Chapter 509: Untitled
This was the first time Su Man heard Su Ruhua mention Su Ruyu’s name. The previous time Su Ruhua mentioned Su Ruyu’s name was when she was telling him about what happened before. Su Ruyu was a part of the Su family and she had to be mentioned. Save that occasion, this was the first time Su Ruhua mentioned her name.
Was she, in the field of viruses, more capable than him? Su Man broke into a slight smile. That was rare. He had always thought he was the best in the field and could not be surpassed. He had never heard of anybody who was even more eminent than he was.
“Sister, where’s second sister?” Su Man asked Su Ruhua. “I never heard you mention her.”
Su Ruhua was slightly saddened and she smiled bitterly. “I don’t know. When I searched for her back then, the information I received was that she had died with… somebody in a huge fire and her body could not be recovered. I can never believe that I’ve been searching for them for these many years without the slightest information. I gradually came to believe that they had already died.”
Su Man was slightly taken aback as he did not expect to receive such an answer and felt slightly jealous. He had no recollection of Su Ruyu, but he heard the old butler mention how the second young madam was when he was much younger. When the younger Su Man heard about the second young madam from the old butler, he had the thought that the second young madam doted on him the most and sacrificed much for him. When Su Man heard about her death, the typically emotionless him felt slightly upset.
Su Ruhua tapped Su Man’s hand and gently said, “She indeed doted on you the most. When you were a newborn, she would always hug you, play with you, and gently coax you into sleeping when you cried at night. Gee, those were strange given her somewhat sinister and cold self that rarely spoke. There were times she would never speak a word for three days, and she sure had an eccentric temper and yet loved children that much. Daddy, Mommy, and I were extremely surprised at that. It could be because she…”
Su Ruhua paused and did not continue. She could not seem to be herself to say some things.
Su Man listened on and gradually acknowledged. He heard Su Ruhua mention two people but had no intention of letting him know who said persons were. That was a story for their generation, and the complicated look in her eyes seemed to suggest that the persons in questions were responsible for souring the relationship between the sisters. Su Man, in his curiosity about Su Ruyu, unintentionally brought up a painful memory. “Why was the Mafia after our family back then?” Su Man hence asked.
A painful look flashed across Su Ruhua’s face. The scenes of that night—their parents in a pool of blood, Su Ruyu’s look of utter anger and rage, the agonizing screams of the servants, and Su Man’s cries—flashed through her mind. She felt as though her heart was pricked by needles.
She mentioned the catastrophe back then to Su Man, but not the reason.
“Sister, you can choose not to mention it if you’re not comfortable to.” Su Man knew she was upset and did not want to make things even more difficult for her. Since the events belonged to the past, he somewhat knew that everything happened because of Su Ruyu.
“It’s not uncomfortable for me to bring it up, but it has been many years since the events, and bringing them up still evokes those pangs of sadness. If one could turn back time, your second sister and I would not have allowed what happened back then to happen and cause over a hundred of our own to pay with their lives.” Su Ruhua sounded as though she was slightly mocking herself while she sat next to Su Man. She then slowly said, “Back then, Mo Shitian misunderstood Ruyu. That, along with Ruyu’s extremely obstinate streak and perfectionist tendencies, sent her hiding from him. Mo Shitian went crazy searching for her, and it so happened that the turmoil in the royal family back then also implicated the Su family. Mo Shitian lost his bearings and used the Su family as leverage to force Ruyu to appear. Given Mo Shitian’s character, it was impossible for him to order a bloodbath. He, however, understood Ruyu extremely well and knew that Ruyu would chase him to the corners of the earth should he dare to lay a finger on anybody in the Su family. We were young and reckless back then, and our arrogance because of our talents caused us to be manipulated and culminated in the tragedy back then. I did all I could to figure out who was behind the tragedy back then, but hearsay has it that Shitian and Ruyu had died. Since they have both died, all does not matter anymore. It’s all my fault. Ruyu felt that she could not face up to the Su family, but I am actually the most damned. Having borne this guilt for over twenty years, I’ve wanted to personally look for her and apologize to her in person. It’s a shame that this opportunity has passed.”
While Su Ruhua had described what happened in an indirect manner, Su Man was sharp enough to realize that Su Ruhua made no mention of herself and yet pinned all blame on herself. Su Ruhua had clearly played an important role, and she did something that had upset Su Ruyu. Su Man remained silent, and he could not bring himself to say anything as they were family.
Was Mo Shitian the father of the Mo brothers?
Based on how she had described what happened, how could Mo Shitian have children with Ruhua if he loved Ruyu the most?
Su Man did not raise any questions. Anybody would know that such questions should not be asked at this juncture as they would put his sister in an even tighter spot. These events, after all, happened a long time ago and he was not directly involved in them.
“Even if Ruyu is alive, she would be living in seclusion somewhere else and away from the world. She would be hiding as far as she could from me, and I’m afraid that she would never want to see me.”
“Sis, these are things of the past.”
“No. Some things can never be of the past.” Su Ruhua sighed. Those events, mistakes, and unintentional hurt inflicted on those whom she deeply loved could never become the past.
While she seemed suave about it, her heart had long laid in tatters.
“She may really be dead.” Su Man suggested the possibility.
“I don’t buy that. Who could kill Shitian and Ruyu twenty years ago? Nobody! While it would be possible that they perished together, Shitian, however ruthless he could be, would never allow Ruyu to die,” Su Ruhua said.
She really loved Mo Shitian—Su Man thought to himself. For sisters to fall for the same person, and said person falling for Ruyu and yet have twins with Ruhua left Su Man perplexed.
Given Su Ruhua’s character, it was impossible for her to pull something like that off. As the Su sisters were on extremely good terms back then, Ruhua would have never attempted something as heinous had she known that Ruyu and Mo Shitian were together.
Su Man’s thoughts remain unresolved. If she did not do anything that she could not face up to Ruyu, why did she say that she could not face up to Ruyu?
“Sis…”
“Save it. You haven’t slept for two days, so rest early and don’t push yourself too hard. You won’t be able to crack the problem overnight.” Su Ruhua did not allow Su Man to continue asking and left Su Man’s room.
This was the first time Su Man was particularly curious about something, and he was a little upset at how he felt something was lodged in his heart when he did not get to the truth.
When Su Ruhua returned to her room, the butler had long prepared a cup of calming tea that Su Ruhua had to have before she slept lest she lose sleep.
“Young madam, what’s happened? Are you in a bad mood?” the old butler asked considerately.
Su Ruhua shook her head and leaned against the head of the bed tiredly. “I mentioned Ruyu to Su Man. It hurts.”
“Young madam, you actually did nothing wrong against second young madam. It’s been many years, and it’s time you come to terms with it.” The old butler gently advised her. “If second young master had indeed departed from the world, being this hard against yourself will never help.”
“You’ll never understand.” Su Ruhua gently smiled. “How could Ruyi not blame me for what happened? If it weren’t me, she wouldn’t have to live such a difficult life.”
The old butler acknowledged. “Why don’t you tell young master that the children are actually…”
“What’s the point of Man Man knowing? I want to tell Ruyi in person,” Su Ruhua said. “These rascals are from the same mold as their old man. They will only stop after they have wreaked enough havoc.”
The old butler smiled.
Su Ruhua picked up the cup and drank the tea. “Young madam, would you like to contact the two young masters now?”
“After a few days. I’ll contact them once Man Man and company have left.”
“Very well then. Do get some rest. I’ll head downstairs.”
Su Ruhua nodded and she conveniently pulled out the drawer to take out a framed photo. This was a family photo with Daddy and Mommy Su in front as the latter carried little Su Man. Two beautiful teenagers stood behind Daddy and Mommy Su.
One was smiling brightly whilst the other was cold.
The cold-looking teenager seemed as though somebody was trying to force a smile out of her, and hence wore an extremely stiff smile that didn’t quite seem like a smile. Her cold gaze was nothing short of penetrating.
“Ruyu, where exactly are you? You actually didn’t know much of what happened back then. If you aren’t looking for me, how do I explain everything to you?” Su Ruhua murmured to herself.
As the second morning dawned, Eleven was up early. She had recovered most of her strength, save the gunshot wound on her. Eleven was watching the scenery from outside the waterside pavilion as she waited for Cheng Anya to come by.
She wanted to see Su Man.
Su Ruhua brought her breakfast. Eleven had never eaten for a long time as her nutrition was delivered intravenously when she was in the dungeon. As the Su family was adept in medicine, Su Ruhua prepared some extremely plain porridge for her.
Eleven thanked her and slowly drank the porridge. As she had never tasted warm food for a long time, she was extremely thankful.
Su Ruhua looked at her and guessed she would take about two months to recover to her previous form. “Eleven, was it Mo Ye or Mo Jue who messed you up this badly?”
Eleven was slightly taken aback and frowned at Su Ruhua. Su Ruhua gently smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ve no ill intention. If you tell me, I might be able to stand up for you.”
“You’re…”
“Mo Ye calls me mommy.”
Eleven did not hold her spoon well and dropped it in the porcelain bowl with a thud. She scanned her face in shock. She was Mo Ye’s mother? How did she seem like Mo Ye’s sister?
On a closer look, she knew that her gaze was gentle and full of vicissitudes. She indeed looked extremely charming.
Eleven was slightly vexed. Mo Ye utterly messed her up and his mother ended up saving her. What irony!
“Mo Ye,” Eleven coldly replied as she continued drinking her porridge. She suddenly recalled something and looked at Su Ruhua in shock before shaking her head frantically. It was impossible, utterly impossible! How could her master have anything to do with Mo Ye? She just happened to look like his mother!
They could not be related! If that wasn’t the case, who would she look for to exact her revenge? Had she suffered in naught?
She then made sense of the relationships at hand. Mo Ye and Mo Jue were Su Ruhua’s children, which meant that they were Su Man’s nephews. To think that they were all related to each other. Mo Ye, however he was related to them, would pay the price.
“What happened to you?”
Eleven shook her head and slowly drank all the porridge. She seemed calm and not out of whack.
Su Ruhua could tell that she had doubts in her heart and did not pursue the question further. She was instead more concerned about what went down between her and the Mo brothers. “Why did he mess you up this badly?”
As she faced her rival’s mother, Eleven did not want to say much. She never planned to tell people about it. After all, she did not want others to know this hidden pain in her.
When Su Ruhua asked, she feigned ignorance thrice and looked out at the lake whilst maintaining the ‘silence is gold’ adage.
Su Ruhua did not insist and merely asked, “Do you hate Mo Ye that much?”
Eleven did not shirk at the question and nodded. “Indeed!” she gently replied.
“Do not worry about me and deal with him however you wish. For all you know, I might be able to provide you a tip or two.” Su Ruhua smiled. “I’ve nothing to do with those two rascals.”
“What if I want him dead?” Eleven coldly asked as she looked intently at Su Ruhua.
Su Ruhua shrugged as though nothing mattered. “Whatever works for you. If you can kill him, it means that he is not up to par. Is that of any concern to me?”
Eleven looked at her calmly and was stifled. She was such a weird mother, and she could not help but recall Old Witch say the same when she embarked on her first mission: ‘Once you have hit the ground, you’ve nothing to do with me. If you end up being wasted by the competition, it just means that you suck.’
Su Ruhua propped her chin and asked teasingly, “How are you related to Mo Ye?”
“Either he or I live,” Eleven coldly replied. Su Ruhua broke into laughter. She seemed to have overthought things. Given how coldly Eleven replied and how she emphasized her words like bullets firing, she knew that they were sworn rivals to the very end.
“What a shame,” Su Ruhua said as she walked into the house. Eleven looked at Su Ruhua’s silhouette intently and pondered if she ought to ask her. Old Witch had instructed them to never reveal information about her to the outside world or be seen selling her out. Given how intelligent Su Ruhua was, she would be able to connect the dots if she tried to probe her.
At that moment, Su Ruhua brought out some tea and placed it before Eleven. “Tea made from soul-soothing grass. Drinking it will help suppress the virus in you.”
Eleven looked at the tea and nodded. She drank all without suspicion as she did not want to lose control of herself like a lunatic once again. Her wrists reminded her of the treatment that awaited lunatics.
“Where’s Su Man? I want to see him.” Eleven pondered for a moment, distracting herself from questions about Old Witch and Su Ruhua. She was most concerned about the virus in her.
“Man Man, huh…”
When Su Ruhua was about to speak, she turned her head to see Su Man and Cheng Anya walk over. She smiled. “What a timely appearance.”
Su Man walked close and sat next to Eleven. Cheng Anya was concerned about Eleven’s body and asked Eleven several questions. Eleven nodded gently and indicated that she was fine save her gunshot wounds.
“Su Man, how is my body?”