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Song Ye looked up in shock, eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at her.
Jiang Zhi Ning stood across from him, clearly seeing the stunned expression in his eyes.
It was obvious—no one had ever said such words to him before.
“I… I have a mom?” Song Ye asked in a quiet voice, part questioning, part unsure.
Jiang Zhi Ning teased gently, “What, you think you popped out of a rock if you don’t have a mom?”
Song Ye shook his head. “She doesn’t want me to call her mom.”
Jiang Zhi Ning froze. She naturally knew who “she” was.
In that instant, her heart sank.
“There are people in this world who carry the title of ‘mother’ but are never truly fit to be one. That kind of person exists in every era. You just had the bad luck of running into one,” she said softly.
Song Ye didn’t reply.
“Xiao Ye, a stepmother is still a mother. You’re Song Yu Zhou’s son, and that means you’re my son too.” Jiang Zhi Ning smiled. “A mom gives you strength. So the next time someone tries to hurt you with words—stand up for yourself, alright?”
In that moment, tears welled up in his eyes.
Almost immediately, Song Ye lunged into her arms, hugging her tightly.
His voice trembled, clearly nervous: “Mom… Mama…”
Jiang Zhi Ning gently stroked his head, her palm warm and comforting. “Mm. Mama’s here.”
With her response, tears silently rolled down his cheeks.
In his mind, a memory flashed—the time he’d reached out to his birth mother and called her “mom,” only to be slapped in the face.
Feeling the dampness on her chest, Jiang Zhi Ning said nothing. She simply continued holding him gently.
Nearby, Song Yu Zhou stood watching them. His fists clenched tightly at his sides as he saw Song Ye clinging to Jiang Zhi Ning.
Due to Song Ye’s emotional state, Song Yu Zhou had asked the school for leave on his behalf. Then he and Jiang Zhi Ning took Song Ye home together, holding his hand along the way.
Once home, Jiang Zhi Ning asked Song Yu Zhou to make lunch while she sat with Song Ye to talk.
He was only a child, yet he carried far too much inside. She wanted to guide him as best she could.
“Xiao Ye, can you tell me about your mother?” she asked gently.
At the mention of his birth mother, Song Ye instinctively flinched. Seeing his reaction, Jiang Zhi Ning’s heart ached, and she gripped his hand a little tighter.
“Just treat me like a trash can today—pour out all your fear, all your pain. And starting tomorrow, I want you to forget that past. Because from now on, I’m your mother,” she said slowly, each word deliberate and firm.
Encouraged by her eyes, Song Ye finally began to speak.
“Mom didn’t like us. When we were little, and Dad wasn’t home, she used to hit me and my brother…”
Jiang Zhi Ning listened carefully, holding back her shock.
She had known that the three siblings were abandoned, but not the full story.
Now, hearing it firsthand, she finally believed—there really were such cruel mothers in the world.
Because her husband was often away, Song Ye’s birth mother had taken out all her resentment on the children. She constantly yelled that they were a burden, and would either beat or curse them daily.
In the winter, she wouldn’t let them wear warm clothes, take hot baths, or eat properly. When she was in a bad mood, she’d whip them with thorny branches.
The most horrifying part?
After Song Yu Zhou was declared dead in action, their mother tried to abandon them so she could remarry an old flame.
To claim the military compensation for herself, she conspired with that man to poison all three children.
If Song Yu Zhou hadn’t returned just in time and found the kids unconscious, they would’ve died at their birth mother’s hands.
Because of that, the children lived in a tangled knot of love and hate toward their mother.
Jiang Zhi Ning’s eyes reddened. She gently placed her palm on his head. “It’s okay now. It’s all over.”
“You won’t hurt us like they did… right?” Song Ye asked, eyes full of anxiety.
“They?”
Song Ye nodded. “After Uncle adopted us, there was an auntie who wanted to marry Dad. She treated us nicely at first… but once, when I went with her to the pond, she pushed me in.”
Jiang Zhi Ning gasped, covering her mouth in disbelief. She hadn’t expected that the children had suffered through so much.
Words caught in her throat—she didn’t even know what to say.
“Grandma said women don’t like being stepmothers. That’s why they try to get rid of us,” Song Ye added.
After a long pause, Jiang Zhi Ning finally found her voice. “I’ll never hurt you. Never.”
Song Ye didn’t respond. His clear eyes just stared at her quietly.
Moved, Jiang Zhi Ning bent down and hugged him tightly. “I’ll do my best to be a real mother to you. Will you give me that chance?”
His nose filled with a new, unfamiliar warmth. His body, which had been tense all along, slowly relaxed.
She smelled so nice—just like the mother in his dreams.
After a long moment, Song Ye nodded cautiously.
After her talk with Song Ye, Jiang Zhi Ning returned to her room and didn’t come out for a while.
“I finally understand why those two kids go dark in the future,” she muttered to herself. “After going through all that… how could they not?”
Jiang Zhi Ning sympathized deeply.
She had grown up an orphan, never knowing a mother’s love, always yearning for it.
But compared to her, Song Chen and Song Ye had it worse.
Their own mother tried to poison them! The moment the poison kicked in, how hopeless must they have felt?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Her emotions surged.
When Song Yu Zhou walked into the room, he found Jiang Zhi Ning crying.
Alarmed, he rushed to her side. “What happened?”
“I’m just so angry! Xiao Ye told me everything. How can a mother be so heartless? It’s infuriating! She doesn’t deserve to be called a mother!”
Her tears flowed faster as she spoke.
Seeing her crying from sheer anger, Song Yu Zhou felt both touched and helpless.
“It’s okay. Don’t cry. He has you now—his stepmom,” he said gently, wiping her tears.
Jiang Zhi Ning nodded firmly. “I will.”
She couldn’t save her past self—but maybe she could save Song Ye and his brother.
And in doing so, save herself, too.