Chapter 99
When Wang Manyu was wheeled out, she was still sunk in a deep sleep. Not a trace of color remained in her face; she looked no different from a corpse.
The monitoring equipment attached to her body kept beeping. In the silent corridor, the steady sound was especially shrill.
Wen Yan and Wen Chen hurried over at once. “Doctor, how is she?”
The attending physician took off her mask and shook her head. “The situation isn’t very optimistic.”
“The patient’s life has been saved,” the doctor said, exhaustion and helplessness in her voice. “But the damage the heart attack caused to the myocardium is irreversible. She’ll need long-term rest and can’t be stimulated again.”
She paused, then added, “Most importantly, this attack was triggered by severe psychological shock. I recommend that once her vital signs stabilize, we invite a psychiatrist for a joint consultation.”
The doctor’s gaze swept over Wen Yan and Wen Chen, carrying a barely perceptible trace of sympathy. “Her mental state is very unstable right now. Even if she wakes up, there’s a high chance she’ll develop stress-related psychological disorders.”
Wen Yan and Wen Chen exchanged a look; understanding was clear in both their eyes.
Wang Manyu was probably afraid to wake up.
Once she was awake, she would have to face the collapse of the beliefs she had held onto her entire life; she would have to face the fact that the Wang family, for which she had given everything, had always treated her as a tool they could sacrifice at any time.
Rather than confronting that blood-soaked truth while fully conscious, it might be better to stay asleep like this. At least in her dreams, there was still the false tenderness she depended on to survive.
“I understand. Thank you, Doctor.” Wen Yan was the first to recover; she gave the doctor a slight nod, her voice hoarse.
The nurse pushed the bed toward the VIP ward, and the two of them immediately followed. They kept their footsteps light, afraid of disturbing the sleeping figure on the bed, as if even the slightest sound would shatter that fragile dream.
The ward was very quiet.
Only the monitor’s beeping remained, steady and unrelenting, like something counting down.
Wen Chen sat by the bedside, looking at his mother’s pale face. It had thinned until it was almost unrecognizable; her cheekbones jutted sharply, her eye sockets were sunken, and she looked nothing like the plump, prosperous middle-aged woman in his memory.
He reached out and gently tucked the blanket around her.
The beeping was especially clear in the stillness. Looking at Wang Manyu’s closed eyes, he suddenly let out a low laugh.
“Actually, sleeping like this isn’t so bad.”
He spoke softly, as if to Wen Yan, and as if to himself. “By the time she wakes up, all the bad things will have been dealt with. She won’t have to face these awful people and awful messes anymore.”
Wen Yan, standing beside him, nodded and murmured, “Mm.”
——
By the time they got home that night, it was already deep into the night.
Jin Zijin was still working overtime and hadn’t come back. The house was quiet, even more so without the faint patter of the cat’s little footsteps. It felt especially empty.
Wen Yan changed her shoes and walked into the living room, then crouched down in front of the cat bed.
The cat bed had been specially custom-made by Jin Zijin; it was fluffy and soft, with Mi Tang’s favorite teasing wand and little dried fish toy tucked inside.
She really doted on the child, choosing everything carefully and wanting to give her the best.
But now the bed was empty, with nothing in it.
After the injury, worried that they’d be too busy to care for the cat, the two of them had discussed it and sent Mi Tang back to Grandma Jin’s place.
Then, once the holiday ended, there was one thing after another; the Wang family’s mess, the Lu family’s encirclement, the hospital’s pile of problems—they were both so busy they barely had time to touch the ground, and they still hadn’t managed to bring the cat back.
Wen Yan squatted on the floor, her fingertips lightly touching the cool cat bed as she drifted off into thought.
She wondered whether the little thing was behaving at Grandma’s house, whether it missed her, whether it was throwing a tantrum and refusing to eat.
Although Grandma had called to say Mi Tang was very well-behaved and slept every day with her pillow in its arms, if she didn’t see it with her own eyes, she still missed it terribly.
If she had time this weekend, should they go back to the old residence to take a look?
“Why are you squatting here spacing out?”
A familiar voice came from behind her, carrying the coolness of the night wind and the scent of citrus she knew so well.
Before Wen Yan could react, a pair of arms had wrapped around her from behind.
It was Jin Zijin. When had she come back? Wen Yan hadn’t even noticed.
Wen Yan turned her head to look back, only to meet a pair of eyes full of concern.
“The floor is cold. Aren’t you afraid of catching a chill?” Jin Zijin reached out and ruffled Wen Yan’s hair, her tone gentle. “Thinking about Mi Tang?”
Wen Yan leaned into her arms on instinct and nodded. “Mm. I haven’t seen her in a while. I do miss her a little.”
“Then should we pick her up tomorrow?”
Jin Zijin was discussing it with her seriously. Wen Yan shook her head and said, “No. Let’s wait until we have time to go back and keep her company.”
After resting for a bit, Wen Yan perked up again. She pulled Jin Zijin to her feet and led her toward the sofa. “Are you hungry? Want me to cook you a bowl of noodles?”
Jin Zijin shook her head. “No, I’m still full. I’m just a little thirsty.”
Wen Yan smiled. “Then I’ll go get you a glass of water.”
“Okay.”
Wen Yan pushed her down onto the sofa, then turned and went to the kitchen to pour her a cup of warm water.
Jin Zijin held the cup and took a few small sips, then asked casually, “I heard Mom was rushed to the emergency room again today? What happened?”
Actually, with the bodyguards there, Jin Zijin knew everything. But she still wanted Wen Yan to bring it up on her own.
Because Wen Yan’s mood was off.
Wen Yan thought about it and realized there was nothing to hide, so she curled up beside her on the living room sofa and told her everything that had happened at the hospital that afternoon.
She recounted Wen Chen’s hysterical questioning, Wang Manyu’s emotional breakdown and fainting, and the doctor’s words, not missing a single detail.
She spoke very calmly, as if she were talking about someone else’s affairs; yet Jin Zijin could still hear the turbulence hidden beneath that calm.
Holding the warm cup, Jin Zijin listened quietly without interrupting.
When Wen Yan finished, she finally let out a soft sigh. “I can understand Wen Chen’s reaction, but it wasn’t necessary.”
Cradling the cup, she chose her words carefully. “Your mother is like a frog that spent her whole life being boiled in lukewarm water. At first it was only a little warm, so she felt comfortable; slowly she got used to it. Later, the water kept getting hotter, and she gradually went numb.”
“If one day she suddenly realizes she isn’t numb at all, that her lower half was already cooked long ago and she’s about to be eaten alive, then she’ll definitely go crazy.”
Wen Yan agreed and nodded. “Yeah. Realizing you’re being eaten is actually very painful.”
“Mm.” Jin Zijin nodded. “As for your brother, he’s the kind of person who’s very arrogant. He thinks that if he can wake up, then your mother can too.”
“But he isn’t your mother. He doesn’t know how much it hurt when, bit by bit, she was being gnawed away.”
Wen Yan rested against her shoulder and gave a soft response. “Because the truth is too painful, she chose to numb herself over and over again... painting over reality. Not everyone can accept the cost of growing up.”
“My mom like this... maybe it’s also a kind of self-protection mechanism.”
Otherwise, how could she keep living like a walking corpse in this cannibalistic society?
After all, most people don’t have the courage to face growth head-on, nor the resilience to bear the truth.
You have to allow some people to live on in numbness.
Jin Zijin leaned in a little, burrowing into Wen Yan’s embrace until she found a comfortable position to rest in. She sighed. “Although your mother isn’t a qualified mother, judging from her family of origin and the way she grew up, she actually did make some progress.”
“At least you and your brother aren’t like her. Even with your father being a hands-off parent, you both still tried hard to be yourselves and face life bravely. That may well be your mother’s effort at a subconscious level.”
Wen Yan blinked and looked down at her, surprised. “Why would you think that?”
“Think about it.” Jin Zijin smiled and patiently analyzed it for her. “She lived sixty years, trapped in the shackles of favoring sons over daughters, drained by the Wang family her entire life; but she didn’t make you two copy her path.”
“Even though she sold you and your brother, using the betrothal gift to patch up your uncle’s hole, she didn’t force you to marry early or absolutely refuse to let you study.”
“You still had the confidence to resist her, to feel that she was wrong, to keep your distance from her, and you still get along well with Wen Chen...”
“I think that although she does have some bias toward sons over daughters, when it comes to principles involving you two, she still tries to be as fair as possible.”
“For example, even though she can’t comfort you, she does give you money.”
Wen Yan couldn’t help laughing when she heard that. “What kind of example is that? Giving me some money is considered good? Then my grandfather gave her money too.”
Jin Zijin glanced at her and said coolly, “Then does your father give you money?”
“Your father also has money. He gives it to your brother, so why doesn’t he give it to you?”
“Is it because his resources are limited? But even if they were limited, he could still give you a thousand or two, right? Yet he never does. Is that because he’s stingy?”
“No. He simply doesn’t spend resources on you. He knows you’re suffering, and yet he doesn’t give a cent. Does he not know?”
“He knows. He’s just standing by and watching, because in his eyes, you’re not worth investing in.”
“Think about it. Didn’t your grandfather and the others only come in to add the finishing touch after you already had value?”
Wen Yan nodded. “That is indeed the case.”
“Men are very utilitarian creatures,” Jin Zijin said with a faint sneer. “They don’t move without seeing benefits. Without profit, they won’t come near.”
At that, she let out a mocking laugh. “They’re so good at disguising themselves that they can do nothing at all and still sell the image of a mother who was too strong, while I was helpless but still loved you with a father’s good reputation.”
“And in the end, someone even praises them for being loyal and righteous.”
Tsk. Jin Zijin concluded, “In short, your lives are moving little by little in a better direction; you didn’t follow in her footsteps. That alone is enough to show that she was actually trying to educate you properly.”
She looked into Wen Yan’s eyes, her tone turning serious. “She may not be a good mother, but as a parent, she’s far better than her own parents and her husband.”
“She’s already completed her own upgrade. On this point alone, she already counts as a pretty decent woman.”
Wen Yan listened, then couldn’t help laughing, her tone tinged with teasing. “What is this, some sort of smart AI? It can even upgrade itself.”
“We’re analyzing this objectively.” Jin Zijin smiled too, raising a hand to pinch Wen Yan’s cheek as she coaxed her. “Think about it. A person lives sixty years, then suddenly realizes she isn’t one of the diners; she’s the fish on the table, waiting to be slaughtered. How terrifying is that?”
“Even more frightening is that she lived like that for sixty years!”
She paused, and a sly light flickered in her eyes. “That’s probably Chinese cosmic horror.”
At that, Wen Yan smiled and nodded lightly. “Mm.”
Yes; Chinese cosmic horror.
The most terrifying things were never monsters or ghosts. It was the scheming of blood relatives, the shackles carved deep into flesh and bone, the life you had exhausted everything trying to escape from, only to discover it had already been gnawed hollow.
Jin Zijin nestled in her arms. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly changed the subject. “But sympathy aside, I actually do dislike your mother a little.”
“She was truly excessive toward you. And every time you get close to her, you end up very upset.”
Wen Yan: ...
Wen Yan lowered her eyes and looked at her in surprise. “Really?”
Jin Zijin looked up at her and nodded. “Yes.”
She touched Wen Yan’s face, her voice softening. “So from now on, if we can avoid contact with her, let’s do our best to do that. I don’t want you to be unhappy.”
——
The internet’s memory was always short-lived.
In less than half a month, new social news and entertainment gossip swept in, quickly burying the Wang family’s absurd mess under layers and layers of noise.
On the trending list, the once-viral headlines were pushed into the corner and never mentioned again.
The netizens’ anger had faded, but Jin Zijin’s blade had not been sheathed.
She had never been one to show mercy, and she certainly wouldn’t spare the Wang family any leniency.
Taking advantage of the chaos caused by Wang Group’s delisting, its stock price collapse, and the absence of any clear leader, Jin Zijin used capital to press the advantage. At very low prices, she successively bought up the scattered shares held by other Wang family shareholders.
In just one month, she became Wang Group’s largest shareholder in one leap, fully taking control of the company.
At the same time, the evidence she held of the Wang family’s tax loopholes, false financial reports, and illegal misappropriation of funds was all submitted to the relevant departments.
The evidence was ironclad and impossible to refute.
Old Master Wang and Wang Yuchen were both taken away for investigation.
The Wang family, once a prominent household, ultimately ended in the spectacle of father, son, and daughter all being imprisoned, completing their absurd “reunion” in the detention center.
Old Master Wang was nearly ninety after all, and his health had never been good.
Not long after going in, he applied for bail on medical grounds due to high blood pressure and heart disease, and moved into a hospital.
During the days he lay in bed, he called Jin Zijin several times. His tone went from commanding and high-handed at the beginning, to increasingly obsequious, and finally to near-pleading, asking only to meet her once.
In the end, Jin Zijin agreed.
The meeting was arranged in the private hospital ward where Old Master Wang was staying under medical parole.
The ward was thick with the smell of medicine, mixed with the sharp sting of disinfectant and the rotten, decaying odor unique to those nearing death.
The once straight-backed, imposing Old Master Wang now lay on the hospital bed, gaunt beyond recognition. His face was covered in age spots, and the only thing left in his cloudy eyes was the ferocity of a dying struggle.
When he saw Jin Zijin push the door open, he tried to prop himself up, his arms shaking violently, but in the end he could only sink back helplessly.
“Zijin, you’ve finally come.” His voice was hoarse and rough, like a bellows with a hole in it; every word came with a wheezing gasp.
Jin Zijin stood at the foot of the bed.
Dressed in a well-tailored black suit, expression calm, she looked down at him from above as if looking at a dying ant struggling in vain.
“Old Master Wang, say what you need to say.” Her voice was as still as water, light and even. “My time is limited.”
A flash of anger crossed Old Master Wang’s cloudy eyes, but it was quickly suppressed. He took a deep breath and tried hard to make his voice steadier.
“I still have twenty percent of Wang Group’s remaining shares.” He stared fixedly at Jin Zijin, enunciating every word. “I’m willing to give half of that to Wen Yan for free, as compensation from me, her grandfather, to my granddaughter.”
He paused, his murky gaze carrying a trace of desperate pleading. “I only have one condition: you get Jinnyu out. He’s the Wang family’s only root; he can’t be ruined in there.”
After hearing him out, Jin Zijin smiled faintly. “Old Master, I don’t see your sincerity.”
Her tone remained utterly calm, but every word was like a blade. “Using what Wen Yan deserves to exchange for your precious son’s life. Your calculation is so loud I can hear it from across half of Beijing.”
“But me? I’ve never done a losing deal.”
With that, she turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
“Jin Zijin! Stop right there!”
Old Master Wang roared after her in fury. “You’re this ruthless, wiping us out completely; aren’t you afraid people outside will say you have a heart of stone?!”
Jin Zijin stopped and turned back to look at him with a smile. “Old Master, you forced my mother-in-law into the emergency room and nearly cost her her life. I haven’t even properly settled that debt with you yet.”
The woman still wore a smile, looking harmless, yet it made Old Master Wang go cold all over.
She took two steps forward and looked down at him. “Oh right, Old Master, I happen to have a question.”
“Giving my mother-in-law the drug that triggered her heart attack—was that your idea, or was it Wang Jinyu’s?”
Old Master Wang’s pupils contracted sharply.
“He’s already got three lives on his hands. One more charge of hiring someone to kill and he’ll be locked up for life.”
Jin Zijin’s voice was very light, carrying a trace of faint amusement. “You’re different. You’re still out on medical parole, clean and innocent. You’d better think carefully about how you want to answer that.”
After saying that, Jin Zijin adjusted her suit cuff with elegant composure, then walked out of the ward without looking back.
Behind her came Old Master Wang’s furious roar and the shrill crash of a cup shattering on the floor, mixed with vulgar curses.
“Jin Zijin! You poisonous woman! You’ll get what’s coming to you!”
“You’ll die a horrible death!”
Jin Zijin did not slow her steps. The smile on her face faded little by little, leaving only cold, tranquil stillness.
Anyone who dared touch her people had to be prepared to pay the price.
——
Two days later, the whole matter became a citywide joke.
Old Master Wang ultimately gave in.
He sold the last half of his remaining shares, scraped together an enormous bail amount, and also found someone to take the fall, managing to get Wang Yuchen out of the detention center.
At the same time, during the police investigation into the drugging of Wang Manyu, he dumped all the responsibility onto Wang Jinyu.
His statement was clear and firm: he had known nothing about the drugging. Wang Jinyu had arranged it all himself; he had only learned about it afterward.
Following the trail, the police quickly assembled a complete chain of evidence. The few people involved in the drugging were trembling in the interrogation room, and before long they confessed to Wang Jinyu.
Naturally, it was the “Wang Jinyu” directed by the old master.
A formal prosecution was filed against Wang Jinyu on charges of attempted murder.
Coupled with the three vehicular manslaughter deaths and the attempted murder charge, the combined sentences meant all that awaited Wang Jinyu was a long prison term.
In the detention center, Wang Jinyu learned the full sequence of events. When Old Master Wang came to see him, he completely lost his mind.
In the visitation room, separated by a cold pane of glass, Wang Jinyu wore an orange vest, his hands cuffed to the table.
The sixty-year-old giant child who had once swaggered through the Wang family now looked like a cornered beast; his entire body was trembling.
On the other side of the glass, Old Master Wang sat in a wheelchair, wearing a patient’s gown. His face was deathly pale, but his eyes were a dead, indifferent gray.
As soon as the door closed, Wang Jinyu threw himself against the glass.
“Dad! Dad!” His voice was sharp and grating, like nails scraping glass. “They said I was the one who told people to drug her! They said I attempted murder! What’s going on? What’s going on, Dad!”
Old Master Wang raised his cloudy eyes and looked at him.
“You’re asking me what’s going on?” His voice was hoarse, yet strangely steady. “I should be asking you. Why did you find someone to drug your sister? Do you know that’s a crime?”
Wang Jinyu froze.
He opened his mouth like a fish thrown ashore, desperately gulping, but no sound came out.
“Dad... what are you saying?” His voice trembled; his whole body was shaking. “Wasn’t it you who had someone handle the drugging? You said that as long as sis died, the case would be over and no one would pursue it anymore!”
“It was you who told me yourself! You said that once sis couldn’t hold on and died, there’d be no evidence left!”
Old Master Wang’s expression didn’t change at all. He just looked at him coldly.
“When did I ever say that?” His voice was as calm as dead water. “Do you have evidence?”
Wang Jinyu’s pupils contracted sharply.
He stared fixedly at the old man across the glass, at the face he had called “Dad” for sixty years.
The other man stared back at him coldly, exactly the same way he used to talk about his sister as if she were the scapegoat.
Panic swept through Wang Jinyu at once. “Dad... Dad... you can’t do this... you can’t treat me like this...”
“Enough.”
Old Master Wang cut him off coldly.
“You wretch! At a time like this, you still refuse to repent. You framed your sister once already; now you want to splash mud on me too?”
His voice rose several notches, carrying a kind of feverish excitement. “You caused this mess yourself; you bear it yourself. Your sister and I are not your sacrificial substitutes!”
Wang Jinyu stiffened all over.
It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him from head to toe. He froze in place; even his blood seemed to congeal.
“Dad... Dad... Dad...” Wang Jinyu threw himself against the glass, tears streaming down his face. “You can’t do this. Save me... you have to save me...”
“I’m your only son, your only root.”
“Dad... Dad...”
Looking at his tear-streaked, useless face, Old Master Wang let out a long sigh.
If he could, he didn’t want Wang Jinyu to go to prison either. But things had already become irreparable; if he didn’t abandon Wang Jinyu, then he couldn’t keep Wang Yuchen.
Sigh...
Although Yuchen was only a girl, and taking in a son-in-law carried the risk of three generations before the line returned to the family name, with the wealth their family had left, letting her conceive through IVF would be no problem.
At the very least, the Wang family line would be preserved.
Their family would still have descendants.
Seeing Wang Jinyu like this, Old Master Wang thumped his cane in anger and said, disappointed, “Jinyu, if only you had half your sister’s drive, your father would die without regrets.”
“From childhood until now, I gave you the best school, the most money, the widest road. Why I gave you those things, don’t you know?”
Wang Jinyu stared blankly at him, his eyes full of confusion.
“Because you are the Wang family’s root,” Old Master Wang said coldly, “the one who can bring honor to the family. I was counting on you to carry this family business forward, to send me off in my old age, to make sure the Wang ancestral tablets had someone to kneel before them and burn incense for them.”
“But you? What did you give me in return?”
“Drinking, racing cars, killing someone, and fleeing the scene. Do you know that with that one crash, you destroyed generations of the Wang family’s foundation?”
Wang Jinyu shook his head desperately, tears flying. “It wasn’t me! It was the Lu family! The Lu family set me up!”
“Set you up?” Old Master Wang sneered. “If you weren’t greedy for those twenty million, who could have set you up? If you had even a little brain of your own, would you have been used as someone else’s gun?”
“At this point, you still don’t know where you went wrong. A person like you, even if rescued, would still be useless.”
“Take responsibility for your own actions. Dad can only help you this far.”
After saying that, Old Master Wang hung up the phone and got to his feet, staggering toward the door.
Wang Jinyu’s crying suddenly grew louder. In a voice full of desperation, he shouted, “Dad, you can’t do this.”
“Dad... I’m your son. Your only son.”
“I’m the one who should be by your side, I’m the one who should send you off!”
“Dad! Dad! Dad!”
Send him off?
No need.
At his age, he had finally realized that a son was just a money-losing burden.
A great-grandson sending him off would be better than a son sending him off.
Old Master Wang ignored him and walked out without looking back.
By the time the guards dragged Wang Jinyu back to his cell, he was practically a puddle of mud.
He collapsed in the corner, clutching his head, muttering something over and over.
The others in the cell came over to listen, and only then did they make out the same sentence repeated again and again.
“I’m his son... I’m his only son...”
But so what?
In the face of absolute power and the instinct to survive, after the obsession with bringing honor to the family shattered, what was a son worth?
Nothing more than a chess piece that could be thrown away at any time.
That was all.
——
After the news broke that the Wang father and son had pointed fingers at each other and accused the other of framing Wang Manyu, Wen Yan was making rounds in the orthopedic ward.
During the lunch break, several young doctors in the office were huddled together scrolling through their phones. The moment they saw her come in, they all fell silent, looking at her with cautious sympathy.
“Dr. Wen...” the resident leading them hesitated, wanting to comfort her but not knowing what to say.
That look was all too familiar.
Pitying and sympathetic.
Wen Yan froze for a moment.
She took the phone her colleague handed her and glanced at the news headline on the screen.
[Wang Father and Son Turn on Each Other in Visitation Room, Accuse One Another of Hiring Hitmen] along with the farce of their public breakup.
Expressionless, she finished reading and returned the phone, thanking her colleague.
How novel. Did Jin Zijin do this?
How had she managed to turn that pair of father and son, who were as close as lovers, into sworn enemies? That was incredibly well done.
Curious, Wen Yan sent Jin Zijin a message over lunch: “How did you do it?”
Jin Zijin replied very quickly: “One peach kills two warriors. Simple.”
Wen Yan understood instantly.
Old Master Wang was old; he could die at any moment, so what was so excessive about taking the fall for his son for one life?
As for Wang Jinyu’s side... the car he’d crashed into had been hampered by Hengxing’s system being hacked, which meant there was room to maneuver and get him off the hook.
If Jin Zijin added a little more pressure in the middle, it would be very easy for him to turn on them.
How easy it was; in the face of power and a way out, what were father-son bonds or the continuation of the family line worth at all?