After Xu Jingkuan finished speaking, he realized that his statement didn't seem to gain the approval of these people. Xu Jingkuan instantly felt his old face had nowhere to go.
He then spoke again, "Yes, yes, yes, I admit that Cen Jue has some talent, but in my heart, he is still not worthy of Ling Ruo! Ling Ruo will never be happy with such a philanderer. I even saw Cen Jue being ambiguous with several women while he was with Ling Ruo!"
At this moment, Duan Muxing finally managed to make his impatient expression appear a little more serious.
After all, the version of the story he heard from Xu Jingkuan was much more real than the legends. As the primary spectator, Duan Muxing asked, "Between Cen Jue and Helian Ling Ruo, did their relationship problems actually start to appear later on?"
Looking at Duan Muxing's eyes, Xu Jingkuan's expression was no longer as disgusted as before, and he even seemed to regard him as a confidant.
The stark difference in Xu Jingkuan's attitude made people feel that this man's ability to change his expression was truly remarkable.
"Yes! Their relationship problems were huge! In the beginning, they were deeply in love, naturally becoming the envy of all the men and women in Yanjing. Those socialites looked at Helian Ling Ruo with envy, jealousy, and hatred, and those men, seeing that Cen Jue could win the most beautiful woman, gnashed their teeth in hatred. Just when everyone thought they were a match made in heaven, unexpectedly, Ling Ruo came to me crying. She told me Cen Jue didn't come home that night, and when she called him, a woman answered."
Lin Xingwan frowned, instantly feeling that Cen Jue was truly a scumbag!
Duan Muxing's eyes began to gleam with excitement. After waiting for so long, the climax of the story was finally here.
"That woman told Ling Ruo that Cen Jue was drunk last night and had relations with her. This news was a devastating blow to Ling Ruo. So Ling Ruo came to me, not knowing what to do."
As Xu Jingkuan spoke, his eyes slowly turned cold. As far as Xu Jingkuan was concerned, if time could turn back, he would have killed Cen Jue, even if it meant mutual destruction in the end.
Duan Muxing watched Xu Jingkuan's expression turn angry. He didn't even wait for the man to continue speaking, but instead said, "You comforted Helian Ling Ruo, and even wanted to take this opportunity to make Helian Ling Ruo leave Cen Jue. But later, Helian Ling Ruo still forgave Cen Jue."
Xu Jingkuan nodded. "Yes, I was really surprised by Ling Ruo's actions at the time. I always thought Ling Ruo was a woman who dared to love and hate. But why was she like this! Knowing that Cen Jue was a scumbag, she still chose to forgive him. A man like this can cheat once, and he can cheat twice, and then countless times... But Ling Ruo was too foolish, blinded by love. She believed Cen Jue would keep his word."
Xu Jingkuan sighed. "After Ling Ruo and Cen Jue reconciled, unexpectedly, a few months later, Ling Ruo came to me crying again, telling me that Cen Jue was still embracing other women, and that woman was none other than Helian Diejin. When I heard that news, I thought it was perfectly normal. Helian Diejin had always been competing with Ling Ruo, and anything that belonged to Ling Ruo, Helian Diejin wanted to snatch away. Now, with such a man as Cen Jue, Helian Diejin would obviously not let him go. But no matter how much I advised Ling Ruo, she still forgave Cen Jue.
From complaining to me about Cen Jue and Helian Diejin embracing each other, to finally complaining to me about Cen Jue and Helian Diejin engaging in illicit acts on their marital bed, I felt numb. I was very angry at the time. Why didn't Cen Jue cherish Ling Ruo? Why was Cen Jue messing around with a woman like Helian Diejin, who was full of schemes? I even wanted to kill Cen Jue. But not long after, Helian Diejin came to find me."
"What did she want?" Lin Xingwan asked urgently. She had always thought that a man like Cen Jue should be devoted, but now it seemed that in this world, feelings could easily change.
Even Cen Jue, who was praised as a god-like figure, was just a common man when stripped of his brilliance.
He had been a playboy since he was young. His devotion to women depended on how strong his possessiveness was. But once this playboy obtained the woman, her value in Cen Jue's heart would directly decrease.
"She wanted to cooperate with me and gave me a reason I couldn't refuse. She said that as long as I could break up Cen Jue and Helian Ling Ruo, she would definitely make sure I ended up with Helian Ling Ruo. At that time, I felt sorry for Ling Ruo and hated Cen Jue, but I forced myself to find Helian Diejin acceptable. I even felt that Ling Ruo losing to a woman like Helian Diejin was not shameful at all, because Helian Diejin was very clear about what everyone wanted most in their hearts. She could always accurately capture everyone's most greedy points. Even I, who loathed her so much, was willing to cooperate with her."
"Is this why you and Helian Ling Ruo had that incident later?"
Duan Muxing asked.
Xu Jingkuan nodded. "Yes, Helian Diejin told me she had made arrangements at Ling Ruo's birthday banquet. As long as I cooperated with her, Ling Ruo would definitely end up with me. I was truly bewitched at the time. I actually believed that Helian Diejin could help me fulfill my wish, so I agreed. Later, when I saw Ling Ruo lying unconscious in the room, I could have left without hesitation. But I loved Ling Ruo so much at the time, I even believed that if I were with Ling Ruo, I could give her happiness. But I overlooked Ling Ruo's feelings at the time. I did get Ling Ruo as I wished, but the final outcome was that the next morning, reporters rushed into the room like a swarm of bees. When so many cameras were pointed at us, I was powerless to protect Ling Ruo, even if I wanted to."
Xu Jingkuan's emotions became agitated, and he looked like a beast that had been enduring and was about to collapse.
"You were set up by Helian Diejin, and everything that followed was beyond your control, right?" Duan Muxing always managed to capture the key points.
Lin Xingwan even cast a probing gaze at Duan Muxing. She felt that even if this man didn't know the details of what happened that year, he could completely deduce it.
And the reason he was doing this now was to make her understand what happened that year through Xu Jingkuan's mouth.
"Yes, she only told me she would break up Cen Jue and Ling Ruo, but I never expected it to be in a way that ruined Ling Ruo's reputation. If I had known such an outcome from the beginning, I would never have cooperated with that venomous woman Helian Diejin."
Xu Jingkuan covered his face in pain, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
"That incident caused a huge sensation. Ling Ruo was Cen Jue's official girlfriend. After this incident, she went from being a high-and-mighty Helian family daughter to a woman who was available to any man. Even any man could treat her as a slut. Those socialites who had envied and hated her took this opportunity to mock Ling Ruo. The consequences of this incident, coupled with the Cen family's broken engagement, caused all the prominent families in Yanjing to shun Ling Ruo."
Xu Jingkuan looked at Lin Xingwan with eyes full of guilt. "Child, I am sorry to your mother. I truly regret it at the time. I even found your mother and told her the whole truth. As I expected, your mother was very angry, but she calmed down and told me that she had already guessed it. This was not what I thought, because I was so stupid, I could not come up with such a plan, let alone deceive her. Later, I heard that your mother went out with friends, and Helian Diejin was also there. When they returned, only a few of them were there, but your mother was missing. I had a strong premonition that Ling Ruo would not come back."
Lin Xingwan continued Xu Jingkuan's words and said, "After my mother disappeared, she was sent to a small town. That town was very poor and underdeveloped. My mother, living in a dilapidated shack in a peach forest, was used by the villagers as a tool for their lust. Eventually, she was taken away by another man and became his wife. However, my mother's depression was too severe. I watched my mother torment herself since I was young. Many times she wanted to commit suicide, but because I was still young, my mother was reluctant. Later, my mother planned to take me with her to die. She once took me to the rooftop, pushed me into the water, and even threw me onto a road with heavy traffic. Yet, I survived. Eventually, my mother found people from the Duan family, hypnotized my memories, and then committed suicide by jumping off a building. My mother always disguised her death as being forced by a love rival, and did not let others discover that I was not a Lin family child. It was only later, when I had recurring headaches, that I recovered my past memories."
After Lin Xingwan finished speaking, she saw that Xu Jingkuan's bloodshot eyes were already filled with tears.
For Xu Jingkuan, just hearing these words from Lin Xingwan's mouth was too heavy and painful. Moreover, it was the woman he loved who had suffered so much and ultimately perished.
"I am sorry to Ling Ruo. It's all because of me. If that incident hadn't happened, Ling Ruo would never have disappeared, nor would such a thing have happened. I am the main culprit."
Xu Jingkuan guiltily beat his chest frantically, as if he wanted to smash his heart to pieces.
Seeing this, Lin Xingwan couldn't help but glance at Duan Muxing.
Duan Muxing just nodded slightly at this moment, signaling Lin Xingwan to proceed.
Lin Xingwan then said to Xu Jingkuan, "Mr. Xu, we are not here today to see you self-harming. Although we know this is very difficult for you to accept, you have more important things to do."
Xu Jingkuan stopped his actions and looked at Lin Xingwan with a confused expression, as if to say, 'I don't quite understand what you mean.'
Lin Xingwan immediately said, "My mother suffered this fate because of Helian Diejin, and it was Helian Diejin who sent my mother to the mountain village. Now that Helian Diejin knows of my existence, she has sent people to hunt me down. Mr. Xu, if you truly want to repent, I need your help now."
After Lin Xingwan finished speaking, Xu Jingkuan thought about it. He knew this was the purpose of this group of people coming today, but Xu Jingkuan could not refuse, because these people were too good at hitting their mark.
"What help do you need?"
Xu Jingkuan asked.
"We won't say what help it is for now. We'll talk about it later."
Duan Muxing directly interrupted Xu Jingkuan's further questioning. After speaking, he added, "It's getting late, and we need to go back. When we need your help, we hope you won't be stingy. Of course, don't worry, we will absolutely not do anything that goes against your principles."
"What? You're leaving so soon?" Xu Jingkuan was stunned. These people were too opportunistic!
When they needed him, they kept talking to him, extracting the information they wanted from him. But who would have thought that after he had told them everything, they would just pack up and leave.
He felt like a disposable umbrella.
"Precisely because it's getting late, you should stay here for the night. Tomorrow morning, I'll have someone send you back by helicopter. Your one or two hours of mountain road can be covered by my helicopter in a few minutes. Also, the weather is not good now, with such large dark clouds overhead, it's going to rain heavily soon. If it rains heavily, we can't predict what accidents might happen on the mountain road."
Xu Jingkuan had finally seen his daughter, and he didn't want to let his daughter go like this without even having a private conversation with her.
"It's okay, the mountain road is wide, I don't think we'll have any accidents." Duan Muxing knew Xu Jingkuan's intentions, but thinking about what Xu Jingkuan had done to him not long ago, and being a person who held grudges, he certainly wouldn't let Xu Jingkuan have his way.
And he even suggested they take a helicopter, as if no one could afford a helicopter.
After Duan Muxing finished speaking, an old man suddenly rushed in from outside.
"Sir... Sir..." The old man stumbled forward due to running too fast.
Fortunately, Qingluan was quick-witted and steadied the old man.