Chapter 65: Once and for All

So, after Chang Rong died, you and Deng Qingrong moved to the place you are currently living in. The rumors around you about not looking for a partner or getting married—were those also deliberately spread by Deng Qingrong for the same purpose? Huo Yan asked.

This was a question Ning Shuyi had also wanted to ask, but being a young woman, she truly found it a bit difficult to bring up right in front of Chang Junchaos face. Fortunately, Huo Yan had thought of this as well and asked it on her behalf.

Yes. Chang Junchao slowly shook his head. Because I was already twenty-seven or twenty-eight back then, and at that age, the elders in other peoples families would inevitably urge them to marry. Yet Deng Qingrong was unfazed to an extreme degree, which naturally made people feel something was a bit abnormal.

To prevent others from thinking there was something wrong with her, she simply fabricated a rumor that would solve the problem once and for all.

You cant possibly imagine what kind of humiliating feeling it is for a normal adult man when everyone around you looks at you with those strange, abnormal gazes!

Were you planning to kill Deng Qingrong from that time on?

No, I honestly never thought about killing her back then. Chang Junchao denied Ning Shuyis guess. What I wanted to do the most at that time, but lacked the courage to actually carry out, was commit suicide.

He raised his eyes to look at Ning Shuyi, and then at Huo Yan: Both of you must come from very happy and fulfilled families, right?

Actually, you can tell just by looking. Only people who grew up nurtured by their parents have that kind of confident appearance the two of you possess.

I have always envied your state of being, and I wished I could have that same calm and confident feeling, but I dont.

Ever since I was little, Deng Qingrong and her husband instilled a mindset in me: that a good-for-nothing like me was only tolerated by the two of them, who were willing to support me and provide me with food and clothing, otherwise I would have died out on the streets.

After finishing this sentence, he let out a scoff: Isnt it ridiculous? In the very beginning, because they were terrified that one day I would grow wings, leave them, and refuse to care for them in their old age, they relentlessly beat down my self-esteem, making me feel like I would never amount to anything.

Later on, they despised me for being useless and unable to earn a fortune to fund the lavish lifestyle they wanted!

Yet after having that kind of mind-poison poured into you so many times, your brain simply gets rotted away.

Even after growing into an adult, knowing full well that what they said was untrue and that everything I am today was entirely of their making, I still end up lacking self-confidence from the bottom of my heart, feeling self-loathing, and harboring a deeply pessimistic and hopeless view of the future.

I did have moments of brief happiness.

Shortly after Deng Qingrong ran away, Chang Jungs condition worsened significantly. She didnt leave any money behind for me, and I had no way to send Chang Rong to the hospital for treatment anymore, so I could only watch him fade day by day until he soon died.

When speaking of Chang Jungs death, Chang Junchao showed no trace of sadness whatsoever; instead, his tone carried a hint of relief.

That period was a sense of ease I had never experienced before. He spoke as if recalling a wonderful experience. Although Deng Qingrong took all the money with her—not only the five hundred thousand in cash she had hidden away, but also the living expenses she forced me to hand over to her every month from my salary—I wasnt worried at all. Because I was still young, I had a job, and I had an income every month.

Just thinking that from then on, if I was full, my whole family was fed, and I would never have to face her again or listen to her tear me down made my heart indescribably joyful! During that time, it felt like every day when I opened my eyes, the sun shone so much brighter than usual!

Can I interrupt for a moment? Although she couldnt bear to do it, Ning Shuyi still spoke up to interrupt Chang Junchaos sole remaining pleasant memory. Why did Deng Qingrong withdraw Chang Jungs compensation as cash, close the account, and keep carrying cash around with her?

Because she was terrified! Chang Junchao snorted. She was terrified that her act of stealing someone elses child would be discovered, and that the family would come looking for her and Chang Rong. Just in case that day truly arrived, those people wouldnt just snatch the child back; they would make her pay a heavy financial penalty!

So, apart from unavoidable situations—such as myself and Chang Rong working outside and needing a salary card, which required opening a bank account—she forbade us from having any other bank accounts.

Even when paying rent or handling similar matters normally, she only allowed me to take cash to the bank for remittance and prohibited me from doing transfers, out of sheer paranoia that it might leave behind any traces and accidentally lead my original family to find me.

Mentioning his original family made Chang Junchaos eyes turn red once again: I actually hesitated. I wanted to commit suicide, but I was unwilling to accept it; I wanted to find a reason to live, but I couldnt find one.

At that time, Deng Qingrong heard through some unknown channel that the daughter she had given away years ago was also in City W, and she started making inquiries everywhere about the familys situation.

Back then, I had already reached the point of hardening my heart, thinking I might as well just die—even dying would be more liberating than living with Deng Qingrong.

Yet the moment she started looking for her daughter, I hesitated again.

If I stayed alive, Deng Qingrong would still try to drag someone else down into the mud; if I died, she wouldnt even have me to pin her demands on, and I didnt dare to imagine how desperately and relentlessly she would harass that daughter of hers!

I knew I would never achieve anything great in this lifetime, but I didnt want anyone else to fall into this fiery pit of mine either.

So I temporarily put aside the thought of suicide and racked my brains to please Deng Qingrong, buying things she liked for her, hoping she wouldnt go harass the other party.

Unfortunately, I couldnt talk her out of it. Watching the way she threatened a daughter she had never raised for a single day since birth, I suddenly realized something—if I died, she would definitely still plague others. The only way for everyone to find release was for her to die!

Deng Qingrong had already suffered a tragic death encased inside a massive block of cement. Now that Chang Junchao uttered these words, neither Ning Shuyi nor Huo Yan felt any surprise.

Yet judging from Chang Junchaos account, Deng Qingrong had essentially given him a fierce shove right when he was wavering between suicide and survival, making him abandon the thought of suicide while turning the blade toward herself.

So you went and bought cement, preparing to kill her? Ning Shuyi flipped through the notes in her hand. From the time you purchased the cement and laid the groundwork with the landlord about renovating the bathroom to the moment you actually carried out the murder of Deng Qingrong, a period of time passed. Why didnt you strike at Deng Qingrong during that interval? Was the timing not ripe yet?

Not entirely. Chang Junchao shook his head. I am not a bloodthirsty demon who kills without blinking. To me, although I hated Deng Qingrong, killing someone was not easy, and I couldnt bring myself to do it.

So my thought at the time was, as a last resort, I would try a final gamble! If Deng Qingrong could find her biological daughter, then if I could also find my original family, I would pack up and leave far away to find my own kin!

As a result, after I finally managed to piece together my origins based on the fragmented bits of information I had overheard from them over the years, I called the police over there to try and see if I could find my family, only to be told by them that there was no one left in my household!

My family had all been driven to their deaths by Deng Qingrong!