Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 314 Outrageous
As Zhao Yuju listened to his words, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Her heart felt like it had been ripped open, the pain almost suffocating her. Looking at the wrinkled man before her, a complex mix of emotions welled up within her—a mixture of gratitude, guilt, nostalgia, and helplessness.

"Guo Wei... I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice trembling so much it was almost inaudible. "Things... things aren't what you think."

At this point, Zhao Yuju looked around warily, as if she were doing something shady.

Guo Wei shook his head, a bitter smile on his face: "Don't say sorry, Yuju."

"I'm content as long as you've been doing well all these years."

Although his tone was calm, every word seemed to carry immense weight, making Zhao Yuju feel heavy-hearted.

She knew that although the man in front of her had grown old, his feelings for her had never changed, and her waiting had not been in vain!

Completely forgetting her previous distress over her grandson's unattractive appearance, Zhao Yuju's heart skipped a beat, as if she had been hit hard by something.

She hurriedly scrambled to her feet, patted the dust off her clothes, but her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't get them clean.

Just as Zhao Yuju was at a loss, she saw Guo Wei slowly stand up, a tired but relieved smile on his face.

His voice was deep and somewhat hoarse, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat:

"I am old now, and I will be content to see you one last time before I die."

After he finished speaking, he sighed softly, his gaze lingering on Zhao Yuju's face for a moment, as if trying to imprint her image deeply into his mind.

Then, he turned around, leaning on his cane, and walked unsteadily toward the direction of the village entrance.

His back looked somewhat hunched, as if the weight of years had made him unable to straighten up.

"Guo Wei!" Zhao Yuju suddenly called out, her voice filled with urgency and reluctance.

It felt like something had ripped through her heart, the pain almost making it hard for her to breathe.

She quickly caught up with him, grabbing Guo Wei's sleeve as if afraid he would disappear if she let go.

Zhao Yuju's voice trembled, carrying a hint of urgency and pleading:
"Don't go! Let's... let's find a place and talk this out, okay?"

The moment she saw Guo Wei, those secrets buried deep in her heart for many years finally found an outlet, like a flood that had been suppressed for too long.

She couldn't wait to tell Guo Wei everything, to tell him about her regrets, her loneliness, and her resentment over the years.

She wanted to tell him that she had never truly let go of him, even after marrying someone else and having children; his image always remained in her heart.

Guo Wei stopped and glanced back at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions. His face still held that gentle smile.

He was silent for a moment before slowly nodding: "Okay, let's find a quiet place then."

Zhao Yuju breathed a sigh of relief and quickly led Guo Wei and the servants toward the grove behind the village.

Her steps were light, as if she had unloaded a burden that had lasted for many years, and a sense of inexplicable ease and anticipation welled up in her heart.

She had even begun to imagine how she would speak to Guo Wei, how she would tell him that she was willing to go with him, willing to give up everything and start over.

Unbeknownst to her, the instant she turned around, Wang Chengpeng was watching everything that had just happened from behind an old locust tree not far away, with an amused expression.
His gaze was fixed on the figures of Zhao Yuju, Zhou Delai, and Zhou Fulai.

Indeed, the Guo Wei and his servant who suddenly appeared were Zhou Delai and Zhou Fulai, the final link in Wang Chengpeng's plan.

In the briefcase Zhou Fulai was carrying, a tape recorder was running, capable of recording everything that was about to happen.

To ensure everything went perfectly, he even conducted scenario simulations and developed seven or eight plans for the two of them.

However, he did not expect that he had underestimated Zhao Yuju's love for Guo Wei, and that he had already tricked her away with the simplest method.

Such a grand spectacle would be meaningless without the crucial audience.

With that in mind, Wang Chengpeng decided to go to Wang Degong's house to arrange for him, the key audience member, to be present.

It wasn't just the two of them; Wang Chengpeng also had Wang Fucheng and Wang Hai find several respected elders from the village to watch the show together.

After looking around, Zhao Yuju finally led Guo Wei and his servants to the depths of the grove.

After glancing around and confirming that no one was around, Zhao Yuju found a clean rock to sit on.

Her heart was pounding, her palms were sweaty, and her voice trembled slightly: "Guo Wei, how have you been all these years...?"

Guo Wei smiled, his tone tinged with a touch of melancholy: "I'm alright, it's just that I'm getting old and my health isn't what it used to be. I came to see you this time because I wanted to settle something on my mind."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuju couldn't help but shed tears again.

She lowered her head, her voice choked with emotion: "Guo Wei, I'm so sorry. If I had waited for you a little longer, things might not have turned out this way."

"However, I have my reasons for not being able to do this."

Guo Wei shook his head, interrupting her: "Let's not talk about this anymore, Yuju."

"Let bygones be bygones. I came here just to see you and see how you are doing."

A complex mix of emotions welled up in Zhao Yuju's heart, a mixture of gratitude and guilt.

She looked up at Guo Wei's wrinkled face, and a sudden impulse welled up inside her:
"Guo Wei, can we...can we start over?"

"I'm willing to go with you, willing to give up everything and start over."

Seemingly to show her determination, Zhao Yuju spoke very loudly, just in time for the audience who had arrived to hear her.

Especially Wang Degong, who was the main person involved, turned green with disbelief, muttering to himself:
"Old woman, how could you say such things and do such things?"

In the grove, Guo Wei listened, a bitter smile appearing on his face:

"Yuju, we're both old now, what's the point of talking about starting over?"

"I'll be content as long as you're doing well."

After he finished speaking, he slowly stood up, leaned on his cane, and walked out of the woods.

As Zhao Yuju watched his retreating figure, her heart felt as if it had been violently clenched, the pain almost suffocating her.

Zhao Yuju raised her head and looked at Guo Wei's familiar yet unfamiliar face, and a sudden impulse welled up in her heart.

She bit her lip and finally spoke the words that had been bottled up in her heart for years:

"Guo Wei, I'm so sorry."

"The reason I had to marry you was because I was pregnant with your child; otherwise, I would have had to have an abortion."

"Don't worry, I didn't abort our child, but gave birth to it safely."

"Not only that, I also took excellent care of him and he never went hungry."

At this point, a rare hint of shyness appeared on Zhao Yuju's face as she said:
“You even have grandsons, two of them.” “Your son is named Wang Jinshan, and your grandsons are named Wang Chun’an and Wang Xia’an.”

"Don't mind me, I'll make them all change their surname to Guo and call you Dad and Grandpa."

"If you don't like them, I'll just pretend I don't have any descendants and follow you alone."

Zhao Yuju's words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky, leaving everyone present stunned and speechless.

At this moment, Wang Degong was already on the verge of fainting from exhaustion, but he forced himself to stay upright and not fall down. He wanted to hear the whole story of this great show!
Zhou Delai, who was playing Guo Wei, was stunned by such explosive words. Fortunately, Wang Chengpeng had described the possible scenarios to him beforehand, otherwise he might have really given himself away.

Guo Wei looked surprised upon hearing this, but quickly regained his composure.

He sighed, his tone tinged with helplessness: "Yuju, why didn't you tell me about this? If you had, we could have stayed together a long time ago."

Zhao Yuju's tears fell like beads from a broken string, her voice trembling:

"I...I was scared! I was afraid you would despise me if you found out, afraid you would abandon me."

"That's why I kept it from you all this time, raising Jinshan as if he were a child of the Wang family."

"But in my heart... I've always felt sorry for you. What merit does Wang Degong have to deserve our son calling him 'Dad'?"

"But now that the truth has come out and the misunderstanding has been cleared up, we can continue to be together."

"Awei, take me away. I don't want to stay in this house for another day."

Guo Wei listened, a complex expression appearing on his face. He finally nodded slowly, then shook his head, and said:
"Yuju, you have suffered all these years."

"But what's done is done. I've already started a family and established a career. This isn't fair to you!"

"Fairness?" Zhao Yuju said excitedly, "I don't want fairness, I just want to be with you, even if we are nameless and have no status."

Seemingly sensing Zhao Yuju's determination, Guo Wei finally nodded in agreement, saying:

"Yuju, you've worked so hard. I've agreed to this. I will give you the happiness you want."

"Oh, right, here's a bracelet for you. Keep it safe."

At this point, Guo Wei took out a bracelet and handed it over; it was the very bracelet that Zhao Yuju had sold back then.

Seeing Zhao Yuju's puzzled expression, Guo Wei explained:

"It's quite a coincidence that I was able to find you thanks to this bracelet."

“Back then, I was shopping at a jewelry store, thinking that if I could find you, I could bring you a gift.”

"I happened to take a liking to this bracelet at the time, and guess what? The salesperson said that this bracelet was sold by a comrade named Zhao Yuju."

"I immediately thought of you, and asked the salesperson for your address. That's how I found you!"

At this point, Guo Wei sighed and said, "Our fate was truly ordained by heaven; even God guided us to meet."

"Hold out your hand, and I'll put it on you."

Hearing Guo Wei's words, Zhao Yuju looked disgusted and made no attempt to reach out.
"Guo Wei, I don't wear this unlucky thing."

"How much did you pay for it? Return it immediately, don't waste this money."

Seeing that Zhao Yuju had taken the bait, Guo Wei looked puzzled and cautiously asked:

"Yuju, what do you mean by that? Does this bracelet not belong to you?"

Perhaps it was due to overconfidence, or perhaps it was because she had completely trusted Guo Wei, but Zhao Yuju began to explain, her tone tinged with a hint of boastfulness and smugness:
“This bracelet is not mine, but belongs to that bastard Wang Tieshan’s biological mother.”

"She gave birth at the same time as me. She wanted to save the baby, and I wanted to save the mother."

At this point, a hint of jealousy flashed in Zhao Yuju's eyes, and her voice became shrill.
"But the result was that they were both safe and sound, while I lost my child for no reason."

Her tone grew increasingly agitated, her eyes filled with a hint of madness: "I was so angry that I covered her mouth and nose while she was exhausted after giving birth."

As she said this, there was even a slight smile on her face, as if she were talking about a trivial matter.

"Isn't she trying to save the mother to show her maternal love? Then I'll grant her wish and send her to her death!"

Seeing Guo Wei's expression, Zhao Yuju quickly reassured him, "Awei, don't worry. It was just the two of us at the time. I did a perfect job. As long as you don't say anything, no one will cause us any trouble."

Her tone was relaxed, as if she were talking about the weather.
"Besides, this happened decades ago, and there's no way to verify it now. No one can do anything to me."

Upon hearing Zhao Yuju's terrifying remarks, Wang Chengpeng, who was hiding behind a tree, involuntarily clenched his right fist.

His knuckles turned white from the force, and his nails dug deep into his palms, yet he felt no pain whatsoever.

Although he had already guessed the truth, he was still shocked and angry to see Zhao Yuju's smug expression and hear her say it in such a nonchalant tone.

His chest heaved violently, his breathing became rapid, his eyes were as cold as ice, but his heart felt as if it had been ignited, burning so intensely that he was about to explode.

He stared intently at Zhao Yuju's retreating figure, a surge of uncontrollable murderous intent rising within him.

"How could there be such a vicious person in this world..."

Wang Chengpeng gritted his teeth and thought to himself, his eyes filled with disbelief and deep disgust.

He never imagined that someone could do something so heinous for their own selfish desires.

Every word Zhao Yuju said was like a knife, stabbing deeply into his heart.

Wang Chengpeng took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

He knew that now was not the time to act impulsively.

He must endure it, expose all of this, and seek justice for his deceased relatives. Zhao Yuju will face legal punishment.

To die together with her? That would only dirty my hands.

Moreover, he has an inseparable family, and he cannot let his family be destroyed because of this scumbag Zhao Yuju.

At this moment, Zhao Yuju was completely unaware that her actions had been seen by everyone.

She remained immersed in her own world, a smug smile on her face, as if she had just done something extraordinary.

Her eyes held a hint of madness and distortion that sent chills down one's spine.

Suppressing his anger, Zhou Delai, following Wang Chengpeng's script, finally asked the last question:

"Yuju, do you ever think that what you did was wrong? Do you ever regret what you did?"

"No matter what, it's a human life!"

(End of this chapter)