48 THE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH 2: THE GIFT OF CLOSURE (1/2)
When Xuan Tianyi got to the hospital's car park, Shen Rui's car was still there. In a hurry, he walked towards the car. When he peered through the passenger side's window, he saw Shen Rui was leaning her head on the steering wheel. Crying. Gently, he tapped the window.
Shen Rui quickly wiped her tears and rolled down the window. With a small sad smile, she said to him, ”I wasn't expecting you to come back out here with me.”
Xuan Tianyi didn't return her smile. Bluntly, he asked, ”What was that about?”
”I... I don't know.” She shrugged.
Xuan Tianyi nodded, then said. ”Tell me. I want you to tell me the truth. And nothing but the truth.”
Shen Rui shook her head. ”You're not nearly strong enough to handle the truth.”
”Shen Rui,” Xuan Tianyi spoke softly. ”I honestly don't think you're a bad person. And I want to prove that to Hua Zhendan. I just need your help with that. Open up to me. I promise I won't be mad at you.”
Shen Rui stared at him contemplatively, then opened the door to the car. When he entered, she cleaned a stray tear from her eye in a manner that reminded Xuan Tianyi of his sister. Then, she muttered with a small shake of her head, ”I'm not a good person.”
”Just tell me everything,” Xuan Tianyi persisted. ”I won't judge you or get angry at you, I promise.”
Shen Rui stared at him, nodded, then spat out, ”I did give the order to have your apartment burnt down.”
Xuan Tianyi was speechless for a minute. When he found his voice, he asked, ”Why would you want to hurt my sister? Or perhaps, were you trying to hurt me?”
”No,” Shen Rui shook her head. ”I didn't want to hurt anyone. I ordered the arson to be carried out when no-one was home. I don't know what went wrong.”
”If you weren't trying to hurt anyone, then why burn down the apartment in the first place?”
”Because I figured I could get closer to you and manipulate you into living with me. You're somewhat naive but that won't happen if you have a place to stay.”
”So, you were just trying to get closer to my sister and me?”
”No.” Su Yang muttered after some hesitation. ”Yes, I do want to get closer to your sister and yourself, but the reason I wanted you to live with me was that I figured my son would go where you go. And if you came to live with me, he might just move back in.”
”But... Xuan Tianmei and I... We—”
As if she knew what Xuan Tianyi was getting at, Shen Rui quickly interrupted, ”You aren't my kids.”
”That doesn't make any sense. We're your carbon copy.”
”And there's a good explanation for that.”
Xuan Tianyi said nothing. He just waited for her to continue.
”Well, it's a bit complicated to explain. But your mother and I... Are second cousins. And we both look like our grandmothers who were identical twins. You and your sister don't look like me, you look like your mother.”
”If you're not really our mother, then why did you lie to Xuan Tianmei?”
”I didn't.”
”So she just saw you and assumed you were our mother?”
”Yes. Actually, that's exactly what happened. I initially had no intention of lying I was your mother, but when I found Xuan Tianmei, she called me mother before I could say anything.”
”Why didn't you clarify?”
”I couldn't bring myself to do that to her. Her eyes were filled with so much anger and hatred for the woman I assume she thought had abandoned her and her brother. I thought that she needed just that. A mother to hate just so she could be okay. So I didn't clarify. I didn't know back then, that it would lead to this huge mess.”
”What about my mother?”
Shen Rui stared into Xuan Tianyi's eyes, then muttered. ”She... Passed away.”
Xuan Tianyi nodded.
Shen Rui continued, ”Both her and your father loved you two very much. They would never have abandoned you two.”
”How would you know that?”
Shen Rui took a deep breath, then said. ”The story I told Hua Zhendan... About how I gave birth to you two... That was my mother's story. One night, armed robbers had broken into my mother's home. They had killed my mother's brother and forced themselves on her. My mother had ended up pregnant with me.
”My mother wanted to give me up but her mother wouldn't let her. My mother died giving birth to me. This made everyone in the family believe I was bad luck. They ostracized my grandma and me because my grandma insisted on keeping me.
”One day, on my birthday, I had a severe stomachache. It had turned out to be a ruptured appendix. Because of the severity of the stomachache, my grandma had forgotten she was baking me a birthday cake. When we returned from the hospital, our house had been razed by fire from the oven.
”Inside that house was all of my grandma's life savings. She couldn't bear the loss and suffered several heart attacks over time. Eventually, she gave up, leaving me to brace the world by myself.
”I had once again proven I was bad luck, so no-one would take me in, except your mother's mother. But she didn't do it out of the kindness of her heart, but because she thought I could be helpful with chores around her house.”
”That's pathetic,” Xuan Tianyi muttered.
Shen Rui nodded. ”In this world, Xuan Tianyi. At that time, the only two people who had shown me any kindness were my grandma and your mother.”
Xuan Tianyi smiled.
”Yes,” Shen Rui nodded. ”Your mother's mother had treated me very badly. But your mother was always nice to me.
”That was the reason that when we were grown, and your mother couldn't give birth, I had agreed to be her surrogate.”