"But I mind. If you insist on staying with me, it will only make me feel that this is an unequal relationship, and I won't be able to hold my head up in front of you!"
Jiang Nan Fang also became anxious, "Ke Teng, it's impossible for us to be together."
"Nonsense! How do you know it's impossible if you haven't even tried to get to know me?"
"Jiang Nan Fang, I'm begging you. Don't go see her. Come with me, okay?"
Having reached this point, Ke Teng refused to listen.
Jiang Nan Fang didn't know how to continue the conversation and could only step aside resolutely.
"Stop talking. You go first. We can talk properly when I have time."
"I'm begging you too. You go back first."
After speaking, she also walked towards the stairs.
Watching her slender and resolute back move further and further away from him.
Thinking that she was about to reconcile with Zhan Bei Jue, and that there would be no possibility for him anymore.
Ke Teng's heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife.
He stood there in a furious rage for a few seconds, then unhesitatingly followed her.
The weather today was very bad, with heavy smog.
The sky was dark and gloomy. Standing on the high rooftop, it felt like looking up into smog, truly suffocating.
Jiang Nan Fang reached the rooftop and pushed the door open, immediately seeing Mrs. Zhan standing alone in the smog.
This was the first time the two of them were alone together with a calm state of mind.
Looking at her lonely figure, Jiang Nan Fang took two deep breaths, calmed herself, and then took two steps forward.
"Mrs. Zhan."
Mrs. Zhan turned her head and looked her up and down, smiling faintly.
"You won, Jiang Nan Fang."
Jiang Nan Fang didn't know how to respond to her words.
Had she won?
She had harbored feelings for Zhan Bei Jue since she was five years old.
After all this turmoil, nearing thirty, having lost two children, she discovered she still couldn't forget him…
Although she had finally heard him say a few words leaning towards her, was this considered winning?
Mrs. Zhan continued to smile, "I entered into a commercial marriage with A Jue's father when I was 22, and gave birth to him at 23."
"Until this year, at 53. For a full 30 years, do you know how I've lived?"
"A Jue's father never loved me, not for a single day."
"Before he died, in our more than ten years of marriage, countless women had lain in his embrace. Do you know how I've managed to live until today?"
"You've also given birth, so you should know that if it weren't for A Jue, if it weren't for a mother's natural instinct, I might have died long ago."
"It's truly pathetic. My life has been like a huge joke. I've never experienced love or being loved. In my twilight years, I am even despised by my son."
The wind picked up on the rooftop, slightly ruffling Mrs. Zhan's neat hair.
As she spoke, she slowly walked towards the edge. "I am a strong person."
"My entire life, no matter how unloved I was by A Jue's father, I never admitted defeat. Until today."
"Jiang Nan Fang, apart from you, my son has never expressed such strong affection for any woman. Can you come over and let me have a good look at you?"
"Let me see what makes you better than me, that he insists on choosing you."
She spoke with great emotion, as if her words were kind as she faced death.
Jiang Nan Fang felt sympathetic towards her plight, but she wouldn't go to her.
A mother-in-law and a birth mother were always different. No matter how kind she was, she couldn't meet her gaze gently.
So she stood still.
"There's nothing about me that's worth your pondering. Actually, you've misunderstood, Mrs. Zhan."
"Your son will always be your son. Even if he argues with you and makes you angry, you will always be his mother, and no one can replace you."
"In that sense, no woman can ever win against you."
Mrs. Zhan suddenly smiled genuinely.
"That's right. Even if I've made grave mistakes, even if I'm utterly wicked, he can never escape the fate of being my son."
"Alas," she sighed, slowly took something out of her pocket, peeled it, and put it into her mouth.
"I'm leaving soon. It's not easy for us, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, to be so amicable today."
"Come here, come to my side, and I'll tell you some stories from his childhood."
Jiang Nan Fang felt something was strange about her.
She was clearly going abroad, not disappearing forever from Zhan Bei Jue's life, yet she spoke as if it were a farewell.
She would absolutely not go over.
"It's windy. Let's talk downstairs. I'll treat you to a cup of coffee."
Seeing that Jiang Nan Fang absolutely refused to go to her side, Mrs. Zhan gave a self-mocking laugh.
Slowly turning around, she walked towards her.
"Even after saying all this, you're still wary of me."
"But if you won't come, then I'll come to you."
"We've known each other for so long, and I've never truly looked at you before."
As she spoke, she reached Jiang Nan Fang.
The two made eye contact. Jiang Nan Fang finally stopped evading.
If she wanted to look, let her look. After all, they would have no further interaction from now on.
Unexpectedly, after staring at her for less than five seconds, Mrs. Zhan's expression suddenly contorted, and she clutched her stomach.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing her suddenly in so much pain, Jiang Nan Fang thought she was having an episode and instinctively reached out to support her.
Mrs. Zhan grabbed her hand.
"It's nothing. I've thought about it again and again, and before I leave, there's a secret I want to tell you. Are you willing to listen?"
The wind grew stronger, blowing both of their hair.
Seeing her face contorted with pain, Jiang Nan Fang pulled her towards the corner of the wall.
"Don't speak for now. Lean here and rest. We'll talk when you feel better."
Mrs. Zhan leaned against the wall, holding her hand, and suddenly started coughing violently.
Jiang Nan Fang quickly reached out to pat her back. However, as she coughed, blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"What's happening? What's wrong with you? Don't stay on the rooftop anymore, let's go down and get a doctor to check you!"
Mrs. Zhan struggled to stand up, leaning her entire back against the railing, as if about to fall backward.
"I'm not sick. I've taken medicine, and I'm going to die."
"Jiang Nan Fang, you are the last person I see before I die, and also the person I hate the most in this life, besides A Jue's father."
"I was the one who caused A Jue's father's death back then. Do you know what I'm doing today?"
Jiang Nan Fang's mind went blank.
Her eyes stared at her in disbelief. "You..."
"That's right. As I said, I am a person who refuses to admit defeat. I will not allow anyone to betray me in this life."
"The Zhan family betrayed me, so I made sure he met a terrible end. You stole my most beloved son, so I'll make sure you meet a terrible end too. Hahahaha!"
As she spoke, she let out a wild laugh, suddenly turned, grabbed the railing with both hands, and stepped one leg over.
Seeing her turn and prepare to jump, Jiang Nan Fang cried out in fright and quickly grabbed her clothes.
"You're crazy! I have no intention of stealing your son. You absolutely don't need to do this to kill me!"