Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

Chapter 75: She personally took her revenge

Chapter 75: She personally took her revenge

“Zhizhi.”

By that time, Mu Yanzhou had already approached Wen Zhi from behind, only about two or three meters away.

He stopped and didn’t move any closer.

Wen Zhi took a deep breath and finally turned around emotionlessly.

She thought she could be indifferent, but as soon as she saw Mu Yanzhou’s gaunt face, her eyes reddened immediately.

He was just in his forties, and his hair was already much grayer. There was an exhaustion in his brow that spoke of world-weariness, yet his face was still strikingly handsome.

Her father, back then, was famous in Bai City.

Her mother said that the women who used to pursue her father practically made up the entirety of Bai City’s reputable daughters. Some even kneeled before him just for a glance, and others offered billions in dowry for marriage. It was exaggeration, but it was also the truth.

But in the end, her father chose to be with her mother.

They loved each other profoundly.

Wen Zhi tried hard to control her emotions at that moment, but it was so difficult; her tears fell stubbornly, drip-dropping down.

Mu Yanzhou, seeing her so distressed, stepped forward, pulled Wen Zhi into his embrace, and coaxed her gently, “Zhizhi, don’t cry.”

Wen Zhi’s tears were like a dam that had burst.

Heartbreak and grievance, all intertwined at this moment.

Her tears quickly soaked through Mu Yanzhou’s collar as she sobbed and called out, “Dad.”

Mu Yanzhou asked her, “Has Zhizhi been well lately?”

“Not really,” her voice was very muffled, filled with nasal congestion.

Mu Yanzhou patted her on the back gently, “Did the Shang family mistreat you?”

“No.”

“Then why suddenly come to Jingci Temple?”

“That’s my own business.” Wen Zhi stepped out of his embrace, raised her hand to wipe away her tears, her eyes red, “You have no right to pry.”

Mu Yanzhou couldn’t help but laugh, but his complexion was too pale, revealing a tinge of sickness.

After a long while, he said, “I know about your situation in the Shang family.”

Wen Zhi challenged him, “Do you also know about how I almost got ruined by her? Were you aware of that too?”

As soon as her words fell,

she saw the murderous intent in her father’s eyes. Clearly, he knew, but she heard him say, “I didn’t know about that.”

Wen Zhi abruptly stepped back, and her face quickly became expressionless, “If you don’t know, then you don’t.”

“Zhizhi…”

“Don’t worry, Dad, even if I accidentally die out there, rot away in some unknown corner, I won’t haunt your dreams to have you collect my body. See how considerate I am? Even in death, I wouldn’t trouble you or the Wen family.”

As she spoke these words, Wen Zhi’s expression was resolute.

Mu Yanzhou’s face remained impassive, but each time he spoke to Wen Zhi, his voice was filled with gentleness, “You need to take care of yourself out there, and the other matters…”

But he was interrupted, as Wen Zhi spoke word by word, “I will find out the truth about my mother’s death.”

Mu Yanzhou watched her quietly for a long while and then asked, “What’s the point?”

What’s the point?

Wen Zhi laughed, three tears falling at the same time from one eye, a true cascade of grief.

“As the daughter of Wen Yinxi, suspecting there’s more to her death, I want to find the truth. Is that wrong? Am I wrong?!”

Wen Zhi, while talking, couldn’t stop crying.

Mu Yanzhou remained indifferent, “You’re not wrong, but it’s unnecessary.”

“Enough, I detest every word of yours.” Wen Zhi, trembling with anger, didn’t want to say another word to him and turned to leave.

But she hadn’t walked far when she heard coughing sounds again.

It was Mu Yanzhou’s cough.

She slowed her steps, listening as his cough grew more violent, as if he couldn’t catch his breath.

After a long internal struggle, she ultimately turned back. She saw her father, already doubled over coughing, his lean body swaying and looking as though he might collapse at any moment.

Pity defeated her.

Ultimately, she made her way back to him, step by step, reaching out to help: “It’s a long journey, and you’re unwell. You shouldn’t have come here.”

With Wen Zhi’s support, Mu Yanzhou slowly straightened up. His eyes, long and narrow, were red from coughing.

Gasping for breath, his voice hoarse, he said, “Zhizhi, stop the investigation.”

Wen Zhi paused, asking softly, “Dad, are you scared? Afraid that those people will come after you?”

“No,” Mu Yanzhou replied. “I just think we should live in the moment. Seeking the truth is too exhausting, and you can’t bear it.”

“What can’t I bear? It’s just about taking revenge, isn’t it?” Wen Zhi had already prepared for the worst outcome.

Mu Yanzhou asked, “By torturing the murderer in the same way, right?”

Wen Zhi’s eyes flickered, and she turned her face away, not answering.

In her mind, she recalled what Kong Ci had said that day.

He said, “Coming to Jingci Temple to purify oneself in advance, is it to commit evil without feeling guilty afterward?”

He also said, “Harming others and oneself, the laws of heaven cycle on.”

But murder demands a life in return.

The murderer who tortured her mother to death—she had to find that person and pay them back in kind, to torture them in the same way.

Leaving it to the police, resorting to legal sanctions, she couldn’t do it. Her mother died after being so tortured; she had to make the killer pay the same price.

To take personal revenge for her mother.

Then, to turn herself in and go to prison.

She had long figured out her own retreat.

That’s why she had always been alone on this journey, not stopping for anything that might entangle her or make her hesitate for people and things she might care for.

“Zhizhi, stop thinking about it,” Mu Yanzhou’s face grew cold. “Live your own life. Let bygones be bygones.”

“I can’t let it go!” Wen Zhi’s face was equally cold, her eyes red with rage: “In my case, I’ll never be able to let it go in this lifetime. As long as I’m alive, I will definitely take revenge for mom personally.”

Having said that, Wen Zhi released Mu Yanzhou’s hand: “You take care of yourself, Dad. I probably won’t come back to see you again.”

Afterward, she turned and left.

This time she did not look back.

Mu Yanzhou closed his eyes, his face etched with pain; his body nearly collapsed. Zhan Feng, who had been watching from the shadows, appeared in front of Mu Yanzhou in a flash. With a walking stick in one hand, he steadied Mu Yanzhou’s arm with the other: “Sir, how are you?”

“I’ll make it,” Mu Yanzhou was having a hard time breathing.

His health had failed completely after Wen Yinxi passed away.

Mu Yanzhou said, “You should have appeared just now and greeted Zhizhi.”

Zhan Feng replied, “I was afraid the young miss wouldn’t be happy to see me.”

“She wouldn’t mind, she would have been happy to see you,” said Mu Yanzhou.

A year ago, Zhan Feng had been fired by Mu Yanzhou in a fit of anger for not looking after Wen Zhi properly, which led to her self-harm.

Zhan Feng, acknowledging his grave mistake, never thought he would return to the Wen Family.

It was the day Wen Zhi left when, just before parting, she told the sir to have him come back; that’s how Zhan Feng returned to the Wen Family.

At this moment, Zhan Feng’s brow furrowed with worry: “For the past year, the young miss has been using various means to investigate the lady’s cause of death. You know the young miss’s temperament; she’ll do as she says, taking revenge with her own hands before turning herself in.”

Mu Yanzhou’s face was as pale as paper, taking the walking stick from Zhan Feng: “Proceed with the plan as scheduled.”

Zhan Feng looked worried, “But sir, you don’t have much time left.”