The Sickly Fake Daughter, But a Beloved Darling of All - Chapter 121

Xu Chengjin was a person of strong action. After taking Jin Xi to the hospital that day, she rested for a day, and the following morning, she brought people along to move out of the dormitory.

Her reason for applying to move out was perfectly reasonable; she feared it wouldn’t be good if she fell ill or fainted in the dormitory alone. Furthermore, the school would have to bear responsibility for her, so it was better to let her go home. Moreover, the Xu family and Si Yu had donated a lot of money over the years, so no one would stand in her way.

Xu Chengjin went to move in the morning. When she pushed open the dormitory door, Wu Boran was not there. Speaking of which, she hadn’t seen Wu Boran for a while; it was likely that if they didn’t specifically schedule a time, they wouldn’t encounter each other again.

This place was not big enough, yet it was big enough.

Xu Chengjin did not let the others come up. She packed the things in the dormitory alone, moving them to the corridor before letting them come up to take them away.

She didn’t have many belongings left in the dorm, so she finished packing quickly. As she was gathering things in the bathroom, the sound of the dormitory door opening made her pause. Her eyelashes trembled as she slowly lifted her eyes and turned her head to look.

Wu Boran’s figure was leaner and sharper than before. Upon seeing Xu Chengjin, she slowly closed the door and said in a calm tone, “You’re moving out.”

“Yes.”

Xu Chengjin continued packing. She didn’t look at Wu Boran, keeping her head down as she spoke, “Si Yu and I are engaged.”

“I know.”

Wu Boran stood silently at the bathroom door watching Xu Chengjin. Her hands hung at her sides, clenching soundlessly. “Have you set a wedding date?”

“Will you invite me to the wedding feast?”

Wu Boran gave a self-mocking laugh. She slowly approached Xu Chengjin. “Do you hate me?”

“Of course I don’t hate you.”

Xu Chengjin took a step back, her lips pressed tight. “Wu Boran, I have to go.”

Wu Boran didn’t move. She remained where she was, staring at Xu Chengjin. “I used to think that the reason I wanted to be close to you was because your health was poor, and I wanted to take better care of you. But after you left, I realized something wasn’t right.”

“But I was too late for everything.” Wu Boran suddenly grabbed Xu Chengjin’s hand and slowly pressed closer to her, her eyes full of pain. “Before I could do anything, you fell in love with someone else.”

“I can only occupy such a tiny part of your life.”

Wu Boran wasn’t crying, but her expression looked as though all her tears had already run dry. “Don’t go, okay?”

“I am working hard to become the head of the Wu family. Power, money, and love—I can give them all to you.” Wu Boran felt a sense of powerlessness as she spoke these words, her eyes drooping. “I was thinking of coming to find you these past couple of days.”

“Wu Boran, I have never had a single trace of feeling for you beyond friendship. Let me go, and let yourself go, okay?”

Xu Chengjin hadn’t wanted to run into Wu Boran, but since it had come to this, she hoped to make everything clear. “Matters of the heart cannot be forced.”

“Xu Chengjin!”

Wu Boran looked up and knit her brows, staring intently at Xu Chengjin. The next second, she directly hugged her. She didn’t dare use too much force, yet she was unwilling to let go. “What should I do… what do I have to do…”

“You will have a bright future.” Xu Chengjin raised her hands and pushed Wu Boran away. She didn’t bother packing the remaining items in the bathroom, intending to leave immediately. “I’m not lying to you. You really will live a very good, very beautiful life.”

“The best days of your life are yet to come.”

Xu Chengjin wanted to go out, but Wu Boran stood rooted to the spot. Xu Chengjin also stood there without speaking. The person beside her seemed to suddenly collapse into dejection. Wu Boran bit her lip, gave a mocking laugh, and finally stepped aside to let Xu Chengjin pass.

She had known this day would come.

In this gamble of love, the only person who could determine the winner was Xu Chengjin.

The sun was shining brightly today, just like the first time Wu Boran had met Xu Chengjin.

“It’s winter…”

Wu Boran watched as Xu Chengjin emptied the dormitory, slowly peeling herself away from Wu Boran’s life. She watched Xu Chengjin’s retreating back and whispered softly, “I hope you can be happy.”

“Goodbye.”

Let this belated emotion dissipate like this. One will always see the sun of a new day; one will always find a way to live on in this world.

The feelings remained intense, but… fulfilling oneself was more important.

.

Winter came too quickly. Xu Chengjin was already wearing a sweater and a thick coat. She sat on the sofa reading a book. They planned to go on a date today; Si Yu finally had some free time.

“Xiaojin.”

Si Yu’s footsteps as she came downstairs were somewhat hurried. She looked at the expectant Xu Chengjin, her expression slightly grim. “There were several doctors who performed surgery on your mother back then who ended up in psychiatric hospitals. Do you remember?”

“I remember. Didn’t they say visits weren’t allowed?”

After finding the location back then, they had communicated with the facility, but the family members were unwilling, and Si Yu couldn’t force them. She had been negotiating during this time, and finally, the money was enough to talk.

“Has Xu Lihua said when she is leaving?”

Si Yu handed over Xu Chengjin’s coat. “We are going there now.”

“Okay.”

There wasn’t time to ask detailed questions. Xu Chengjin immediately got up and put on her clothes. “In about a week, I think. You were right; her capital chain has indeed run into problems. These past few days she’s been trying to borrow money from my parents, but one can imagine that money would never be paid back.”

Xu Chengjin followed Si Yu into the car. She took a breath, finally having time to think things through. “You’ve been negotiating this whole time?”

“Mm.”

Si Yu squeezed Xu Chengjin’s hand. “Don’t worry, everything has been handled.”

“Good.”

Xu Chengjin smiled and let out a sigh of relief. “You really have helped me a lot.”

“There is no need for such words between us.”

Si Yu started the car and drove toward the psychiatric hospital. She dropped a soft sentence:

“All of this is of my own free will.”

Xu Chengjin didn’t speak again. She looked at the green scenery outside the window, a faint expectation rising in her heart.

The psychiatric hospital was large and legitimate. The doctor’s family member was waiting for them at the entrance, then led them inside after registration.

“My mother has been mentally unstable for many years. She might say some delusional things—some can be believed, some cannot. You’ll have to choose for yourselves.”

The person leading them was a young woman. She looked at Si Yu. “The one who sent my mother to the psychiatric hospital back then was my father, but he died that same year. I’m not clear on what exactly happened back then either.”

Xu Chengjin was somewhat puzzled. “Then you never thought about taking your mother back home?”

The woman looked indifferent. “I’m not close to them. After my father died, someone paid a large sum of money to ensure I would be set for life.”

“Let’s go.”

The woman’s face was cold as she brought the two of them to the ward door. “The two of you go in. My mother won’t initiate an attack on anyone.”

“Okay.”

Xu Chengjin was the first to push open the door and walk in. A woman with a quiet temperament sat on a chair in the room. She was very clean, but her eyes were deeply sorrowful. “Who are you?”

Si Yu glanced at Xu Chengjin, closed the ward door, and said warmly, “We want to ask about a surgery you performed twenty years ago. You gave Xu…”

“Xu?”

The woman suddenly interrupted Si Yu. Her expression was no longer stable as she stood up and walked toward Xu Chengjin. “Which of you is her child?”

“Neither of us.”

Xu Chengjin took a step forward. She looked at the woman, her lips moving. “We want to know what happened back then.”

“Ha… Hahaha.” The woman, thinking of something, suddenly clutched her stomach and started laughing. “Coming to trick me again, aren’t you?”

“I’ve been trapped by you people for twenty years!”

The woman’s smile was very bitter. “My husband was killed by you, and I became a mental patient. I am sick… yes, I am sick.”

She began to incessantly mutter phrases like “I am sick” and “I don’t know anything,” walking around the room non-stop. Seeing this, Xu Chengjin frowned and looked at Si Yu, her eyes lowering for a moment before she raised her voice and said, “I am not Xu Lihua!”

The woman’s body stiffened. She stared blankly at Xu Chengjin, her eyes filled with resentment. “You aren’t Xu Lihua?”

“I am one of the children who was swapped by you back then. Xu Lihua is my so-called aunt. I know you know her. Did she give you a lot of money?”

Xu Chengjin walked toward the woman of her own accord. Si Yu tried to stop her, but Xu Chengjin pushed her away. “You are the only person left who can help us find the truth.”

The woman blinked. The next second, she shook her head. “I don’t know anything, I don’t know anything! Don’t you try to lie to me!”

“You have nothing left now!”

Xu Chengjin grabbed the woman’s shoulders, her eyes turning moist. “Your daughter doesn’t like you.”

She knew the moment she walked in that the woman before her had been wronged. If a normal person is trapped in a psychiatric hospital, they will be driven mad even if they weren’t to begin with.

“She probably hasn’t thought about getting you out once all these years.” Xu Chengjin looked at the woman’s hands, her tone rising. “Your hands were meant to save lives, but now you can only be trapped here, viewed as a mental patient. Do you really want to stay here for the rest of your life?”

“I hate her too. I hate Xu Lihua to the core.”

Xu Chengjin slowly released her grip. “All your colleagues are dead; you’re the only one left. We are your only chance to leave this place. It all depends on whether you can seize it.”

Her gaze was cold. “Your daughter wasn’t even willing to let us see you before. We gave her a lot of money.”

The woman stared blankly at Xu Chengjin. She took a deep breath, her lips trembling with the surge of emotion. “All these years, I have reminded myself every single day what my name is, how old I am, and how many surgeries I have performed…”

“She trapped me for a lifetime. Those people took me away and said I was mentally unstable. I struggled for so long, so long, but no one believed me.”

The woman covered her face, and all the bitterness of those years was released in that moment. “My husband said he was coming to pick me up, but soon after, I received news of his death. At that time, my child was not even a year old.”

She lifted her eyes to look at Xu Chengjin, her gaze full of broken fragments. “Back then—”

“She gave us a very large sum of money…”