The Rong Family
Rong Jingyang tilted his head, looking at his mother. "Why?"
Feng Linwan linked arms with her son, and as they walked, she said, "I remember the first time you mentioned a girl's name. It was on a night with a drizzling rain."
"You were sixteen then, in your third year of high school."
Because Feng Linwan couldn't bear to part with her children too early, she insisted they stay by her side. Rong Jingyang and his two siblings all attended the most prestigious public high school in E City.
It wasn't until university, when it was time to let go, that Rong Jingyang, Rong Jingyu, and Long Xijin were permitted to leave E City.
Children always grow up. Once they mature, they can fly as high as they wish, swim as freely as they please.
At that point, they would no longer belong to her.
They would have their own matters to attend to, their own responsibilities to fulfill.
They might even have their own little families.
Feng Linwan always hoped that such days would come later, and later, and even later.
More than a decade passed in the blink of an eye.
The children had grown up, reaching the age where hearts stir and affections awaken.
Feng Linwan also often wondered what her future daughters-in-law and sons-in-law would be like. What would their character be?
They would surely be pure, kind, lovely, sweet-mouthed, and responsible.
So, when she heard her eldest son, Rong Jingyang, utter the name "Ai Wei," she was so excited she didn't sleep all night.
Was the girl beautiful?
Was she kind?
Did she have a good disposition towards her?
Feng Linwan thought about it extensively, and finally, unable to contain her curiosity, she found an opportunity to meet her.
Who would have thought that she would see Ai Wei watching a movie and on a date with another boy?
Feng Linwan felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
Had she been overthinking things? Had she been wishful thinking?
After the disappointment, she didn't mention the matter to her son. Since it was a misunderstanding, what was the point of bringing it up?
However, a week later, during a parent-child spring outing organized by the school, Ai Wei, like a diligent little bee, showered her son with attention and affection.
This left Feng Linwan utterly bewildered.
Was Ai Wei playing both sides?
On the surface, Feng Linwan treated Ai Wei with kindness, but privately, she sent people to investigate her.
It was a good thing she investigated, or she might have been scared to death.
Ai Wei was actually seeking a hospital for hymen repair!
Damn it!
What a scheming bitch! A little slut!
At only seventeen, her thoughts were so filthy?
Feng Linwan didn't actually care about virginity, but if one had lost it, slept with a man, couldn't she admit it openly?
She could understand the impulsiveness of young people when their passions ran high.
Who hadn't had a moment of impulse?
But Ai Wei should not have, of all things, tried to use this scheme to latch onto the Rong family, to latch onto Rong Jingyang.
Perhaps, maybe, it was because Rong Jingyang never wore designer clothes on or off campus, never wore expensive diamond watches, and even his phone was a cheap model costing only one or two thousand yuan.
So Ai Wei thought Rong Jingyang was poor? So Ai Wei wasn't interested?
She chose the male classmate who was relatively ostentatious with his wealth?
Who would have thought she would suddenly learn that Rong Jingyang's identity was astonishing, that his family was not only powerful but also a super-rich family that could never spend all their wealth even over hundreds of lifetimes?
So Ai Wei wanted to ditch her boyfriend and re-attach herself to Rong Jingyang.
So Ai Wei thought that by secretly undergoing hymen repair, Rong Jingyang would believe she was pure? Untainted?
She thought that by doing so, she could gain Rong Jingyang's favor and marry into the Rong family?
But how could secrets stay hidden forever?
Feng Linwan completely saw through Ai Wei's little plan.
She secretly found Ai Wei's boyfriend. After understanding the situation, the truth was indeed as she suspected.
Feng Linwan then hired the male classmate to cooperate in a staged play, and she had people record the entire process.
"Jingyang, do you want to watch?"
The videotape was right behind her. She had kept it carefully for over eleven years.
Regarding Ai Wei's ex-boyfriend threatening to sleep with her again or he wouldn't agree to break up, regarding those scenes... and Ai Wei's promises of benefits to her ex-boyfriend after becoming the eldest young madam of the Rong family...
The dialogue was unbearable.
At only seventeen, Ai Wei's scheming was so deep, her thoughts so malicious.
Could the Rong family marry her? Dare they marry her?
Marrying such a woman would surely bring misfortune to the family, causing chaos and unrest throughout the entire clan.
Fortunately, Rong Jingyang hadn't acted foolishly.
That's why Feng Linwan hadn't shown the video to her son all these years.
Rong Jingyang: "..."
He was stunned.
Eleven years ago, Ai Wei had already wanted to marry him?
But hadn't she said she had always only considered him a friend? That's why they could maintain their friendship for over a decade.
It turned out...
Rong Jingyang's expression was somewhat unpleasant.
Should he say that Ai Wei had disguised herself as a "friend" too well over the years, or was he too slow to recognize feelings?
"If you don't believe me..." Feng Linwan said.
However, before she could finish, Rong Jingyang interrupted her in a deep voice, "I believe you, Mom, I believe you."
"But I don't want to watch it."
"I never liked her. There's no need to watch it."
Ai Wei was already a thing of the past.
She would never again be an obstacle in the arguments between him and Du Ruoxin.