Chapter 71.2

Zhao Xin looked at Pei Ji’an. “You are the first man who remained unmoved when I tried to lure you in.”

“What are men? I play the victim, and they get all flustered, thinking they are some kind of saviors, believing they deserve to pity me. In the end, they are just pawns in my game—just like this pack of cigarettes.”

Zhao Xin played with a cigarette case and disdainfully said, then with a loud “clack,” she casually tossed the case onto the table.

“You!” The recorder, who had been trying to help, was infuriated and flushed red.

But Zhao Xin ignored the recorder and raised an eyebrow at Pei Ji’an. “Do you know why I’m looking for Lu Nong?”

Pei Ji’an, who had not spoken since entering, finally said his first words, “State your issue.”

“You really care about her. Did you let your weakness be known to the enemy out of arrogance or confidence?”

Pei Ji’an remained noncommittal, and Zhao Xin understood that there could be no mistakes.

Zhao Xin seemed to be casually lamenting without going in circles with Pei Ji’an. She took a puff of her cigarette, her eyes drifting into a daze. “You ask why? Because she is very similar to me in the past.”

“You must have found out by now that I’m not Zhao Xin. My real name is Wang Xinyi, the daughter of Guo Party member Wang Qin…”

Wang Xinyi was the illegitimate daughter of a Guo Party official. After the liberation war, when the Guo Party was defeated and retreated to Taiwan, Wang Xinyi, neglected as an unwanted child, was left behind on the mainland by the main wife.

This left Wang Xinyi in a dire situation. At just sixteen, she was a beautiful girl full of innocence. Her father was a high-ranking official, and the Lu family was known as a wealthy landlord family in the area. Her family’s reputation was poor, and many in the locality hated Lu Nong, as the party’s goal at that time was to eliminate landlords as if sweeping fallen leaves.

In such circumstances, Wang Xinyi had no choice but to run away. She fled with a maid who had grown up alongside her, but just as they were nearing the maid’s hometown, the maid died. Wang Xinyi took the opportunity to replace the maid. From then on, Wang Xinyi became the maid Zhao Xin.

Wang Xinyi was a smart person. She understood the situation clearly. The change in regime didn’t significantly affect ordinary people, but for her, the offspring of a former official, the outcome was unpredictable.

She didn’t easily reveal herself, quietly living as a farmer’s daughter in Zhao Xin’s hometown. However, being a lone girl was not easy. Within days, Zhao Xin’s brother and sister-in-law pressured Wang Xinyi to marry a sickly man who would soon die.

Wang Xinyi, who had been raised as a pampered young lady, found it unbearable to be reduced to a farmer’s daughter. How could she possibly want to marry a countryman?

She didn’t want to marry, but she knew her greedy brother and sister-in-law wouldn’t let her off easily. So, while pretending to comply with their demands, she secretly planned her escape.

When her escape failed, she met an honest man on the way. She sought his help, but to her dismay, he turned out to be someone sent to capture her. Consequently, she was taken back to her husband’s family to consummate the marriage with her sickly husband.

As she walked through the door that changed her fate, Wang Xinyi looked deeply at the honest man who had caught her. She learned his name was Zhong Daren, a man she had previously deemed too ordinary to even glance at.

From that day forward, Wang Xinyi completely became Zhao Xin. She accepted her new identity, and having run away from her marriage, she lost face with her in-laws. Her mother-in-law and family abused and bullied her, keeping a close watch on her.

Perhaps because Zhong Daren had captured her, her in-laws trusted him greatly. If she followed Zhong Daren into the mountains, they wouldn’t send others to watch her.

Zhao Xin cautiously probed, eventually discovering something interesting: Zhong Daren wanted her. He even claimed that he liked her the moment he first saw her.

Zhao Xin almost laughed to death at this, so she seduced Zhong Daren, making him her obedient dog. She ordered him to poison her sickly husband, successfully freeing herself from her in-laws.

For Zhao Xin, Zhong Daren had served his purpose. She decided to leave this dreadful place for the capital, seeking refuge with her father’s former friend.

But little did she know, she had just escaped from a wolf’s den only to enter a tiger’s lair. This so-called friend turned out to be a secret spy for the Guo Party stationed on the mainland.

Zhao Xin hated the current government, but she loathed the Guo Party and her father even more. In truth, she hated the entire world.

Feigning friendliness, she established a foothold in the capital using her uncle’s connections, constantly upgrading her job while siphoning off funds from the Guo Party under the guise of operational expenses.

Her uncle was a cunning fox who arranged for her to join the Xu family, instructing her to get close to the Xu family’s son-in-law, Song Zhiliang. Song Zhiliang was the highest-ranking person they could approach, and her uncle would not tolerate any failure.

Zhao Xin worked for the Xu family for five years. She was lucky because the daughter of the Xu family died of illness, and Zhao Xin did not have to bear the stigma of having an affair with someone else’s husband. Five years later, the Xu family needed someone to take care of their little grandson, and Zhao Xin successfully broke through the siege and married Song Zhiliang as she wished.

After marrying Song Zhiliang, she had even more reason to demand money from her uncle. Once she received the money, she could easily brush him off. He wouldn’t dare to speak up, especially since they had invested heavily in her.

“So you don’t have to worry. Over the years, I’ve given them very few pieces of information, and it was all unrelated to confidential information.” Zhao Xin extinguished the cigarette butt and pulled another from the case, inhaling it.

“Write down your uncle’s name, address, and contact code,” Pei Ji’an instructed the recorder to hand Zhao Xin a pen.

“After saying so much, you are only interested in my uncle. How boring,” Zhao Xin struck a match and wrote down a string of names, clearly detailing everyone she had encountered. It can be said that she was very cooperative.

“Let’s talk about those women in the compound. They are so stupid and pathetic. Why would they want to be someone else’s stepmother? I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I decided to help them.” Zhao Xin paused and exclaimed, “Oh, I forgot Lu Nong is also a stepmother. I wanted to help her too, but who knew this little one was too clever? She hides from me the moment she sees me. You two really are from the same family.”

Pei Ji’an’s face turned cold. “Since you want to talk so much, why don’t you talk about Zhong Daren? He hasn’t given you away yet. And your husband wants to see you, why don’t you see him? This should be enough for you to talk about.”

Zhao Xin’s expression changed as she looked at Pei Ji’an with a cold smile. Both parties were clever, easily recognizing each other’s weaknesses.

Pei Ji’an’s weakness was Lu Nong. He cherished her too much and didn’t want her to be overly implicated in the Zhao Xin affair.

Zhao Xin’s weaknesses were Zhong Daren and her husband. The reasons she didn’t want to see them were entirely the opposite of Pei Ji’an’s. It’s not because she cherishes them, but she simply thinks they don’t deserve to see her.

After everything was laid bare, Zhao Xin was no longer Zhao Xin. She had transformed back into the former young lady she used to be, Wang Xinyi. She didn’t want to look at Zhong Daren or her husband even once. The only person she wanted to see was Lu Nong because it was Lu Nong, who had seen through her and resisted her advances, that deserved to speak to her on equal terms.

Another reason, as mentioned before, was that she felt Lu Nong was very similar to her former self.

For Lu Nong, it was the same reason. Seeing Lu Nong happily living her life while being cherished made Zhao Xin feel miserable, knowing that she had spent her life trapped and unable to escape.

That night, Pei Ji’an finished massaging Lu Nong’s legs and started working on the acupoints in her waist. Just as Lu Nong was dozing off, Pei Ji’an suddenly said, “Zhao Xin confessed.”

“What?” Lu Nong immediately perked up. She was desperate to know what Zhao Xin had said and stared wide-eyed at Pei Ji’an, waiting for him to explain.

Pei Ji’an regretted mentioning it, knowing how curious she was. He had seen her dozing off like a little cat and couldn’t resist teasing her, but that had only succeeded in waking her up.

He rubbed his nose and decided to keep it simple regarding Zhao Xin’s situation.

“Zhao Xin’s real name is Wang Xinyi. Zhao Xin is the name she used to replace someone else…”

Pei Ji’an gently stroked Lu Nong’s hair. The dim light set a calm scene as one listened quietly while the other spoke slowly, making the time feel endless.

After hearing the story, Lu Nong sighed, tilting her head as she pondered a chilling question. When Zhong Daren had taken Zhao Xin away, he later told her that he had liked her the first time they met. If he liked her, why didn’t he let her go?

Lu Nong shared this revelation with Pei Ji’an and asked, “What do you think?”

Pei Ji’an fell silent. Both of them were clever and simultaneously came to the same conclusion: he could only have her if she stayed.

Perhaps this was why Zhao Xin had always hated and looked down on Zhong Daren.