Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Six: An Inescapable Past II (1/2)
Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Six: An Inescapable Past (II)
Fang Wanqing didn’t continue.
She stopped abruptly like an electronic device that had been unplugged. Her ash brown eyes aimlessly darting around were unnerving to watch.
Then, she pressed her cigarette into the ashtray and took out a pill bottle. She dumped out two pills and swallowed them with some tea.
“I’m getting old and my body can’t handle as much excitement as it used to. So, I’ll skip the beginning. Hurry up and ask me what you want to know.”
“If it was so painful, why didn’t you leave the research institute?” Yan Jin calmly asked.
“I left in my second year there and thought I’d never go back. Unfortunately, my father died from his drug addiction. With no family and money, I returned to the lab sixteen months later.”
Yan Jin’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Because my father owed money,” Fang Wanqing continued. “With him no longer around, I could only pay back his debts for him. If it weren’t for this, we wouldn’t be seeing each other right now.”
“How much did he owe?”
“After selling the house and borrowing some from my uncle and his wife, I still owed three thousand.”
Yan Jin was silent.
Three thousand yuan might have been worth more back then, but it was still just three thousand yuan. It was surprising that that amount could force someone to such lengths. Perhaps it was exactly because of this that Fang Wanqing always felt so financially insecure.
“I don’t mind if you want to make fun of me. The deadline the debt collector gave was just one month before I would receive my resident identity card. Because of this one month difference, I had to go back there. For three thousand yuan, I worked for the devil for another ten years.” [TLN: Citizens are required to apply for resident identity cards upon reaching sixteen years of age. This document is required for owning property, opening bank accounts, driving, etc.]
Fang Wanqing coughed twice and then pushed the ashtray away.
“I’m not saying this to win any sympathy. I’m only doing this to keep a promise.”
“I know.” Yan Jin nodded. “You’re a very respectable woman.”
Fang Wanqing laughed hollowly. “‘Respectable’? How laughable.”
“Everything about you is worthy of respect.”
“It’s been over ten years since the experiments. Thinking back on it now, everything seems more like a dream.”
Yan Jin’s expression changed.
“Nightmares are always followed by waking up.”
“If only.” Fang Wanqing gave a long sigh.
“Let’s stop talking about the past. It’s not a great topic for either of us. I asked you to come out today for more important matters.”
Fang Wanqing showed a trace of surprise. “Huh? Besides genetic engineering, what else do we have to chat about?”
Yan Jin really wanted to joke that interpersonal fate was really too miraculous at times. However, the next topic would be quite complicated for this woman who was already over fifty. It wasn’t suitable to crack such a joke.
“I heard that you have a son studying in Country M at University H.” Yan Jin got right to the point.
Fang Wanqing turned deathly pale when she heard this. She said with a trembling voice, “I know I’ve done many unforgivable things in the past. No matter what the punishment is, I’ll accept it without complaint. But, but, Little Hao is innocent. He’s that person’s son. He’s completely innocent.”
“Please calm down,” Yan Jin helplessly said. “I’ve already clearly stated that I’m not looking for atonement for what happened back then. The past is in the past. Please, at least have this much faith in me.”
Fang Wanqing nodded her head after a long time.
Only then did Yan Jin continue. “I came looking for you because I’ve been entrusted with a task by my beloved.”
“Your beloved?” Fang Wanqing was completely clueless where Yan Jin’s beloved fit into the picture.
“It’s your son.”
Fang Wanqing exhaled a breath of cold air.
“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not your biological son. It’s the other one.” Yan Jin understood that he’d misspoken and hurriedly added, “It’s your stepson, Xiao Yu.”