Chapter 998 - As Long As He Is Alive
Chapter 998: As Long As He Is Alive
Ling Sheng made a face at her and let out a snort before turning her head away, refusing to look at her.
Until the car left the cemetery, Ling Sheng finally asked, “Second Uncle, did the eldest daughter of the Dongfang Family really die from lovesickness?”
Yan Yuanfei shook his head and sighed ruefully. “How can a person pass away so easily because of lovesickness? Your Second Aunt said that her body has been weak since she was young. She could even be bedridden for half a month due to a cold.”
There was no hint of resentment within her words. There was only her restrained admiration for that man. She was not a sentimental person, so how could she possibly take to her bed so easily over this?
“Oh!” Ling Sheng nodded. So she was a Little Sister Lin[1] type of beauty. She had not died entirely because of love.
This incident had been the author’s setting from the start to the end, to get the Dongfang Family to hate Second Uncle and Auntie Ruoshui and force people to use morality to oppress them.
“When are you planning to go over? I’ll get Jiang Pei to take you there after I get out of the car.”
“Okay.”
“Did Ah Yan tell you when he’ll be back?”
“Probably tomorrow morning!”
After saying that, Ling Sheng suddenly remembered that before she went to bed, he had even said he would pick her up the next day and take her to the audition. This big fat liar. He had called her again in the morning and said that he had something urgent to attend to and had flown overseas.
“Second Uncle, why are you looking for him?”
“Nothing much actually.”
“Second Uncle, are you really not coming with me? You can wait in the car and watch from afar. You don’t have to get close.”
“No, I won’t go. She’ll discover me.”
After Yan Yuanfei got out of the car, Jiang Pei took Ling Sheng straight to Water Moon Convent.
After Wen Ruoshui finished reading the contents of the diary, she did not speak for a long time. She only stared at the line of words on the last page in a daze, her eyes frighteningly red.
Ling Sheng was very quiet as she simply accompanied her by the side. Since the person beside her wasn’t speaking, she did not dare to speak either.
It was a spring afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly. There was a gentle breeze, but the surrounding atmosphere was so heavy that it was a little difficult to breathe.
Until…
“Did he ask you to deliver it?” Wen Ruoshui lifted her head to look at Ling Sheng.
Ling Sheng nodded. “It’s not convenient for Second Miss Dongfang to come, so she asked me to come. Auntie Ruoshui, if you have anything to say, I can convey it on your behalf.”
Dongfang Meng must be too embarrassed to come over. After all, she had done plenty of excessive things in the past. But it turned out that she had misunderstood the person. This hatred had lasted for more than 20 years. In the end, the two of them had gotten together because of her sister’s approval and the latter even played matchmaker.
“Sheng Sheng.” Wen Ruoshui’s expression was unprecedentedly somber. Her lips curled up in a self-deprecating smile. “You know it. I’m not talking about her. I’m talking about him.”
Ling Sheng’s heart suddenly skipped a beat as she played dumb. “Who? Who are you talking about?”
“Him.” Wen Ruoshui’s voice was hoarse and choked up. “Sheng Sheng, I’m talking about your second uncle. Don’t you have a good relationship with him?”
Ling Sheng was flustered inwardly, but she remained calm on the surface. “Auntie, what are you talking about? Why don’t I understand? Didn’t Second Uncle already…”
Did she know?
Or was she lying to her?
Logically speaking, she couldn’t possibly know!
Dongfang Meng had already sworn that she would never tell anyone that Second Uncle was still alive!
“Sheng Sheng.” Wen Ruoshui suddenly grabbed her arm. Her eyes were full of tears, and she was already choking up so badly that she couldn’t speak. “I’m begging you. Let me take a look at him! Just one look is fine!”
She had never expected this to happen one day. She knew that he was still alive, that he was living in the same space as her, breathing the same air.
However, she felt so inferior that even meeting him was a luxury. She actually felt so inferior that even though she was well aware that it was his fault… Even though he was the one who had clearly kept her in the dark and deceived her, she could not bear to lambast him with even a word.
He was already in that state. The man who had once supported a part of the sky for her was already so weak that he had to sit in a wheelchair and rely on others’ help to live.
On Ling Sheng’s end, she could not hold back her tears at all. She was flustered and her heart ached so painfully. Before she could even speak, her nose was already clogged. “I…”
“You guys don’t have to hide it from me. I’m not stupid. I know everything. He’s back. How can a living person like me not feel anything?” Wen Ruoshui tried her best to control her emotions, her eyes full of humble pleas. “Sheng Sheng, good child. I won’t tell anyone else. Only the two of us will know.”
“Don’t cry.” Ling Sheng wiped her tears, her heart aching. “Auntie, don’t cry. I promise. I promise, all right?”
They all thought that she didn’t know. They all thought that they had hidden it well. However, Auntie Ruoshui was the person Second Uncle loved the most. She also loved him so much. As two people who loved each other, how could she be completely unaware that he had approached her?
She suddenly remembered that on Valentine’s Day, Second Uncle had cooked for her at the Gu residence. When she was eating, she had casually mentioned that the food had the taste of Second Uncle’s cooking, which shocked everyone at the table.
Sure enough, she already knew about it a long time ago. She had sensed it earlier than Valentine’s Day.
“On New Year’s Eve, I watched the Spring Festival Gala with Auntie and Grandma. Fifth Brother accompanied us. When he left, I went out to deliver something and caught a glance from afar.” Wen Ruoshui’s eyes reddened. “Sheng Sheng, how could I not recognize him? No matter what his appearance changes into, how could he hide himself from my eyes?”
Ling Sheng held her hand and gave her comfort and support silently. She only felt that the temperature of her hand was icy-cold.
“On Valentine’s Day, he had a relapse in the study. I heard his voice. Your mother thought I didn’t know. But I know. Sheng Sheng, how could I not know?!” Wen Ruoshui looked at her. “You don’t know this, but your second uncle can tolerate pain the most. Back then, he encountered an assassination during an overseas visit for an interview. He was shot twice. The conditions were harsh, and there was no anesthesia. When he retrieved the bullet, he didn’t make a single sound.”
Exactly what kind of pain had tormented him so much that even he, who had always had such high pain tolerance, could not help but cry out in pain?
“Then why don’t you lay your cards on the table with them?” Ling Sheng said, “Since you already know, why aren’t you angry? Why don’t you scold them? They lied to you. I’m an accomplice too. Scold me.”
“I respect his decision.” Upon seeing the little girl cry even more fiercely than she did, Wen Ruoshui wiped her tears gently and comforted her instead. “I’ve already come around. As long as he’s still alive, as long as I know he’s still alive, and that when I look up at the sky, he can also see the same sky as me, I’ll have peace of mind.”
So what if she laid her cards on the table? She could scold them and vent her anger. She could interrogate him about why he was still alive yet unwilling to see her or why he wasn’t willing to let her know?
“My dad and the others only found out about it before the Lunar New Year too. They didn’t know that Second Uncle was alive either.” Ling Sheng sniffled and half-knelt in front of her. “Really. My dad, my mom, and even the other uncles didn’t know that Second Uncle was alive.”
When they found out, they had not resented him much either. Instead, they had blamed themselves, felt heartache, and helplessness. They watched how much pain he was suffering, but they were helpless.
[1] Refers to Lin Daiyu(林黛玉), a character in an 18th-century Chinese novel ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’. She is portrayed as a well-educated, intelligent, witty, and beautiful young woman of physical frailness who is somewhat prone to occasional melancholy.