Chapter 654: 653 Grudges and Rivalries

Wen Ran knitted her brows, thinking, if she didn’t touch her chopsticks at all, Mo Zixuan probably wouldn’t be willing to tell her. After all, she had already come and this was the main dining room, not a private booth. The food should be safe.

Furthermore, Qing Feng and Qing Yang were waiting for her downstairs. There was nothing to worry or be scared about.

With that in mind, she picked up her chopsticks, took a slice of fish from the dish, and fed it into her mouth.

Seeing her willing to eat, Mo Zixuan smiled happily and continued to serve her, “Ranran, try this.”

Wen Ran tasted a little of each and then put down her chopsticks, picking up her glass of water to drink.

“Ranran, Fu Jingyi is not in the country.”

Mo Zixuan finally opened his mouth. However, his first sentence was meaningless. Wen Ran’s eyes flickered slightly, “I know.”

“Ranran, listen to me.”

Seeing that she had drunk half of the water in her glass, Mo Zixuan got up and refilled it for her.

“Go ahead.”

Wen Ran cradled the glass in her hands, her gaze quiet as water.

“I visited my mother a few days ago. The information about Fu Jingyi came from her.”

Wen Ran was slightly taken aback. When Xiao Wenqing was mentioned, she thought of the last time she was here and how Xiao Wenqing had drugged her soup. Her face turned somewhat unsightly.

“Ranran, my mom said that Fu Jingyi has several hideouts and someone is backing him up. All he has to do is focus on researching his messy poisons.”

Wen Ran’s eyes flickered slightly.

Mo Zixuan’s words were not merely speculation. She thought of Mo Xiuchen’s suspicions and the things Qin Mu was investigating.

“He is a medical fanatic. Aside from researching those things, he really doesn’t have any other expertise.”

Wen Ran’s voice was cool and clear, which made Mo Zixuan pause. He suddenly recalled her being kidnapped by Fu Jingyi for several years, and a trace of distress flashed in his eyes. He continued, “Ranran, something very important is that my mom told me that Fu Jingyi is currently researching a certain pathogen, planning to use it against your father and Kangning Hospital. He wants to not only ruin Director Gu’s reputation but also turn him into an infamous figure in history.”

Mo Zixuan looked somewhat serious when he was saying all these things.

Upon hearing this, Wen Ran was taken aback; her face couldn’t help but change.

“Did Xiao Wenqing tell you all of this?”

As the words escaped her lips, she realized that it was probably inappropriate calling his mother by her name outright in front of Mo Zixuan. No matter how much she despised Xiao Wenqing, she was ultimately his mother.

Mo Zixuan didn’t mind and nodded lightly, “Yes.”

“How did you get her to tell you these things? Hasn’t she always refused to reveal a single word?”

At first, she defended Wu Tianyi, but then, after his death, she was probably scared.

Wen Ran had heard that even in court, Xiao Wenqing had remained silent.

Mo Zixuan’s eyes flickered and he diverted from the main topic: “She only has me as her blood relative. Right now, she has no one to rely on. I persuaded her with affection and reasoning, and then she talked.”

His voice paused, a hint of suppressed emotion in his low voice: “In fact, my mom wasn’t that bad from the beginning.”

Wen Ran paused.

What was Mo Zixuan implying by this? Was he trying to defend his mother? She pursed her lips, not responding.

Yes, everyone is born innately good. She knew that people weren’t born bad, but Xiao Wenqing’s atrocities weren’t committed just once or twice. If she claimed intervening in other people’s families and causing Mo Xiuchen’s mother to commit suicide was due to jealousy clouding her judgment, then the continuous attempts to kill Mo Xiuchen later were absolutely devoid of any goodness.

Mo Zixuan gave a bitter smile, his gaze filled with tenderness as he looked at Wen Ran, whose face was still cold: “Ranran, I know, you must be mocking me in your heart. My mother has harmed so many people, it’s truly unforgivable. How could I say she wasn’t bad from the beginning, right?”

“…”

Wen Ran frowned but didn’t respond.

“My mother was born in a single-parent family. When she was just five years old, my grandfather died in an accident. My grandmother was illiterate, lacked any skills, and was often sick, so life was extremely hard. Those years, they relied a lot on Wu Tianyi’s frequent assistance.”

“Wu Tianyi helped my mom consistently for ten years. As she couldn’t afford school, he would teach her to read and write after school. Although he was only a year older than my mom, because he was a boy, he took on all the farm work, which led to several conflicts with his family.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Ran was somewhat surprised. She despised Xiao Wenqing, but she couldn’t hate a young girl who had experienced such hardships in life. She listened as Mo Zixuan told Xiao Wenqing’s story.

In essence, Xiao Wenqing and Wu Tianyi were childhood sweethearts. If it hadn’t been for Mo Jingteng’s forcible marriage back then, they might have led a simple life together. There wouldn’t have been such deep hatred that led to so many conflicts.

After hearing Mo Zixuan’s story, Wen Ran had a mix of feelings.

Initially, when Mo Zixuan had said that Xiao Wenqing wasn’t always bad, she found it ridiculous. But after hearing the whole story, she felt a sense of regret.

On one hand, she despised Xiao Wenqing for her cruel acts, and on the other hand, she felt sorry for her. Destiny was indeed cruel, and karma had its own cycle. It was just that the sins committed by Mo Jingteng in his youth resulted in the man she loved deeply having to bear the crime and revenge.

As for her biological parents and Fu Jingyi, it was still a cycle of love, hatred, and revenge. Ultimately, it was all about inner demons. So many people in the world were hurt because of love and suffered for it. If everyone used this as an excuse to do whatever they wanted, the world would be in chaos.

“Ranran, I’m not saying this to absolve my mother. I just want you to know that what she told me is true and not lying to me. But I’m not sure if she told me everything she knows.”

Wen Ran’s eyes flickered slightly. She was somewhat doubtful about the meaning of Mo Zixuan’s words.

“Ranran, rest assured, as soon as I get the latest news, I will inform you.”

Mo Zixuan said sincerely.

Wen Ran lowered her eyes. When she looked up, her beautiful face was calm and composed like water: “Mo Zixuan, thank you for telling me all this. I don’t like being indebted to anyone. If you have any conditions, you can tell me. As long as they are reasonable, I will definitely agree.”

There was a flicker of hurt in Mo Zixuan’s eyes. He ate silently and then gestured to a waiter not far away.

After paying the bill, he said in a low tone, “Ranran, let’s go. I’ll take you home.”

As if what she had said before was not directed at him, Wen Ran felt a bit uncomfortable. After a moment, she stood up and said, “I meant it sincerely. As long as it is something I can do…”

“Ranran!”

Mo Zixuan suddenly interrupted her.