Chapter 147: More Than Anything, It Was Hatred

As Wang Chunhua looked at Shen Qingyi again, she finally recalled who she was.

Back then, even though Professor Shen had been arrested, He Xiangcao was unwilling to let it go; she had insisted on running to the professor’s doorstep to cause a scene. At the time, the professor’s wife was nowhere to be found, leaving only the young woman before her behind. She had looked helpless and terrified, surrounded by onlookers, not knowing what to do. He Xiangcao was screeching, demanding compensation.

It wasn't until a family of three named Cheng rushed over and dispersed the crowd that the situation ended. Among them was a woman named Cheng Youqing, who had grabbed and pulled at He Xiangcao, hurling insults that made her seem nothing like a refined city girl. When He Xiangcao saw that Cheng Yong carried such authority—dispersing the crowd with just a few words, and hearing people address him as "Director"—she had allowed herself to be half-pushed and half-dragged away. One of the women had gathered the girl before her into her arms, offering gentle comfort.

Shen Qingyi had long noticed the way Wang Chunhua was looking at her. "You recognize me, don't you?"

Wang Chunhua nodded. "Yes! You are Professor Shen’s daughter!"

Although she had known the answer, hearing it confirmed still left Shen Qingyi feeling shocked and stirred. Wang Chunhua rose to fetch a long wooden bench, placing it before Shen Qingyi and Lu Yan. "Sit."

As they sat down, Wang Chunhua began. "He Xiangcao was originally my own sister, but because our family had too many daughters to feed, our parents gave her away to the He family so they could keep trying for a son." She paused, and seeing that neither of her guests looked surprised, she continued, "She came to the capital after her divorce—and she came with my husband. I didn't know at the time; I only heard that her adoptive family had relatives in the city. It wasn't until long after I arrived in the capital that I discovered she had been involved with my husband all along."

Shen Qingyi looked up at her, noticing the woman’s hands trembling as she held her child. She could guess the rest. "So you two didn't have a good relationship?"

Wang Chunhua nodded. "When I first came to the capital, she was the first person I looked for. Who would have known that as soon as my children and I were settled, she would rush to my husband to tip him off? Back then, I didn't know about their affair. My husband immediately took leave, and every time I went to look for him, I found nothing.

"Fortunately, my eldest son was sharp. He hid near the school and kept an ear out for news about my husband. One day, when he happened to be there, my son ran home like a madman to tell me. But as soon as he spoke, He Xiangcao told us not to show our faces, claiming it would ruin my husband and make him a laughingstock. She offered to go and find him herself.

"I was already half-doubting her, but being in a strange place where I knew no one, I had no one else to trust. In the end, I believed her. That day, Wang Mingyi did indeed show up, and he said the exact same things He Xiangcao had, which told me their relationship was far from simple. That day, I was ready to tear him apart, but before I could even move, I was shoved aside. My eldest was only nine and no match for him, and my second child, only one, was crying in terror.

"Once Wang Mingyi left, I decided to go find He Xiangcao to demand an explanation. That was the day someone told me she had gone to Professor Shen’s house. That was when I saw you, little Comrade Shen. I don't know how she became involved with the professor, nor what she did, only that the professor was imprisoned while she was protected by everyone.

"Later, someone took her to Pengcheng. Before she left, she must have had a pang of conscience; she cursed Wang Mingyi, gave me a hundred yuan, and said a wealthy family named Zhou had hired her as a cook. She never returned after that."

Hearing this, Shen Qingyi felt her entire body tense, as if something were lodged in her throat. After a long silence, she asked, "After all that, you still hesitated to speak up for her sake?"

Wang Chunhua sighed. "She was given away as a child; she didn't have a good life over there."

"And do you really believe my father would do such a thing to her?" Shen Qingyi’s chest felt tight and suffocated. To think her father had been framed by such a person.

Wang Chunhua did not answer. Lu Yan, sensing his wife’s emotional state, interrupted before she could speak further. He turned to Wang Chunhua. "Did she ever reveal any information about the Zhou family to you?"

Wang Chunhua fell silent for a moment before answering. "She called once, saying Wang Mingyi owed her fifteen thousand yuan, and that if she could get it back, she’d split it with me. I was shocked by the amount and asked how she had so much money and why it was with Wang Mingyi. She wouldn't say. She just cried, saying she wasn't treated well at the Zhou house. The head of the household was a divorced woman in her forties whose husband had found a new lover in Guangzhou. By the time she made that call, Wang Mingyi had already vanished for a long time. I told her she deserved it, and she never called again."

"That is all I have to say."

As she finished, it was as if a stone that had pressed upon her heart for years had finally been pushed aside. Her feelings for her sister were complicated, but they were mostly defined by hatred. Being given away wasn't her fault—why should she be expected to forgive?

Seeing the two guests remain silent, Wang Chunhua felt a ripple of unease. "I know this information might not be useful to you, and I know what you are trying to do, but this is all I know, and every word is true. If you aren't willing to tell me where Wang Mingyi is, then please, leave."

Lu Yan pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. "This is for you."

Wang Chunhua opened the paper, and her eyes instantly filled with tears. Her lips trembled so violently she couldn't form a coherent sentence. After a long while, she choked out, "That heartless wretch, he’s actually remarried and living in a new house! Does he have no idea what my children and I have suffered all these years?"

Shen Qingyi watched her, feeling as though a heavy blow had landed on her own chest. "Even though you didn't have a marriage certificate, you had a common-law marriage. If you file a lawsuit, you can send him to prison."

"I know!" Wang Chunhua caught her breath. "But I don't know how to sue, and I don't know where the courthouse is. Still, even if I can't put him in jail, I won't let him live in peace."

"I can help you," Lu Yan said.

"What are your terms?" Wang Chunhua knew this man was no ordinary person.

"Expose the relationship between He Xiangcao and Wang Mingyi in the media," Lu Yan said calmly. "That way, Wang Mingyi will not only face prison, but he will also be disgraced, and no workplace will ever hire him again."

At the same time, He Xiangcao would also come under intense scrutiny. With her character brought to light, everyone would begin to question the case she had built against the professor all those years ago. Even if the case couldn't be reopened immediately, public opinion would shift back to the professor’s side. Lu Yan hadn't expected He Xiangcao to have such a connection to Wang Mingyi, but he would use it to their advantage.