Chapter 128: Vested Interests, Not Innocent

Chapter 128

The ardent kisses started from the forehead, passed the tip of the nose, and landed on the lips.

The just-cleaned mouth still retained the refreshing scent of the toothpaste, which smelled and tasted good.

With the sash untied, both of them felt somewhat melted.

Although there was one experience before, combining again still brought slight discomfort.

Fortunately Yang Dawei was extremely patient, always guiding Shen Hongmei and considering her feelings.

Just overly considerate, it also made Shen Hongmei feel ashamed and indignant.

"Does it hurt?" Th.ê most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m

"Is it too heavy like this?"

"How about this, is there any discomfort?"

Shen Hongmei was like a leaf boat swaying unsteadily on the water. She didn't know whether it was uncomfortable or comfortable. Frowning, she curled herself into his arms, but just wanted him to shut up.

The night was as dark as ink. Outside the window, stars filled the sky. Even the big red double happiness character on the window was shy.

His tenderness at this time was totally inconsistent with his cold and condensed appearance, making people addicted yet tortured at the same time.

...

Yang Dawei had been coughing for a long time but it still didn't get better. Shen Hongmei asked Divine Doctor Sister to make some medicinal pills for him. Every morning when she saw Yang Dawei, she would let him take one pill. After taking medicine for several days, his cough was gone.

However, the dementia caused by his mental retardation was not so easy to treat. Divine Doctor Sister could only prescribe medicine to alleviate it based on Shen Hongmei’s account of the situation. But the hope of a complete cure was slim.

After all, Divine Doctor Sister hadn't seen the patient in person either. As a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, without knowing the detailed physical condition, she didn't dare to prescribe heavy medicine rashly.

"But after that incident, all my talents are gone. Now I can barely recognize words, my singing sounds bad, I can't dance gracefully anymore. In the past, I didn't even need to try for these things. I could sing with just an open mouth, and dance with a simple gesture. But now I can't do any of them. Haven't you noticed I became uglier than before? My temperament is not as good either." Shen Hongmei thought of the troupe leader's constant criticism of her lately, and the mockery from other troupe members that she had hit the age limit of her talents. This was the first time she heard talents could expire too.

Pei Jing contemplated, "That just means those things you lost never belonged to you in the first place, but were endowed by that being. The price was plundering others' fortune. With your own experience, you should understand this even better than me."

"But it already gave those to me, so weren't they mine then? How could it take them back?" Shen Hongmei understood, perhaps she just couldn't bear the pain of loss.

She had lost a brother! Her sister and brother-in-law also divorced. Her parents had been in poor health for years. She was now the pillar of the family. If she lost all these too, what else could she rely on to stay in the troupe and support her family?

No, this was not what she wanted. She just wanted to get rid of the System's control.

"Then if you put it this way, are you willing to let your sister be unlucky and have a big change of temperament for life, in order to maintain your talents? And your sister's children, the villagers in your village, they were all affected by you. You lost the halo that never belonged to you in the first place, but at least you still have health, accumulated connections and wealth over the years, as well as the reputation you already earned. As long as you operate well, it should be enough to live carefreely for the rest of your life, right?" Pei Jing had thought it over before. Being bound to such an evil thing, she might have impure thoughts to begin with.

But at heart, without confirmation, she was still unwilling to assume malice about others. She treated Shen Hongmei as a victim as well, thinking Shen Hongmei was coerced.

But it seemed her previous thoughts were right.

Shen Hongmei had been maliciously controlled by the System for so many years since childhood to adulthood. Her own thinking had also been assimilated in part.

Perhaps, apart from retaining some conscience, the bigger reason she couldn't accept the continued control was that she couldn't bear to see the family tragedies and the pain of her loved ones being hurt.

When those threats were removed, she was essentially still a selfish person.

In this world, eight or nine out of ten people would be selfish. Pei Jing always believed that as long as they didn't hurt others, they could be called good people.

But Shen Hongmei had already hurt many. No matter whether it was voluntary or not, the consequences were irreversible.

She was not pitiful. The ones to pity were those who got hurt due to her selfishness.

Pei Jing said the village where Shen Hongmei lived was ridiculed by others as an unlucky village. It was said that even dogs passing by would become unlucky for three days. Outsiders all detoured around their village.

Over the years, no girls from outside were willing to marry into that village at all. Young men from other villages were also unwilling to marry their girls.

"Shen Hongmei, no matter how you think, you must accept one fact. Even if those affected by you slowly regain their original fortune over time, the harm that has been done cannot be undone, just like your sister's marriage, Yang Dawei's IQ, the disabilities and illnesses of villagers due to their fortune being sucked away, and even lives that were lost. All those affected by you, you owe them for your whole life. Don't use the excuse that you were also controlled, because even if you were controlled, you were the beneficiary. Those who receive benefits cannot be innocent."