Chapter 61: CH 61

Chapter 61 – Recollection

Wen Ruan helped Fu Zhihuan to tear off the last remaining gauze on his body.

The fiery heat of his back was transmitted to her hands when their skin came into contact and the heat spread to her heart making it slightly hot.

The pain caused by tearing off the gauze made Fu Zhihuan hiss and he frowned.

Wen Ruan threw out an extremely cold word.  “Bear with it.”

He chuckled lightly and his chest shook slightly as he replied in a soft voice.

“Okay, okay.”

She put the gauze away to the side and started to apply the ointment for him.  Perhaps she was still feeling angry, so her movements were not light.

“Now you only realize it hurts?  What did you do earlier on?  And you almost got into a fight!”

After speaking, she paused and then did some mental calculations before she said righteously again.

“And it was the second time!’

The cold ointment touched the wound directly causing a burning pain but Fu Zhihuan only furrowed his brows even tighter.  He did not make a sound and could only show a helpless smile.

This little girl is really heavy-handed.

Upon hearing Wen Ruan’s words that carried a little anger, Fu Zhihuan lowered his eyes and said softly.

“Sorry.”

As soon as the man apologized, Wen Ruan found she could not do anything with him.

Moreover, whenever he apologizes, his attitude appears to be very sincere and she is unable to pick a single flaw.

She silently changed the plaster for him and after a long time had passed, she asked tentatively.

“Ai, who is the man you met today?  I’ve never seen you so impulsive like today.”

Then after thinking about it, she realized that there was something wrong with her words and so she added.

“Except for that time when you were drunk.”

This time he kept quiet and lifted his hand to rub his neck.  He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then raised his eyes to look up at the lamp above his head.

From beginning to end, he did not say a word.

Wen Ruan did not know that her question had poked the most sensitive spot in his heart but she could feel the low pressure coming from him at this moment.

…….Perhaps it is a question that she shouldn’t have asked.

“It’s alright, I won’t ask anymore.”

She lowered her eyes and there was a hint of disappointment in her tone.

He always seemed to be heavily burdened but he was never willing to tell her anything.

And she did not like this.

It is as if there is always a barrier separating the two of them and even if it is said that they like each other, there is still a gap that can never be bridged.

She pursed her lower lip and continued changing the dressing.

Fu Zhihuan was silent for a long time but when she was applying the ointment on him, he suddenly started to speak.

“Did Uncle and Aunt ever mention to you that I have a biological sister?”

Wen Ruan was stunned and lifted her eyes.

He raised his head slightly.  Although he did not turn his head around completely when he said those words, a rare wave of sadness in those usually unwavering eyes of his was clearly visible.

Sister?

Wen Ruan tried to recall.

Her parents never mentioned this before but she did hear about it and had also heard her gossipy friends talk about it.

But Wen Ruan was never interested in gossip and since she did not have a deep relationship with the Fu Family at that time, she did not pay any attention and never took the rumor to heart.

Now that Fu Zhihuan had mentioned it, it seems that the rumor is true.

Wen Ruan was blank for a long time before she probed tentatively and softly.

“Then what happened?”

Fu Zhihuan lowered his eyes.  “We went to an amusement park……..it was twenty years ago………”

The amusement park was crowded with people.

Fu Zhihuan was holding on to Fu Yuqing all the time but they were separated from their parents in a blink of an eye.

At that time, he had a mobile phone with him, so he was not overly worried.

There were too many people around and the landmarks were not distinctive enough, so he gave his parents a call and they decided to meet up under the largest cherry tree nearby.

However, halfway to the meeting point, Fu Yuqing took a liking to the sugar paintings* by the roadside and insisted that Fu Zhihuan buy a sugar painting of herself and wanted the grandfather manning the stall to draw her appearance.

(Sugar painting is drawn by using hot melted sugar and is a popular candy snack among children.  Sugar painting is a traditional Chinese art and the paintings are usually intricate designs of dragons, birds, butterflies, etc.) 

But children are often the most impatient.

After watching the sugar painting for a while, they started to lose interest and upon looking up, they realized that the cherry tree was just on the opposite side, so they decided to meet up with their parents first.

“You’re very slow, Elder Brother!  I’ll go over and wait for Dad and Mom under the tree first.  Remember to bring the sugar painting to me later!”

Fu Zhihuan was not paying attention and before he had the chance to grab her, she had run off under his watch.

The moment he looked up, he saw Fu Yuqing’s back view trotting towards the cherry tree, dressed in a pink dress that all little girls love……..

And then he could no longer find any trace of her………

In the end, that meticulously drawn sugar painting was never claimed by its little owner.

“From that day onwards, we never saw her again.”

At this moment, listening to his voice, Wen Ruan could feel his deep sorrow.

One of his hands was resting on his knee and the dim yellow light illuminated his profile but could not light up his eyes which were clouded in a haze.

She did not know the reason why she felt sad as well.

“Did she get lost?”

Fu Zhihuan opened his eyes, turned his head, and looked at her.  The corners of his lips twitched slightly but he did not speak.

Wen Ruan started to talk to herself to comfort and cheer him up and her tone held some certainty.

“Think on the bright side……..she must have been adopted by a very, very good person!  She is safe and sound now and already has someone she likes!  Perhaps someday she will come back on her own.”

You are reading story Desperate Pretense At Being Poor at novel35.com

“Your younger sister must be very, very cute and lovable and those bad people won’t have the heart to bully her……”

She seemed to be worried about Fu Zhihuan’s emotions, so she pretended to be optimistic at this moment and her tone rose slightly.

It was obvious that she was trying her best to make him happy.

“Wen Ruan……”

Fu Zhihuan’s mood eased a little as he looked at Wen Ruan who was trying to comfort him and interrupted her.

“She died……..”

All the words became stuck in her throat.

She put down her hand slowly, leaned against the side of the bed, and lowered her eyes.  After a long silence, she said softly.

“Sorry, I didn’t know.”

He let out a laugh, turned around, and reached out his hand to rub her head.

“It’s okay…….thank you.”

Wen Ruan:  “Then, who was the murderer?”

He did not say anything and just stood up.  Then he picked up the pajamas beside him and put in on.

He slowly buttoned up and a long time later, he said slowly.

“The murderer was never caught.”

“Never caught?”

“At that time, the surveillance system installed was not efficient and the flow of people in the park was huge.  The body was found in a blind spot out of the surveillance area.  In addition, no significant evidence was found at the scene, so until today, the murderer has never been identified.”

Wen Ruan seemed to understand something.

“So you think that the man we met today might be the murderer?”

He lowered his eyes.  “Perhaps not…….but he should know something.”

Wen Ruan:  “Then why didn’t……..”

“The presumption of innocence.”

Wen Ruan became quiet due to those four words.

As a lawyer, she certainly understood the meaning of those words.

In the absence of evidence, no matter how suspicious a person is, there is no way to interrogate and deal with him like a criminal.

And as a prosecutor, Fu Zhihuan understands this very well.

Wen Ruan lifted her eyes and looked quietly in his direction.

At this moment, Fu Zhihuan looked extremely calm but she could feel the tremendous amount of repression concealed by him behind those seemingly calm eyes when the past was brought up.

Wen Ruan pursed her lower lip and stretched out her index finger to gently poke his arm.

“Hey……..”

He turned to look at her and then smiled but the smile seemed a little cold.

“What’s the matter?”

""

Wen Ruan said softly.  “Do you want to cry?  I won’t laugh at you.  Or you can talk to me and it’s alright to scold that man too.  I can join you and scold him together with you!  I’m extremely good at scolding people!”

He did not know whether to laugh or cry.  “Why?”

Wen Ruan frowned and thought about it carefully.  Then she snapped her fingers and said seriously.

“Because if it was me, I would be very, very sad right now.  However, I don’t know how to comfort others and it’s totally fine for me to scold people together with you!”

He did not speak and just looked at her very quietly.

“Or do you want to eat some snacks?  When I was passing your neighborhood just now, I noticed a 24-hour cake shop, or else I can order some for you now!  Eating desserts when you’re sad will make you feel especially happy!  But you’re having a fever, can you still eat cakes?  Let me check…….ai?”

Before she could finish speaking, her wrist was suddenly grabbed and she was pulled towards Fu Zhihuan by a strong force.

The next second, she fell into Fu Zhihuan’s arms with her back against his chest and a warm breath hit her earlobe which resulted in a tingling sensation.

He wrapped his arms around her, closed his eyes, and rested his chin on her shoulder as he hugged her tightly.

The surrounding temperature suddenly rose.

Wem Ruan bit her lower lip tightly and blushed.  She felt embarrassed and annoyed.

“Why are you doing this?  I’m so kind to comfort you but you behave like this!  Do you believe me when I say I’ll tell your parents?!”

“Don’t move.”

Fu Zhihuan’s voice was a little hoarse and when he spoke, his breath blew lightly on her ear.

Wen Ruan felt as if a series of firecrackers had exploded in her heart and her emotions fluctuated even more vigorously.

“When you said don’t move……”

However, when she struggled, her arm slammed into Fu Zhihuan’s wound.

When she heard him groan in pain she immediately stopped moving.  She gritted her teeth fiercely and her struggling lessened.

Forget it.

She would not dispute with the old, weak, sick, and disabled.

When this man recovers, she will definitely take revenge.

“Hey……”  Wen Ruan asked angrily.  “Then why did you leave your family?”

Fu Zhihuan lifted his eyes and the dark pupils under the long eyelashes were even more profound.

“I’ve solved many cases and brought many people to court but I couldn’t make those people pay the price that they deserve for hurting Yuqing.”

“In public, I may be an efficient prosecutor but in private, I’m definitely not a good elder brother.”

On that day twenty years ago, the incident was the most regretful in Fu Zhihuan’s life.

From then on in his life, no matter how many years of winters and summers passed, he was always tortured by that nightmare until this day.

Everyone had slowly walked out of it.

But he was the only one who refused to let himself be free from it.

“And I had once thought of taking revenge for Fu Yuqing in my own way.”

You can find story with these keywords: Desperate Pretense At Being Poor, Read Desperate Pretense At Being Poor, Desperate Pretense At Being Poor novel, Desperate Pretense At Being Poor book, Desperate Pretense At Being Poor story, Desperate Pretense At Being Poor full, Desperate Pretense At Being Poor Latest Chapter