Chapter 201 - 200: I Am Unworthy of Your Upbringing

"I’ve failed you, after everything you did to raise me."

Jiang Ye pressed Mrs. Jiang’s hand to her cheek, tears streaking across the older woman’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 that her Jiang Family parents were going to marry her off to a man she had never met, even though he was Old Commander Huo’s grandson.

But he was a soldier stationed in a remote military region in the Northwest.

She remembered what she had read in books: the Northwest was the most remote region of the country, a place of endless yellow sand and extremely harsh conditions.

She knew that if she married him and moved there, she’d be trapped with no hope for a better future.

So, she found her birth parents and had them bring Wen Ci to Beijing. The two families then met under "coincidental" circumstances, and all the while, she dropped hints, both obvious and subtle, that she didn’t resemble anyone in the Jiang Family.

The moment she saw Wen Ci.

Su Guilan was certain that a switch at birth might have occurred.

The neighbors in the Beijing Military District Family Courtyard rarely saw Jiang Ye, but her and her husband’s parents and relatives had. Ever since she was little, they had remarked that she didn’t look like part of the family.

They had always assumed it was a throwback to a previous generation.

After seeing Wen Ci, Su Guilan had someone track down the hospital records from the birth. She discovered that Wen Ci’s parents—who had once worked as housekeepers for their family—had also had a child in the hospital at the same time.

Su Guilan’s throat tightened. Her gaze fell on Jiang Ye, her eyes firm. "So, you’ve always known you weren’t my biological daughter?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?"

"I was still little..."

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.

"If we must cut ties, then so be it."

"Mom."

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

’Ever since Wen Ci poured her heart out, there was no longer a chance for them to be mother and daughter. Some things, when they must be let go, you have to learn to let go.’

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

Even if Jiang Ye wasn’t her biological child.

There was still the bond forged over more than twenty years of raising her.

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

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

「—」

After his shower, Wen Yaozu found an outfit that made him look clean and sharp. He spun around in front of his older sister. "What do you think? Isn’t your little brother handsome?"

Wen Ci: "..."

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

"Right, a real lady-killer!"

In a Beijing shopping mall, Wen Ci’s gaze drifted to the brick phone specialty shop on the second floor. She suddenly hesitated; those phones were incredibly expensive.

But it would be extremely convenient for her.

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

If she bought a brick phone, after accounting for all her other expenses...

...she’d only have a little over a hundred thousand yuan left. A hundred thousand sounded like a lot, but it would be almost gone after one payment for her goods. Then she’d have to owe Xu Jinghe money again.

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

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

"Do you have enough money?"

"I have enough, 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’s injuries heal, we have to go back to the Northwest."

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

Wen Yaozu saw her hesitation. He grabbed her arm and started pulling her toward the brick phone shop, saying magnanimously, "Sis, if you like it, just buy it. Don’t hesitate."

The salesperson, noticing Wen Ci’s stylish and expensive-looking clothes, greeted her with a wide smile. "Miss, are you looking for a brick phone? We were the first shop in all of Beijing to carry them."