Immediately, someone said, "Sister Nan, it's your turn!"
Li Nan made a pitiful expression and rubbed her head, "Wait, let me think."
She thought as she spoke, "I remember when I was around six or seven years old, I was craving snacks and saw other classmates buying snacks from the school store every day after class. I was so envious, but I didn't have any money. So I came up with a plan to sweet-talk the good-looking, rich boys who were naive but had money - in one sentence, they were dumb but wealthy and handsome."
"I used a combination of flattery, lies, and threats to tell them that I was their future wife, and it was only natural for them to support me by buying me lots of tasty snacks. I said that if they didn't, I wouldn't marry them in the future, and they would end up alone and unloved."
"Back then, there were far more boys than girls in the class, with about three-quarters being boys. They were terrified by me, and every day they would save up and buy me snacks."
Looking back on her childhood antics now, every word brought joy.
Everyone had a curious expression, eagerly asking, "And then what happened?"
Li Nan shrugged helplessly, "And then... one day, I got caught. Two boys in the class got into a fight over whose 'wife' I was. The teacher and parents found out about my despicable scams, and it all came to light."
"Those two boys who fought over me only then realized that apart from them, I had said the same thing to more than twenty other boys in the class."
"They thought I was exclusively their wife-to-be, but no, I had promised over twenty of them. I wasn't a cheater; I just wanted to give every boy a family."
"Hahahahahaha..." Everyone laughed with their mouths wide open, continuing to ask, "And then what happened?"
Li Nan sighed, "Then my parents educated me, and they took me to apologize to each boy one by one and return the money they had spent on snacks for me. I said sorry to every single one of them."
"Hahahahahaha..." Everyone laughed hysterically, even Shen Nian couldn't help but crack a smile.
Li Nan was so embarrassed by everyone's laughter, "At the recent class reunion, some of the boys still remembered this incident and jokingly wanted to take me to get our marriage certificate."
"Hahahahaha..."
Everyone does silly things when they're young, but looking back, they're all fond memories.
Jiang Lingling was laughing so hard that tears came out, and she said to Shen Nian while wiping her eyes with a tissue, "Sister Nian, you must find this really funny too, right?"
Shen Nian cracked a slight smile and said softly, "I suddenly realize that everyone makes mistakes in their reckless youth, and some people only need to say sorry to be forgiven..."
Her expression became distant for a moment, and she lowered her gaze.
Some people only need to say sorry to be forgiven, while others... need to atone for the rest of their lives.
...............
Since she had promised Lu Lingchuan that she would return home early, Shen Nian only stayed with the group for a little while before leaving.
On the way back in the taxi, the driver was listening to the radio, which was reporting on the jumping incident that had occurred earlier that day.
As soon as Shen Nian got in the car, she closed her eyes to sleep, but she couldn't rest peacefully. Although she was asleep, her brain was still awake, and the radio broadcast kept filtering into her mind.
She tossed and turned, her brow tightly furrowed.
"Nian Nian."
She suddenly heard Lu Lingrui's voice in her ear, and Shen Nian's eyes snapped open, only then realizing that she was in the car.
She stared blankly ahead for a long time, dazed.
The taxi driver noticed Shen Nian's abrupt awakening through the rearview mirror and asked with concern, "Hey, miss, did you have a nightmare?"
"Yeah..." It took Shen Nian a while to find her voice again, her mental state unstable. "It's probably because I kept hearing this on the radio."
She pointed to the radio in the car.
Sometimes, what you see or hear before falling asleep can make its way into your dreams.
Upon hearing this, the driver quickly freed his hand to turn off the radio and then handed Shen Nian an unopened bottle of mineral water beside him.
Shen Nian indeed needed to drink some water to calm down. She took the bottle, saying softly, "Thank you, driver."
Then she opened the cap and took a small sip.
The driver sighed, "It's just so tragic. My daughter is around the same age, and as a father, I can't bear to hear about things like this. She was only in her early twenties, with her whole life ahead of her. How could she have lost hope like that?"
"And her parents, too - with a child that age, whatever the problem was, they should have talked it through properly. Hitting and scolding can only backfire and hurt the child's self-esteem."
"If this happened to me, I think I would have died from the pain. To raise a child for so many years, only for them to suddenly be gone - no parent could bear that kind of suffering."
The driver was merely expressing sorrow from a father's perspective for the lost innocent life, unaware that his words about "her whole life ahead of her" had instantly shattered Shen Nian's already fragile emotional state.
Her hand holding the water bottle trembled, and she quickly lowered her gaze, her eyelashes and thin lips quivering uncontrollably.
That's right, her whole life was just beginning, her whole life was just beginning...
What parent could endure the pain of losing a child?
Shen Nian was haunted by the images of Lu Yanhua's anguish despite his outward strength for his family and wife, and Li Mingshi's devastated sorrow, her voice echoing in her ears.
[You bad child, why... why did you abandon Rui Rui?]
Shen Nian's breathing became erratic, and she turned to rummage through her bag.
It's not here, it's not here...
She then remembered that she had locked away her medication.
Unable to find her medication, she could only gulp down large amounts of water, forcing herself to calm down.
.................
After a difficult journey, she was about to get out of the car in a daze, forgetting to pay the fare until the driver reminded her. After paying, she forgot to take her shopping bag, and the driver had to call her back again.
Finally, she managed to get out of the car and hurried into the residential complex and took the elevator.
Lu Lingchuan had been working from home all day, with his computer set up on the table in the sunroom. He was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, enjoying the view while listening to a report over the phone.
Xu Lawyer was discussing the lawsuit with him.
Currently, the opposing side was in disarray due to the overwhelming evidence and public pressure, making it difficult for them to recover.
Recently, when the popularity was about to decline, Lu Lingchuan exposed that they had previously attempted to bribe marketing accounts to launch a counterattack and hire internet trolls to bombard the victims' families, with evidence and proof that they could not be wronged.
They had originally intended to launch an online opinion attack against the Lu family, but it backfired on them.
Now, the Wang and Yang families can no longer act arrogantly, and they only hope that Wang Yong and Yang Hao will survive, even if they are sentenced to life imprisonment.
Unfortunately, their backers have also been implicated by Lu Lingchuan.
At the next court hearing, they will undoubtedly face the death penalty.
