Chapter 129

As Jiang Yun watched Lin Qianyan's knife stab towards her, she thought of her childhood. Perhaps, it was she who had passed on the evil and coldness to Lin Qianyan.

Jiang Yun was a love child. Her father was quite wealthy, but he was afraid of his wife and dared not acknowledge her as his daughter. Her mother was a beautiful but useless woman who drank every day and beat her when she couldn't get money.

The adults around her would curse her behind her back, calling her the daughter of a mistress and shameless. Jiang Yun never refuted them. At night, she would puncture their bicycle tires or throw caterpillars into their children's backpacks.

Later, they all said that Jiang Yun was a well-behaved and sensible child. Every time her mother got drunk at the bar, it was Jiang Yun who carried her home. When her father didn't pay alimony, she even had to work part-time while studying to support the family.

Jiang Yun studied hard, got into the best high school, and then the best university. She saved money and eventually went abroad for further studies with her own earnings.

She finally escaped that nightmare place and her useless mother.

Before meeting Mu Mian's Father, Jiang Yun's life was dark. She had done many bad things. For example, knowing she could only come second in exams, she secretly cut the brakes of the first place student's bicycle, causing him to break his hand and miss the exam. That time, Jiang Yun got the highest scholarship...

At that time, she participated in Mu Mian's Father's graduation experiment for a hundred dollars. That's how they met.

Mu Mian's Father was a psychology student. He was very smart and saw through Jiang Yun's selfish and cold soul at a glance. But he still fell hopelessly in love with her.

At first, Jiang Yun hated this clingy person. She was busy, spending all her spare time working to earn a living.

Jiang Yun told Mu Wenzhou all the bad things she had done and then said, "Mu Wenzhou, I'm like a scorpion. Anyone who gets close to me and tries to love me will be hurt by me. You'd better stay away from me."

"Jiang Yun, you had no choice back then. You did what you had to do to survive. Otherwise, you wouldn't have made it."

Mu Wenzhou hugged her, embracing that wounded soul.

In that moment, endless grievances welled up in her eyes. Yes, she had no choice. Just like a scorpion using its sting to protect itself, it was an instinct formed for survival.

Later, they got married, bought a house, and Jiang Yun got pregnant.

Jiang Yun eagerly awaited the birth of this child. At that time, she felt that no matter what the child was like, she would love her and give her the best. She wanted to make up for all the childhood she had missed with Mu Mian.

When Mu Mian was a baby, she was very different from other children. She rarely cried or responded to adults' actions. She seemed to live in her own world.

When other children of the same age could speak fluently, Mu Mian couldn't say a single word. No matter how hard Jiang Yun tried to talk to Mu Mian, she wouldn't respond. She didn't cry or make a fuss, like a doll.

Later, Mu Mian was diagnosed with autism.

The evaluator said Mu Mian had low intelligence, sensory integration disorder, and stalled language development. They had to prepare for the possibility that Mu Mian might be like this for life.

Jiang Yun gradually fell apart. She didn't want to be tied down by such a child. She had her dreams and career. She didn't want to spend her life taking care of a fool, no, even worse than a fool. At least those mentally retarded children would give their parents emotional feedback, but Mu Mian was like a walking corpse.

Mu Mian's Father, however, thought differently. He was a psychotherapist and believed that as long as they kept expressing love to Mu Mian, she would eventually feel it. Mu Mian wasn't devoid of emotions; she just hadn't found the frequency to communicate with the outside world. As long as they kept sending her love signals, they would eventually connect.

Even if they couldn't connect, Mu Mian, no matter what she was like, would still be their most beloved child.

Jiang Yun thought he was too naive. Of course, it wasn't him who had to take care of Mu Mian at home, facing such a cold child. He could afford to say such grandiose words.

To treat Mu Mian's autism, they began to struggle financially, living in poverty.

Later, Jiang Yun couldn't take it anymore and proposed a divorce to Mu Mian's Father.

"Jiang Yun, you probably have postpartum depression. You need treatment, not a divorce."

"No, Mu Wenzhou. I've always been a selfish and cold-hearted person. I've had enough of the hard life with you, and I've had enough of Mu Mian. I have my dreams. I don't want to be trapped here."

"Alright, let's get a divorce. Don't worry, I'll take good care of Mu Mian."

Mu Mian's Father signed the papers without hesitation, even borrowing several thousand dollars from a friend for her. He smiled and said, "Jiang Yun, you don't need to feel guilty. Everyone has the right to choose their own life. Go and achieve your dreams."

In that moment, Jiang Yun felt utterly guilty. But what could she do? If she didn't escape, she would go mad.

After returning to China, Jiang Yun met Lin Ye. At that time, Lin Ye was an unloved son of the Lin Family, excluded from the inheritance. Jiang Yun used the power of the Jiang Family and her own schemes to help him rise to power and eventually inherit the Lin Family's wealth.

Jiang Yun had been a love child of the Jiang Family, suffering from contempt. So her dream was to climb to the top and become a powerful person. Meeting Mu Wenzhou was an accident. His love had briefly numbed her, but the trauma of childhood couldn't be healed.

She didn't love Lin Ye; he had many women outside, and she didn't care. Her love was buried abroad, in the small house with Mu Wenzhou and Mu Mian.

So her only expectation for the unborn Lin Qianyan was that he must be a boy.

He was indeed a boy, but unexpectedly, he was also abnormal. By the age of three, he still couldn't speak. The therapist diagnosed him with autism.

In that moment, she felt that fate was playing a cruel joke on her. Why did she have to give birth to another abnormal child? But this time, she accepted her fate. After all, she only needed a son; his condition didn't matter.

She hired the best nanny to take care of Lin Qianyan and occasionally played the role of a loving mother, playing with him. She didn't love this child, but she had no choice; she needed a son.

Lin Ye's ex-wife also gave birth to a son, Lin Qianjie. That child was rebellious and didn't like Jiang Yun. But Jiang Yun was good at manipulating people. She first showed weakness, softening Lin Qianjie's attitude with sweet words, then sowing discord between him and his father, making Lin Qianjie completely side with her.

She indulged all of Lin Qianjie's bad behaviors, suppressing his occasional desire to improve, eventually turning him into a complete failure.

Occasionally, she would think of Mu Mian and Mu Wenzhou. But she didn't dare to find out about their current situation. Her cousin told her that Mu Mian's Father had died, and she was adopted by the Shen family. Later, Jiang Yinian found her and said, "Auntie, I saw Mu Mian, she..."

"Enough, don't mention that name in front of me," Jiang Yun interrupted him.

Jiang Yun put all her energy into her career.

Lin Ye's women became more and more numerous, and one even got pregnant, wanting to take her place. At this point, Jiang Yun suddenly realized that Lin Ye was no longer useful. So she tampered with Lin Ye's medicine, causing him to have a stroke and die in bed while having an affair with another woman.

She went from being Mrs. Lin to Ms. Jiang, becoming the true power holder.

She had thought about finding Mu Mian, but she realized that wouldn't make Mu Mian's life better, so she gave up. If Mu Mian had been raised by her, she would probably have become a selfish and cold-hearted person too.

In the courtroom, it was the first time she saw the grown-up Mu Mian. She was lovely, cautiously testing her, but she disappointed Mu Mian. She had never been a good mother.

Jiang Yun was surprised to find that Mu Mian had become a normal person. She could speak, she could draw, and she even became a forensic scientist.

But all of Mu Mian's changes had nothing to do with her.

She thought, since Mu Mian could become a normal person, so could Lin Qianyan. She wanted those experts to study Mu Mian and find out the reason why she was cured of her autism, but Shen Xiyin protected her so well that she had no way to proceed.

On her deathbed, Jiang Yun thought of the time when Mu Mian was just born. At that time, the man she loved was also by her side, and they dreamed of a beautiful future together.

Her lips curved into a smile.

But if time could flow backward, she would still choose to divorce and leave Mu Mian. Her life belonged only to herself.