangshuang from originally?"

Yang Wanqing immediately replied.

"It was your eldest aunt who brought her back from a village down there."

Shen Songyao’s mind raced.

"That family—did anyone from our family ever visit them? Did anyone see them with their own eyes?"

Yang Wanqing shook her head.

"We never went to see them."

Shen Jiajia glanced at Shen Songyao, her brow slightly furrowed.

"Song Yao, are you... starting to think something’s not right about this?"

"Yes,"

Shen Songyao nodded decisively.

"I suspect Shuangshuang wasn’t just a random adoption."

Since the topic was already out in the open, she didn’t beat around the bush.

"After Mom and Dad got married, was there ever a time when Mom left home for a particularly long period? A time when none of you were with her, and you had no idea what she was doing?"