Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Sitting in the car, Shi Mengwan only saw that it was a mountain. The mountain wasnât high, and the car drove directly up the mountain. They were now at the mountainside.
She got off the car with Zhan Haoze. He held her hand and walked to a small road on the side.
Shi Mengwan had a faint premonition in her heart. She knew why he brought her here and what he wanted to do.
Sure enough, after going around a small hill, she saw a very magnificent cemetery.
Someone behind Zhan Haoze handed him three bunches of chrysanthemums.
âWanwan, this is my mom.â
Shi Mengwan looked at the cemetery. She realized that the cemetery wasnât just for one person.
It was for three people. On both sides were two larger tombstones, and the one on the right was for a woman. The woman in the black-and-white photo had a bright smile on her face, and there was a slight resemblance between her and Zhan Haoze.
On the tombstone was written grave of the mother, Qiao Ruoliu. Zhan Haoze stood there weeping.
This was Zhan Haozeâs mother?
She looked at Zhan Haoze and then at the other two graves.
The larger one on the right was written grave of the father, Zhan Lie. It was also made by Zhan Haoze.
The Zhan Lie on the tombstone looked 70% similar to Zhan Haoze. He could be considered a combination of Zhan Lie and Qiao Ruoliu.
That word âQiaoâ made Shi Mengwan look at Zhan Haoze once again. Qiao? Qiao Ze?
However, what attracted Shi Mengwanâs attention the most was the smaller tombstone in the middle.
Sister, Zhan Jiaoâs tomb.
These simple words made Shi Mengwanâs eyes widen. She looked at Zhan Haoze in disbelief.
According to the time on these three tombstones. Zhan Haoze lost all his family members in almost a day. Parents, sister.
Zhan Haoze placed the flowers in front of the three tombstones, then squatted down in front of the tombstones. He reached out and touched the tombstone in the middle. His gaze was painful and distant.
âActually, I donât know if itâs a sister or a brother. I just hope that sheâs a sister.â
Zhan Kun valued sons over daughters. He had many illegitimate children, but usually, he wouldnât acknowledge them if they were girls.
It was impossible for him to have a good relationship with those girls from the Zhan family.
He hoped to have a sister, and he thought he would have a sister too, if there wasnât that shot.
No, not just one shot, but many shots.
Shi Mengwan didnât quite understand the first sentence, but she reacted to the second sentence. She stared at Zhan Haoze with her eyes wide open. Her lips moved, but she couldnât say a word.
Zhan Haoze pressed his forehead against the tombstone. Actually, he knew that there was nothing there.
Whether it was his sisterâs grave or his parentsâ, the insides was empty. Seriously speaking, these could only be considered empty graves.
Because whether it was Qiao Ruoliu or Zhan Lie, their bodies werenât here.
Shi Mengwan looked at the three tombstones and her lips moved. She remembered that Zhan Haoze said that his mother was dead, but he didnât say that his father was also gone.
âDad, Mom, Iâm here to see you guys.â
Zhan Haoze took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the tombstones.
âDad, Mom, I brought Wanwan to see you guys. Wanwan is the girl I mentioned to you guys. Iâve already proposed to her.â
Zhan Haoze thought of something and placed his forehead in front of the tombstones. His gaze was deep.
He once had a very happy family. His mother was an extremely ordinary primary school teacher, but she was very gentle. She liked children and also liked to laugh.
She was born in an ordinary family, but she unexpectedly met Zhan Lie, the eldest Young Master of the Zhan family who was prominent in Qing City.
She didnât know Zhan Lieâs identity at the beginning. Zhan Lie was head over heels in love with Qiao Ruoliu. After knowing that his father wouldnât agree to it, he eloped with Qiao Ruoliu.
Qiao Ruoliuâs mother was from Lin City, so the two of them settled down in Lin City.
Qiao Ruoliu taught while Zhan Lie found a job as an ordinary employee. The two of them didnât have much money, but they were very happy.
Especially after having Zhan Haoze, the happiness became shared among three people.
As a primary school teacher, Qiao Ruoliu liked children very much, especially her own son. She would hold him in her arms and read to him.
When he was growing up, she would teach him to play the piano and sing.
And Zhan Lie, after getting rid of the controlling Zhan Kun, became an ordinary father.
He would take Zhan Haoze to the park and carry his son on his shoulders. He would take Zhan Haoze to play basketball and football.
That childhood was the happiest time in Zhan Haozeâs life.
He had a very happy family. This happiness lasted until he was nine years old.
When he was nine years old, Qiao Ruoliu became pregnant again. This was very happy news for the Zhan family.
At that time, she was only two months pregnant and her pregnancy still wasnât obvious. However, Zhan Lie and Zhan Haoze already knew about it. They were looking forward to it and were very happy.
A new life had arrived. When Qiao Ruoliu asked the father and son whether they liked a son or a daughter, the two of them unanimously said that they wanted a girl.
âIâm going to be an older brother.â
Zhan Haoze was very happy at that time. This kind of happiness made him and Zhan Lie plan every day how they would dote on her if he had a younger sister.
He had many plans, how he would take care of this sister, how he would be a good brother.
Zhan Haoze would never forget what happened on the day of the accident. Because that day was Qiao Ruoliuâs birthday. Zhan Haoze wanted to give Qiao Ruoliu a birthday present.
That day happened to be Saturday. Zhan Haoze, thinking of hiding it to give Qiao Ruoliu a surprise, had prepared the present on the first day.
He thought about it, but didnât know where to hide it. In the end, he chose to hide it in a cabinet in the living room.
That cabinet was very big. The day before, Qiao Ruoliu had just cleaned it out and said that she wanted to put something in it. Zhan Haoze was still small at that time, so he could just hide in it.
He hid well. He planned to wait for his mother and father to enter the door. When they entered the door, he would push open the cabinet door and jump out to give Qiao Ruoliu a surprise.
However, he didnât expect that Qiao Ruoliu and Zhan Lie wouldnât come back. Instead, Zhan Kun came first.
Zhan Kun brought Uncle Chi, and many people in black clothes broke into his house. He saw it through the crack of the cabinet door. He had never seen such a scene and was so scared that he didnât dare to make a sound.
Zhan Kun had people search around the house, but he didnât know what they were searching for. When a man in black walked over to open the cabinet he was in, he was terrified.
It was just then that Zhan Lie and Qiao Ruoliu came back.
Qiao Ruoliu was pregnant. Zhan Lie was worried about her going shopping alone, so he accompanied her.
It was her birthday today, so when they went out, they even went to buy a cake.
Seeing Zhan Kun enter the house, both of them were shocked, and the things in their hands almost fell to the ground. Zhan Lie was a little more steady. He let Qiao Ruoliu carry the things into the kitchen, while he faced Zhan Kun himself.
Zhan Kun wanted him to go back to the Zhan family with him, but Zhan Lie refused. Zhan Kun threatened him with Qiao Ruoliu.
Zhan Lie knew that his father had always been a man of his word, but he never thought that he would have the intention to kill Qiao Ruoliu.
In the past, he had spent every day training to take over the Zhan familyâs business. Everything he did was carried out according to Zhan Kunâs will.
As time passed, he had almost forgotten what he was originally like. Zhan Lie didnât want to live that kind of life. He begged Zhan Kun to let him go. He didnât want to go back to the Zhan family.
If he had to go back to the Zhan family, he had to bring Qiao Ruoliu back too.
Zhan Kun was angered by his son, but his face didnât show a hint of emotion.
He opened his mouth again and asked Zhan Lie if he wanted to go back with him. When he received a negative answer, he vented all his anger on Qiao Ruoliu.
It was this woman, it was her, it was she who seduced his son. It was she who caused his son to become like this.
Zhan Kun didnât expect that the son that he had spent so much effort to raise would one day be out of his control, so without thinking, he shot Qiao Ruoliu.
When Zhan Haoze saw the scene in front of him, his heart was torn apart. But before he could react, Zhan Lie had already rushed forward and blocked in front of Qiao Ruoliu.
That shot was right in the heart.
Zhan Lie died at the hands of his father just like that.
Zhan Kun didnât expect that his shot would actually kill his son. His anger turned into shock.
But after the shock, it condensed into an even greater anger.
It was all that b*tchâs fault. It was her. She was the one who caused his son to sacrifice his life for her.
Zhan Kun was furious. Looking at Qiao Ruoliu, who had pounced on Zhan Lie while bawling her heart out, he couldnât help but feel angry.
He held the gun and sending Qiao Ruoliu to her death, he fired twice.
Qiao Ruoliu fell on Zhan Lieâs body and died just like that.
Zhan Haoze was completely dumbfounded. He had even forgotten what he wanted to do and what he could do.
He looked at Zhan Kun, who was looking at the two corpses in front of him and coldly ordering his subordinates to dispose of them. At this moment, Zhan Haoze finally had a reaction.
He rushed out of the cupboard and pounced on his parents. He kept calling their names. But there was no reaction.
In the end, Zhan Haoze rushed up and randomly hit Zhan Kun, but his body was soon held up by others.
Zhan Kun wanted to eradicate the root of the problem and kill Zhan Haoze, but before he could kill Zhan Haoze, Uncle Chiâs phone rang first.
In the early years, Zhan Kun married the daughter of the Liu family for the sake of power. After his wife died, the Liu family took good care of Zhan Lie, this grandson of theirs.
Previously, he didnât look for Zhan Lie because Zhan Lie was under the protection of the Liu family. Recently, the Liu family had gotten into some small trouble. Zhan Kun could finally teach Zhan Lie a lesson.
Who knew that this lesson would lose its propriety. Zhan Lie was dead.
However, at this time, Uncle Chi received the news Zhan Lieâs maternal grandfather had actually been re-elected.
Although Zhan Kunâs influence was large, he couldnât disregard the power of the government. He had killed Zhan Lie and Qiao Ruoliu on impulse.
But now that he had calmed down, he knew that he was in trouble. Zhan Lieâs grandfather pitied his grandson for having lost his mother early on, and placed great importance on this grandson.
Now, Zhan Lie was dead, and he died in his hands. It was the time for him to expand his influence, but if Zhan Lieâs grandfather were to go all out to deal with him, it would be quite troublesome.
Zhan Kun wasnât afraid of trouble, but he didnât want to stop the expansion of his business.
After thinking about it, he decided not to kill Zhan Haoze for the time being. At least, Zhan Haoze couldnât die now.
He asked someone to knock Zhan Haoze unconscious and brought him back to Qing City. After that, in order to cover up his actions, he ordered Uncle Chi to dispose of Zhan Lie and Qiao Ruoliuâs bodies. When they boarded the plane, Zhan Kun, who was already in a frenzy, looked at Zhan Haoze, who was knocked unconscious, and thought of a crazy plan.
He couldnât let anyone know that he had killed Zhan Lie. Then the best way was to let Zhan Lie live.
On this point, Zhan Kun couldnât help but feel fortunate. Although his illegitimate children couldnât be seen in public, they were of some use at this time.
Because one of his illegitimate children looked 70% like him, and Zhan Lieâs appearance was very similar to his. This illegitimate child also looked 60% similar to Zhan Lie.
Zhan Kun got someone to bring the illegitimate child back to the old house. Then, he hired a first-class plastic surgeon to give the illegitimate child a minor surgery.
In the end, a fake âZhan Lieâ was born just like that. Zhan Lieâs grandfather was already old. He hadnât seen his grandson for a few years, so he naturally missed him.
That illegitimate child was already married at this time and had given birth to Zhan Li and Zhan Yang. Zhan Kun knew all of this.
But in the past, he didnât care about it, nor did he take it seriously. But now, he began to pretend to take it seriously.
He used some of Zhan Lieâs previous actions and habits to let the fake Zhan Lie learn until the two of them were very similar. Only then did he let him appear in front of Zhan Lieâs grandfather.
Why did he leave Zhan Haoze alive? It was his last trump card. If the fake Zhan Lie couldnât fool him, then Zhan Haoze was still the great-grandson of the Liu family. At critical moments, this was always a protective talisman for himself.
If the fake Zhan Lie could fool him, then Zhan Haoze would be useless.
In fact, if Zhan Kunâs plan was carried out, it didnât matter whether Zhan Haoze stayed or not.
It was Uncle Chiâs intention to let Zhan Haoze stay. He was part of the people who trained Zhan Lie. He had watched Zhan Lie grow up.
At that moment, he felt a trace of compassion. Zhan Haozeâs life was spared, but Zhan Haoze knew that his parents had died in Zhan Kunâs hands, so how could he let it go so easily?
In order to convince Zhan Kun, Uncle Chi proposed a suggestion to hypnotize Zhan Haoze and make him forget what had happened in the past.
It had to be said that this idea wasnât bad. Zhan Kun had killed his own son on impulse. Although he didnât regret it, he was still willing to give Zhan Haoze a chance.
The nine-year-old Zhan Haoze was hypnotized. He forgot about the nightmare that would follow him for the rest of his life.
Not only did he forget, but after being hypnotized, he actually thought that the fake Zhan Lie was his father.
In order to coax the Liu family, Zhan Li and Zhan Yang werenât brought back to the Zhan family mansion. Zhan Kun decided to raise another heir that he liked.
That was Zhan Haoze. Didnât he, Zhan Lie, not want to go back to the Zhan family? Didnât he not want to take over the Zhan family?
Then he would let his son take over. He would let his son stay in the Zhan family forever.
The hypnotized Zhan Haoze kept feeling that something was wrong, but he was too young, and the power of hypnosis was too strong. He couldnât remember.
But he instinctively didnât like Zhan Kun, very much. Every time he faced him, he was very resistant. This included the fake Zhan Lie. He would call him father, but he no longer had the same closeness as before.
He not only wasnât close to Zhan Lie, but he was cold towards Zhan Kun. Every time he saw Zhan Kun, his face would be cold.
Once or twice was fine, but after a long time, Zhan Kun wasnât willing to see him anymore. After putting on an act in front of the Liu family and successfully deceiving the Liu family, he lost patience with Zhan Haoze, who was always displeased with him. Although he didnât kill Zhan Haoze, Zhan Haoze was sent to a boarding school.
Zhan Haoze stayed in the boarding school until junior high school. When he was 14 years old, Zhan Li and Zhan Yang also entered this junior high school.
Under a certain opportunity, Zhan Haoze unexpectedly met the fake Zhan Lie, who sent Zhan Li and Zhan Yang, to school.
He wanted to go up and call his father. That was his father. Even if he no longer felt close to him, he was still his father.
But when he called his father, Zhan Li and Zhan Yang laughed at him. âHe isnât your father, heâs our father.â
He went to see Zhan Lie. Zhan Lie was at the Zhan family home and couldnât say anything. After reprimanding Zhan Li and Zhan Yang, he told Zhan Haoze that he was his father and told him not to listen to the nonsense of Zhan Li and the others.
âIf you are my father, then they are also your children? You have children with other women?â
In Zhan Haozeâs memories, his mother died in an accident, so his father âZhan Lieâ brought him back to the Zhan family.
But now, he was telling him that Zhan Lie had other children?
âHaoze, they are also my children, so they are your younger brothers.â
In the past, the fake Zhan Lie wasnât willing to pretend to be Zhan Lie. but after he tasted the benefits of acting as Zhan Lie, he was no longer willing to give up.
âNo, I donât have a younger brother. I donât have a younger brother.â
Zhan Haoze refused to accept it. He ran away. He remembered that he didnât have a younger brother. He remembered that his parents were very loving.
But why was everything different after his mother died?
Zhan Haoze returned to the dormitory, and his head was splitting. But the suppression of the hypnosis didnât make him remember. He only felt a headache.
But that day, there happened to be a birthday celebration in Zhan Haozeâs dormitory. That person brought back a birthday cake.
Seeing that Zhan Haoze wasnât feeling well, he even said that he wanted to treat him to a cake.
Cake? Eat cake? Birthday? Those keywords made Zhan Haozeâs head hurt even more. He finally fainted from the pain.
His roommate quickly called the dormitory management, and Zhan Haoze sent to the hospital. In the hospital, Zhan Haoze remembered all the things.
He remembered, he remembered his mother died in the hands of Zhan Kun, he also remembered his father died in the hands of Zhan Kun.
Afterhis parents died, not only did he not avenge them, but he even called Zhan Kun âGrandpaâ? He even followed Zhan Kun back to the Zhan family?
Zhan Haoze couldnât forgive himself. He couldnât stay in the Zhan family anymore. Not only couldnât he stay in the Zhan family, he couldnât stay in Qing City anymore either.
He was only fourteen years old. He wanted revenge. He wanted to kill Zhan Kun to avenge his parents. But he didnât know how he could do it at fourteen years old.
Zhan Kun was a very cautious person, even when he was sleeping, there were bodyguards outside the door. Not to mention that every time he went out, there were more than a dozen bodyguards with him at all times.
Zhan Haoze couldnât break through the bodyguards.
He left the hospital and returned to school.
He thought for a long time and thought for a long time, but in the end, he decided to leave first.
Just like that, Zhan Haoze left the Zhan family and left Qing City. At first, he didnât know where to go. Later, he decided to go back to the city where his mother used to live, Lin City.
When Zhan Haoze found his home, he found that the area had been demolished and re-planned.
The home that he and his parents used to live in couldnât be found anymore. Not only couldnât be found, there wasnât even a trace left.
But even so, Zhan Haoze didnât think of leaving Lin City. This was the place where his parents had lived with him for nine years.
The more painful the later years, the happier the nine years seemed to be.
Shi Mengwan was stunned when she heard this.
That Zhan Kun, was he crazy? He killed his own son, daughter-in-law, and even his own grandson?
If such a person wasnât crazy, he was probably already insane, right? After all, if he wasnât insane, how could he do such a thing?
âHaoze?â
Shi Mengwan didnât know what she could do at this time. She couldnât even imagine what she would do if it happened to her, who had always had a happy family.
She squatted down and hugged Zhan Haozeâs shoulder.
It had been a long time since the incident. Any consolation would be useless now. She could only hug him tightly, and hug him with all her might.
Zhan Haoze looked at the three tombstones expressionlessly. His life was divided into two stages. Before the age of nine, after the age of nine.
No, it should be before the age of nine, and after the age of fourteen. Those few years in the Zhan family could only be considered a nightmare for him.
After the age of fourteen, every day, every hour, and every minute of his life was for revenge.
Shi Mengwan looked at his side profile and thought about everything he had experienced. At this moment, all the confusion and blame that she had for Zhan Haoze disappeared.
All that was left was a faint heartache.
Such a man had personally watched his parents die in front of him. How strong was his mentality to not break down?
She suddenly understood why Zhan Haozeâs face was always cold and why it was hard for him to laugh.
No one would be able to laugh at such a thing, right?
âThen, what happened after that?â
Zhan Kun, how was he now? Shi Mengwan looked at him with concern. Su Qingsang had heard about the Zhan family from Huo Jinyao. Su Qingsang had mentioned it to Shi Mengwan before.
Shi Mengwan knew that Zhan Haozeâs father was still around. But that Zhan Lie seemed to have a wife.
At first, she thought that Zhan Lie had married another woman, which was why Zhan Haozeâs relationship with his father was so bad, but she didnât expect that Zhan Lie wasnât Zhan Haozeâs father at all.
Zhan Haoze didnât say anything. He stood up and looked at the tombstone.
âDad, Mom, Iâve avenged you.â
It was only a simple sentence, but Shi Mengwan could understand what he meant.
âYour grandfather, that man, how is he?â
A person like that wasnât worthy of being a grandfather. Although Grandma Shi was a bit out of tune, she was just a bit old-fashioned.
But what was Zhan Kun?
âHeâs in the hospital.â
When he came, Tang Hua asked. Zhan Kun was sent in for resuscitation again. He had suffered two strokes and had suffered such a great shock. He probably wouldnât live for more than a few days.
Zhan Haozeâs voice was a little cold. He held Shi Mengwanâs hand tightly. âI once thought of personally killing him.â
Shi Mengwan wasnât surprised. Anyone who encountered such a thing would have such thoughts, right?
âBut do you know why I gave up?â