Chapter 60

Cheng Baisheng returned to his own residence just after nine in the evening. 

The adjutant informed him, “The Governor made two phone calls, asking you to come to the Governor’s residence.” 

Cheng Baisheng muttered, “I really dislike going to the Governor’s residence.” 

The Governor’s residence had very hard beds. 

Grumbling, he quickly put on his overcoat and went out. 

When he arrived at the Governor’s residence, Sheng Changyu was alone on the sofa, listening to the radio, looking quite bored. 

“…Why did you call me so late at night? What’s the matter?” Cheng Baisheng asked. 

Sheng Changyu replied, “You took several hours to see Ning Zhen off. What did you talk about with her?” 

“Curious, are you?” 

“Be honest.” Sheng Changyu lit a cigarette, not looking up. 

Cheng Baisheng said, “I didn’t talk about you.” 

“If you didn’t talk about me, why did you arrange for her to be in front of my eyes?” Sheng Changyu exhaled smoke. “I know exactly what you’re up to.” 

Cheng Baisheng said, “I did talk about you.” 

“Content!” 

Cheng Baisheng honestly recounted the grievances between Sheng Changyu and the old lady to Ning Zhen. 

Sheng Changyu, too lazy to use the ashtray, extended his long arm and flicked the ash into the glass ashtray. 

As he listened, his frown deepened. “Why did you tell her all this?” 

“She lives in the old residence and will inevitably have questions. She’s not a fool. The most dangerous thing is ‘preconceived notions.’ You’re the victim of this issue, and you understand it best. I told her so that others wouldn’t mislead her first,” Cheng Baisheng explained. 

“She’s an outsider; she doesn’t need to know this,” Sheng Changyu said. 

His expression was still calm. 

Cheng Baisheng replied, “The ‘Governor’s wife’ is an outsider?” 

Seeing Sheng Changyu fall silent, he continued, “Do you know what she thought after hearing this?” 

Sheng Changyu snorted, “You’ve exposed my secrets and made her laugh. She’s naturally going to say nice things. She’s from the Ning family.” 

Cheng Baisheng said, “You know her well. She did say some flattering things. She mentioned that the old lady uses emotional abuse against you.” 

“Emotional abuse?” Sheng Changyu repeated, puzzled. “Where did this foreign term come from?” 

“Even if you don’t use foreign terms, it’s still an accurate description,” Cheng Baisheng said. 

Sheng Changyu fell silent. 

After smoking most of a cigarette, he extinguished it in the ashtray. “What else did she say?” 

“She also said that you’re not interested in her,” Cheng Baisheng sighed. “She seemed quite affected by it.” 

Sheng Changyu asked, “Did you exaggerate?” 

“I’m not afraid if you want to confront her. That’s exactly what she said.” 

“Then she must have misunderstood. I said I’m not interested in her past,” Sheng Changyu said. 

“What about her as a person?” 

Sheng Changyu replied, “That’s not something you should be investigating.” 

“She wants me to investigate,” Cheng Baisheng said. “She might ask about it next time.” 

“Our conversation is just between us. If you can’t keep it discreet, you should leave,” Sheng Changyu said. 

Cheng Baisheng said, “Did I want to come? By this hour, I should be heading to bed.” 

The two exchanged a few more words before Cheng Baisheng, exhausted, went to sleep. 

Sheng Changyu sat alone. 

He thought about many past events. 

His mother always prided herself on fairness, treating him and his younger brother equally in minor matters. However, she never hid her favoritism in important matters. 

When he had chickenpox as a child, he was alone in a room with only a maid to keep him company. He had a fever and felt miserable, and he asked several times, “Can my mother come and stay with me?” 

The maid told him, “The lady has never had chickenpox, so she can’t come.” 

When he was seven years old, his four-year-old brother also got chickenpox. His mother stayed by his brother’s side day and night, looking haggard from worry. 

That was the first time Sheng Changyu saw his mother without her usual grace and composure. 

His mother, beautiful and the wife of the Governor, always dressed elegantly and rarely appeared disheveled. At that time, he realized that the two sons were treated differently. 

He wondered why she couldn’t admit her suspicion that he might not be her biological child. Why did she insist on treating him the same as his brother in trivial matters? 

Because of this, when he criticized his mother for being unkind, it all seemed to be his fault. 

Once, his brother, being playful, sneaked into their father’s study and stole a map of the defenses. The advisors were frantic and searched everywhere, but Sheng Changyu found it in his brother’s courtyard. 

However, his father said, “Your brother doesn’t understand. It’s clearly you who stole it and framed him.” 

His father wanted to punish him, and his mother did not intervene, blaming him for framing his brother. 

His brother cried and confessed that it was indeed him who had stolen it and where he had taken it from. 

“He just doesn’t understand,” his mother defended his brother. 

Sheng Changyu was punished with two lashes and, in a fit of rage, pushed his father to the ground. 

At that time, he knew that fists could earn him respect. Regardless of what his mother thought, his father was certain he was his biological son and dared not treat him harshly. 

Thus, Sheng Changyu became more unrestrained and reckless, desperately amassing wealth. 

After the theft incident, for his brother’s birthday, his mother personally made a pair of cloth shoes. 

He saw this. His mother dryly explained, “I’ll make a pair for you when your birthday comes.” 

When his birthday arrived, she made the shoes, but Sheng Changyu took scissors and shredded them. 

His mother cried angrily. For the next ten years, she would occasionally bring up how selfish he was and how he competed for favor with his brother. 

The first time he had a real argument with her was when he said, “Just admit it. You’ve always suspected I’m not your child. You doubt that I’m not your biological son. If you admit it, I might still respect you. If you refuse to admit it, you’re just cowardly and malicious. Don’t think you can live in peace!” 

“You can not love me, but can you stop lying to me? Just tell me the truth, so I can let go, and we can go our separate ways!” 

The result of the uproar was his mother lamenting that his ideas were extreme. 

She poured out her grievances, insisting she had never doubted him and that she loved both sons equally. Sometimes she was nicer to the younger one because he was more in need of care. 

Whether it was true or not, she knew, the servants knew, but she only deceived Sheng Changyu. 

His father put him in solitary confinement for seven days. 

In the years that followed, he was moved by his mother’s occasional kindness but hated himself for his weakness. He hated his mother but spent his life seeking her love. 

He wanted to be acknowledged by his mother and hated how she always belittled his achievements. 

Many who knew the situation advised him to let go, except for two people: his mentor Yao Shao and his close friend Cheng Baisheng. 

Cheng Baisheng had two older sisters and a younger sister, being the only son of his parents. He received much love, but he never told Sheng Changyu to “give it up.” 

Cheng Baisheng would say, “It’s not your fault. As parents, they are supposed to be the spring that gushes forth first. If they don’t offer their love first, why should you have to give back?” 

Without receiving love and respect, how could Sheng Changyu reciprocate? 

He sat alone in his study until late at night. 

The past washed over him like a tide. 

He deeply resented the small gifts his mother gave him to show her love: those cloth shoes, those worthless greetings, and being a legitimate son…