A trace of resentment flashed in Howard Yin's eyes: "How could I not blame you? How could I not? If it hadn't been for your interference all those years ago, would today's tragedy have happened?"
"Tragedy?" Grandma Evelyn Yin's tears suddenly streamed down her face when she heard those words. "Yes, it really is a tragedy! The Yin family I've tried so hard to protect has now become a tragedy. What a tragedy! So, Howard, tell me, did you hide yourself here all these years just for her?"
Howard Yin did not deny it: "Yes."
Grandma Evelyn Yin staggered, her whole body weak as she leaned on her assistant. The sorrow in her eyes spilled out, completely unhidden.
"Is she really that important to you? Important enough to abandon your whole family?" Grandma Evelyn Yin asked, her voice trembling.
"Yes." Howard Yin admitted again.
Grandma Evelyn Yin wiped her tears deeply: "Fine, I have nothing more to ask. It's all my fault, everything is my fault! If I hadn't interfered back then, maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this."
Howard Yin didn't reply, just looked at Vivian Jiang: "Do you have any questions?"
Vivian Jiang looked at the man she'd been married to for decades, yet also tormented by for decades. She clenched her teeth and asked, "Why didn't you divorce me?"
"That was a promise I made to my father." Howard Yin looked at Vivian Jiang calmly. "Before he died, he told me no matter what happened, I couldn't divorce you."
"So you destroyed me?" Vivian Jiang screamed shrilly, desperate to rush over and fight Howard Yin to the death.
"I'm sorry." Howard Yin looked calmly at Vivian Jiang. "This was fate, and also my compensation to you. I gave you the entire Yin family and our son—consider it repayment for your legs."
"Compensation, my ass! Do you think I care?" Vivian's delicate, beautiful face twisted with rage. After all these years, her hatred had never faded.
If it hadn’t been for Howard Yin, how could her life have been so miserable?
"I'm sorry I couldn't die with you. That's something I may never be able to do in this lifetime." For the first time, a hint of guilt flickered in Howard Yin's eyes.
"What do you mean... Wait, are you saying... You knew I tampered with the brakes all those years ago?" Vivian Jiang truly lived up to her reputation as the eldest daughter of the Jiang family. As the matriarch of the Yin family, her intelligence was unmatched.
Vivian's pupils shrank sharply. "Howard Yin, if you knew I sabotaged the brakes back then, why didn't you stop me?"
"I did stop you. That’s why I took our son with me." Howard Yin looked solemnly at Vivian. "I wanted to see which weighed heavier in your heart—our son, or your hatred. Vivian, you really didn’t disappoint me."
"Enough!" Vivian was driven mad by the bloody truth, screaming wildly. "Howard Yin, what is your heart made of? You actually risked our son's life along with yours! I'll kill you!"
Vivian was about to rush over, but her assistants held her wheelchair firmly in place.
The hatred in Vivian's eyes was almost at its peak!
How could he nearly destroy her only son?
How could he be so selfish, even dragging their only son down with him?
If she'd hesitated even a little or been just a bit more ruthless, her son... would have died with them, lost and forgotten!
"Howard Yin, how could you hurt my son so cruelly, all for some woman and her bastard child outside?" Vivian roared in fury. "No matter how much you hate me, Charles is still your son! How could you treat him like this!"
Charles Yin stood off to the side, his eyes downcast. No one could see his expression at that moment.
Standing next to Charles was Cici, who somehow sensed the deep sadness he was trying so hard to hide.
Cici suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for him.
She gently reached out and held Charles's fingers, offering him a little comfort and encouragement.
Charles seemed to feel Cici's careful comfort and encouragement. His heart suddenly warmed, and he squeezed her fingers in response.
Charles Yin lifted his gaze ever so slightly and looked straight at Cici. He no longer tried to hide his sadness.
In front of her, he never had to hide his sorrow.
When Cici saw Charles Yin’s slightly reddened eyes and furrowed brows, she couldn’t help but want to reach out and smooth those creases for him.
He’s so wonderful—how could he be so sad?
Meanwhile, Howard Yin heard Vivian Jiang’s words and gave a bitter smile. He turned to Ethan Yin and said, “I’m sorry. I used all of you too.”
“What?!” Vivian Jiang and Ethan Yin’s faces changed at the same time!
“Vivian, your pride and arrogance blinded you, so you couldn’t see the truth.” Howard Yin said softly, “May Yan—a woman so greedy and shallow—how could she ever be my true love? Even if I were blind, with so many women around me, why would I ever choose someone so superficial, vain, and full of petty schemes? May Yan was just a decoy.”
Ethan Yin’s face suddenly turned extremely ugly.
“And me? Was my existence just… a mistake?” Ethan Yin asked, trembling.
Howard Yin silently nodded.
Ethan Yin’s face turned deathly pale.
He shook his head in disbelief. “How could it… be like this?”
“Otherwise, when May Yan had a daughter with another man, why would I allow it? Why would I pretend not to know?” Howard Yin continued, “Back then, I was the CEO of the Yin conglomerate. How could such a petty trick possibly fool me?”
Ethan Yin was so devastated by the blows that he couldn’t say a word.
So, he really was just extra.
Even if Vivian Jiang and Howard Yin weren’t truly in love, Charles Yin was born with hope and expectation.
But what about him?
His arrival was nothing but an accident, a slip, a… joke.
Ethan Yin suddenly bent over, covering his face with both hands as tears streamed down uncontrollably.
Charles Yin spoke softly, “So, you used Mom’s pride and her refusal to tolerate any imperfection, deliberately chose May Yan as a target, and provoked their hatred and rivalry. You even helped Mom orchestrate that car accident, didn’t you? You guessed she’d change her plans because of me, and you used the chaos to escape our world, didn’t you?”
Howard Yin didn’t deny it. “Yes, that’s exactly right. I plotted for over twenty years, waiting for this chance.”
“Why?” Charles Yin, Vivian Jiang, and Ethan Yin all asked in unison.
“My mother can explain the reason.” Howard Yin turned to his mother—Grandma Evelyn Yin—and asked softly, “Mother, can you tell them what happened back then?”
Grandma Evelyn Yin’s tears streamed down her face. “It’s all my fault! All my fault! If I hadn’t torn you apart back then, maybe none of this tragedy would’ve happened.”
Everyone turned to look at Grandma Evelyn Yin.
“More than forty years ago, when the Yin family first decided to enter the domestic market, it was the early days of China’s reform and opening up. Howard came back with us and transferred to a local school. It wasn’t really about studying—it was about expanding the market. Howard had a female classmate from Cambridge who followed him from England. Her name was May Chen. She was… just a regular Chinese girl.” Grandma Evelyn Yin closed her eyes, as if ready to finally reveal this secret.
As soon as Grandma Evelyn Yin finished, May Chen—standing aside, completely bewildered—suddenly shuddered when she heard those words. It was as if she finally understood something…
May Chen… Mei’er…
Was it really just a coincidence?
“Because our families weren’t a good match, we strongly opposed their relationship. Especially… my husband, Charles’s grandfather. He was the most adamant. He had his eye on the Jiang family’s eldest daughter. As soon as we returned to China, he went to the Jiangs with lavish gifts and proposed to Miss Helen Jiang. Back then, there weren’t many families in China with comparable status and a daughter to marry. The Jiang family was one of them, because like us, they came from overseas investments. Miss Helen Jiang was famous as ‘Miss Fortune’ even abroad. She was the perfect daughter-in-law for the Yin family.” Grandma Evelyn Yin continued.
Vivian Jiang suddenly covered her face with her hand. She never imagined her own tragedy began with the reputation she earned as a young student overseas.
If she’d known things would end up like this, she would have kept a low profile back then—never stood out so much.
“Our strong opposition couldn’t break up May Chen and Howard Yin. To further the Yin family’s interests, we plotted something shameful—a frame-up. In the 1970s, there was a law called Speculation and Profiteering Crime. Back then, buying and selling were illegal. So, we used our positions to falsely accuse May Chen of speculation and profiteering. To make it work, I pretended to be ill to get Howard out of the way.”
“May Chen was just a teenager then. She never imagined she’d be taken away by the police, publicly tried in court, and sentenced to ten years in prison. She was so proud—how could she bear such humiliation? The day after the verdict, she killed herself in the detention center.” Grandma Evelyn Yin lowered her eyes, hiding her regret and grief.
Howard Yin was no longer calm—tears silently streamed down his face.
“We drove that girl to her death. We made a terrible mistake,” Grandma Evelyn Yin continued. “When Howard heard the news, he lost his mind. He said he’d follow May Chen in death. My husband and I threatened him with our own lives, forcing him to marry Miss Helen Jiang. I once promised him: if he let Vivian Jiang bear the Jiang family heir, I’d let him go.”
“But you broke your promise,” Howard Yin suddenly accused, his voice sharp.