It was likely the first ti Yan Renzhong shared so much about himself with anyone. After so ti, it was natural for him to clamp up and refuse to say even another word.
Patiently, Shen Jingwei waited until Yan Renzhong overca his ntal barrier and spoke of his side of the story.
"I left ho when I was eighteen years old to pursue my dream of becoming an actor," the man finally began. "Several months after I left, my mother t Song Zhuguan through a mutual friend. Song Zhuguan’s daughter, Song Xiaoling, had also left ho to attend college.
The similar circumstances bound them together. They gradually beca close and fell in love."
"At that ti, I thought that it wasn’t such a bad idea at all. Song Zhuguan appeared to be a reliable person, and my mother has been lonely for over ten years."
Yan Renzhong scoffed to himself.
"I wish I had opposed their relationship from the very beginning," he said with a grim voice. "Anyway, they got married when my mother beca pregnant with Yaya."
Yan Renzhong stared into Shen Jingwei’s eyes when he said the last sentence.
"So no, I did not make Yaya adopt the Song surna to hide her connection to . She is my younger half-sister, not my daughter. Not biologically, anyway. I will speak more of that later on."
"After they got married, Song Zhuguan’s real personality started to show. He was an alcoholic with gambling addict problem. To finance his expensive hobby, he stole a lot of items from our house.
Three years ago, he began selling my late father’s belongings."
"..."
Shen Jingwei still recalled the way Yan Renzhong spoke about his father that night in the farming village. Each word uttered was imbued with affection and tenderness.
The profound love he harbored for his father, though not explicitly displayed, was evident through Yan Renzhong’s deanor. Consequently, it was not surprising that his voice carried a discernible sharpness when he discussed the individual who had stolen from his late father.
"My mother found out by chance when she was cleaning the basent. By then, half of my father’s belongings had already been pawned off."
"And so, they got into a fight. In a fit of rage, my father pushed my mother hard, and she hit her head at a door knob."
"..."
A storm of anger erupted in Shen Jingwei’s eyes when he heard the horrifying turn of events.
He barely stopped himself from running his mouth about Song Zhuguan. Had he known the kind of person Song Zhuguan was, Shen Jingwei would have served him several more punches across the face.
"As my mother lay there, unconscious, that man took every valuable item in our house and left. Yaya was only two years old at that ti. She did not know what was happening. She also did not know how to call for help."
All colors drained from Shen Jingwei’s face.
"What... What happened?" He sputtered when Yan Renzhong did not continue fast enough.
"My mother eventually regained consciousness after probably six hours had passed. The first thing she did was give a call. That happened the sa night we kissed and were caught in a video."
"..."
Shen Jingwei still rembered the aftermath vividly.
That night, he spent a romantic evening with his beloved.
The next morning, all hell broke loose.
Shen Jingwei was called to the acting academy headmaster’s office and questioned about his relationship with Yan Renzhong.
And Yan Renzhong was nowhere to be found.
"So the next day, you..."
"I wasn’t even there. I was back ho, taking care of my mother and Yaya."
"..."
"My mother suffered a minor brain concussion, but Yaya was heavily traumatized. She was unresponsive and had to be hospitalized for further observation.
To make things worse, Song Zhuguan had used our ho address for correspondency whenever he took out loans from loan sharks.
My mother and I just returned from the hospital when debt collectors gathered at our house, demanding that we cleared Song Zhuguan’s outstanding debts."
Shen Jingwei swallowed hard.
"They threatened to tear our house down and drag us to police station if we could not pay within 24 hours.
At the sa ti, CNC Studio reached out and told about the video. Shang Ruohai was in charge of talent managent division at that ti. He was the one who grood throughout my career advancent.
Upon discovering my situation at that ti, he made an offer -- shut up, do nothing about the widespread video, and let CNC Studio handle the aftermath. In return, he would take care of all my, as in, Song Zhuguan’s debt."
Shen Jingwei shook his head in regret.
"... How much was it?"
"With interest, probably around five hundred millions Yuan."
"..."
It was enough amount to buy 100 houses in Nanwu Town, his own included.
"I know that what I did was unforgivable," Yan Renzhong said. "I am not going to justify myself by saying that I had no choice. I was selfish and I picked my family’s well-being over yours, regardless the arising consequences."
After three years, Shen Jingwei saw the remorse he longed to see across Yan Renzhong’s face. But it did not make him feel any better at all.
If anything, it made him feel worse.
"I was not lying when I told your parents I was willing to take full responsibility of you. With your parents’ blessing, I had wanted to propose to you."
"..."
"If I had obtained the blessing I need, I was prepared to fight for your love and forgiveness. I would have stalked you to the end of the world if need be, even though you blocked on all social dia and avoided the entire ti."
Was that for real?
Or was that another episode of his wishful thinking?
Shen Jingwei did not know what to think.
Was he still supposed to hate Yan Renzhong for everything he did? Even after knowing the reasons?
Did those reasons justify the pain and losses Shen Jingwei sustained?
Just what was he supposed to do now?
"Jingwei..."
Before Shen Jingwei knew it, Yan Renzhong was already kneeling in front of him, cupping his hands with his.
"I am sorry. I was unable to protect you. If it is any consolation at all, I have been trying to do everything in my might to repay my debt to you and your family.
I will not stop until I see you at the pinnacle of entertainnt industry, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with other top actors and actresses in our country."
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