Reborn in the 80s: Divorced and Spoiled by the Military Man - Chapter 164

Chapter 164: It Felt Like Every Choice Was Wrong

Ji Si’an had not taken it to heart when Siyuan said before that Xie Yunshu bore some resemblance to Xinxin.

What had happened to Xinxin back then was a wound for the entire family. Even he had found it hard to accept, let alone Ji Siyuan, who had been born at the same time as Xinxin. So when Ji Siyuan grew close to Xie Yunshu, he had tacitly allowed it. As long as it made Siyuan feel a little better, he did not mind treating Yunshu well.

But conversely, if Xie Yunshu truly intended to put herself in Xinxin’s place, then even if Captain Shen wanted to protect her, Ji Si’an would never agree.

Xie Yunshu had no such complicated thoughts. She sat down directly and asked, “Was Xinxin trafficked back then to a place called Queshan? I asked Ji Siyuan, but his reaction was too intense, so I had no choice but to come to you.”

Compared to Ji Siyuan, Ji Si’an was indeed much calmer. Only when he heard the word Queshan did his brows knit sharply. “How do you know that?”

So Xinxin really had been trafficked to the same place as Zhou Xinyue!

Xie Yunshu stood up in agitation and spoke quickly. “My ex-husband also rescued a trafficked woman from Queshan. She had a child with her. That child has two red moles at the corner of his eye, exactly like the ones on Ji Siyuan’s face. And if I’m not mistaken, that child isn’t that woman’s biological son!”

The information was so shocking that Ji Si’an was silent for a long while before he slowly said, “Xinxin had only just turned sixteen when she disappeared. She was indeed forced to give birth to a child. By the time I found my way there, Xinxin had already passed away, and the people who trafficked her were dead as well. As for the child, I only heard about him from the villagers there.”

“You didn’t look for him back then?” Xie Yunshu asked in confusion. “Wasn’t he Xinxin’s child?”

Ji Si’an let out a scornful laugh. “Xinxin’s child? He was nothing but the wretched spawn my sister was forced to bear, with an animal’s blood running through his veins. What was there to look for? The locals said he had gone missing. In my mind, the best ending for that child would have been to be buried in the ground alongside my sister!”

No one else in the Ji Family knew about this, and he certainly would not tell Ji Siyuan. Since the child was gone, then so be it. Bringing him back would only mean adding one more piece of evidence proving that Xinxin had once suffered inhuman treatment.

Xie Yunshu stood there for a long time without speaking. She had never imagined that coming to Ji Si’an for confirmation today would lead to this result.

If Xiaowei really was Xinxin’s child, yet the Ji Family was unwilling to acknowledge him, then perhaps it would have been better not to know anything at all… The fervor in her chest gradually cooled, and all at once, she no longer knew whose child Xiaowei was supposed to be.

Zhou Xinyue abused him, his mother was already dead, and the Ji Family regarded him as a bastard born of sin…

“But he’s only five years old. He doesn’t know anything,” Xie Yunshu said, but bitterness spread through her heart as the words left her mouth.

Speaking honestly, if she had suffered that kind of inhuman torment and been forced to give birth at only sixteen, then she probably would not be able to love that child either. Not to mention that Xinxin had been the Ji Family’s most beloved youngest daughter. Her life should have been so happy!

But what had Xiaowei done wrong?

It felt like every choice was wrong. No matter what choice was made, Xiaowei was the one who had to bear all the consequences…

Ji Si’an had already regained his composure. He was silent for a long time before finally asking, “How is that child now?”

“Not well.” Xie Yunshu pressed her lips together and told the truth. “That woman abuses him.”

“I understand.” Ji Si’an glanced toward the door, his intention to see her out obvious. “Don’t let Siyuan know about this. I’ll look into it.”

When she came downstairs, the spring sun was shining brightly outside, yet Xie Yunshu felt cold all over. Xiaowei’s birth seemed to have come with original sin, but what had he ever done wrong? If he had been given a choice, perhaps he would not have wanted to be born at all.

As she passed Shen Subai’s office, her steps faltered for a moment. If Captain Shen were here, what would he choose?

Was she really sticking her nose where it didn’t belong? Xie Yunshu slipped her hand into her jacket pocket and felt the soft banknote there-the one Li Fenlan had pressed on her that morning, telling her to buy Xiaowei some candy…

No one deserved to be born into suffering.

Under the sunlight, everything suddenly became clear. The ones at fault were those traffickers and coercers who deserved to be cut to pieces and sent to hell-not a child who was only five years old. Making a child bear the consequences was far too unfair.

So no matter what Ji Si’an’s attitude was, since she could confirm that Xiaowei was not Zhou Xinyue’s child, she could not send him back to that vicious woman.

Since she had already gotten involved in this so-called “nosy business,” she might as well see it through to the end. Zhou Xinyue was the one who deserved punishment. Zhou Xinyue was the one who should go to prison. Worst case, she would raise the child herself!

…

Because of an issue with the review of some materials, Shen Subai made a trip back to Jingbei-and even deliberately brought Tian Hao along.

“Brother Shen, why are you taking me back to Jingbei with you?” Sitting on the train, Tian Hao folded his long legs and felt like his whole body ached. “It’s a ten-plus-hour train ride. Couldn’t we have taken a plane?”

The weather had turned a little warm, so Shen Subai was casually dressed in a black jacket. Leaning against the window with his eyes closed, he didn’t even lift his eyelids when he heard him. “It’s not easy for me to save money either. Let’s spend sparingly.”

Tian Hao was speechless. “Don’t think I don’t know. Last time at the securities center, you bought that whatever stock and made quite a bit, didn’t you? And your salary and subsidies are higher than mine. You still want to spend sparingly? What are you saving for? You don’t even have a wife.”

Shen Subai clicked his tongue. “That’s exactly why I’m bringing you back.”

Tian Hao’s face filled with question marks. What direct connection was there between bringing him back and Brother Shen not having a wife?

The Shen Family.

Su Qinglian sat on the sofa drinking tea. Beside her sat a young woman in a white dress, with a coat in the same color family draped over it. Her hair had been permed into the most fashionable curls of the moment, and her eyes kept drifting toward the door.

“Linlin, now that you’re back from abroad, where are you planning to work?” Su Qinglian also wore a smile. Tang Lin had come over early in the morning and said she was here to keep her company and chat. How could Su Qinglian not know what she was really after?

She only hoped that when that unfilial son came back, he would develop something with Linlin. Then she could finally stop having nightmares every night about Tian Hao calling her Mom!

Tang Lin smiled with her lips pressed together. “I studied finance. I heard Haicheng is developing quite well now, so I want to go take a look.”

Su Qinglian’s heart stirred. Linlin was the darling of the Compound, pretty and an overseas student to boot. Perhaps after Subai came back and saw Linlin, he would change his mind…

Just as she was thinking this, she saw Shen Subai push the door open and walk in-with someone following behind him.

Su Qinglian’s vision went dark. She felt as though the sky had collapsed. “You… Why is Haozi here too?”

Tian Hao had no idea what was going on and greeted Su Qinglian warmly. “Auntie Lian, long time no see. I’m not busy these next couple of days, so I came back with Brother Shen. We’ll leave together the day after tomorrow.”

Came together. Leaving together…

Su Qinglian’s voice grew unsteady. “You two… you two…”

Her heart instantly became sour, bitter, and spicy-everything except sweet!

Tang Lin naturally had no idea what she was thinking. The moment she saw Shen Subai, her heart began pounding. “Brother Subai…”