When Shi Erya said those words, everyone present underwent a visible change in expression, even Lu Sheng holding their breath for a moment.
Li Muchen’s expression tightened, and he instinctively placed his hand on Lu Sheng’s shoulder.
The warmth of his palm transmitted through the thin, soft fabric of her nightdress with a kind of concern that made Lu Sheng involuntarily take a deep breath.
Shi Erya had uttered only a few short sentences, but the amount of information contained within was overwhelming.
The television interview had been half a month ago, which meant Shi Erya had seen her by chance on television at that time.
Shi Erya thought she resembled her elder sister who had been estranged for years. This led her to investigate further, uncover Du Ran’s information, and eventually come to Jiang City.
Shi Erya revealed that Du Ran’s real name was Shi Xinlan.
That meant that the protagonist’s mother was actually the eldest daughter of the Shi family—the daughter of Old Mr. Shi Mingxiu, who was highly reputed in Beijing’s business world but now retired.
In other words, the protagonist was also part of the Shi family. She was Old Mr. Shi Mingxiu’s biological granddaughter, and Shi Erya in front of her was indeed her aunt.
Meanwhile, Du Ran had severed ties with the family for so many years, changed her name, and taken the protagonist to live in the countryside.
Even when they were so destitute that they had to apply for poverty aid and couldn’t afford her own medical treatment—
Du Ran chose to forsake treatment rather than return to the family for help, and it wasn’t because she couldn’t forgive Shi Mingxiu for his infidelity.
It was because, years ago, in a heated dispute fueled by her stubbornness, she pushed the sister-in-law who had cared deeply for her, resulting in the latter being run over by a car and killed on the spot.
This undoubtedly left Du Ran with a lifelong burden of guilt and anguish she could never escape.
She chose to live such a harsh life in the countryside, endured immense suffering as her illness progressed, and eventually died in agony.
It was likely an attempt to punish herself, to atone for the sin of that fateful impulsive push.
Almost instantly, Lu Sheng connected all the dots.
Why had the protagonist lived in such impoverished conditions with her mother all those years, yet her grandmother could be friends with a prominent figure like Old Mr. Fu and arrange for an engagement between their grandchildren? Why had the renowned Master of Traditional Medicine Feng Guolin personally visited Du Ran in the countryside and taken the protagonist in as his disciple?
Why in the protagonist’s memories had the mother always avoided mentioning her family’s past? When the topic was brought up under her persistent questioning, her mother’s expression had not displayed anger, but sorrow.
Why did Du Ran prepare two sets of joss paper for burning every New Year’s Eve? Lu Sheng had assumed it was for her maternal grandfather, thinking he had passed away and Du Ran was commemorating her parents. But in fact, it wasn’t for her father and mother; it was for her mother and sister-in-law.
At the same time, the memories of her two encounters with Shi Suyu resurfaced in Lu Sheng’s mind.
Lu Sheng finally understood why she had felt a sense of familiarity the first time she met Shi Suyu.
It turned out it wasn’t an illusion—Shi Suyu truly bore a resemblance to Du Ran. After all, Du Ran was Shi Suyu’s aunt, and they shared a blood connection.
Putting it this way... Shi Suyu was actually her cousin.
Unknowingly, and entirely unaware of her true lineage, she had already met her cousin twice.
Lu Sheng also matched Lin Yi’s words to the truth.
["I only know that her dad, Shi Chengyun, is currently the chairman of Chenshi Pharmaceutical. His elder brother is a lawyer, and he has a younger brother studying at Beijing University. Their biological mother seems to have passed away over twenty years ago."]
["But there was one time during a drinking session when Suyu mentioned his mother’s cause of death. Suyu said his mother died in an accident—that she was killed by her biological aunt."]
["I don’t know the details of what happened, but from what he said that day, it seemed that one night over twenty years ago, his aunt and his mother had a quarrel."]
["His aunt angrily shoved his mother onto the road, just as a car happened to pass by. The car ran right over his mother, crushing her bones, leaving her in a pool of blood, and claiming her life instantly."]
Shi Suyu said his mother was killed by her biological aunt.
Lu Sheng had originally found herself having positive impressions of Shi Suyu. Handsome, upright, a police officer—an innate sense of trustworthiness.
That day in the interrogation room at the police station, Shi Suyu’s gaze had been filled with undisguised concern, and the rice ball he had handed her still seemed to retain its warmth.
But now, she had turned out to be the daughter of the woman who killed his mother.
And then there was Shi Yuwei.
The daughter of Shi Suyu’s stepmother, this girl who could also be considered her cousin—what exactly was her identity?
All at once, the previously fragmented relationships seemed to have been tied together.
For the first time, Lu Sheng felt her mind racing too fast, prompting her to take a deep breath.
Shi Erya, watching the young girl struggle to process everything she had said, couldn’t help but redden her eyes further.
She inhaled deeply: "Shengsheng, while investigating, I learned what kind of life you and your mother lived all these years."
"I truly didn’t know my sister raised you alone in the countryside for all these years, nor did I know she had cancer, and in the end couldn’t even afford chemotherapy."
"If I had known anything, how could I have let my sister die of illness like that? How could I have let you come so close to ending up as an orphan without parents? And your grandfather..."
At the mention of Shi Mingxiu, Shi Erya inhaled sharply, tears streaming down her cheeks in thick rivulets.
"Shengsheng, I know that suddenly coming to you and saying all of this might be difficult for you to accept."
"But there’s no choice... time is running out."
Hearing this, Lu Sheng paused her breath and couldn’t help but ask, "What do you mean by time is running out?"
"Shengsheng, your grandfather doesn’t have long to live."
Shi Erya choked with sobs as she spoke, "Yesterday, he just returned home on a private plane from overseas. Even the most skilled doctors abroad are helpless against his illness—they’ve essentially told him to return home and wait for the end."
"But if your grandfather weren’t so utterly bedridden that he couldn’t get up, he said he would’ve insisted on coming here with me to see you."
"Your grandfather’s dying wish is to see you once before he passes."
Shi Erya’s face was soaked in tears. "Shengsheng, please, your aunt is begging you—come with me to Beijing, return to the Shi family, and see your grandfather one last time, will you?"