Cici hurried after Ethan Yin.
Ethan Yin spun around suddenly, not expecting to see Cici. He froze, his handsome face openly showing his surprise and shock.
Cici herself didn't know why she suddenly ran after him. She just felt that Ethan Yin was truly pitiful.
During the conversation earlier, he was the only one who seemed like an outsider. He didn't even have the courage to question anything.
"Sis—" Ethan Yin started to call her 'sister-in-law,' but then remembered Cici hadn't regained her memory yet, so he changed it and asked, "Why did you come out?"
Cici hesitated for a moment and said, "I was worried you might do something drastic."
A flash of shock suddenly appeared in Ethan Yin's eyes!
Ever since he was a child, people either looked down on him or praised him excessively.
Even his own mother only thought about how to put Mrs. Yin in her place, or how to win his father's favor.
Even Angela Ma just wanted to rely on him, to depend on him.
But no one had ever asked him, "Are you doing okay? Are you happy? Are you ever afraid you might lose hope?"
He'd lived for over twenty years, and the first person to say this to him was actually his sister-in-law!
Seeing the shock in Ethan Yin's eyes, Cici quickly looked away, embarrassed. She said in a low voice, "Technically, I have no right to know about the Yin family's affairs. And you all speak so quickly and vaguely that I can only guess what's going on. You seem different from the others. You don't seem very good at expressing your feelings, so I was worried you might lose hope. I know I'm meddling, I..."
"No," Ethan Yin said suddenly, looking at Cici with genuine sincerity. "Thank you."
Cici nodded, "I'm glad you're okay."
"Would you walk with me for a bit?" Ethan Yin suddenly lowered his head, his pleading eyes meeting Cici's. "I just want someone to talk to."
Cici thought for a moment, then nodded.
The two of them walked side by side out of the village, stopping by a pond outside Chen Village.
Spring fields are always lush and green, wildflowers everywhere, full of vibrant life.
Looking at the scenery before him, Ethan Yin felt some of the heaviness in his heart begin to lift.
"I'm the Yin family's illegitimate son, the target my father set up. Since I was a kid, I knew I was someone who couldn't see the light. Every day, I had to listen to my mother nag about how to climb to the top, how to push out the first wife and take her place. At first, I resisted, but whenever I did, my mother would hit me. Gradually, I learned to lie, learned to act. In front of my mother, I was always her favorite son—greedy, lustful, vain." Ethan Yin spoke softly, gazing into the distance.
"I really hate the way I am now, but I have to act the part. I know my sister is actually my mother's child with another man, and I know someone has been secretly watching us, trying to lure me down the wrong path. I hated it! Why is it that my brother and I are both my father's sons, yet he's the god on a pedestal and I'm the bastard everyone steps on?"
"I was angry, really angry! I wanted to fight back, to turn things around! So I pretended to go along with them and became the spoiled rich kid they wanted to see. In our county, I did all sorts of awful things—anything disgusting, I did it. Years went by like that, and they really believed I was a total brat. I was waiting for my chance, waiting for the moment to strike back."
"Heaven didn't let me down. When I turned twenty-five, the Yin family suddenly wanted to bring me back. So I ended twenty-five years of being nobody and finally had my own status. I thought I could surpass my brother and become the winner in life. But... it was all just a joke. My brother is so much better than I ever imagined. Everything is under his control. Forget beating him—even getting back up is nearly impossible!"
"My brother would drop hints to me, and when I figured them out, I was devastated! Do you know what that feels like? To have big dreams, only to be smashed back down to hell in an instant! My brother, that god on a pedestal, was already way ahead of me from the very start. He's reached heights I'll never touch, someone I'll always have to look up to."
"I know how ridiculous and pathetic I must seem to him. My so-called pride is just a joke in his eyes. I was crushed. I even thought about running away, escaping this nightmare. But just when I was ready to give up, my brother found me and asked me one question: submit or disappear. And by disappear, he didn't mean leaving the Yin family—he meant vanishing from this world completely."
"In that moment, I knew my brother wasn't joking. He really had the power and the means. He was tired of this game and wanted to end it. I didn't have the guts to choose disappearance. So I submitted. Yes, I'm a coward. I didn't have the courage to vanish. I started doing whatever he ordered."
"I thought I'd resist his orders. But I was wrong. I willingly did everything for him. Because someone appeared by his side..." Ethan Yin's voice suddenly dropped, a hint of panic in it. He glanced quickly at Cici, and only relaxed when he saw she had no reaction.
But it also made the regret in his heart even stronger.
Not knowing... maybe that's for the best.
"Three years isn't long, but it's enough for me to see my own heart and future clearly. If today hadn't happened, maybe I'd still be lying to myself. Even if I'm just an illegitimate child, even if my mother isn't respectable, at least I used to think I had a father who loved me. But today I realized, I never really had even that." Ethan Yin's voice grew more and more dejected.
Cici let out a soft sigh.
The Yin family's affairs really are complicated!
Comforting someone is really not easy.
How should I even start to comfort him?
Hmm, maybe I should say, "It's okay, haven't you seen your brother is also troubled? He's just like you, really—he never got much fatherly love either."
No, that's not right. That would just stir up resentment, wouldn't it?
Okay, then maybe I should say, "Whatever! At least you didn't turn out bad. You're doing fine now. Whether your father approves or not, you're still successful!"
Ugh, successful? No one's happy in this family!
So what should I do? How do you even comfort someone like this?
Ugh, curiosity really does kill the cat. I shouldn't have come out here just because I felt soft-hearted for a moment!
I'm really not cut out for this!
While Cici was racking her brain for ways to comfort him, Ethan Yin suddenly spoke again: "Cici... thank you for listening to me. I really do feel better after saying all that."
Cici:
I didn't even say anything, did I?
That's all it takes?
He didn't need my comfort at all?
Just as Cici was struggling with whether to respond, her phone rang at the worst possible moment.
Cici shot Ethan Yin an apologetic look, then turned to answer the call. "Rona, what's up?"
On the line, Rona Muir's voice was ecstatic and a little crazy: "Hey, hey, what exactly did you guys say in there? May Chen just found me and offered to give me the entire secret formula for the skincare product—for free! We're about to make a fortune!"
Huh?
May Chen actually gave Rona Muir the formula for free?
Well, yeah. After such a huge blow, she probably feels like life isn't worth living anymore.
That skincare formula doesn't mean much to her now.
If even the most precious feelings might be fake, what else is there for her to care about?
Thinking about it, Cici actually felt a little sorry for May Chen.
"Since she gave you the formula... just accept it! But since she handed it over for free, we shouldn't be stingy. We should still give her some compensation. May Chen was just upset— that's why she made that choice." Cici lowered her voice, "The Yin family's mess drags down everyone involved. Okay, I'll come over in a bit."
After hanging up, Cici was about to say goodbye to Ethan Yin, but he spoke first: "You're right, the Yin family is a mess—everyone gets hurt just by being involved! That's exactly what's happening to me right now. Anyway, thanks for listening to all my whining. Go take care of your stuff!"
Cici actually wanted to ask, Are you really okay?
But then she thought, I barely know him—why am I being so nosy and awkward?