Chapter 238: For a Lifetime

Chapter 238: Chapter 238: For a Lifetime

"What killed Mom was that stupid thing Ruan Xinxin did. From start to finish, it had absolutely nothing to do with you."

"Sigh, Mom was such a poor judge of character back then."

Shen Rongdan heaved a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, squeezing his eyes shut.

His chest felt tight. He felt sorry for Yao Yuzhen and was furious with Ruan Xinxin.

But as for Song Yao?

He had never blamed her in the slightest.

If there was anyone to blame, it certainly wasn’t her.

He’d never even considered the idea that none of this would have happened if Song Yao hadn’t returned.

Hearing this, Song Yao’s shoulders instantly relaxed.

"Second Brother, thanks!"

Shen Rongdan opened his eyes and waved a hand dismissively.

"What’s there to thank me for? Did you think I’d use you as a punching bag? You were sent away when you were little, and the family hasn’t done a single thing for you all these years. To be blunt, we’re the ones who owe you."

Song Yao didn’t pursue the topic or offer any more pleasantries.

She had asked her second brother out because she wanted clarity, not to be placated.

Now that the issue was resolved, she naturally let the subject drop.

She raised her teacup and gently clinked it against Shen Rongdan’s.

With the clink of their cups, the matter was settled.

Five years after starting her factory, Song Yao threw herself into building her own company.

It wasn’t until their child turned five that she finally saw the secret Li Hanchen had hidden for so many years.

The moment she saw it, she nearly burst out laughing.

"Oh... this look is, uh, quite unique!"

"Other people’s creations are barely passable, but yours... Tsk, it’s so ugly it has a style all its own!"

She tilted her head as she spoke, examining the little yarn bear Li Hanchen had handed her.

The moment the words left her mouth, she was already doubled over in laughter.

Li Hanchen had been holding his breath, worried she’d be shocked.

For years, he hadn’t even dared to change positions carelessly when turning over in bed, terrified of letting his secret slip.

But after being teased so mercilessly by his wife, he took his revenge that very night by "unlocking" a few new moves.

Song Yao lay sprawled on the bed, too exhausted to even lift a finger, groaning softly.

"Don’t they say a man’s stamina plummets to a sixty-year-old’s level after he turns twenty-five?"

"Hm? What was that?"

Li Hanchen turned his head.

She immediately buried her face in her pillow, mumbling indistinctly.

"Nothing, nothing... Just spouting nonsense!"

Her forehead pressed against the pillowcase, the tip of her nose brushing against the soft fabric.

Many years passed in a flash, and Song Yao never imagined she would ever run into Song Wen again.

Listening to the description on the other end of the line, Song Yao froze for a moment.

’My nephew?’

’She did have a nephew, the son of Shen Rongjing and Guo Shushu.’

’But Shen Rongjing was sent on an overseas assignment the year before last, and his wife and child went with him!’

’Could they have come back to the country without telling anyone?’

’Why wouldn’t they give me a heads-up?’

Though her mind was filled with questions, she told them to let him in.

When the door was pushed open, she froze.

The man before her leaned on a crutch, an old scar stretching across his face.

His complexion was sallow, his lips tinged with purple...

She could hardly reconcile this man with the memory of the little boy who used to jump around, calling her "Auntie."

"You... are?"

Song Wen dragged his bad leg to a stop and gazed at her silently.

"Auntie, don’t recognize me?"

"You’re Song Wen?"

Song Yao asked casually.

Song Wen limped over to the living room sofa, sat down, and cracked a grin.

"Yeah, it’s me! Auntie!"

"Seeing the state I’m in, you must be pretty shocked, huh?"

He tilted his face up to look at her.

Song Yao looked him up and down, crossed her arms, and slowly shook her head.

"Shocked? Not at all. If anything, you ending up like this seems more fitting. To be blunt, that smooth-sailing life you used to have was stolen from someone else."

Hearing this, Song Wen tried to shoot to his feet.

But his left leg wouldn’t support him. He staggered violently, nearly crashing to the floor, and had to grab the arm of the sofa to steady himself.

"I knew it! I knew you came back, too!"

His voice trembled.

"I tested you back then, and you played dumb. So it wasn’t just me who came back!"

"You hate me, don’t you?"

He stared at her, his eyes unblinking.

"You hate me for abandoning you back then, right? But it’s not that I didn’t want to take care of you! My parents stopped me. They kept saying, ’How can you survive raising three kids on your own?’ They’re the ones who forced me to move away! I really didn’t just wash my hands of you!"

As he spoke, the rims of his eyes turned red.

Song Yao just stood there with her arms crossed, watching him as if he were some amusing spectacle. Finally, she spoke slowly.

"You understand far too little."

Song Wen: "Huh?"

He had no idea what she meant by that, but he was dead set on one thing.

THUMP. He dropped to his knees.

"Auntie! I’ll support you! I really will! From now on, I’ll serve you, bring you tea, give you sponge baths, feed you your medicine—I’ll do it all!"

"Tsk."

Without batting an eye, Song Yao pulled out her phone and dialed the building’s internal line.

"Security, come up here."

Song Wen’s head snapped up, his face contorted.

"Why? Why are you doing this?"

"What did I ever do to wrong you? Why won’t you believe me?"

Song Wen’s fingernails dug deep into his palms.

"I already told you, I’m willing to serve you! Didn’t you always use to praise me for being so sensible? Didn’t you say I was your favorite? That I was the nephew you doted on the most? Don’t you remember saying that?"

Song Yao shrugged, her expression unreadable, and didn’t respond.

She would take her secrets to the grave; there was no way she would reveal even a sliver of the truth to Song Wen.

Song Wen’s voice cracked.

"Say something! Just tell me why!"

He struggled, twisting his head, the veins on his neck bulging.

"Why won’t you even ask a single question?! Why are you so certain I’m the one at fault?"

His voice was raw from shouting as he was hauled out by his arms.

Song Yao didn’t even look up, simply waving a hand at the security guards.

"I have absolutely nothing to do with this man. From now on, he’s banned. Don’t let him take a single step inside."

The next time Song Yao heard Song Wen’s name was in the morning paper, which was delivered that afternoon.

The subheading read that a limping young man from out of town had slipped and fallen into the river. By the time he was pulled out, he was no longer breathing.

In the accompanying photo, the man was lying on his side, his face obscured.

But Song Yao instantly recognized the faded blue cloth shirt.

She stared at the photo for several seconds, and a sudden understanding dawned on her.

’He hadn’t accidentally fallen in. He’d jumped.’

She later had someone look into it and learned that after Song Wen had been reborn, he hadn’t just sat around waiting to die.

After all, he had been the male protagonist once. The knowledge in his head and the worldliness he’d gained were the real deal.

Even though he was reborn at the age of nine and his own father, Song Pengfei, didn’t believe a word he said...

...he still managed to start from scratch by collecting scrap and flipping second-hand goods, single-handedly turning an obscure trade into a profitable venture.

If he had kept up that momentum for another five or six years,

...opening a company, building a factory, and hiring workers would have all been well within his reach.

But then Song Pengfei was set up by some gambling buddies and ended up with a mountain of bad debt he could never repay.

Song Pengfei took all the money Song Wen had earned through blood, sweat, and tears to fill that hole.

When that wasn’t enough, he tried to force more money out of him.

When Song Wen refused, Song Pengfei grabbed a shovel and attacked him.

How could a teenager withstand a vicious attack from a man in his forties?

His leg was broken on the spot, leaving it so crooked he could never walk straight again.

Song Pengfei didn’t get off easy, either.

His creditors showed up and chopped off three of his fingers.

But he still couldn’t kick his gambling addiction.

He not only gambled but also chased women, constantly getting scammed out of the last few bills in his pocket.

Whenever he ran out of money, he would immediately go to Song Wen and demand more.

If Song Wen refused?

He would throw himself on the ground, rolling around and wailing, making a scene for all the neighbors to point and gossip about.

Every time Song Wen’s own business started to show a glimmer of success, local thugs would show up to cause trouble.

That is, until he was flipping through a newspaper and saw a photo of Song Yao.

He grabbed his bag, boarded a train, and used the address from the paper to find his way to Beijing and the building that housed Song Yao’s company.

’If only Song Yao hadn’t taken back the old house, if she hadn’t cut off the monthly allowance...’

’Even if... even if she did die in the last life by crashing into a guardrail, it’s not like it was my fault!’

’Who could he blame for that?’

’He could only blame her for being so reckless!’

’If she had just lived her life peacefully, when she got so old she couldn’t even walk or get out of bed, would he really have kicked her out?’

’Besides... how did she suddenly become the daughter of some high-ranking official in Beijing?’

Even at the moment of his death, Song Wen couldn’t figure it out.

He just wanted one more do-over.

Preferably one where he wouldn’t have to run into the reborn Shen Songyao again.

Because then... he had plenty of ways to make sure she could never get back on her feet.

With his mind consumed by hatred, Song Wen plunged headfirst into the bone-chilling river.

As he sank, his only hope was for another chance to live again in the next life.

Whether or not he was reincarnated, no one could say.

But from that day forward, Shen Songyao never had any contact with anyone from the Song Family again.

She lived out her own happy life, eating well, sleeping soundly, surrounded by her children, and comfortably passed through the rest of her days.

The End.