Who knew that after doing as Helian Diejin requested, what kind of trouble this woman would stir up?
Therefore, the best approach was to show her attitude from the beginning.
Helian Diejin looked at Lin Xingwan, her face full of mockery. "You look a bit like your mother back then. I remember when I gave her a choice: whether to let her parents live or herself. She told me without hesitation to let her parents live, but she had to let me let her parents go. Otherwise, she wouldn't agree to any more of my conditions. Seeing you now, I immediately thought of her. I thought of her tragic fate, how outstanding she was, and yet she still ended up as my defeated opponent."
Helian Diejin burst into wild laughter after speaking. Lin Xingwan looked at the face before her, which was identical to her mother's in her memory, and felt that even though Helian Diejin had been imitating her mother all along, she was nothing like her.
"She never failed, because you've always been imitating her, which shows that even though my mother is dead, she remains an insurmountable presence in your life."
Helian Diejin's laughter abruptly stopped after Lin Xingwan finished speaking. The arrogance in her eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by shock, and then mixed with anger.
"An insurmountable presence in my life? Haha! What kind of joke are you playing? Why can't I surpass her? Go out and ask, when people mention Helian Lingruo now, what will they say about her? A mistress, a mistress who stole her sister's boyfriend, who, relying on the pampering of her family, could brazenly take everything that belonged to me! Hahahaha..."
After speaking, Helian Diejin lunged forward and grabbed Lin Xingwan by the throat.
Instantly, a suffocating sensation overwhelmed Lin Xingwan, and she frowned tightly.
She didn't resist, because a strong intuition told her that Helian Diejin would absolutely not choke her to death. If this woman wanted to kill her, there would be countless ways.
Right now, she was merely angry.
"Outsiders say I, an adopted daughter, stole everything from Helian Lingruo, but I never stole anything. Yes, I was indeed jealous of Helian Lingruo. I was jealous of her birth, jealous of her happy and fulfilling family, jealous that she could have anything she wanted. But ever since I can remember, I've been wandering, struggling to survive. I've eaten sour food from trash cans, I've been beaten and kicked. I was so afraid of those days that when I learned Helian Lingruo had gone missing, I deliberately appeared in front of the human traffickers..."
Helian Diejin's eyes became a little distant as she recalled the past.
"Did no one tell you that we knew each other before Helian Lingruo went missing?"
Perhaps finding Lin Xingwan's lack of resistance too boring, Helian Diejin actually released her hand.
The emotions on her face had completely subsided, and she even returned to her seat and continued arranging flowers.
Lin Xingwan rubbed her sore neck, feeling as if the bones were about to break.
She didn't answer Helian Diejin's question, because she knew that no matter whether she answered or not, this woman would continue to talk to herself.
Because Helian Diejin was too confident that she could not escape her grasp, she told Lin Xingwan everything she had kept bottled up over the years.
"I remember the first time I met Helian Lingruo, she was a little princess who had run away from home. Unwilling to study like a normal child and be dressed up like a doll, Helian Lingruo ran away. Coincidentally, that day, I was almost beaten to death by human traffickers! It was Helian Lingruo who saw my near-death state and had her bodyguards send me to the hospital. If it weren't for her, I would have died that day.
After getting to know Helian Lingruo, I learned about her troubles as a young lady, and she learned about my pitiable situation of being an orphan. At that time, I couldn't understand why Helian Lingruo, who lived a life I couldn't even imagine, didn't cherish it. I even fantasized countless times: if I were the child of a servant in the Helian family, would my destiny be different? I longed to study, I longed to carry a schoolbag and meet other children, I longed to wear those little dresses that Helian Lingruo disliked... How humble I was back then. Even in my fantasies, I wouldn't dare to imagine becoming the child of the Helian family's parents.
Later, one day, Helian Lingruo arranged another escape. She told me then that to ensure her successful escape, I had to wear her clothes and disguise myself as her to confuse people. After all, Helian Lingruo and I looked very alike, and when dressed in her clothes, people could sometimes mistake us for each other. At the time, I thought our plan was foolproof, but who knew that in the adult world, although our plan temporarily deceived them, it was still easy for them to find Helian Lingruo. Back then, because I had deceived her parents with Helian Lingruo, I was almost beaten to death.
But later, Helian Lingruo pleaded for me and told her parents that if they were willing to adopt me, Helian Lingruo would obey them and stop running away. And so, from a person on the verge of death, I became Helian Lingruo's sister. The Helian family also announced to the outside world that they had adopted me out of pity for my background. And I, from a little beggar, became the second daughter of the Helian family."
When Helian Diejin uttered the words "second daughter," her expression was filled with mockery.
If heaven gave her another chance to choose, she would never have become Helian Diejin. Even if she were an ordinary person now, she would still be happier than she was.
Lin Xingwan listened quietly to Helian Diejin's words, a sense of unease growing in her heart, as if the truth she knew was always incomplete.
"And then? You're telling me all this to make me sympathize with you, to make me think you're innocent? I'm not in the mood to listen to your past. You've committed many evils, and I won't believe a word you say. Let Sister Qin go, and then we can talk about what's next."
Lin Xingwan's objective was clear. She was constantly worried about Liu Mengqin, and Liu Mengqin's safety was paramount to her, far more important than listening to a story.
Helian Diejin snorted, "Since you're not afraid of death and have come, that woman has no more use to me. You say to let her go, so let her go."
After speaking, Helian Diejin looked upstairs.
Lin Xingwan couldn't help but follow Helian Diejin's gaze. A few seconds later, she saw two burly bodyguards escorting Liu Mengqin out.
Liu Mengqin was covered in injuries, and her face was bruised and swollen.
Liu Mengqin's eyes were filled with intense fear. She dared not say a word, only silently descended the stairs.
Seeing Liu Mengqin in such a state, Lin Xingwan's heart clenched.
She glared at Helian Diejin with hatred, but Helian Diejin said dismissively, "In all these years, everyone who has fallen into my hands has not even left a complete corpse. Now, I'm letting your friend leave unharmed, which is the greatest mercy to her. If it were anyone else, they would definitely kowtow and thank me."
Helian Diejin did not hide her inner darkness at all. To her, having been in a position of power for so many years, she was no longer afraid of anything. She could even calmly recount her past to Lin Xingwan because her past self was no longer necessary to hide from the current Helian Diejin.
Moreover, even if Lin Xingwan knew, she wouldn't tell anyone.
Listening to Helian Diejin's words, Lin Xingwan felt that this woman was truly barbaric.
But Helian Diejin had taken so many lives that she had become desensitized to life and had no respect for it.
As Liu Mengqin passed by Xu Qingdai and Helian Diejin, her gaze lingered on Helian Diejin for only a second before fearfully shifting to Xu Qingdai.
She found it too confusing. She clearly didn't know Xu Qingdai at all. At most, Xu Qingdai had saved her life at a banquet hosted by the Dongfang family, but after being sent for emergency treatment, she hadn't seen Xu Qingdai again.
Why would Helian Diejin say Xu Qingdai was her friend?
However, the aura emanating from Xu Qingdai was too familiar, and Liu Mengqin couldn't figure it out.
Soon, Liu Mengqin disappeared from Lin Xingwan's sight.
"Will she be sent out? Or will she be sent to Bai Xiao?" Since Helian Diejin had agreed to let her go, Lin Xingwan wasn't afraid that this woman would go back on her word. After all, she was at a disadvantage now, and even if Helian Diejin didn't keep her promise, she could do nothing.
"Don't worry, she will be sent to Bai Xiao," Helian Diejin said, then continued, "Now, are you finally in the mood to listen to my story?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Xingwan immediately sat down opposite Helian Diejin, making a "please" gesture.
Although Lin Xingwan was in a very dangerous situation, on the surface, it looked as if Lin Xingwan and Helian Diejin were just catching up.
Helian Diejin began to speak again.
"After I became the second daughter of the Helian family, my life didn't change as I imagined. In the eyes of outsiders, Helian Lingruo's parents pretended to dote on me, which made their kind image deeply ingrained in people's minds. They would even take me with them to any charity events, and I became a tool for them to rake in huge donations. In reality, my status in the Helian family was no different from that of a servant. But at that time, I didn't resent anyone. In fact, because of this identity, I could go to school openly, and I could experience things I could never have experienced before. Most importantly, I no longer had to hide and worry about my safety."
Helian Diejin's words brought to Lin Xingwan's mind a rather melodramatic scene.
Although Helian Lingruo was her mother, ever since her memories had been awakened, Lin Xingwan didn't know how to describe her mother's love for her.
It was a contradictory emotion. She could risk her life to give birth to her, yet she repeatedly took her to the brink of death, but ultimately failed to die, and finally had to use hypnosis to make her forget the fears in her heart.
Now, recalling her mother, Lin Xingwan didn't know how to express herself.
"To gain favor with Helian Lingruo's parents, I worked hard to change myself. I didn't expect them to love me as they loved Helian Lingruo, but at least they could treat me like a normal child and not have any malicious intentions towards me. I knew I was young and couldn't repay their kindness, but I would grow up, and when I grew up, I would have the ability to repay them."
As Helian Diejin spoke to this point, perhaps thinking of something, her entire demeanor became enraged, and her eyes began to turn resentful.
"Do you know what they did to me?" Helian Diejin asked.
Lin Xingwan shook her head. "I still have no curiosity about your affairs. After all, you killed so many of my relatives. Do you think I would sympathize with you?"
Lin Xingwan found Helian Diejin ridiculous, but Helian Diejin didn't expect Lin Xingwan to guess her inner thoughts so easily, and a flash of annoyance crossed her eyes.
If Helian Lingruo's daughter pitied her and hated Helian Lingruo, then even if she died, she would be able to boast to Helian Lingruo in the afterlife.
But what Helian Diejin didn't expect was that her carefully planned words had no effect on Lin Xingwan at all!
"I don't need your sympathy. I just want you to die with no regrets," Helian Diejin's tone had become impatient.
"Do you know what those relatives you mentioned did to me? To please people more powerful than them, they didn't hesitate to hand me over to be their plaything. How old was I then? I was only in junior high school. Fortunately, I escaped, otherwise my life would have been ruined. At first, I thought I had provoked someone, but later I learned that Helian Lingruo's parents had probably put sleeping pills in my food. Haha, when I heard this news, I was very sad and upset. I didn't know what I had done wrong, so I went to tell Helian Lingruo. At that time, I truly considered her family. But do you know what Helian Lingruo told me in the end?"
After speaking, Helian Diejin burst into laughter, as if Helian Lingruo had told her a joke.