Thump... Chen Mengying's heart suddenly skipped a beat. She stepped back slightly and stared blankly at her mother.

It's not that Mrs. Chen doubted Xiaofan's character. As a desolate and pitiful woman, her entire focus was on her daughter; she didn't want Chen Mengying to suffer even the slightest harm. Despite her lack of ability, she couldn't become a burden to her daughter, never...

"Speak up? Why aren't you speaking? Could it be that you've become someone's mistress?" Mrs. Chen's heart trembled as she spoke. How afraid she was that her suspicions were wrong. But, with her daughter's expression so strange, her guesses were probably right.

"Mom, Xiaofan is not like that, absolutely not. Haven't you known him well since middle school?" Chen Mengying had no intention of giving in and continued to persuade her mother.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Chen was momentarily stunned. The teenage boy, with such a cheerful smile and such pure eyes; even to this day, she believed she had not misjudged Xiaofan's character. But... she was worried, scared...

"I thought I understood your father back then too. But what happened? People change, especially men..." Mrs. Chen was almost losing control. "No, I need to call Xiaofan to find out."

"Mom, what are you doing? He's busy now."

"Fine, then tell me."

"I... I didn't."

"Do you know that whenever you lie to me since you were young, you couldn't look me in the eyes. So, it really happened?"

"No, it's not..."

"I can't live in this house. Even if I'm down-and-out, I can't let my daughter do such degrading things. Even if I have to sleep on the street, under a bridge, I won't let it happen..."

"Mom, please don't be like this..."

"Meng Ying, I know everything is my fault for not giving you a happy and stable home. But, how did I raise you from childhood? Have you forgotten everything? We can no longer accept Xiaofan's kindness, and you must sever that kind of relationship with him. Leave, let's go now..."

"You've really got it wrong, it's not like that at all. Xiaofan truly hasn't asked anything of me."

"Then you've been with him? Don't deceive me, Meng Ying. We're poor, but we have dignity, don't we..."

"I said, I'll tell you everything. Actually, Xiaofan has no idea about the night we were together. Really, I'm not lying..." At this moment, Chen Mengying couldn't hold back her tears, surging out wildly.

A trembling body almost couldn't stand straight; this long-hidden past in her heart had to come to light.

"Not aware? What exactly happened?" Seeing her daughter's near breakdown, Mrs. Chen's heart softened. "Darling, don't cry, tell me properly, what exactly happened?"

"Mom, Xiaofan is a good person. The story starts before graduation from high school, back then..."

Shen Zuimo's identity was not revealed by Chen Mengying; she only mentioned that Xiaofan did something very dangerous and then fell in love with that woman.

Because they couldn't be together, Xiaofan often drowned his sorrows in the bar; on that night, he got drunk again, calling the girl's name repeatedly.

"At that time, when he grabbed my hand and called Shen Zuimo's name, I had a chance to leave, even up until the end I had the chance to leave. But I don't know why, I stayed. The next morning, before he woke up, I left the room. Until today, he's completely unaware of what happened that night. Mom, don't blame him, if you're going to scold anyone, scold me. It's all my fault; if I hadn't thought irrationally and left earlier, none of this would have happened. But, Mom, I don't regret it."

"Then why don't you tell Xiaofan the truth?"

The mother and daughter's embrace deepened as they cried while recounting the past. Mrs. Chen knew her daughter well; these words weren't fabricated by her.

"I can't speak out..."

"Why can't you?"

"You know Xiaofan's character too, right? If I tell him, he'd definitely take responsibility for me. But then his life, his pursuit wouldn't be perfect. His heart still loves another, right? Even if we reluctantly stayed together, we'd both be unhappy, wouldn't we? So why not let it be as if nothing happened, let the matter fade away, and everything return to normal."

"But, it's hard for you, silly child." Stroking her daughter's hair, Mrs. Chen felt heartbroken.

"I'm not suffering. He's Ye Xiaofan, the Ye Xiaofan we are all familiar with. So I'm willing, so mom, please don't tell him, I beg you. Let all this sink into the sea. Let him continue to soar freely."

"You... sigh. How did I end up with such a silly daughter? If things are as you say, then indeed I wrongly blamed Xiaofan earlier, sigh, what a situation this is."

Mrs. Chen was completely at a loss. She didn't want her daughter to suffer, but she couldn't force Xiaofan to take responsibility for her daughter either. Just as her daughter said, if they were together reluctantly, they wouldn't be happy.

Meanwhile, Chen Mengying noticed her mother's emotions were gradually stabilizing, and continued to work on her mother's mindset, hoping to draw a line and never bring it up again.

At this moment, Xiaofan was on his way to meet with Fei, completely unaware that the old class leader and aunt were at home crying together.

"Xiaofan..."

"Thanks for the hard work, bro... everyone, I'm sorry for the trouble."

"If you keep saying such polite words, I'll really beat you up."

"Alright, remember next time. Our country is naturally polite."

"That's for you scholars. I didn't go to school, just say whatever with brothers..."

"Eh, eh, eh, I get it, I really get it this time. Well, tell me, what did you find?"

"Chen Xinglong, male, looks over fifty but is actually only forty-three. Look, his identity card copy. That woman isn't from H City, but the hotel checked her identity card from Macau, not verified."

"Where are they now?"

"Look, go straight ahead for 80 meters, turn into an alley, there's an underground casino inside. Just went in there, man, it's bigger than mine. I've already notified Brother Xiong, once we've confirmed this underground casino has no backing, we're ready to take it down."

"Why bother putting so many people in action just for a casino?"

"Hmm? You have an idea?"

"Did you forget? I always win when I gamble."

"Hahaha, yeah, how could I forget that, everybody, we're in for a treat tonight, let's go in and play a few rounds, I promise you can make a fortune, hehe." Fei laughed heartily and immediately led the way, taking Xiaofan into the casino.

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