Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Erasing Memories

Shen Yan gave a few perfunctory replies. As if afraid Zhang Yuqing would continue questioning him, he hurriedly left with Xu Qingsui and Lu Jingyu.

However, as soon as they stepped out of the Shen family’s gates, his pace slowed. He glanced back, and the servant from earlier hurried forward.

"Where is it? Take me there!"

The man nodded and quickly hailed a car, ushering Shen Yan inside.

Lu Jingyu and Xu Qingsui didn’t move. The situation was turning into a soap opera; they figured they ought to give him some space. But Shen Yan looked out the window at the two of them and said, "Come along! You already know what you should and shouldn’t know, so there’s no need to hide anything now."

Back at the Shen family’s home, Xu Qingsui had a hunch that whatever the servant had whispered about was related to Shen Zhiqiu. Now that Shen Yan had said this, her suspicions were confirmed. Even though she constantly worried that Shen Yan might murder them to keep them quiet, her curiosity was simply too strong to resist. She got into the car. Since Xu Qingsui was getting in, Lu Jingyu naturally followed suit.

The car drove straight out of the safe zone into a desolate, uninhabited area, until a few silhouettes appeared ahead. The vehicle pulled up in front of the figures. Only after stepping out did Xu Qingsui notice a nearly totaled camper van parked nearby.

The people gathered around were laboratory staff. They had already pulled two bodies from the wreckage.

At the sight of the corpses, Shen Yan’s expression grew even more grim. Face darkened, he stepped forward and pulled back the white sheet. Beneath it lay a lifeless man. It was the same man Xu Qingsui had just seen at the Shen family’s home not long ago—the Family Head of the Shen family, Shen Yan’s father, Shen Zhiqiu. Beside him lay a similarly lifeless woman, who had to be Su Qing’er.

"Have you figured out how this happened?" Shen Yan asked, his face tight and devoid of any readable emotion.

"According to the on-site investigation, they were likely attacked by Mutants while driving through here. The camper van was totaled, and both occupants died on the spot," a staff member reported.

Shen Yan took a deep breath. "Dispose of the bodies here. No one is to breathe a word of this to anyone, especially not my mother."

The subordinates murmured their assent, but seeing Shen Yan still standing there, staring down at Shen Zhiqiu, no one moved to clean up the scene just yet. He stood like that for a long time before finally turning and returning to the car. Neither Xu Qingsui nor Lu Jingyu felt it was appropriate to speak, so they silently followed him.

As the car headed back to the safe zone, Shen Yan suddenly ordered, "Go to 13 Huangliang Street!"

Xu Qingsui felt they should probably get out, but didn’t know how to bring it up. And so, they were taken along to 13 Huangliang Street.

They initially assumed this was Shen Yan’s property, but he outright ordered someone to break the lock. Inside, the place was filled with signs of habitation. Most notably, a framed photograph sat on the table, featuring the exact same two people whose corpses they had just seen.

Xu Qingsui and Lu Jingyu exchanged a glance, wondering what was going on. Judging by the state of the house, this had to be Shen Zhiqiu and Su Qing’er’s love nest. The two of them had essentially built a second family outside of their own, cultivating a warm, cozy home right here.

Since Shen Yan knew about this place, did that mean he had known about their affair all along? If so, his previous act in front of Zhang Yuqing had been far too convincing. Moreover, if he had known from the very beginning, how could he have tolerated his father betraying his mother?

Shen Yan waved a hand, dismissing the accompanying subordinates.

Once only the three of them were left in the room, Shen Yan took in the furnishings and said, "I knew he bought a house outside, but I never paid it any mind. I didn’t expect that it was more than just real estate; he had built a whole other home here.

"I suddenly remembered this place just now. I came here on the off chance I might find something, and it turns out my guess was right."

Shen Yan spoke plainly, his face betraying not a trace of emotion. But the more he acted this way, the more it proved he was suppressing all his feelings. He might be fine in the short term, but burying everything would take a severe toll on him eventually.

Finally, Xu Qingsui stepped forward. "I don’t even know how to console you after something like this. But perhaps it’s karma. Those two have already paid the price, and the living still have to keep on living."

Hearing her words, Shen Yan looked back at her and offered a rare, faint smile. It was the first time he had smiled since discovering the truth.

"Don’t worry about me. This isn’t enough to break me," he said. "I just can’t figure out why he did it. Maybe I can find some clues here."

With that, Shen Yan began searching the place. Perhaps God took pity on him and his mother, because eventually, he actually found something.

In the study’s desk, he discovered a stack of letters. They were from Su Qing’er to Shen Zhiqiu. Judging by the dates on them, the correspondence spanned entirely from Shen Zhiqiu’s marriage to Zhang Yuqing right up until Su Qing’er’s return.

Shen Yan sat on the sofa, reading through the letters one by one. Xu Qingsui and Lu Jingyu stood by silently, feeling a bit out of place. Ultimately, Shen Yan handed the read letters over to the two of them.

After skimming through the correspondence, they finally found the answers they had been looking for.

When they first heard Zhang Yuqing’s side of the story, they had thought she was a pitiful woman. But unexpectedly, the contents of these letters made her seem even more tragic.

Su Qing’er had known about Shen Zhiqiu and Zhang Yuqing’s marriage from the start; it was the subject of her very first letter. In it, she explained why she had drugged him. Naturally, she claimed it wasn’t her fault—she had been forced into it. Her family had pressured her to marry into a clan even more powerful than the Shen family. She had resisted, cried, and thrown tantrums, but to no avail. Her relatives had even threatened her, warning that if she refused, it would implicate the Shen family. That powerful clan would undoubtedly suppress the Shens, sending Shen Zhiqiu plummeting from heaven to hell.

Unable to bear the thought of him being ruined, she chose to obey her family’s arrangements. However, she knew that if Shen Zhiqiu found out the truth, he would never let her go through with it. Thus, she concocted her plan. Knowing that Zhang Yuqing liked Shen Zhiqiu, she drugged Zhang Yuqing, hoping that after she left, there would be someone to take good care of Shen Zhiqiu in her stead.

Upon learning all this, Shen Zhiqiu was naturally heartbroken and immediately forgave Su Qing’er. Zhang Yuqing had always believed that Shen Zhiqiu’s change of heart toward her was because he had discovered the truth. In reality, it was only because he learned she was part of Su Qing’er’s arrangement for him.

From then on, the two maintained a steady correspondence. Just as Zhang Yuqing had suspected, Shen Zhiqiu had deliberately arranged for Liang Xiaoxiao and Shen Yan to grow up together.

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