Chapter 174

Shen Zhaozhao was alone at home, restless and uneasy.

Even the image of seeing Shen Li covered in blood and lying on the bed after attempting suicide yesterday kept flashing in her mind.

Fear haunted her all night; she barely closed her eyes and didn't even dare to step into her own room, having to make do on the sofa until dawn.

The things Liang Jingze said to her were driving her mad.

She told herself over and over that Shen Li's suicide had nothing to do with her, that she hadn't done anything.

It was her own choice to do that.

At this moment, a sound came from outside, and Shen Zhaozhao stood up at once.

Seeing the door open and seeing the person who returned, "Mom..." her gaze then landed on Shen Li, who had also returned, and she called out weakly: "Sister..."

Who would have thought that at this moment, Yu Lizhen walked up, raised her hand, and slapped Shen Zhaozhao hard, without any restraint.

Shen Zhaozhao's face was knocked to one side, and she looked at her in disbelief: "Mom... you hit me?"

"You have never hit me before."

"Why did you throw away my daughter's medicine!" The look in Yu Lizhen's eyes as she looked at her was fierce, a strangeness Shen Zhaozhao had never seen before. From childhood to adulthood, her mother had never scolded her, let alone hit her; this was the first time in ten years.

Shen Li, standing behind, was stunned, a slight emotional fluctuation stirring in her heart.

"... What did this family ever do to wrong you, that you would go so far as to throw away your sister's medicine without even asking?"

Shen Zhaozhao cried and shook her head, "I didn't know... I really didn't know that was medicine for Sister's depression. I thought Sister was lying to me."

"I'm sorry, Mom... I didn't mean it, I won't ever dare to do it again!"

Yu Lizhen looked at her with cold eyes: "You go. Take whatever you want to take... and return to where you belong."

"No! I don't want to!" Shen Zhaozhao knelt before her at once, grabbing Yu Lizhen's hand, "Mom... Mom... I am your daughter too, don't drive me away, I really know I was wrong. I won't ever treat Sister like that again."

She cried violently.

Shen Li lowered her eyes, standing by like a bystander without a word.

Yu Lizhen closed her eyes wearily; her chest felt like it was blocked by a wad of cotton soaked in cold water, feeling suffocatingly dull: "Everything I could do for you... I have done. You go."

Shen Zhaozhao clutched Yu Lizhen's hem tightly, crying until she nearly collapsed: "No... I won't go! Mom... I don't want to leave you."

Yu Lizhen couldn't say a word for a long while, only silence lingering between the two.

Shen Zhaozhao saw Shen Li, stood up, and knelt down toward Shen Li, as if grabbing a straw for survival: "Sister, I was wrong. I really know I was wrong. Please tell Mom not to drive me away."

"I don't want to leave you all."

"I really don't."

She cried like a rain-drenched pear blossom, like a little wretch being abandoned, extremely heartbroken.

Shen Li just watched her quietly, with no sympathy or emotion in her eyes, not even a ripple, completely indifferent and cold.

Yu Lizhen looked at Shen Zhaozhao kneeling on the floor and could only harden her heart, saying word by word: "Your Uncle Shen and I already processed the divorce papers this morning. This family... is broken."

"I don't have the ability to raise two children. A-Li... is my own flesh and blood. I cannot abandon her."

"Back then, your mother gave up her own future to ensure I could afford to study, marrying early and suffering for a lifetime. These years, I raised you for ten years, provided you the best schools, and in the end, even made A-Li give up her guaranteed admission to Qingbei for you. Even without my support, you still have the Mathematics Competition prize money; as long as you spend sparingly and rely on your own efforts, you can successfully study abroad. After graduating and returning, with your ability, you can find a good job and live well."

She paused, her voice softening: "Zhaozhao, these ten years, we owed your mother, and we owed you."

"Now, it is all paid off."

"This home... you cannot continue to live in. If you want to come visit... Auntie will always welcome you."

This matter was not a sudden decision; it was something Yu Lizhen had planned long ago.

She had changed her name and made her call her Mom just to make up for the missing maternal love.

Now... everything should return to where it was meant to be.

After saying this.

Who would have thought, the next second.

Everything went black before Yu Lizhen's eyes, and she fainted without warning.

Shen Li: "Mom..."

Shen Zhaozhao: "Mom..."

Having just left the hospital, they never expected to be right back there again.

However, they didn't expect another bomb to land heavily on Shen Li.

Yu Lizhen was diagnosed with breast cancer.

"This condition of hers was induced by daily trivialities or long-term depression."

"When emotions are in a poor state, it inhibits ovarian ovulation, leading to abnormal progesterone levels, causing a relative increase in estrogen, which in turn triggers breast hyperplasia."

"The patient is currently in the middle stage."

Shen Wenqing frowned slightly, "Is the cure rate high?"

Doctor: "The cure rate varies from person to person. Since it was discovered early, the chance of a cure is only thirty percent. Do your best... to make a decision."

Shen Li stood at the door and heard the entire conversation between the doctor and her father.

When the people in the office walked out.

Zhuang Wanyi walked to Shen Wenqing's side holding the child, "What did the doctor say?"

Shen Wenqing shook his head with a grim expression, "You take the child and go back first; I'll handle the hospital matters."

Zhuang Wanyi pursed her lips, "Alright."

Shen Li watched the woman leave, her cold gaze then falling on him, "I heard everything you said to the doctor."

Shen Wenqing hesitated, "Li-Li..."

Shen Li met his eyes, her expression very faint: "Mom... won't want to see you. You... have your own home, please don't appear in front of Mom again in the future."

Shen Wenqing: "Li-Li, it's Dad... who failed you both."

Shen Li didn't want to hear him continue, turned, and left.

Yu Lizhen had known three years ago that Shen Wenqing was having an affair, including about that child he had outside.

It was just that all these years, she had turned a blind eye, pretending she knew nothing.

The strength in Yu Lizhen's bones had been destined from the moment she was born in that barren mountain village. Such a background never allowed her any room to rely on others.

Later, walking step by step from the mountains to the big city, she never thought of relying on anyone; her life had always been something she had to support on her own.

Shen Wenqing, at the beginning, was not without sincerity toward her. In their youth, he had loved her with all his heart.

When they first met, he was firmly attracted to her at first sight. In his eyes, she was like a bright and passionate rose, never the delicate, pampered look of a greenhouse flower, but one rooted in the cracks of a cliff, enduring frost and snow, standing against cold winds, blooming stubbornly on her own.

But her lack of gentleness and the strength carved into her bones triggered one argument and cold war after another.

It eventually exhausted all his patience and love, leaving only exhaustion.

It made him take the first wrong step.

And it also destined that he would have no room to turn back.