Chapter 223: You Are the Victim
"Roujing, let’s go to the hospital first. You were moving so much just now, the doctor should check if the baby is stable," Xie Chenyan expressed her concern as she carried her luggage. "Anyway, we’ll pass by the County Hospital before getting to County First Middle School."
Yi Roujing had already checked her pulse herself. It’s her first time being pregnant and becoming a mother, of course, she would be very cautious. "Don’t worry, I’ve examined myself, everything’s fine. If anything feels off, I would have gone a long time ago. Do you think I wouldn’t care about my own child?"
Seeing Yi Roujing appearing healthy and lively, Xie Chenyan gradually felt relieved, but her guilt grew stronger. "It’s all because of me, I’ve dragged you into this, Roujing."
"What does this have to do with you? It’s all that Zou Xuri’s fault, you’re a victim too," Yi Roujing said, disagreeing.
Xie Chenyan’s eyes welled up upon hearing this. When she and her brother became orphans, many people showed concern, but soon after, they showed their true colors. At that time, before she could replace her deceased mother’s job, someone had euphemistically wanted that job, saying they’d pay for it.
She firmly refused to sell it, and then encountered people who, under the pretense of proposing marriage, were coveting her house. Xie Chenyan rejected all of them, tearing faces with quite a few people, resulting in fewer interactions with her.
Some people who knew the situation said she was picky, despite having no parents, who would want to marry a child without full parents? Some even said it was her who cursed her parents to death.
After her parents passed away, Xie Chenyan tidied up the house properly. Unexpectedly, she found a small secret compartment in her parents’ room, at the foot of the bed, containing a small booklet recording their family’s textile dyeing technique.
Her grandparents, when fleeing to the south, managed to find work at a textile factory, relying on dyeing skills. However, her parents didn’t work in that field later on. Xie Chenyan remembers her grandparents telling her to be discreet.
Along with the booklet was a letter, a note left by her grandfather for her father, instructing him to preserve the booklet well. The contents should not be disclosed to outsiders, especially mentioning the Zou Family; unless encountered Jing City’s Zheng Family, then the booklet can be handed to them, otherwise, they’d rather take the technique to the grave.
The textile factory’s first-generation director was the current director’s grandfather. Although Xie Chenyan didn’t know why her grandfather had such instructions, after reading the letter, she kept it in mind, not daring to forget it. As for Jing City’s Zheng Family, Jing City was too far from here, currently Xie Chenyan has to consider herself and her brother.
When the Zou Family approached her like ordinary people asking for marriage, Xie Chenyan’s first reaction was to reject. At that time, she heard the Zou Family discreetly ask about dyeing.
Xie Chenyan was extremely shocked internally, but pretended not to understand and muddled through, yet still ended up being pestered by Zou Xuri. A major reason Xie Chenyan didn’t date for so many years was because of the Zou Family. In recent years, the Zou Family intervened, so no one from the textile factory coveted her property anymore.
This was why Xie Chenyan must find someone outside the textile factory to date. She thought the Zou Family would give up when they knew she was dating someone, but unexpectedly...
Zou Xuri had been causing trouble more than once before. Previously, Xie Chenyan dared not open the door, even if she did, she stood outside the door speaking with Zou Xuri. Many people were talking behind her back, saying she was arrogant. Although she cried about having no relationship with Zou Xuri, people thought that flies don’t land on eggs without cracks.
Only Yi Roujing was the first to say it had nothing to do with her, it was Zou Xuri’s fault. Xie Chenyan couldn’t be more moved.
"Sis, what’s wrong?" Xie Chentao saw Xie Chenyan’s tears and asked with pursed lips, he wanted to cry too.
"Sis is fine, sis is happy," Xie Chenyan replied with a smile. "Roujing, about our family’s situation, I wasn’t deliberately hiding it. I thought Zou Xuri would give up on pursuing me once he knew I was dating, but unexpectedly..."
"I will explain everything to Yi," Xie Chenyan seemed to have made a significant resolve, her heart aching faintly. Now, mainly thinking that she can no longer meet Yi Weiliang in the future, she felt a bit sad, something she had never felt before.
"Yeah, it’s best to explain, then let my brother go to your place to stand guard. I think the Zou Family won’t dare to come again once there’s an adult man at home. Once you marry my brother, it’ll all be good," Yi Roujing said with a smile.
Xie Chenyan was stunned. "Can we still get married? Would Yi want to marry me?"
Yi Roujing seemed puzzled, "Why wouldn’t he marry? In our family, dating is with the purpose of marriage, otherwise it would be just fooling around."
"But after today’s incident, the Zou Family will definitely come again. Marrying me is equivalent to marrying trouble, and actually, many at the textile factory gossip, thinking I have a hidden relationship with Zou Xuri; otherwise, why would he always cling to me?" Xie Chenyan choked up as she spoke.
Yi Roujing patted Xie Chenyan’s back, "Just tell my brother truthfully, see how he responds, why worry about so much now?"
"I’ve even dragged you into this, even though it’s not my fault, but you’re surely affected because of me, almost endangering you and your child. Once Yi knows this...he cares for you the most," Xie Chenyan started to shed tears.
"If today it was Taotao getting married, facing the current situation, I as a sister might ask him to find another partner." Xie Chenyan admitted she couldn’t reach Yi Roujing’s broad-mindedness, "Actually, I’m very selfish, just thinking of protecting my own family."
"That’s because there’s no family to protect you two anymore," Yi Roujing sighed, "Your approach is also correct, don’t overthink, you and my brother...my brother."
Yi Roujing’s voice suddenly grew louder as she was talking.
"Little sister, Chentao, are you okay?" Yi Weiliang was pacing back and forth at County First Middle School’s gate, seeing Yi Roujing calling him, he hurriedly snapped back to reality and ran over.
"Brother, why did you come?" Yi Roujing asked.
"I heard from someone at the factory that they saw you all arguing in the west of the city and being taken away by the police. He wasn’t sure if he recognized you correctly, but I was worried and came over."
Yi Weiliang didn’t mention that he first went to the food factory’s employee hospital, knowing Yi Roujing went to the textile factory, and then went to the textile factory but found no one. Then he came to County First Middle School, still finding no one, and he was planning to go to the police station, fortunately, they returned.
"Yi," Xie Chenyan called softly, Yi Weiliang noticed her red eyes, his heart skipped, it seemed the incident might be true, but now that they returned, there shouldn’t be any problem.
"What’s going on, is there really something happened?" Yi Weiliang took the things from Xie Chenyan’s hand and asked with concern.
"Let’s talk at home." Yi Roujing led the way into County First Middle School, opened their house’s door, showed Xie Chenyan the room they would be staying in, and Xie Chentao was already rubbing his eyes. Once he lay on the bed, the three of them sat in the living room.