Chapter 9: Certain Memories

Yuan Lingling’s mind was a mess. Thinking back to how she and Shen Caisheng hadn’t finished their conversation, frustration bubbled inside her.

She still had no idea who those people were, but they were definitely dangerous. If Shen Caisheng had been trying to protect her just now, then he obviously knew exactly what kind of people they were.

And now he had gone after them. Who knew what might happen? He was so restless—it seemed like the kind of man who wouldn’t settle down until he had seen everything the world had to offer before finally repenting.

Her thoughts ran wild. Then, as she snapped back to reality, she heard Aunt Yang mentioning Shen Caisheng’s difficult past.

He had a tough childhood?

He had money, freedom, and the ability to do whatever he wanted. He was capable enough to pursue his own goals. How could his life have been difficult?

“You mean because of his parents passing away?”

Aside from that, Yuan Lingling couldn’t think of anything else that would have made his life hard.

Maybe, just like Houzi, he had also struggled through this period of life?

She was actually quite curious. What had Shen Caisheng gone through to become such a fearsome villain?

Everything must have left traces. There had to be a reason.

“He…” Yang Ying let out a long sigh, as if recalling memories too painful to speak of. But in the end, they weren’t hers to tell—she could only feel sorry for Shen Caisheng and what he had endured.

He had been such a good kid.

“He was very well-behaved back then. Since he was a child, everyone in the neighborhood liked him, but his parents…”

Yang Ying stopped here, as if she couldn’t say that his parents had truly mistreated Shen Caisheng.

During that time, as long as parents provided food, clothing, and education for their children, what could outsiders say?

Seeing Yang Ying hesitate, Yuan Lingling looked puzzled. Was there something she couldn’t talk about?

Just as she was about to ask, Yang Ying suddenly looked as if she had made up her mind. “To be honest, it’s not really my place to say this. I know how hard it is to be a parent…”

“His parents weren’t exactly bad to him, but I just have to get this off my chest…”

She spoke hesitantly, making it sound like she was making things up. Yuan Lingling found it odd but didn’t interrupt her.

Before long, Yuan Lingling understood what Yang Ying was trying to say. It was actually quite simple. To sum it up, Shen Caisheng’s parents were overly controlling of him.

For example, they never allowed him to play with other children. Every day when he came home, he had to do more than half of the household chores. Almost everything he was capable of doing, he had to do.

If you looked at it that way, it didn’t seem like his parents did anything wrong. They were just trying to instill a hardworking spirit in him. But then again, what parents wouldn’t want their child to be diligent and down-to-earth? At the same time, what kind of parents would truly bear to see their child suffer like that?

Another example was how kids were naturally mischievous. Whenever children got into conflicts, most parents would first check if their child had been bullied and ask why they had fought. But Shen Caisheng’s parents were different. They always assumed he was in the wrong, every single time.

Yang Ying stared at a small stone stool outside the door, as if lost in memories.

“I remember one time when a child lost some money, and it was later found in Caisheng’s schoolbag. That time, he was beaten terribly.”

“But he didn’t take it, did he?” Yuan Lingling asked. Since Yang Ying brought it up this way, it must mean he had been wronged.

But would something like this really make him turn dark?

“Of course not!” Yang Ying said with a look of disgust. “I heard from my son that it was actually Xie Guanglian who did it. Back then, Shen Caisheng and that ungrateful bastard were really close. He took a lot of beatings for him.”

Yuan Lingling was shocked. She hadn’t expected this twist. She couldn’t help but sigh. That Xie Guanglian really was a piece of work.

“There’s not a single good person in the entire Xie family. You’d better keep your distance from them.”

When Yang Ying said this, Yuan Lingling realized that she was reminding her.

Yuan Lingling smiled awkwardly.

“No, I’m not close to them either. It’s just that Xie Guanglian often comes to borrow money from me. He always says he and Caisheng are good friends, and I actually believed him.” Yuan Lingling used her previous excuse, hoping to clear her bad reputation a little.

“Don’t believe him!” Yang Ying was relieved to hear that.

People of their generation didn’t really care if Yuan Lingling had once flirted with Xie Guanglian.

As long as she lived a good life in the future, who didn’t have a past?

When Yuan Lingling took Yuanyuan home, she was still in a daze.

The conversation had started about Shen Caisheng, but somehow, it had turned to the Xie family.

She had eaten way too much gossip.

The Xie couple had both been involved with other people after their engagement.

Xie Guang’an, the eldest son of the Xie family, wasn’t even fathered by Xie’s father.

Thinking of Xie Guang’an, a memory suddenly flashed in Yuan Lingling’s mind—something about the original owner.

Back then, the original owner seemed to have had a brief relationship with Xie Guang’an, but it was too short for many people to know, including Xie Guanglian.

At that time, a rumor spread that the original owner’s birth mother had died young because giving birth to her had ruined her health. People started calling her a bringer of misfortune.

For a long time, the original owner’s name became synonymous with bad luck. Kids, whether they had anything to do with her or not, took pleasure in bullying her just for fun.

It was during this time that she met Xie Guang’an.

The original owner didn’t care about the taunts. To her, even her own family treated her like an enemy, so how could outsiders possibly be kind?

But some people’s malice only grew when ignored.

One winter, someone secretly threw her schoolbag into the river.

In the freezing cold, she had no choice but to retrieve it. Without her books and bag, she would be beaten at home and might even lose her chance to go to school.

But going into the icy river could mean death.

So, for the first time, she fought back.

The original owner had always been soft-hearted. She had no chance of winning. Just as she was about to get beaten badly, Xie Guang’an appeared.

No one knew why he helped her. He clearly knew his sister disliked her, yet he still fought for her.

After that, Xie Guang’an often stayed by her side.

He wasn’t particularly close to her, but he did protect her. It was a real help.

With him around, the bullies stopped targeting her as much.

But at the same time, rumors started spreading—that she and Xie Guang’an were involved in some inappropriate relationship.

Perhaps because of this, Xie Guang’an soon distanced himself from her.

“Sister-in-law Lingling.” A child’s voice suddenly interrupted Yuan Lingling’s thoughts. “Are we having steamed egg custard?”

Earlier, Hou Yuan hadn’t wanted to go home, so Yuan Lingling had lured him back with the promise of good food.

Since Shen Caisheng had entrusted her with the child, she couldn’t just ignore him.

“Yuanyuan, let’s go to the kitchen and warm up by the fire while I cook. That way, you can learn how to make steamed egg custard yourself in the future.”

“Me?” Hou Yuan pointed at himself with wide eyes.

Yuan Lingling instantly felt her heart melt. “Of course. Do you want to learn?”

“I do, I do!” The little one eagerly grabbed Yuan Lingling’s hand and dragged her toward the kitchen, completely forgetting how much he had disliked her when they first met today.

While teaching him how to cook, Yuan Lingling took the chance to rub his little hands several times.

No doubt about it—being raised by a man showed.

Except for his face, there wasn’t a single part of him that looked well taken care of.

“You need to wash your hands properly, or else you’ll get worms this long in your belly!” Yuan Lingling gestured with her hands.

Hou Yuan’s eyes grew wider and wider until they were round as marbles. Without needing any more prompting, he started scrubbing his hands carefully all over again.

So adorable.

With a child around, Yuan Lingling found herself paying attention to his emotions and talking to him constantly.

This left her with little time to overthink things.

Yuan Lingling learned to cook from various internet culinary masters. Those food bloggers were best at making dishes look visually appealing and giving them a unique taste.

Yuan Lingling wasn’t interested in overly unique flavors. She preferred something that suited her own taste. However, she was confident in making cute dishes like little pandas and puppies.

With just one meal, she managed to win over the little one completely.

The child was obedient, but when it came to sleeping, he wasn’t so well-behaved.

In this courtyard, only the main room had a heated kang. Yuan Lingling didn’t feel comfortable letting the child sleep alone, so she brought him with her. But as soon as they lay down, he started kicking the blanket off. She covered him up, but after a short while, he kicked it off again.

After several rounds of this, Yuan Lingling’s drowsiness completely faded. She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She hadn’t even struggled with insomnia when she first arrived.

Her thoughts wandered, and she suddenly recalled what Aunt Yang had mentioned before.

Since arriving in this world, many things had taken an unfamiliar turn.

Her impression of Shen Caisheng was also changing constantly.

Yuan Lingling wasn’t sure if she was truly seeing his kind and genuine side or if she was simply being swayed by his external charm.

Shen Caisheng didn’t seem as bad as she had initially thought.

It was normal for a child’s upbringing to influence their personality.

Given his childhood environment, it was entirely possible for Shen Caisheng to develop certain personality flaws. Later, experiencing even more unbearable events could have led him to darken further, which made sense.

However, Yuan Lingling felt that trying to correct him now was almost impossible. After all, he was no longer a child.

—

Shen Caisheng quickly pursued the group of people who had disappeared ahead.

If his eyes weren’t mistaken, the first person who fled was Hu Ziyang—the very person they had been searching for.

They had all assumed he had already left long ago. Who would have thought he was still in the capital?

Following them, Shen Caisheng trailed them all the way to the western part of the city.

There was a main road in the west leading to Jisheng Province, along with a smaller road heading toward a county under the city’s jurisdiction. Scattered along both roads were a few houses.

As soon as the group reached this area, they vanished without a trace, making it impossible for Shen Caisheng to see where they had gone.

“Damn, lost them again.”

“What now, boss? Should we keep looking?”

“Forget it, we’re leaving!”

…

Watching the group walk away, Shen Caisheng hid in the roadside thicket.

He wasn’t sure which faction these people belonged to. They had seemed anxious before, yet now they were leaving so easily.

If Hu Ziyang weren’t so important, Shen Caisheng would have gone after them to investigate.

Hidden in the darkness, he endured the piercing cold, his hands and feet numb with pain, yet he didn’t dare relax his guard. The wind howled through the trees, making him more alert and dissipating much of the irritation he had felt earlier.

Time passed, and just when Shen Caisheng felt like he was about to freeze in place, a faint figure finally appeared near an abandoned cattle shed in the distance.

Shen Caisheng fixed his gaze on that spot.

—

Yuan Lingling had no idea when she fell asleep. She only knew that just as she was about to drift off, she vaguely heard a scream in her ears. She bolted upright in bed.

The room was pitch black, and beside her, the little one’s breathing was steady as he slept soundly.

Thinking it might have been a dream, Yuan Lingling let out a breath and prepared to sleep again, but then she heard voices outside. This time, it was real—there were people out there.

Ever since coming here, she no longer had to go to work, and with no one else at home, she had been waking up naturally every morning. Now that she had been disturbed, she was rather annoyed. But at this hour, people being noisy outside usually meant something had happened.

Suddenly, Yuan Lingling’s heart skipped a beat.

Could it be Shen Caisheng?