Zhao Youlin fell silent. She had always thought that Zhao Shuncheng got into a marriage of convenience with her biological mother and not a lot of love was involved in it. That was why he would so cruelly live a life of debauchery outside and get children before unhesitatingly kicking her mother and her out.

  She did not expect that they had shared such a past, and Zhao Shuncheng was even the first to woo Zhao Youlin’s mother. As for Zhao Youlin’s mother, she married him to protect her family business…


  “That company… is the only thing your grandparents left for your mother. It’s your grandfather’s blood, sweat, and tears. Your mother couldn’t simply just watch it go bankrupt. But… But she shouldn’t have tried to keep it by trading off her happiness…”


  Zhao Youlin watched as Duan Yarong got worked up, but said nothing. Her mother was just a weak, well-protected girl who was suddenly thrust into a situation where she was surrounded by enemies and was alone. No one could tell whether she made a wrong or right choice when she decided to get married to Zhao Shunrong.

  “At that time, I didn’t know about your mother’s situation. When she told me that she was going to get married to Zhao Shuncheng, I was rejoicing with her over how destiny tied us together, because we would really be sisters from then on. But I didn’t expect…” Duan Yarong’s expression turned dark, and her eyes turned even more watery than before. “If… If I had known that your mother had been practically forced to marry Zhao Shuncheng and if I had known what sort of scum your mother was going to get married to, I would have done my best to stop your mother from marrying him and into the Zhao family in the past!”


  Zhao Youlin seldom saw Duan Yarong in such a great state of sorrow and anger. Her tears slid down her cheeks and fell on their clasped hands. “Mom…”


  Duan Yarong sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to maintain a steady voice, but she still choked up and said, “Your mother was a person who is very serious in her relationships. Even if she was forced to marry Zhao Shuncheng, she accepted her fate after she was married. She really treated Zhao Shuncheng as her husband and kept to her duties as the second madam of the Zhao family. She took care of Zhao Shuncheng’s life and gave birth to you for him, but what did she gain in the end?”


  When Zhao Youlin saw that Duan Yarong could not quite control her emotions, she quickly handed a tissue over and whispered, “Mom, let’s not talk about this anymore. It’s not worth it for you to get sick over this.”


  Duan Yarong took the tissue and wiped her face, but she refused to stop talking about it. “No. I have to say this. There are certain things I’ve been holding back for too long. No one was there to listen to me, and I never dared to tell anyone this carelessly. But today… just pretend that I’m talking to you out of boredom. Listen to the entire story, okay?”


  “Alright, alright. I’ll listen to you. Just tell me about it, Mom, I want to hear it.” Zhao Youlin quickly agreed to it.

  She knew that Duan Yarong was not intentionally wanting her to understand all the things that happened in the past and make her hate Zhao Shuncheng.

  It was just that when a person had been holding certain things back for a long time, they needed a proper outlet to vent. Otherwise, it was going to end up as a mental burden, and the person would never heal from it.

  “Your mother might seem delicate and gentle, but she was very opinionated. There were plenty of things that she could not stand, and she would voice her opinions about it. But while Zhao Shuncheng appears like a gentleman, he’s a narcissist who is overambitious and likes to impress people but refuses to listen to criticism. When he was wooing your mother, he had put on a perfect, humble attitude and was really obedient to your mother. Once he married her, he immediately regained his previous attitude. Soon after your mother married him, they started arguing about various things. Later on, the number of times Zhao Shuncheng returned home started dropping sharply.”


  When Zhao Youlin heard this, understanding flashed in her eyes.

  She did not have a lot of chances to talk to Zhao Shuncheng, but those few encounters caused him to understand that Zhao Shuncheng was a headstrong and supercilious person.

  This was an incredibly chauvinistic man, so how could he possibly tolerate anyone criticizing him?

  Li Hongyu discovered this in the past and listened to everything he said, which earned her Zhao Shuncheng’s favor, and she immediately rose to power because of it.

  “Your mother knew that he had a wild life outside and criticized him a few times, but unfortunately, every time she mentioned this, it would end on bad terms between them. As time passed, your mother stopped caring. Once Zhao Shuncheng saw that your mother stopped commenting on it, he thought that she had accepted his ways and started enjoying his life even more outside. In the beginning, he only fooled around with women, but later on, he even had children with the women outside.”


  Duan Yarong gnashed her teeth together when she said this, and a rarely seen expression of fury showed on her face. “In the beginning, when I learned about this, your father, your grandfather, and I were all shocked. After we made some calculations, we learned that Zhao Shuncheng got together with that woman when your mother was conceiving you. Seriously…”


  Zhao Youlin saw that Duan Yarong was really angry, and she quickly patted her back to calm her down. She comforted her softly, “Mom, it’s already in the past. Forget it.”


  Duan Yarong grabbed Zhao Youlin’s hand to calm her raging emotions and said hoarsely, “I’m fine. I just feel regretful and upset. I blame myself for this. I was good friends with your mother, so why didn’t I discover your mother’s troubles from the beginning? At that time, I could have helped her. But why was I so careless? Why didn’t I discover anything and just watched as your mother jumped into a trap? When I finally realized something was wrong, it was already too late.”


  Duan Yarong sucked in a sharp breath. “Your mother should have had a good life; a husband who loved her; a daughter as obedient as you are; and a cozy, happy family, but she didn’t get any of this, because I—”


  “Enough!” Zhao Youlin’s shout interrupted Duan Yarong’s mumbles as she continued blaming herself. She stared into Duan Yarong’s surprised eyes and sucked in a deep breath before she said seriously, “Mom, what happened to my mother has nothing to do with you. She chose to marry Zhao Shuncheng. Since it’s a path she chose, she has to continue down that path even if she has to crawl through it. My mother has her own dignity. She won’t want her best friend to continue blaming herself after her death. Besides, I believe that my mother never told you about her home life because she cares about you.”


  “She didn’t tell me… because she cared?” Duan Yarong was stunned by Duan Yarong’s strange logic.

  “Yes, because she cared!” Zhao Youlin stared at Duan Yarong resolutely. “I might not understand what happened with her company at that time, but since something like that happened, I believe she must have needed a lot of cash flow to handle the situation. What were you going to do if she told you about it?”


  Duan Yarong was dumbfounded. “Of course I’d borrow money to help her with the capital turnover.”


  “And that’s exactly it.” Zhao Youlin narrowed her eyes. “No matter what relationship it is, be it love, friendship, or even familial relationships, once money is involved, it’ll change.”