Chapter 46: Worldview Shattered

Shu Lingchen could never forget the woman who abused him at the child welfare institute when he was four years old.

He still remembers how she pinched him one by one, the vicious malice on her face, and the sharp pain that struck his body; even to this day, it still occasionally gives him nightmares.

How could you be here?!

Shu Lingchen's pupils contracted, he strode in, his face filled with uncontrollable anger, about to step forward and grab the woman's collar to question her.

However, he only then noticed that Chumu and this woman were sitting side by side, close to each other.

Chu Auntie, how could this person be here?!

Chumu smiled and said, "Oh, this is my sister, Xiao Lian's aunt. Didn't I tell you yesterday? She's coming over today."

What?

Shu Lingchen had a moment of confused thoughts, feeling as if he might have mistaken the person.

But he was sure he hadn't misseen her; he would remember her even if she turned to ash!

Chu Auntie, could you be mistaken? This is the woman who abused me at the welfare institute! Don't you remember? Or did you discover her abuse of me and report her yourself?

Chumu showed no change in expression, nodding: "Yes, I reported her."

Inviting Shu Lingchen over for a meal today was naturally a pretense; the goal was to quickly get rid of him, so Chumu didn't want to waste time, got straight to the point, and gave him a nearly cruel look before saying:

Although I reported her, you might not know that I also had her treat you this way.

""

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Shu Lingchen's head buzzed; he couldn't believe what he had heard.

"……?! What the hell!!"

Chumu chuckled and said, "It's naturally to get close to you, Xiao Chen. If you had stayed smoothly in the welfare institute, where else could I get close to you? Your mother died, but she left you an orphan's house in Yujingyuan and a monthly living expense of tens of thousands."

It was also a coincidence that my sister happened to be doing temporary work at that welfare institute, so I had her cooperate with me; afterward, I pretended to report her, she was taken away and detained for a few days, and you came back from the welfare institute and naturally regarded me as your benefactor.

Chumu pursed her lips: "Originally we were coaxing you to let us live in the house, but I never expected your mother to mortgage the house to someone else due to debt, and the monthly living expenses disappeared as well."

Shu Lingchen felt dizzy, his body swayed, and he couldn't help but stagger back half a step.

Chu Auntie, does that mean all your care and concern for me over the years have been fake? Just for the house and money……?

Chumu didn't hesitate at all, speaking clearly: "Of course, we're not related by blood or marriage; without a house and money, who would still bother to coax you?"

Shu Lingchen stared blankly.

The clenched fists at his side trembled; the two boxes of milk in his hands felt as heavy as a thousand jin, too heavy to hold, he lowered his head, and in his peripheral vision he noticed Chu Lian sitting beside him.

Chu Lian had heard everything the whole time, yet her expression remained unmoved.

Shu Lingchen looked at Chu Lian with hope, his voice dry, and asked, "Chu Chu, do you feel the same way……?"

Chu Lian had been looking at her phone, but hearing Shu Lingchen's words, she lifted her gaze; her small face remained pure and gentle, she raised a hand to her forehead and said anxiously:

Shu Lingchen, everyone at school knows you're pursuing me, but frankly I dislike everyone linking me with you; your academic performance is far behind, and your reputation is terrible as well.

To me, this is a kind of trouble.

Chu Lian's disdain, which she had been hiding, now showed fully.

""

Shu Lingchen slowly set the two boxes of milk on the ground; the joy and anticipation he had come with vanished completely.

He suddenly spoke in a low voice: "Chu Auntie, Chu Chu, yesterday after school I waited at the gate for you for several hours, couldn't reach you, and thought those debt collectors had come to bother you."

All that was heard was Chumu's scoff, as if she had just remembered, and she told Shu Lingchen: "To be frank, there's never been any door-to-door debt collection; Xiao Lian and I owe no debts; this is merely an excuse to move into your home at Yujingyuan."

Now he realized the difference between hearing rumors from others and getting confirmation straight from the source; he could no longer deceive himself or convince himself that the aunt next door yesterday was maliciously fabricating things.

The last glimmer of light in Shu Lingchen's eyes was completely extinguished.

He numb ly glanced at Chumu, then at Chu Lian.

The two people before him, who were especially familiar to him, had become utterly strange, to the point he didn't recognize them.

Chumu gave him a contemptuous look, glanced at Shu Lingchen a few times, and finally said: "I hope you'll be sensible; from now on stay away from Xiao Lian—you're a penniless thug, unworthy of her."

…

Shu Lingchen didn't know how he had left the Chu Family residential complex.

Through the glass window, Chumu saw his back and worried: "We wouldn't have pushed him too far, would we? He now knows he was deceived; if he does something, it could ruin your and Shi Jin's plans……

No." Chu Lian said with a confident face, utterly unpanicked: "He won't."

Chu Lian knew Shu Lingchen too well.

Shu Lingchen appears hot-tempered, but deep down he has a kindness that, in her view, is foolish.

Whoever treats him well, he will repay with a fervent heart tenfold; even if they turn against him, he would never resort to underhanded tactics, preferring not to destroy both jade and stone.

It's likely that before his early-deceased mother passed away, he had lived in a carefree, well-protected environment, which made him soft-hearted and simple, so easy to deceive.

…

Shu Lingchen walked onto the street, his soul unsettled.

Many images flashed before his eyes: at one moment, Chumu patiently feeding him; at another, Chumu's expression full of pity as she cared for his fever; at another, Chu Lian smiling as she reached out to help him when he fell; at another, Chu Lian pursing her lips, gently calling him 'silly Ah Chen'.

At another moment, the two appeared together: Chumu's hair disheveled, she looked disheveled, accompanying the pale-faced Chu Lian as she told him of her suffering, saying the debt collectors had tormented them beyond endurance.

A cold iron hammer came down hard, shattering all the images like a mirror, revealing behind the fragments the ugly words 'deceit'.

Fake.

All of it is fake.

Shu Lingchen couldn't accept that, having lived this long, he had been trapped in a scam all along, and his worldview was about to collapse.

He sat down on the ground under a streetlamp, his heart full of confusion and helplessness.

Just then, as if on cue, the sky began to rain.

He didn't notice, not far behind him, a black sedan kept slowly following—