Chapter 367: Secret
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Shen Hanyu was surprised by Zhen Zhu’s request. “What do you want me to investigate?”
Zhen Zhu said something in a low voice.
Shen Hanyu’s expression became serious, which was rare for him. His unfathomable eyes carefully sized her up.
“Are you sure you want me to help you investigate the cause of your mother’s death? I can investigate, but I need a valid reason,” Shen Hanyu said slowly.
“My mother and Zhen Yiping had divorced for less than a year before she pa.s.sed away.”
Zhen Zhu was still unwilling to address Zhen Yiping as her father. “When she was traveling abroad, the helicopter she was on suddenly crashed. However, I don’t think it was a simple accident. I suspect…”
A conflicted look flashed in her eyes, but she finally made up her mind to say it. “I suspect that my mother’s death… Is related to the Zhen family.”
This was a secret that she had kept deep in her heart for more than ten years which no one knew of.
She had tried to find the answer on her own, but in the end, it was to no avail.
Although she had not found any strong evidence, she firmly believed that her intuition could not be wrong.
“You broke off your relationship with the Zhen family because of this?”
To Zhen Zhu’s surprise, Shen Hanyu was not shocked at all. Instead, he was calm. “Tell me, why do you have such a suspicion?”
“My mother’s health wasn’t very good, so when I was three years old, she moved from the Zhen family to that villa in the countryside to recuperate. In the first two years, Zhen Yiping would visit from time to time, but he stopped after that.”
“Something must have happened between them,” Zhen Zhu said slowly, her thoughts sinking into her memories.
Zhen Yiping wasn’t the only one who was acting normally. Even her mother seemed to be in a bad state. She was always absent-minded and would sometimes play the wrong notes when teaching Zhen Zhu how to play the Zither.
Zhen Zhu didn’t know what had happened, but one day, her mother suddenly returned to the Zhen family.
Zhen Yiping and her mother talked for a long time in the study room. They vaguely mentioned the word “divorce,” but the conversation soon seemed to have fallen apart.
In the end, he was furious and smashed a few antique vases in the study.
Zhen Zhu hid behind the door, trembling with fear.
Later, her mother walked out with an indifferent expression. When she saw Zhen Zhu, her eyes reddened as she patted her head. Then, she went back to the villa alone.
Later, Zhen Zhu found that her mother’s belly was getting bigger and she was pregnant.
This should have been a happy occasion, but for some reason, no one in the Zhen family was happy except for her.
It didn’t take long for her to have a cute little sister. When her sister was one year old, her mother returned to the Zhen family.
That night, Zhen Zhu and her sister were sent back to their room to rest early. The adults were all in the living room, and the air seemed to be filled with an invisible storm, making it extremely depressing.
Zhen Zhu couldn’t fall asleep, so she got up quietly and hid in the corner of the stairs on the second floor, looking at the living room on the first floor.
At that time, her grandfather Zhen Yuanhua was still there, and Zhen Zhu saw that he didn’t look too good.
“If you insist on doing this, don’t regret it when you step out of the Zhen family in the future!”
Zhen Yuanhua’s face was ashen as he said this. He flicked his sleeves and left. The old lady also left with a sigh.
In the living room, Zhen Yiping and her mother sat opposite each other for a long time.
Finally, Zhen Yiping signed his name on an agreement and placed it in front of his mother, “If you insist on leaving, then I’ll fulfill your wish.”
Her mother seemed to be very happy, a smile decorating her pale face. She held the agreement in her hand and said, “Thank you.”
Zhen Zhu couldn’t understand their conversation, but she felt uneasy. She had a vague feeling that her mother was about to leave, and she might lose her soon.
Sure enough, the next day, Zhen Zhu saw her mother pushing a suitcase down the stairs.
She ran over and hugged her mother’s leg, wailing.
Her one-year-old sister, Zhen Huan, had just learned how to walk at that time. She also cried and stumbled over.
Her mother squatted down and hugged Zhen Huan, kissing her and Zhen Zhu’s face. Then, she pulled her suitcase and left without hesitation.
Zhen Zhu chased after her. A car was parked outside the Zhen family’s gate, and an ordinary-looking man was waiting for her.
When he saw her mother, he greeted her with a smile and the two of them hugged each other in front of the car.
As the car drove away, Zhen Zhu cried her heart out.
It was only later that she found out her mother and father had divorced.
She had not heard anything about her mother ever since she left.
She always thought that her mother and the man she loved were living in a distant place.
Alas, she missed her mother’s warmth, but sometimes she secretly hated her hcartlessness for abandoning her and her sister to leave with another man.
At that time, she wasn’t dissatisfied yet with Zhen Yiping. In fact, she even felt a faint heartache for her father, who would be alone for many years.
That was until she turned fourteen, on her birthday.
In hindsight, that day was the beginning of Zhen Zhu’s nightmare.
And all of this was because of her cousin, Li Zhongjin.
“Li Zhongjin?”
Shen Hanyu looked pensive. “You started to suspect the Zhen family because of him?”
Zhen Zhu gritted her teeth. “That’s right. Don’t look at him like a human, because he’s not one at all!”
Li Zhongjin was the son of her aunt, Zhen Yishu. He was a year older than her and had been spoiled rotten by Zhen Yishu since he was young.
Zhen Zhu’s birthday party was held in one of the Zhen family’s manors.
The people who came to the banquet included Zhen Zhu’s cla.s.smates and friends, as well as the Zhen family’s relatives.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, she went to bed early.
Li Zhongjin and a few other younger relatives had played until very late at night, and even drank some wine. When he returned to his room, he accidentally b.u.mped into Zhen Zhu’s room.
It was a summer night, and she was lying on her bed in a thin spaghetti-strap nightdress. Her young body was exposed in the moonlight.
She had already fallen asleep, but she vaguely felt that someone was touching and kissing her in the dark. She was so frightened that she suddenly woke up and screamed.
The man covered her mouth with all his might, and she bit his palm hard. The man groaned, and she heard something before exclaiming, “Li Zhongjin?”
Li Zhongjin did not feel guilty or remorseful after being discovered by her. Instead, he tidied his clothes and walked away as if nothing had happened.
She was extremely angry and scolded the other party for being shameless, but she did not expect Li Zhongjin’s next words.
He sneered and said contemptuously, “Stop pretending. Don’t think I don’t know that you have a few boyfriends in school. You’ve even slept with many people. Wiry are you pretending to be innocent in front of me?”
Zhen Zhu was good-looking and had a good family background. There were indeed many young men who pursued her in school.
However, she was still a good student at that time and did not have any thoughts of puppy love. She only treated her male cla.s.smates as good friends. She had a slightly close relationship with them, but it wasn’t that bad. Li Zhongjin really had to gall to slander her so badly.
She was so angry that she trembled. “It’s fine if you mess around in school, but don’t think that everyone else is as dirty as you. Don’t you sec how much of a disgusting person you are?! Just you wait, when my dad comes back from his business trip, I’ll tell him what happened tonight!”
Perhaps it was this sentence that made Li Zhongjin angry. “I’m the disgusting one? Aren’t you the one who slept with a few guys, and told them to shush about it? Do you think you’re a good person? You’re just like your mother, a loose Fox who only knows how to attract bees and b.u.t.terflies outside…”
All the blood in Zhen Zhu’s body rushed to her head, and she lost her mind..