Chapter 1351: I Only Want You (49)
Back then, Chen Anran flew into a rage at the thought of the dirty looks her schoolmates often shot her, as well as everything that Jiang Guoguo had done. She recalled the time when she lost control of her emotions and began acting out of her usual behavior. As a result, she killed Jiang Guoguo maniacally, as if she had been possessed by a demon.
She heaved a sigh of relief and felt as if a rock had been lifted off her shoulders after revealing everything. She continued, “I’ve only ever told my family about these things. I decided to tell you now not because I’m trying to plead for a lighter sentence or make myself feel less guilty but because I just want to say that perhaps I was wrong to have been so ruthless and extreme. However, it’s not like she’s that innocent either. The things that she had done to me may seem trivial, but they impacted me tremendously.”
An Xiaoning found that it was true that everyone had their limits, and even the most quiet and reserved people would lose their temper and act ruthlessly out of anger once they are pushed over the edge.
There was a reason for everything.
Not all pitiful people were flawless.
The victim may not necessarily always be the innocent party either.
“Doesn’t your family transfer you a monthly allowance? Why are you still living in such poor conditions?”
She put on a lopsided smile and said, “I’m just living a pathetic life with nothing to look forward to every day. There’s no meaning in life for me anymore. If I’m allowed to die a peaceful death, I would no longer be afraid of dying.”
“If all criminals are given a peaceful death sentence and be allowed to die in their sleep, do you think the law will still have an impact on citizens? Although you’re afraid of death, you’re still rather brave. After all, you mustered up the courage to tell me these things.”
She stood up and returned to the bedroom to take out her bank account card. She then handed it to An Xiaoning and said, “Although I feel no remorse for killing Jiang Guoguo at all, I do feel a little guilty toward her parents. I heard that Jiang Guoguo had a late brother and her parents had pinned all their hopes onto her. Yet I’ve ruined their only hope. There’s quite a bit of money in my account. Please help me hand this to them as a token of apology from me.”
She then told An Xiaoning the password to her account. However, An Xiaoning did not accept the card and instead said, “Honestly, it’d be better for you to hand it to them yourself. It’s not that appropriate for me to do it for you. I think I’ve achieved the purpose of my visit today. I initially thought that you would be a tough nut to crack and that you wouldn’t tell me these things. However, you were much easier to deal with than I had imagined. Indeed, it’s hard to tell what a person is like before you interact with them and get to know them better.”
“As a criminal, I know that I was being foolish and stupid by telling you this. I know I’m digging my own grave, but I somehow feel much more relieved after telling you all of these thoughts that I had been keeping to myself. I feel as if I’m about to be free.” She stared at An Xiaoning and asked, “May I ask something of you?”
“What is it?”
“Can you talk to me for a while before leaving?”
Surprised to hear that her request was that simple, An Xiaoning agreed, “Sure.”
Chen Anran smiled and said, “Thank you.”
She did not seem like a ruthless murderer at all. Instead, she seemed just like a mentally-disturbed patient.
An Xiaoning could tell that she had long sunk into depression after having gone through more than ten years of suffering.
Although Chen Anran claimed to have not felt a tinge of guilt for her actions, An Xiaoning could sense that she was extremely guilty and regretful.
She regretted ruining her bright future because of that silly incident.
She regretted acting rashly and causing herself to end up living such a pathetic life.
Her inner demons were the hardest to fight.
An Xiaoning dragged her luggage out of the estate and turned around to look at the shabby estate.
Throughout the journey back, thoughts about Chen Anran flooded her mind. Chen Anran hoped to be released from her suffering and live uprightly.
Yet, she had already lost the chance to do so from the moment she killed Jiang Guoguo.
Jin Qingyan gave me a time limit of four days. He probably didn’t expect that I would be home so soon, did he?
I wonder how he would react the moment he sees me.
I’m starting to get really curious.
….
An Xiaoning arrived home at past midnight.
Jin Qingyan was surprisingly still awake.
She walked toward the yard and stared at the brightly-lit room on the second floor, wondering what he could be doing at such a late hour.
She changed into her home slippers and brought her luggage back up.
She quickly punched in the pin number before opening the door to meet Jin Qingyan’s eyes.
“Why are you back so soon?” Jin Qingyan asked in surprise.
“I missed you much. I thought it would be better for me to come home sooner.”
Jin Qingyan pinched her nose and said, “You thought correctly.”
“What are you doing at such a late hour? Are you suffering from insomnia again?”
“You’re the cure to my insomnia. However, I’m staying awake because I’ve found something new while trying to figure this picture out.”
An Xiaoning sat on the bed and craned her neck to look at the treasure map in his hand. “What did you discover? I can’t understand it at all, no matter how I look at it.”
“If an ordinary person can decipher it, Xiao Chenyang would have done so long ago.”
“Are you indirectly saying that you’re extraordinary?” An Xiaoning asked.
“Of course, how can an ordinary person be with an extraordinary person like you?”
An Xiaoning burst into laughter and threw her arms around his neck. “Just what did you discover?”
Pointing at the middle of the map, he said, “From here… up north… to here. Do you see anything?”
Shaking her head, An Xiaoning said, “I can only see an axe. I can’t see anything else.”
“You silly. So much for taking you back to the family mansion so many times before.” He then picked up a pencil and began sketching a few markings on a piece of paper. “Do you see it now?”
“It does look like the diagram on the map, but what has this got to do with the family mansion?” she asked in puzzlement.
“Half of this treasure map is the sketch of the family mansion’s floor plan.”
An Xiaoning said apprehensively, “This is a treasure map, not a floor plan. This map definitely leads to great treasures. Your family mansion had housed so many generations of people. What treasures could there possibly be?”
Suppressing his anger, he said, “Since you don’t believe me, I’ll take you there to have a look tomorrow. I’m suspecting that the other half is my family’s ancestral ground…”
An Xiaoning had lost interest in what he had to say before he could even finish.