Chapter 474: Season Finale (Part Two)

The moment Liu Ronghua mentioned Chang Yuehuan, Grandmother Chang's face turned completely blanched. Even so, she could not bring herself to believe Liu Ronghua's words; she was still trying to run from the truth. She mumbled weakly, "No... That's impossible..."

"Impossible?" Liu Ronghua stomped on Chang Jingqiu again. "Why don't you tell her yourself? Tell her that you did all those sinful things!"

Chang Jingqiu refused. She could not muster up enough strength to say a word anyway, merely lying down lifelessly on the floor.

Liu Ronghua tugged on her hair, pulling her limp body up from the ground.

Chang Jingqiu was completely disheveled, her face swollen beyond recognition. Her eyes were so swollen that they were merely two thin lines and was even blood dripping from the corner of her eye.

Her swollen lips made it impossible to close her mouth. They were drenched in blood and more was oozing out of her parted lips.

Her appearance right now would make anyone's stomach turn.

"Come on, spit it out!!" Liu Ronghua yanked Chang Jingqiu's hair aggressively, making her head spin.

Finally, Chang Jingqiu could not bear this torture anymore. "That's right! I did it! I did it all! What did Ruan Danchen do to deserve such a good fate? She had men drooling over her since high school! She's clearly a cunning vixen, yet she pretends to be as pure as a white lotus. I can't stand her deceitful act! She's a b*tch! Even if she's lucky enough to marry Qi Chenglin, she shouldn't have toyed with me! She's already living a good life with Qi Chenglin, yet she never bothered to tell me; she wanted me to lose all my dignity and ridicule me for it."

As Chang Jingqiu spoke, she sprayed out a mixture of saliva and blood.

Qi Chenglin scoffed coldly. "It was your own fault for looking down on her. You're the one making all the assumptions, thinking that she's so useless she can't even get a man. You never verified any of that with her, yet you were confident that it was the case. If you've never asked her, how can you blame her for not telling you? You two aren't even close, so why would she tell you something like this? Even if she does tell you, you'll accuse her of showing off anyway. No matter what she does, you'll still find a way to hate her, so stop making petty excuses."

"Ahh, nonsense!" Chang Jingqiu's expression was that of a maniac. "The worst thing she did was stealing my identity! She already has everything, so why does she want to take away what's mine? Why should she sit so high up above me? Why must she be part of the Chang family while I'm the daughter of those two villagers? Why? Why?! Why am I born into such a lowly life? Why must she be better than me?!"

"If we're talking about stealing identities, you're the one who stole hers," Qi Chenglin mocked, scoffing disdainfully. "She never planned to let the Chang family find out about this. She knows Grandmother Chang's personality full well, and since no one in the Chang family knew, she was going to leave it be. She merely wanted to find her true parents. You may treasure the 'Miss Chang' title deeply, but she barely bats an eye to it. If it weren't for you being such an ingrate, stealing her identity and tainting her name, she would've taken it to the grave."

Chang Jingqiu paused for a while, then resumed her lunatic screams. "Stop putting her up on such a high pedestal—she doesn't deserve it! All she does is act to deceive!"

"Hehehehehe!" Chang Jingqiu turned to Grandmother Chang with a petrifying bloody grin. "Why do you all have to ruin this for me? I wouldn't have ended up here if it weren't for all of you exposing me! Don't say I took advantage of this old lady—it's her own fault for being so stupid!"

Grandmother Chang could not believe those words came out of Chang Jingqiu's mouth; she prayed that she misheard it.

However, Chang Jingqiu, who was spitting out blood-laced foam, shrieked, "She's so dumb that she can't even recognize her own granddaughter. If it weren't for her stupidity, how could I have used her? Besides, all these years, I've been by her side, enduring her temper, flattering her and making her happy. I must deserve some repayment! Her helping me exert revenge on Ruan Danchen should've been my compensation!"

Beaten to a pulp, Chang Jingqiu's thinking was slightly impaired; she thoughtlessly spat out every word that came to mind. Like a drunk mad lad, all she cared about was the sense of satisfaction screaming it all out brought.

Grandmother Chang stared in disbelief. How could someone she cared so genuinely for thought she was a mindless fool? How could Chang Jingqiu see her as a burden and was only using her this entire time?

"You..." started Grandmother Chang, but when she saw Chang Jingqiu's guiltless and deranged expression, she abruptly felt breathless.

Her chest tightened—it hurt awfully.

Grandmother Chang opened her mouth, yet she still could not breathe. Just then, her vision turned pitch black and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

"Mom!" Chang Zhixing yelled frantically.

This time, the undercover bodyguards did not stop him. Chang Zhixing bolted to her bedside and pushed the call bell immediately.

Qi Chenglin was not going to linger around anymore. He strode out of the ward with his two undercover bodyguards following close behind him. Seeing this, Liu Ronghua quickly followed them out too.

Just then, the doctor and nurses came rushing into Grandmother Chang's ward.

"Qi Chenglin," called out Liu Ronghua as she finally caught up to him.

Qi Chenglin stopped and turned around to hear Liu Ronghua reminding him, "You promised to put Chang Jingqiu in jail."

"Rest assured, she's the one who broke the law," Qi Chenglin commented coolly, then walked away.

...

Ruan Danchen only found out about Grandmother Chang's incident a few days later.

It was Chang Zhiyuan's birthday, but he did not want a grand celebration—he was in no mood for it anyway. All he wanted was a warm and cozy meal with his family.

Thus, he called Ruan Danchen's family of three over. Mo Yuxin even cooked personally for this special occasion.

Everyone gathered around the dining table. Just as Chang Zhiyuan blew out the candle, the doorbell rang.

His housekeeper announced, "Sir, Madam, it's the second Mr. Chang."

A moment later, Chang Zhixing walked in.

"What brings you here today?" questioned Chang Zhiyuan, not even standing up to greet him.

"Well, what else could it be besides to celebrate your birthday?" answered a somewhat abashed Chang Zhixing.

When he saw the two families gathered around the table, a strong sense of unbelonging overcame him. It made him feel rather miserable.

Chang Zhiyuan smiled at him. "If you're truly here for my birthday, you wouldn't have come alone."

Chang Zhixing chuckled awkwardly. Chang Zhiyuan offered, "Come, have a seat."

Cheng Zhixing took a seat beside Chang Jingwan.

"So, what's the matter? You already came all the way here, no need to be shy." Chang Zhiyuan ordered the housekeeper to bring an extra bowl and set of cutleries for him.

Chang Zhixing's face flushed red as he revealed, "Mom had a stroke due to the emotional shock, and she's now bedridden. Chang Jingqiu was involved in human trafficking, and although not convicted yet, there's a high chance she'll end up in jail."

Ruan Danchen's confusion was evident on her face. 'It has only been a few days—how have so many things happened?' she thought.

Seeing this, Chang Zhixing was going to explain. However, he received intimidating glares from Qi Chenglin and Chang Zhiyuan, warning him to keep his mouth shut. He did.

Grandmother Chang was severely depressed. She lied still on the sickbed, unable to move. Chang Zhixing had employed someone to look after her. As for Chang Jingqiu being taken into custody, Grandmother Chang could not care less about it. After all, Chang Jingqiu used her as a tool without a shred of guilt. Grandmother Chang regretted the years of care she bestowed upon that ingrate; Chang Jingqiu deserved to be punished.

Sadly, Liu Xiangwen, who had always flattered Grandmother Chang to make her happy, was nowhere to be seen since she was admitted into the hospital. Even her dearest grandson, Chang Jianan, never came to visit.

Grandmother Chang yelled and cried out of rage every day. She hated herself for raising all those ingrates.

"I know." Chang Zhiyuan nodded. "I'll visit Mom."

Chang Zhixing stared at him as if he had something to say, but could not force the words out of his mouth. Finally, he gathered up enough courage and begged, "Big Brother, please come back to Changhe—the company can't be without you. The company is suffering from immense losses lately, and you know full well that I'm not right for this position."

Although the company was being attacked deliberately, he was still at fault for not being cautious.

When Chang Zhiyuan was in charge of the company, there were still countless attacks targeted at their company. Nevertheless, he never slipped up. Thus, Chang Zhixing could not use it as an excuse for his failure.

Chang Zhiyuan shook his head. "I've said it before, I'm not going back. Changhe is yours now, and no matter good or bad, it's none of my business."

Chang Zhixing opened his mouth, but before he could utter a word, Chang Zhiyuan interrupted, "Listen, I'm not throwing a tantrum or anything like that; I'm completely serious. I want to retire. I'm already half-retired now, and my children handle most of the matters in my company—I merely supervise them occasionally. I know about Changhe's losses, but it's not something that it can't bear. Just be more cautious next time. Even if you can't help Changhe return to its original state, I'm confident that the company won't go bankrupt under your watch. It's possible to maintain the position it is in now. Bottom line is, you shouldn't take too big risks anymore. Don't be so fixed on achieving grandiose things. This only happened because Danchen's grandfather wanted to stand up for her, and I wholeheartedly agree with his decision. As long as you don't hurt Danchen again, you don't have to worry about it happening again."

"Take this loss as a chance to learn from your mistakes—it'll benefit you," advised Chang Zhiyuan.

This matter hurt the Chang family's position in their social circle quite badly. Nonetheless, Chang Zhiyuan was not bothered by this at all. After all, he was already retiring—he need not socialize with those powerful families anymore.

As for Chang Jingwan, with Ruan Danchen around, she would never be at a disadvantage. Moreover, no one would look down on Chang Jingwan just because of Changhe.

Hence, Chang Zhiyuan truly had nothing to worry about.

Although Chang Zhiyuan spoke calmly, Chang Zhixing knew that he was serious. Thus, he did not try to convince him anymore.

In the end, Chang Zhiyuan asked him to stay until the end of his birthday celebration.

...

In the evening, Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen went home with the little one. On the way, they received a call from Guan Liya.

"All of you must hurry to the hospital! Chengyue is going into labor!"