“Auntie Lin Shu, from now on, live with Yueyue.”
“Yueyue will take good care of you.”
In the dream, Lin Shu was stunned.
In reality, lying on the bed, Lin Shu-who had been trapped in the dream, unable to wake up-suddenly opened her eyes, filled with tears.
She sat up abruptly.
At this moment, the confusion that had clouded Lin Shu’s eyes in the past was gone, replaced by clarity.
She remembered. She remembered everything.
Lin Shu covered her face with her hands, unable to hold back her sobs. “Tiantian, my Tiantian…”
So, all these years, she had been living in a daze.
Was it because Tiantian couldn’t bear to see her like this?
Yueyue had said that Tiantian told her she was a good mother, that she wanted her mother to be well.
“How could I be a good mother? I didn’t even protect you, Tiantian… My Tiantian…”
“Tiantian, you should blame me. You should blame me…”
No one could understand the pain in Lin Shu’s heart.
How could she ever let go so easily?
A long time later, Lin Shu’s emotions finally settled somewhat.
She got up, walked to the closet, and took out Tiantian’s clothes.
Holding the tiny outfit in her arms, it was as if she were holding her daughter again.
“Tiantian, do you want Mommy to start living well again?”
“Mommy… can I really do it?”
…
Military District, Zhao Residence
Yueyue, who was temporarily staying with the Zhao family, also had a dream.
She dreamed of a little girl older than her -a beautiful girl with two braids-who said her name was Tiantian.
“Are you Auntie Lin Shu’s daughter, Sister Tiantian?”
The little girl nodded.
She walked over and took Yueyue’s hand.
“Little Yueyue, Sister Tiantian has to leave, but I’m worried about Mommy.”
“Can you help me take care of her?”
“Mommy… has suffered too much, too much. Little Yueyue, can you make my mommy happy again?”
Yueyue quickly grabbed Tiantian’s hand. “Sister Tiantian, where are you going?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere very, very far away. I heard there’s no cold there, no curses, no beatings-just happiness.”
“Okay, then go, Sister Tiantian.”
“Yueyue will take good care of Auntie Lin Shu.”
“Good.” Tiantian patted Yueyue’s head, smiling, before her figure slowly faded away.
“Sister Tiantian…”
In bed, Yueyue opened her eyes, thinking about the dream.
Soon, she made up her mind.
She decided to find a time to talk to her parents-to ask if Auntie Lin Shu could live with them.
Meanwhile, Zhang Qiumei, who had been arrested, had initially clung to hope.
But during the interrogation, when Aunt Zhou appeared, that hope vanished.
Zhang Qiumei never expected that Aunt Zhou would be caught.
Of course-only if Aunt Zhou were arrested would she be exposed.
“Zhang Qiumei, Aunt Zhou is from R Country. Explain how you became involved with her. Aside from instructing her to throw Sheng Zexi’s children, Xingxing and Yueyue, into the sea, what else were you conspiring to do?”
Faced with the interrogation, Zhang Qiumei was stunned.
“What? You’re saying this Aunt Zhou is from R Country?”
“Me? Conspiring with R Country people?”
“No, you must have made a mistake! How could she be from R Country? I don’t know any R Country people!”
“Zhang Qiumei, our investigation confirms that Aunt Zhou and her group are indeed from R Country.”
“According to their testimony, they acted on your orders to harm Xingxing and Yueyue!”
“On my orders? That’s absurd!”
“Zhang Qiumei, think carefully before you speak. Collaborating with R Country is treason!”
The words “treason” struck Zhang Qiumei’s heart like a hammer.
Treason—anyone knew it was a crime far graver than murder or arson.
This, Zhang Qiumei was well aware of.
But if she understood its severity, how could she possibly have committed treason?
“Wrongful accusation! This is a wrongful accusation!”
“I never colluded with the R-people. I didn’t know her before, and I certainly never conspired with them.”
“I didn’t betray my country, truly I didn’t!”
At first, Zhang Qiumei had thought that no matter what, the best course of action was to say nothing, to deny everything.
That way, they wouldn’t be able to convict her.
But now, they had linked her to treason, shattering any last shred of hope she had.
“I admit, I did tell Auntie Zhou to kill Gu Jianing’s two little brats…”
Zhang Qiumei began to recount her story slowly.
As it turned out, even after marrying Lin Chushi, Zhang Qiumei still harbored deep resentment toward Sheng Zexi and Gu Jianing.
In fact, her hatred for Gu Jianing surpassed even that for Sheng Zexi.
Once, she had considered finding an opportunity to strike at Gu Jianing.
She had hoped Gu Jianing would die along with her unborn child.
But she never found the chance.
Later, when she happened to see Sheng Zexi’s happy family of four, her focus quickly shifted to Xingxing and Yueyue.
“…At the time, I thought—if she lost her children, would Gu Jianing still be able to smile like that?”
“Would Sheng Zexi and Gu Jianing’s relationship remain as strong as ever?”
She imagined that Gu Jianing, who loved her children so dearly, would surely collapse if something happened to them—maybe even go mad.
And the rift between her and Sheng Zexi would inevitably widen.
That was exactly what Zhang Qiumei wanted to see.
Just as she was plotting how to kill Xingxing and Yueyue, she happened to meet Auntie Zhou by chance.
Thinking she had leverage over Auntie Zhou, she used it to coerce her into helping eliminate the two children.
And the opportunity soon presented itself—the arrival of the severe typhoon.
With the typhoon came lax security in the military district.
Coincidentally, Sheng Zexi had to go to the front lines for relief efforts, while Gu Jianing was due to give birth at the hospital.
Apart from a dog, Xingxing and Yueyue were left unattended.
Zhang Qiumei felt it was a heaven-sent opportunity.
So, after Zhang Qiumei instructed Auntie Zhou to act, the latter quickly gained Sheng Zexi’s trust and was assigned to care for Gu Jianing.
“…I never expected Auntie Zhou to be so capable, actually earning Sheng Zexi’s trust and getting close to Gu Jianing.”
Looking back now, it was indeed Auntie Zhou’s skill that allowed her to deceive Sheng Zexi and Gu Jianing with her disguise.
But it hadn’t occurred to Zhang Qiumei—if Auntie Zhou was so capable, how could she have been so easily controlled?
When she learned that Auntie Zhou had gotten close to Gu Jianing, she even wanted her to target Gu Jianing directly.
But Auntie Zhou claimed she couldn’t find the right moment.
Then came the typhoon.
Gu Jianing went into labor, and Auntie Zhou seized the chance to return to the military district, tricking Xingxing and Yueyue into leaving with her.
“…I did tell her to find a way to kill those two little brats.”
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