Chapter 193: Sever the Ties, Then

"I haven’t been worthy of how you raised me."

Jiang Ye grasped Mrs. Jiang’s hand and pressed it to her own cheek. Her tears streamed across Mrs. Jiang’s palm as she sobbed, "I didn’t know what to do back then. It wasn’t until I grew up that I found the courage to say all this."

At the time, she had learned the Jiang Family intended to marry her off to a man she had never even met. Even though he was Old Commander Huo’s grandson, he was a soldier stationed in a remote military region in the Northwest.

She recalled what she’d learned in books—the Northwest was the most remote part of the country, a place of endless yellow sand and brutally harsh conditions.

’I knew if I married him and moved there, I’d never have a future.’

So she found her birth parents, had them bring Wen Ci to Beijing, and arranged for the two families to meet by "coincidence." All the while, she dropped hints, both subtle and obvious, that she didn’t look like anyone in the Jiang Family.

The moment she saw Wen Ci, Su Guilan was convinced a switch might have happened all those years ago.

The people in the Beijing Military District Family Courtyard didn’t see Jiang Ye often, but their relatives did. From the time she was little, they’d always remarked that she didn’t look like she belonged to the family.

They had always just chalked it up to skipping a generation.

After seeing Wen Ci, Su Guilan asked someone to pull the hospital records from when she gave birth and discovered that the Wen parents—who had once worked as nannies for their family—had a child at the same time.

Su Guilan’s throat tightened. She looked at Jiang Ye, her gaze firm, and said, "So, you’ve known all along that you aren’t my biological daughter?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?"

"I was young..."

Jiang Ye could only use her youth as an excuse. "They threatened me with a knife. They said if I told you I wasn’t your real daughter, they would kill me."

"So..."

Jiang Ye made her body tremble uncontrollably.

"Let’s just sever ties with them, then."

"Mom."

Su Guilan cupped Jiang Ye’s cheek, her eyes filled with a mother’s radiance. "Mom forgives you. We’ll still be mother and daughter from now on."

’Ever since Wen Ci had poured out her heart, she knew there was no longer a chance for them to be mother and daughter. You have to learn to let go of some things.’

She didn’t want to lose this daughter, Jiang Ye, as well.

Even if Jiang Ye wasn’t her biological child.

The bond forged from raising her for over twenty years was too strong.

She didn’t want to compound one mistake with another.

A flash of delight crossed Jiang Ye’s eyes. "Okay!"

-

After showering, Wen Yaozu found an outfit that made him look fair and clean. He spun around in front of his sister. "So? Isn’t your little brother fly?"

Wen Ci: "..."

’She had no idea where Wen Yaozu got his confidence.’

"Fly? More like a housefly!"

In a Beijing shopping mall, Wen Ci’s eyes drifted to a mobile phone store on the second floor. She suddenly hesitated. The price of those brick phones was staggering.

But for her, it would be incredibly convenient.

She could make calls anytime, anywhere, when she was out.

If she bought a brick phone, after factoring in all the associated costs, she would only have a little over a hundred thousand yuan left. A hundred thousand might sound like a lot, but after one payment for her goods, there’d be almost nothing left. Then she’d be in debt to Xu Jinghe again.

"Sis, do you want to buy a brick phone?"

Wen Ci answered honestly, "I kind of do."

"Do you have enough money on you?"

"I have enough money, but I’m not sure it’s worth it. It’s not like we don’t have a landline at home. Besides, once your brother-in-law recovers, we have to go back to the Northwest."

’And who knows if a brick phone would even get a signal in the Northwest.’

Wen Yaozu saw Wen Ci’s hesitation and pulled her toward the brick phone store, saying magnanimously, "Sis, if you like it, just buy it. Don’t hesitate."

The salesperson saw Wen Ci’s bright and stylish clothes and greeted them with a beaming smile. "Comrade, here to look at the brick phones? We were the first store in all of Beijing to sell them."