Chapter 420: Lian Hua’s Secret
“I keep having this feeling that you’re hiding something from me. I really hope this is just a misconception of mine, but the way you’re acting right now makes me very worried.”
In the Small World, Victor slowly came to Lian Hua’s side and gently held the latter’s soft hand.
“What can I be hiding from you? Don’t let your imagination run wild.” Lian Hua smiled and shook her head. She raised her eyes and met Victor’s gaze, neither dodging nor hiding.
However, in Victor’s eyes, Lian Hua’s behavior in the past few days was already very strange. First, she firmly refused Victor to get close to the Xiao family. Then, she kept staying in the Small World and did not go out for a breather.
Until now, whenever Victor mentioned the Xiao family, Lian Hua’s mood would turn sour. If Victor did not notice anything abnormal by now, then he would really be a fool.
“Don’t lie to me. I’m not a fool. I can feel it.” Lian Hua must be hiding something. Otherwise, with her character, how could she quietly stay in the Small World and not pay attention to the outside world?
“It’s really nothing. There are some things that I don’t want to say now. When I’m ready, I’ll tell you.” Lian Hua knew that she could not hide from Victor, so she could only find an excuse to prevaricate.
“No, I want to know now.” Victor’s att.i.tude was very firm, which was rare. He grabbed Lian Hua’s soft hand and stared at her with his eagle-like eyes. His eyes seemed to be able to see through her heart and see the secrets hidden within.
“What’s wrong with you? Why are you suddenly asking about this?”
Being grabbed by Victor by the wrist, Lian Hua tried to break free many times but to no avail. She could only give up resisting and revealed a forced smile.
“I need to make a decision. Should I go through the Bone Transformation Swamp to the Southern Plains or seize this opportunity.”
“Actually, you have a third choice.”
“What choice?”
“I don’t plan to go back. I want to stay by your side.”
“Don’t mess around,” Victor said and shook his head.
“I’m not messing around. I’m serious. Victor, I don’t want to go back. Going back to the Southern Plains is the same as going back to prison.”
“If you don’t tell me the truth and hide something from me, I won’t be able to make you any promises.”
Honestly speaking, keeping Lian Hua by his side was also a good choice. However, the prerequisite was that no secrets were involved.
“Why do you want to know?”
“Why do you insist on hiding the truth?”
“I… I have my reason.” Lian Hua lowered her head and looked away.
“Reason? Then let me explain it to you. Your real ident.i.ty is actually the illegitimate daughter of the Xiao family head. Due to some special reasons, your birth mother was forced to send you away from the Southern Plains. According to my speculation, it is probably because of your innate ability. It is precisely because of this that you were so nervous when you found out that the Xiao family was coming to the Central Plains. Lian Hua, am I right?”
As his voice fell, Lian Hua’s expression changed from confusion to shock. She looked at Victor in disbelief and asked, “How… How did you know?”
“I guessed it. With such talent and looks, it’s hard not to have a connection with the Xiao family.”
“Since you already know… Why are you still asking me…”
Lian Hua knew that Victor’s intuition had always been very sharp, but she did not expect it to be to this extent. What Victor said was actually very close to the truth!
If it were not for Lian Hua herself who had never revealed these things, she would have suspected Victor’s ident.i.ty.
“I want to hear you say it. Hear these words from your mouth.”
“Actually, I didn’t mean to hide it from you. It’s just that there are some things that I’m not too clear about. I don’t know what to do either. I’m afraid that if I tell you about it, it will get you into trouble that you should not have gotten into.”
“Don’t worry. A mere Xiao family isn’t worthy of giving me trouble.”
Victor chuckled and immediately sat beside Lian Hua, listening to the latter talk about her memories.
“When I left the Southern Plains, I was about six years old. I’ve forgotten most of my memories.
“I remember that when I was five, I had already displaed an astonishing talent. It was this pair of eyes. At that time, the elders of the family were very happy, thinking that another genius had appeared in the Xiao family.
“However, I knew that my father wasn’t. After all, I was only a child born out of wedlock, and I was also a girl. Therefore, after Xiao Chenggan was born, my father’s patience was placed on him. No matter how outstanding my performance was… my father wouldn’t even praise me.
“I even heard later from my mother that my father had found a doctor from the Western Plains to transplant my eyes to Xiao Chenggan, creating a truly perfect heir for the Xiao family.
“However, I didn’t understand why I was in the wrong? Am I deserving of such treatments just because I am a girl?
“Later on, my mother also learned of this news and secretly left the Xiao family with me.
“During those few years, my mother and I hid everywhere. My mother’s health deteriorated as a result. In the end, she could only entrust me to a distant cousin.
“Later, my cousin sold me to a brothel in exchange for silver taels. After that, I met you.”
At this point, Lian Hua paused, as if she had recalled some unpleasant memories, and her eyes turned red.
“So, Victor, I actually don’t really want to go back. I just don’t want to stay in that cage. I want to go back and question my father. Why should I hand my eyes to Xiao Chenggan just because I’m a woman?”
After saying that, Lian Hua’s emotions finally collapsed, and tears gushed out like a fountain.
Looking at Lian Hua’s tearful appearance, Victor sighed softly and pulled her into his arms.
It was difficult to resolve family affairs. It was not appropriate for Victor to interrupt Lian Hua’s family matters. The only thing he could do was probably to calm Lian Hua’s emotions.
“I’ll ask you a question. You must answer me truthfully,” Victor said after thinking for a long time.
“Tell me…”
“Do you hate them?”
“I don’t know…”
Lian Hua really did not know. When she was young, she hated them so much. Why was Xiao Chenggan able to live a luxurious life while she had to wander away from home?
Why did she have to lose her eyes and give them to Xiao Chenggan for free?
Though now, these emotions rarely appeared.
On one hand, after experiencing so much, Lian Hua had matured. She understood that blaming the heavens and the people could not change any problems.
As for the second point, it was probably that if she had not left the Xiao family, perhaps she might not have met Victor in this lifetime.
Therefore, rather than blaming the heavens and the people, Lian Hua was more willing to believe that all of this was training given to her by the heavens. After experiencing all of this, she was able to meet Victor.
“I said, give me an accurate answer. Hate or no.”
“Is this important?”
“This is very important.”
“At the age of six, I was forced to wander away from home. How can I not have hate in my heart…”