Volume One, Chapter 134: The Phoenix Man (1)

"I didn't." The woman looked desperate, her eyes filled with a plea for salvation as she pinned all her hopes on Qin Yu. "Master, you must believe me! I do not have schizophrenia! It was him—he was the one who took me for that examination! He tampered with the results! He killed Lanlan, and now he is coming for us, for me and my husband!"

A flicker of hurt appeared in the middle-aged man's weary eyes. "I know you and Father have always looked down on me, feeling I wasn't good enough for Lanlan. But in the years I spent as her husband, I have a clear conscience! I only hope that you, Mother, can accept the reality of Lanlan’s passing and live out the rest of your days peacefully with Father. If you don't mind, I would be honored to treat you both as my own parents and care for you in your old age."

The man’s tone was so humble that it made it hard not to see the woman as overly aggressive and unreasonable.

"The dead cannot return, ma'am. Please look forward. Letting go of your son-in-law is letting go of yourself!"

"Exactly. If your daughter knew you were acting like this, she would be saddened. Just do it for her sake."

"Ma'am, even if your daughter married beneath her, you shouldn't bully such an honest man, right?"

"While social standing is important, if your daughter loved him, you shouldn't be so nitpicky."

"I strongly suspect that you parents are the ones who tore this family apart."

"Parents like this are terrifying; their need for control is too strong. Ma'am, honestly, did you drive your daughter to her death?"

"My wife's mother looks at me the same way. No matter what I do, she thinks I'm after their family's assets. Brother, I understand how you feel. Being a son-in-law in such a family is suffocating."

"What wife? That's an ex-wife. Brother, get out now!"

"Those above, you're straying off-topic. The lady's daughter is dead."

"Oh, right. Ma'am, excuse the intrusion, but how did your daughter pass away?"

The man clasped his slender fingers together in front of his nose. He lowered his gaze, remaining deeply silent.

The woman, eyes wide as she watched the public opinion shift due to the comments, clutched her chest. Her hands scrambled across the tabletop until they found a bottle of rapid-acting heart pills, which she hurriedly placed under her tongue.

"Ahhh! The handsome uncle is truly handsome! Every angle is perfect! I strongly suspect the lady’s daughter was the controlling one!"

"The handsome uncle isn't lying; the lady really is mentally ill."

"Attention, everyone: that small bottle contains rapid-acting heart pills for heart disease. We can't conclude yet that she has schizophrenia."

"Look at her—scrambling around, emotionally volatile, eyes full of malice. How is that not a sign of poor mental health?"

"Honey, you're too young. Sometimes, seeing is not believing. Let me tell you something: my ex-husband always presented himself as a refined gentleman. He was a teacher, beloved by parents and students alike. But who would have thought that such an outstanding man wouldn't say more than ten sentences to his wife at home? We argued constantly—or rather, I argued alone, and he would stand by like an outsider, watching me coldly. He looked at me as if I were a clown... yet the more he acted that way, the more I wanted an explanation! It reached a point where the neighbors thought I was a shrew and couldn't fathom why he had married a woman like me."

"My god! That’s terrifying! Just imagining him watching me go crazy while remaining indifferent gives me goosebumps..."

"Who is actually dating good men out there? /crying/"

"My current girlfriend is just like that. Every time I get mad at her, she doesn't reply, only sending a 'good morning' the next day."

"Brother, why haven't you broken up?"

"I can't! It's not easy to find a partner these days, especially a good-looking one. /playful/"

"Cold dog food is being slapped onto my face..."

"Haha, sisters, don't be pessimistic. Although my ex-husband was a failure, my current partner is wonderful! He satisfies all my emotional needs! So, sisters, encountering a few bad men isn't scary. Keep self-respect and stay positive; when you bloom, the butterflies will come!"

After taking her medicine, the woman’s pale, bluish complexion slowly began to improve.

Qin Yu took a sip of tea. Today’s tea was jasmine—the initial taste was slightly astringent, but the aftertaste was exquisitely sweet, lingering endlessly.

She noticed the triumphant smirk lurking at the corner of the man's mouth and mimicked the movement.

"Since everyone is so curious about how the lady's daughter died, why don't you explain it yourself?"

The woman was panting in small gasps, still unable to utter a complete sentence.

The man drew a sharp breath, his expression shifting into one of instant, practiced guilt.

"My name is Xu Jingtang, an ordinary person who climbed out of the deep mountains through sheer hard work. During my first year of graduate school at Dijing University, I met the love of my life—my mentor's daughter, Shu Minglan. She was beautiful, cheerful, and generous; wherever she went, she was like a beam of light... Many people in school loved her, and I was no exception. But I knew clearly the vast gap between us, and I never dared to dream of anything. For me, catching a glimpse of her in the lab was enough..."

"Until that day, Lanlan suddenly had someone ask me to meet her on the school rooftop... and there, in front of everyone, she confessed her feelings to me."

"Heh."

Every time Xu Jingtang recalled that day, he couldn't help but chuckle. He shook his head with doting affection. "Lanlan was just that kind of girl—direct! If she liked someone, she expressed it boldly! That is one of the things I admired most about her."

"The gap between us was too great. She was a favored daughter of heaven; I was just a country bumpkin."

"Regarding our romance, I retreated more than once, but it was Lanlan who gave me confidence time and time again! She told me: 'No matter the process, as long as the result is us, that is all that matters...'"

Xu Jingtang found it hard to continue. He murmured an apology, covered his face, and his upper body shook with light sobs. After a long while, he continued, "It’s all my fault. I shouldn't have brought my mother to live with us..."