Chapter 75 – The Reason

When Lin Xiaowen awoke in the hospital, the suffocating smoke from her dream still seemed to linger nearby, and the youthful face of Si Dongming, radiant as the morning sun, remained vivid before her eyes. It felt as though she could reach out and touch his warm, healthy skin, and his gentle words of comfort echoed in her ears.

“Xiaowen, wait for me here. I’ll go inside and see if there’s anyone still trapped.”

“No, the smoke is too thick, it’s dangerous…”

“Silly girl, I’m a soldier. When the safety of people’s property is threatened, it’s my duty—no excuses. Be good…”

“I don’t want to… I… I’m scared!”

“Don’t be afraid. Nothing will happen, after all, I’m trained for this. Be good…”

“Si Dong…”

Lin Xiaowen told herself never to deliberately recall that moment again. Especially now, as Ranran grew older, those nightmares that had haunted her for years ought to fade with the passage of time.

Yet, just as Lin Xiaowen resolved to live well, just as she felt sunlight finally breaking through the clouds, everything was shattered by the arrival of Si Nan.

“Ranran is a child of the Si family, so she should return to her rightful home…”

This was the only phrase Lin Xiaowen remembered from Si Nan before she fainted.

“Ranran…”

Lin Xiaowen suddenly sat up, the IV needle in her hand tearing loose, and bright red blood instantly spilled onto the unnaturally white sheets, striking the eye like plum blossoms blooming in the snow—shocking and vivid.

“Xiaowen… Xiaowen, why are you getting up?” Xu Ningning, carrying a kettle, had just entered the room. Seeing Lin Xiaowen propped up at the bedside, her face pale and eyes shut, about to collapse again, she quickly set down what she was carrying and helped Lin Xiaowen, immediately scolding her.

“What are you doing getting up? I was just going to fetch some water…”

“Where’s Ranran… Where’s Ranran?” Lin Xiaowen waited for the dizziness to pass and grabbed Xu Ningning’s hand, her voice trembling uncontrollably, “Where is Ranran? She… she hasn’t…”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry!” Seeing Lin Xiaowen’s eyes full of unspeakable terror and tears ready to fall, Xu Ningning quickly raised her voice to reassure her. “I had my parents take Ranran home with them. Don’t worry, she’s fine!”

Lin Xiaowen’s lips, pale and bloodless, trembled, but her eyes shone with intense light. After hearing Xu Ningning’s words, she finally relaxed her breathing and collapsed back onto the bed, exhausted.

“Xiaowen…” Xu Ningning softly called her name, but couldn’t say anything more. She lowered her gaze, afraid to look at her, noticing Lin Xiaowen’s hand still bleeding.

In her haste, she grabbed the disinfectant cotton left by the nurse and pressed it to the still-bleeding puncture.

She herself began to weep silently.

“Why are you crying? It’s just a little blood, not enough to kill anyone…” Lin Xiaowen’s voice was weak, her face smiling, but the helplessness and fear in her eyes could not fool Xu Ningning, could not fool the girl who had weathered countless storms by her side.

“Xiaowen…”

At last, tears ran unchecked down Xu Ningning’s beautiful, delicate face. She pressed her lips tightly together, not wanting her sobs to reach Lin Xiaowen’s ears and make her even sadder.

No one knew, not even Lin Xiaowen herself, how lost Xu Ningning had felt when Lin Xiaowen had suddenly fainted. The situation was identical to when Lin Xiaowen had slipped and given birth prematurely years ago—so frightening, so overwhelming.

The same panic, the same helplessness.

But thankfully, everything was over.

Ranran was born safe and sound, and Xiaowen sat before her, safe and well—wasn’t that enough?

“Are you trying to scare me to death?” Xu Ningning wiped away her tears and runny nose, trying to compose her features, joking and scolding, “I told you, when you’re alone, don’t neglect your meals. The illnesses from confinement are hard to cure, and the doctor said you have chronic hypoglycemia… That’s why you fainted!”

“I’m fine… much better now.” Seeing Xu Ningning return to normal, Lin Xiaowen relaxed, determined to clear up the doubts in her heart once and for all.

“Ningning… how did you end up with Si Nan?” Xu Ningning’s body trembled, her gaze frozen for a moment, but Lin Xiaowen stared at her unblinkingly. There was no accusation, no anger—only confusion, the kind of bewilderment that seeks resolution.

“I…” Xu Ningning dared not look at her, opening her mouth but unable to speak, while Lin Xiaowen’s heart began to sink.

It turned out that after Si Nan deliberately approached Lin Xiaowen and was rejected, his absence wasn’t because he’d given up or lost interest as Lin Xiaowen had assumed. Instead, he used his capitalist methods, and after learning about the connections, engineered a few encounters with the woman who was clearly interested in him.

Though Xu Ningning had been cautious, she’d hoped—what if Si Nan never discovered Xiaowen’s true identity?

But a woman in love always lets something slip.

Thus, relying on bits of information Xu Ningning had unwittingly revealed about Lin Xiaowen, Si Nan easily had someone investigate her entire history.

Lin Xiaowen leaned against the headboard, her expression somewhere between a smile and a sneer—perhaps self-mockery was more apt.

Xu Ningning tried to explain herself, but found no words.

The silence was suffocating.

“I’m sorry… Xiaowen…” Xu Ningning felt compelled to apologize, whether intentional or not.

“Sorry for what?” Lin Xiaowen sighed softly. “Sorry that you accidentally let Si Nan learn my identity? Or sorry for all the help you’ve given us over the years?”

Xu Ningning was bewildered by Lin Xiaowen’s words, staring at her in confusion.

But Lin Xiaowen sat up gently, taking Xu Ningning’s uncertain hands in hers, speaking softly.

“Don’t be silly. Where would apologies or thanks come between us?”

She paused, then continued.

“Even without you, Si Nan and the Si family wouldn’t have let me go…”

“What?” Xu Ningning, unaware of Lin Xiaowen’s prior encounters with Si Nan, couldn’t grasp her meaning. But when the name Si Nan was mentioned, she instinctively pressed for an answer.

“Why?”

Why? Yes, why?

Si Dong was gone. Lin Xiaowen had no intention of ever connecting with the Si family again.

Even though she had pleaded—begged that cold, god-like old man to let her give birth to Si Dong’s child—

He had resolutely refused, telling her not to dream of entering the Si family through this child.

Such is the mindset of the wealthy, the laughable rules of the elite.

What she wanted was only the one thing Si Dong had left her—a single hope.

()