Chapter 197: Chapter One-Hundred and Ninety-Seven: Worries and Trauma
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Xiang Yang stated, “The law couldn’t convict me because I didn’t commit a crime. Therefore, the victim’s—the boy who died—mother hired someone to rape and kill me. A group of hooligans kidnapped me. They asked my father and grandmother for a ransom when they discovered I was from a wealthy family.”
Xiang Yang’s tears fell again as she continued, “My father and grandfather used all their connections and diverted all the funds they could. They did everything they could and were willing to make any sacrifice to keep me alive.”
“I always thought that no one loved me. I did all I could to hurt the hearts of those who loved me the most. My father’s hair turned white within a week due to the stress, and my grandfather passed away from a heart attack half a year after I got rescued. I know that his health had suffered due to the trauma of my kidnapping, so I’m the cause of his death. I’m a sinner; I don’t deserve to live in this world.”
Xiang Yang cried non-stop as she said, “But I promised my grandfather before he died that I would live my life well no matter what happened. I must live well—I’ve already let him down once; I can’t let him down again.”
“My father also forgave me and cleaned up my mess. He sent me to another country to study. There, I truly settled down and focused on my studies. To prevent me from repeating the same mistake, he arranged for my mother’s cousin—who my mother often took care of before she passed—to accompany me.”
“But, in fact, I won’t do such things again even if no one watched over me. My heart had already died; I was only alive to fulfill my promise to Grandpa… until I met Shi Ke.”
Fang Xi heaved a sigh of relief.
“Shi Ke is like sunlight, shining into my gloomy life. He doesn’t know my past; he only loves and dotes on me. I once thought of telling him, but I didn’t know how to. I don’t know how to tell him everything about my horrible past.”
“However, Shi Ke said everyone has a past. He wasn’t involved in my past, nor does he have the right to judge. He loves me in the present and wants to continue loving me in the future. If the past is happy, it should be stored in our memory and deleted if it makes us unhappy.”
“His words made me finally let go of the worries in my heart and marry him. I feel that fate must have put him in my path to give me a new beginning so that I wouldn’t dwell on the past. A few years have passed, and I’ve gradually moved past the trauma back then. Almost no one in the country knows about my past. I thought that everything was all in the past.”
“I was too naive, Fang Xi. What happened in the past happened and would leave traces. I’ve tried to escape and stay away from those people from back then, but we’re ultimately living in the same time and space—it’s impossible for us not to interact for the rest of our lives. And even if we meet just one of them, it can drag me back into that hellish abyss.”
Xiang Yang sighed, “Fang Xi, I’m so afraid I’ll lose everything, but if I really do lose it, what right do I have to keep it? I don’t deserve it.”
Fang Xi’s heart ached for Xiang Yang. The banquet outside had ended, and everyone had returned. Xiang Yang held Fang Xi’s hand and pleaded, “Let me enjoy my happiness for a while longer. Don’t tell them, okay?”
Fang Xi slowly squatted down, looked at Xiang Yang, and told her, “This is your story to tell. I have no right to spill it to others without your permission.
However, Xiang Yang, it doesn’t matter what others say. You can’t slander or belittle yourself. No matter how much others love you, they can’t compare to you loving yourself. How would you have the ability to save yourself if you don’t even love yourself?”
She continued, “Everyone in the Shi family is a good person. Fate put them in your path because it was giving you a chance, telling you not to give up on yourself. You messed up in the past, but it wasn’t entirely your fault. Everyone should only be responsible for their own lives and not bear the responsibility of others’ mistakes and even fate on their own shoulders. Do you understand what I’m saying?
Fang Xi then turned around to welcome those who had returned, leaving Xiang Yang alone in a daze. Xiang Yang stared as the stars gently winked in the night sky, compassionately and impartially looking upon all the tender-hearted people in the world.
Everyone should only be responsible for their own lives, and everyone has their own ray of starlight.
The thought had Xiang Yang in tears..