CHAPTER 257: 236: FULFILLING THE ’DUTY’ OF AN ELDER SISTER

Shi Yin had never experienced what she described.

But it wasn’t hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for a woman with a sick mother in such circumstances.

He held her tighter, not just out of pity, but also deep sadness: "And then?"

"Then..."

Ruan Yuan seemed to recall scenes from the past. Her expression softened: "Then I met Little Zhi. She helped me resolve it."

If it hadn’t been for the girl who walked into her life unexpectedly, willing to extend a hand to pull her out of the mud...

Perhaps she would never have the life she had now.

Nor would she have met so many friends, and the love of her life, Shi Yin.

"Do they still come after you?" Shi Yin noticed she hadn’t delved into the specifics of how Yu Zhi helped her and didn’t push further.

After all, those were painful memories.

At this moment, his priority was her safety.

"Not anymore." Ruan Yuan tilted her head and gave him a delicate smile.

Seeing the conviction in her tone, Shi Yin finally allowed himself to relax.

He gently caressed her cheek, his voice warm and filled with endless tenderness: "No matter what happens in the future, promise me you’ll tell me right away, okay?"

Since the decision to share a life with her had been made, he was determined to face every hardship together. No matter what, he wouldn’t let go easily.

"Okay." Ruan Yuan responded softly.

She nestled against his neck, her gaze lowered, unspoken thoughts briefly flashing through her eyes.

"Do those guns need to be dealt with?" Shi Yin hesitated for a moment before ultimately leaving the decision to her.

For someone who relied on guns for a sense of security, it might be hard to adjust to life without them suddenly.

If she wanted to keep them, he’d find a safer place to hide them. If she didn’t, he’d ask Shi Wei to destroy them.

Ruan Yuan glanced toward the kitchen: "Let’s leave them for now."

She couldn’t foresee the future and needed to prepare for all contingencies.

**

Drizzling rain fell quietly, condensing into a thin mist that formed a faint haze.

On the wide-open ground of the detention center, a pair of white sneakers pressed into the puddles, sending splashes of murky water flying.

The young girl folded her umbrella, adjusted her jacket, and followed a middle-aged man into the empty room.

After a brief wait, the clanging of iron chains filled the air.

Yu Baisheng once again seated himself across from the two of them.

His condition had worsened since last time. Even with his hair shaved as short as it could go, he looked utterly lifeless.

If someone didn’t know his real age, they might think he was an elderly man well over sixty.

"Have you made up your mind?" Yu Zhi tapped lightly on the table.

Under the lone overhead lamp, her rounded fingertips seemed almost alabaster-like, catching the eye.

She lounged indifferently in her chair, her posture as languid as ever. Her light, hazel almond-shaped eyes betrayed no emotion, impossible to read.

Since their very first meeting, she’d maintained this casual air, never once deviating from it.

Yu Baisheng didn’t respond. Instead, he turned his gaze to the "lawyer" beside her: "Do I still have a chance to get out?"

Xu Changxiao flipped through the folder in his hands, laying out every charge in black and white. His tone was detached: "At best, ten years."

"Ten years..." Yu Baisheng murmured, his hands clenched tightly on the table before slowly relaxing.

He was no longer young, and the time he’d spent here had already eroded all his fighting spirit.

Ten years—it was a clear, cruel sentence.

"Do you want to get out?" Yu Zhi paused her tapping.

She arched her delicate brows, a strange, unreadable smile flickering in her eyes.

"Not anymore." Yu Baisheng shook his head.

Imitating the girl, he leaned back in his chair, his somewhat hoarse voice reduced to a whisper: "Little Zhi, Qiu Wan’s death was my doing."

"Why?" Yu Zhi’s gaze turned probing as she looked at him.

At the same time, she gripped Xu Changxiao’s wrist under the table, squeezing twice as a silent warning not to act rashly.

"I got bored." Yu Baisheng’s face twisted into a bitter smile as he sighed. "Our generation’s love was too plain, too uneventful."

Qiu Wan was good—gentle, kind, considerate. She took care of him impeccably for years.

But this very goodness suffocated him.

A man like him, forever overshadowed by someone like Qiu Wan, who excelled in every way, could never hold his head high.

Though her family had humble roots as hunters and her background was even poorer than the Yu Family decades ago, her grace and business acumen far surpassed his.

People are not immune to vanity, and he was no exception.

He wanted someone who idolized him, relied on him, who made him feel like her entire world and never outshined him.

No matter how "good" Qiu Wan was, she couldn’t provide the sense of validation he craved.

After years of mundane life, meeting someone as dazzling as the sun inevitably stirred up a wandering heart.

"I thought of ending things amicably, but she refused." Yu Baisheng spoke flatly, his face devoid of regret.

"So, you decided to hurt her?"

"Yes."

Silence filled the space.

When things go too smoothly, they often feel unreal, harder to believe.

Yu Zhi paused briefly before smirking faintly: "I remember, she died of a heart attack?"

"Your mother had always had a history of heart problems. She didn’t tell you because she didn’t want you to worry."

"And how did you agitate her into having a fatal attack?"

Yu Baisheng took a deep breath and looked up at the glaring lamp, his expression unmoved: "That day, I brought Yuan Li home."

"She wasn’t the kind of person to break over something like that."

"Believe it or not, it’s up to you."

Seeing he wouldn’t elaborate, Yu Zhi’s smile grew wider, twisting into something almost sinister.

She unscrewed the cap of a bottle of mineral water, tipped her chin slightly, and took a sip, casually remarking: "I heard Yu Cheng’an transferred schools."

"What are you trying to do?" Yu Baisheng’s eyes sharpened with sudden vigilance and alarm.

He straightened up, the earlier indifference gone entirely from his demeanor.

"There’s a nice amusement park outside the Fifth Ring Road." Yu Zhi’s lips curved lightly as she smiled: "As his sister, I thought of taking him there for a visit."

Outside the Fifth Ring Road, amusement park...

Yu Baisheng’s heart dropped, his knuckles whitening as the veins on his hands bulged in tension: "Yu Zhi, what exactly are you planning?"

Seeing his true colors at last, Yu Zhi felt a sudden surge of satisfaction: "Why so frantic? I’m merely fulfilling my duties as his sister."

"Fulfilling your duties? At the infamous ’Ghost Park’?" Yu Baisheng’s eyes filled with rage, his body trembling violently.

He never could have imagined the girl before him could turn out so ruthlessly vile!