Shen Zichen looked at Zheng Yue incredulously. He was confused by her question. Shouldn"t she know by now that it was Li Xiuying who had been with him throughout the incident? What was she trying to imply? His thoughts came into a halt, his eyes widening as the reason sank in his mind. Zheng Yue was looking at him seriously as if she had expected his reaction over her question.
"Aunt Yue, I"m pretty sure you know it was Ying, but why are you asking me this question?"
There was this gnawing feeling inside of him that he couldn"t explain. Was he wrong all along? Was it Li Chuntao? But how could it possibly happen when it was Ying who he was supposed to meet that day?
Shen Zichen tried to recall what happened that day. He remembered being asked by his twin sister, Shen Yuyan to pick Ying up at Li Corporation to celebrate her first day at work. He was waiting for Ying to come down and meet him at the parking s.p.a.ce below the building when someone attacked him from behind.
He had no recollection of what happened next and was awakened by Ying"s voice during the fire.
Zheng Yue didn"t say anything in response but her face told him her answer. Shen Zichen felt like someone had punched him right in his chest.
"It was Chuntao?" He stood up and paced around, a hand reaching up to cover his mouth in disbelief. He"d deduced that there"s only one possible reason why Zheng Yue was asking him this question.
He then looked at Zheng Yue helplessly, begging her to tell him the truth.
"Please, Aunt Yue. Tell me it wasn"t her. Tell me it wasn"t Chuntao," Shen Zichen asked, almost pleading. Hoping that he wasn"t right this time.
It couldn"t be her because if that young woman who was abducted with him, the woman who saved his life was Li Chuntao and not Li Xiuying, he definitely f.u.c.ked up big time. He wouldn"t know how to face her later if he really failed to recognize her at that crucial moment.
"Before that day, Ying was gravely ill and had been bedridden for a week. She knew the implication if she didn"t show up on her supposed first day at work and ask Chuntao for a favor to do a switch with her." Zheng Yue started which was enough to freeze the blood in Shen Zichen"s veins upon hearing it.
"As you know, that wasn"t the first time they did a switch. It was a usual thing for the twins to do whenever one was having trouble but it was always Ying who asked for a switch, not Chuntao," Zheng Yue tried her best to explain the situation before. "And so, that day, the one who faced the board of directors and had a meeting with the shareholders was our Chuntao and not Ying,"
Shen Zichen was being overwhelmed by what she was saying but the question that had been bugging him was why didn"t Chuntao say anything? If she was that woman, why didn"t she correct him when he said it was Ying who saved his life?
"Zichen, please sit down. I know this is too much to take in, but please hear me out. I"m sure neither Chuntao nor my husband would tell you what happened that day, but I feel like you deserve to know everything especially now that you are with Chuntao." Zheng Yue told him worriedly. She dearly hoped that after this confession of hers, Shen Zichen and Li Chuntao would try to work things out from now on.
Shen Zichen had no choice but to follow her. He sat down and cupped his hands together on top of the table between them. He really felt like an a.s.shole right now. How could he do it to Li Chuntao? How could he hurt her?
"Then why didn"t she say anything? After that event, didn"t she stay overseas to find the right medical school to attend?"
Yes, he could remember when he was recovering from his minor injuries, Li Xiuying had visited him at the hospital but Li Chuntao was nowhere to be found.
When he asked Ying where Chuntao was, Ying hesitantly told him that Chuntao left to find a medical school to attend and it was a whole year before the woman came back and showed herself to him.
"That was a lie for you not to worry about her, Zichen," Zheng Yue felt pain for her niece. None of these should have happened. It was no one"s fault.
"In truth, when Chuntao managed to drag you and her out of that burning place, she was also gravely injured. Her back had serious burns and my husband was forced to send her abroad to get reconstructive surgery and treat her injuries. It was hard to watch her during those times." Zheng Yue admitted.
She paused as her eyes brimmed and glistened with tears at the thought of how Li Chuntao cried over the pain on her back and how she begged Li Yuren to help her ease the pain. It was too much for Zheng Yue to watch.
"Did Ying know?" Shen Zichen was starting to see the bigger picture, together with the missing pieces. But Ying was someone who wouldn"t dare to lie on him. Had she known? Then why did she keep the truth from him?
"Ying didn"t know what happened to her sister. She only found out months later when she begged my husband to tell her where Chuntao went. She was beyond devastated and had blamed herself for what happened to her younger sister."
She and Li Yuren had expected the situation, which was why they tried to hide the truth from her, but Ying still blamed herself. Li Xiuying couldn"t blame anyone but herself. Had she known Li Chuntao would be subjected to that kind of pain and trauma, she would"ve forced herself to go to work that day. None of these wouldn"t happen if she didn"t ask Chuntao for a switch.
Shen Zichen remained silent. No wonder when he saw Li Chuntao months after the incident, her hair was shorter and she rarely accepted his and Yuyan"s invitation to hang out with them.
Li Chuntao then frequently took overseas trips after her return and never discussed anything with him. Not even her plans once she found a medical school. He acted like her disappearance never happened and treated her the same. He also confessed to her that he intends to court Ying with her approval.
Such a foolish person he was! Shen Zichen knew this now.
"Chuntao… Zichen, we"ve known for years how dear you are to her. We know she loves you, even if she doesn"t know this herself."
No wonder Ying couldn"t tell him how they survived the fire when he asked her. No wonder he couldn"t see or talk to Li Chuntao months after the incident and when she came back, he gave her a painful slap when he told her of his intention for Ying.
"Zichen, please don"t blame yourself. This was all a misunderstanding. I"m sure Chuntao didn"t want you to be blamed for her injuries." Zheng Yue held his hand as he tried to stop himself from exploding in rage.
"At the cost of her happiness, Aunt Yue? I"ve wronged her. How can I not blame myself?"
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