Rebirth: Splendid Marriage in the 80s Chapter 2475: 2411: Someone Is Pulling the Strings
Previously on Rebirth: Splendid Marriage in the 80s...
Chiang Xiao kept on with her reading, discovering countless episodes of clashes and mix-ups between Meng Chaojun and Nian Chengcheng.
Soon after, Meng Chaojun got another tip that Nian Chengcheng was getting together with the school teacher she once idolized. In a fury, he hurried to the spot, but arrived to an abandoned location, where a hotel room held just a wildly disheveled bed, and one of Nian Chengcheng's earrings lay forgotten on it.
Meng Chaojun had presented that earring to Nian Chengcheng right after she delivered Meng Xinian, so he knew it instantly.
— At first, I had no clue what Chao Jun spotted in the hotel; it wasn't until our massive fight later that he blurted it out in rage. He claimed the disarray on the bed was obviously the aftermath of intimate relations. Despite my desperate attempts to clarify that I'd only been sipping tea and reminiscing with the teacher in a teahouse, he refused to accept it, and I had no answer for how the earring ended up on that hotel bed. I hadn't even noticed it had come loose.
A sharp intake of breath escaped Chiang Xiao as she reached this section.
Turning the pages further, she slowly pieced together the events from that time.
In the shadows, someone had been engineering rifts between Meng Chaojun and Nian Chengcheng, their schemes so cunning that the conflicts took root deeply, trapping Nian Chengcheng without a chance to defend herself and forcing her to endure the agony quietly.
Eventually, Meng Chaojun lost all faith in her, even beginning to charm other women who pursued him, and while no real affairs developed, it tore at Nian Chengcheng's heart to watch him share smiles and talk under a parasol with another lady amid the light rain.
Duan Qingqing's arrival proved particularly crucial; she doggedly pursued Meng Chaojun and made a point of flaunting their intimacy to Nian Chengcheng on several occasions.
With Nian Chengcheng's timid nature, she lacked the boldness to challenge Meng Chaojun directly, left to bear the hurt alone.
Once Meng Xinian was born, she truly devoted herself wholly to her spouse, pouring all her affection into him, which turned the emotional divide into an unbearable torment for her.
And in the end, as she lay dying, Duan Qingqing drew near, seizing the moment when no one else was around.
— Upon my abrupt awakening, there she stood at my bedside, clad in a striking red gown, full of life and energy, whereas I resembled a wilted bloom drained of vitality, fading in comparison.
— I simply couldn't accept the words that reached my ears; Duan Qingqing confessed she hadn't originally desired Chao Jun, explaining how she'd given herself to a man she couldn't track down, ended up expecting his child and needed to wed hastily, and that an anonymous figure had slipped her a letter packed with Chao Jun's pictures and personal details, outlining his tastes completely, while also whispering that his marriage to his wife was in ruins, presenting the ideal chance to step in…
Chiang Xiao slammed the diary closed.
Her eyes fixed on Meng Xinian with a fierce stare, her teeth clenched in fury.
“Brother Xinian, it has to be Nian Che! He was full of envy and spite back then, always stirring up troubles for your mom and dad, and he must be the one who forwarded that letter to Duan Qingqing as well!”
A pulse hammered at Meng Xinian's temple.
“Yet didn't Duan Qingqing mention she carried that other man's baby?”
Still, Duan Qingqing never bore any children after that.
Meng Xinian stated coolly, “Not even two months into her marriage to the Meng Family, she ‘became distressed’ because of me and suffered a miscarriage. Back then, Meng Chaojun believed I was responsible for losing his second boy, so he thrashed me severely. That's the reason he never held her accountable for not conceiving again—he pinned the blame squarely on me.”