Chapter 315- Cultured Villain vs. Humanoid Weapon (20)
Chen Shuyun was pleased with Wei Xuezhen’s attentiveness, and the two got along quite well. In fact, Chen Shuyun had long thought that Wei Xuezhen’s family background, education, and temperament made her an ideal match for Jian Mingyuan, and she’d hoped to encourage a relationship between them.
Wei Xuezhen also knew Chen Shuyun didn’t seem to care much for Jian Minghui. After learning Jian Minghui’s true background today, she could understand it to a degree, but the fact that Chen Shuyun was actually urging Jian Mingyuan to kill Jian Minghui was shocking. The elegant, gentle Aunt Chen she knew seemed like an entirely different person.
To Wei Xuezhen, Jian Minghui had always seemed filial. Besides, as Jian Mingyuan himself had said, Jian Minghui was brought into the Jian family from a young age. He had grown up there, completely unaware of his origins, and he’d never done anything out of line all these years.
While she could understand Chen Shuyun’s resentment toward or indifference to Jian Minghui, plotting to take a life was going too far.
Thinking about Jian Mingyuan’s response, Wei Xuezhen nodded slightly, reassured by her admiration for the man she liked.
Lou Bin glanced at his leader, who was standing silently with his head down. He was concerned; anyone in this situation would be devastated. Just as he was about to offer some words of comfort, Jian Minghui lifted his head, forcing a smile as he addressed the group, “Now that we’ve eaten and drank our fill, let’s go back and rest. We’ve got a long day ahead tomorrow.”
It was a strained attempt to change the subject, but everyone understood his need to move on. Seeing the bitter smile on his face, one of their companions, who had been silent until now, couldn’t hold back. He stepped forward and called out to Jian Minghui just as he was about to leave, “Wait! Jian Minghui, don’t be upset. You’re not some illegitimate child—you’re the child of the person who saved Uncle Jian’s life.”
“What did you say?” Lou Bin’s eyes widened as he eagerly sought details about this critical revelation about his leader’s past.
Mu Jin’s eyes flickered at the news, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he thought, ‘Finally, the truth has come out.’
What followed was Cun Tou sharing a story he’d heard from his father, who, during a drunken moment, had revealed Jian Minghui’s true origins. Cun Tou had long known that Jian Minghui’s father was a hero.
Just like Cun Tou’s father, Jian Minghui’s father had been a comrade-in-arms of Jian Zhengqing. During a mission years ago, he had sacrificed his own life to save Jian Zhengqing.
However, Jian Minghui’s birth family had been in decline. His mother had tragically died during childbirth, and his father, who was an orphan, had no close relatives. After his mother’s death, Jian Minghui’s maternal grandparents blamed him for her passing, treating him coldly.
When Jian Zhengqing offered to adopt Jian Minghui, the grandparents quickly agreed, even taking a large sum of money in return.
As for why Jian Zhengqing never told Jian Minghui about his true parentage, it was because he wanted the boy to grow up happily, free of the burden of knowing he wasn’t biologically their child. Jian Zhengqing truly treated him as his own son.
This secret was known to the surviving comrades in Jian Zhengqing’s squad, who had all agreed to keep it under wraps. It’s likely that Jian Zhengqing had also told Chen Shuyun the truth. Yet, for reasons unknown, when Chen Shuyun spoke to Jian Mingyuan earlier, she had called Jian Minghui a “b*stard” and claimed he was the child of Jian Zhengqing and another woman.
Even without delving too deeply into the reasoning, it was easy to guess what had happened: Chen Shuyun likely didn’t believe Jian Zhengqing’s explanation, dismissing it as an excuse. Thus, all the insults and abuse Jian Minghui had endured over the years stemmed from Chen Shuyun’s mistrust of her husband.
Hearing Cun Tou’s account, Jian Minghui was left completely stunned.
Back in his youth, when he overheard Chen Shuyun and his older brother discussing his status as an illegitimate child, Jian Minghui’s heart had been deeply wounded.
For a long time, he didn’t know how to face the family he’d grown up with. At one point, he even thought Chen Shuyun’s mistreatment of him was somewhat justified—after all, his mother had supposedly destroyed Chen Shuyun’s family.
However, over the years, after enduring Chen Shuyun’s constant verbal abuse and mistreatment, his heart twisted with resentment. He grew increasingly unwilling to accept his fate, competing with Jian Mingyuan at every opportunity and harboring bitterness toward the entire Jian family.
Yet, his identity had always been a heavy shackle on his heart.
Today, with Cun Tou’s revelation, that shackle was finally broken.
Jian Minghui sighed inwardly, thinking about the countless times he had imagined how his life might have been different if he weren’t an illegitimate child—if he, like his older brother, had been born to both their father and mother.
Yet, no matter how many “what ifs” he entertained, he had never considered the possibility he had learned today.
He tried to smile, curling his lips ever so slightly, but the smile faded just as quickly as it appeared.
Pressing his lips into a thin line, his downcast eyes flickered with a mixture of emotions that were hard to decipher. Finally, he said softly, “I just need some time alone,” and turned to leave.
Mu Jin gave Cun Tou a grateful smile and gently reminded everyone, “For now, please keep what you’ve learned today from the rest of the team.”
Understanding the delicate nature of the situation, everyone nodded in agreement. Although Lou Bin felt frustrated and uneasy, he recognized that his leader wasn’t in the right frame of mind, so he decided to hold off on addressing certain matters until Jian Minghui had calmed down.
Seeing their cooperation, Mu Jin felt reassured and followed after Jian Minghui.
When he returned to their room, Mu Jin saw Jian Minghui sitting on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.
Quietly locking the door behind him, Mu Jin approached and wrapped his arms around Jian Minghui’s neck, pulling him into an embrace. He rested Jian Minghui’s upper body against his chest and began to stroke his hair and the back of his neck, offering silent comfort.
In this lifetime, his lover had endured so much hardship in his childhood, most of it stemming from Chen Shuyun.
Jian Minghui had overheard the truth about his identity in the past, leading to years of misunderstanding. He had felt unwilling to accept it yet remained trapped in feelings of inferiority. Today, Mu Jin had used someone else to reveal the truth, allowing Jian Minghui to finally understand his origins.
But this truth was bound to stir up a storm of emotions. Watching Jian Minghui in his daze, Mu Jin’s heart ached. Gently cupping Jian Minghui’s face, he peppered him with kisses—starting from his brow, then his high-bridged nose.
Seeing Mu Jin’s affectionate gestures, the chill in Jian Minghui’s heart slowly thawed. He wrapped his arms around his beloved, whispering softly into his ear, “I always thought the humiliation and abuse I endured as a child were because I was an illegitimate child, because of my shameful background.”
“I have resented and felt disheartened. I once tried to change Chen Shuyun’s attitude toward me. I tried hard to be filial to her, to win her favor. But no matter what I did, she always hated me.”
“Eventually, I gave up on seeking her motherly love and refused to be invisible anymore.”
“Since she considered Jian Mingyuan her pride, I made sure to excel in everything and outperform him. She cared about the Jian family, so I pretended to fight Jian Mingyuan for the family’s assets, just to see her exasperated. It gave me a strange sense of satisfaction.”
“But now, what was the point of all that? What meaning does her hatred hold? I’m not even a part of the Jian family.”
Jian Minghui spoke calmly into Mu Jin’s ear, recounting his experiences over the years. He shared his struggles and his journey through bitterness, anger, and yearning.
In this moment, Jian Minghui seemed particularly vulnerable, and Mu Jin responded softly, providing the comfort of a quiet listener—exactly what Jian Minghui needed most right now.
Jian Minghui’s tone was steady, as though learning the truth about his identity had lifted a heavy weight from his heart.
All along, he had been the innocent one. But why had someone so innocent been forced to endure so much harm and carry such oppressive shadows? With clarity now, Jian Minghui found his past anger laughable. He no longer wanted to waste energy on people or things that weren’t worth his time.
Mu Jin continued holding him tightly, gently patting his back. When Jian Minghui finished speaking, Mu Jin whispered softly in his ear, “Jian Minghui, it’s okay. I will always be by your side.”
Hearing Mu Jin’s words, Jian Minghui smiled tenderly. Lowering his head, he lightly touched Mu Jin’s lips with his own. The soft, warm sensation seemed to heal the wounds in his heart.
He suddenly recalled a passage he had once stumbled upon in a book: <You are my cure.>
At the time, he had dismissed it as romantic musings, a sentimental expression of love, perhaps written in a fit of emotional indulgence.
Yet, in this moment, he deeply understood its truth. The person before him wasn’t just his beloved—he was his remedy, capable of soothing all the wounds in his heart.
A kiss followed, passionate and lingering, carrying an endless depth of tenderness and emotions that had gone unspoken.
Mu Jin obediently leaned into Jian Minghui’s embrace, offering no resistance, yielding completely. When the kiss finally ended, Jian Minghui reached out to gently caress Mu Jin’s cheek and sighed, “Xiao Jin, have I ever told you how much I love you?”
Hearing this, Mu Jin gave him a radiant smile and shook his head, replying naturally, “No, but I’ve always believed it. In this world, who else could you love if not me? I feel the same way about you.”
Jian Minghui adored Mu Jin’s confident demeanor, and the bitterness in his heart was replaced by an overwhelming sweetness.
The smile on his lips melted into another kiss, but this time, it wasn’t the tender warmth of before. Instead, it was an intense, possessive desire, a kiss filled with raw and consuming passion.
Since shadow cant do anything to them its kinda nice they can relax a bit more, with that strange white senior following along and keeping him in check, even mister panther has become a bit irrelevant, but he did help when it counted. I feel it was resolved a bit too easy, but well, who knows what will happen later.