Mom, Was It You Who Lost It

"Xiao Xuan."

Lin Qingwan called out Lin Xuan's name again urgently.

"You..." Lin Qingwan bit her lip. "Will you really never return to the Lin Family?"

"What do you think?" Lin Xuan retorted mockingly.

Lin Qingwan tightened her grip on the phone.

"I understand." As she spoke these words, it was as if all the strength had drained from her body. "I won’t force you to come back anymore."

Lin Xuan could hear the thick layer of guilt in Lin Qingwan's voice.

Guilt?

Hah. Lin Xuan felt not the slightest bit moved.

Belated affection is cheaper than grass.

It was only in this lifetime, after he had changed, that Lin Qingwan felt remorse. In his previous life, he had died without receiving even a shred of concern from the Lin Family.

No matter how much guilt or compensatory gestures the Lin Family showed now, his heart remained completely unmoved.

Lin Xuan hung up the phone expressionlessly.

The dial tone buzzed from the phone. Lin Qingwan let her hand drop to her side, her face a picture of devastation.

She felt utterly ridiculous.

All this time, she had wanted Lin Xuan to return to the Lin Family, believing that their parents would eventually see his worth.

But what had happened?

It was their own mother who had abandoned Xiao Xuan with her own hands!

"How could this be?" Lin Qingwan murmured to herself, repeating the words over and over.

She drove back to the Lin Family home.

Today was Jiang Shuqin's birthday. Apart from Lin Chang, everyone in the Lin Family was gathered in the villa’s living room, chatting and laughing with Jiang Shuqin.

"Eldest Sister, you're back. Everyone’s been waiting for you," Lin Qingyan said with a smile as she walked up to Lin Qingwan.

Lin Qingwan’s face was pale. Step by step, she approached Jiang Shuqin.

"Mom," she began, her voice strained. "There’s something I want to ask you."

"What is it? Go ahead." Jiang Shuqin, still in high spirits, replied kindly.

Lin Qingwan clenched her fists. "That day at Li’er’s wedding, what you said… about personally abandoning Xiao Xuan—was it true?"

Jiang Shuqin’s expression darkened. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Mom, did you do it or not?" Lin Qingwan’s eyes bore into Jiang Shuqin’s.

"No!" Jiang Shuqin couldn’t meet her daughter’s gaze.

How could she admit to something like this?

Jiang Shuqin knew full well that no matter her reasons, abandoning Lin Xuan was a disgraceful act.

They say even a vicious tiger wouldn’t harm its own cub. If it got out that she had personally discarded Lin Xuan, leaving him to grow up as an orphan, people would point fingers at her behind her back—even if she had her reasons.

And if her children found out, how would they look at her?

"Eldest Sister, why are you bringing this up again?" Lin Qingxiu asked, puzzled.

"Mom." Ignoring Lin Qingxiu, Lin Qingwan pushed a file of investigation documents in front of Jiang Shuqin. "But I had someone look into it. It was you."

"You personally left Xiao Xuan at the gates of an orphanage!"

Jiang Shuqin’s face turned deathly pale.

Especially under Lin Qingwan’s accusatory and disbelieving stare.

Her mind went blank.

She had thought this secret would stay buried forever. Yet now, Lin Qingwan had uncovered it.

Lin Qingyan and Lin Qingxiu exchanged horrified glances.

Xiao Xuan… had been abandoned by their own mother?

Lin Qingyan picked up the file from the coffee table and flipped through it.

Inside, it clearly documented the entire process of Jiang Shuqin abandoning Lin Xuan when he was just a baby.

There were even photographs!

Jiang Shuqin had no way to deny it.

"Mom," Lin Qingyan said, her voice thick with pain. "How could you abandon Xiao Xuan? He was your son!"

"So what if he was my son?"

Faced with the condemning stares of her three daughters, Jiang Shuqin reacted fiercely. "I carried him for ten months and gave him life. If I gave him his life, I have every right to take it back!"

"And I didn’t even kill him—I just left him at an orphanage! I even made sure he had a place to go. What more do you want?"

There wasn’t a trace of remorse in Jiang Shuqin’s voice.

No—

She did regret something.

She regretted not strangling Lin Xuan back then, instead of just abandoning him and arranging for his care.

If she had, Lin Xuan wouldn’t have grown up to ruin Li’er, turning him into a eunuch and destroying his reputation.

And if it weren’t for Lin Xuan’s curse, she and Lin Chang would still be happily in love, instead of him cheating with Wang Yajun and other women!

It was all Lin Xuan’s fault!

"Mom, why would you do this?" Lin Qingwan’s eyes were red, her voice trembling with anguish. "Xiao Xuan was your own flesh and blood!"

"Because he was a curse!"

Jiang Shuqin’s voice was icy. "After he was born, everything went wrong for me. I even fell seriously ill."

"A fortune-teller told me Lin Xuan was a curse, that he was draining my luck. He said if I got rid of him, everything would improve. So I abandoned him—and sure enough, after that, my health recovered, and my life became smooth again."

"I gave him life, and in return, he cursed me. Was I supposed to keep him and worship him like some deity?"

"Mom, maybe there was a misunderstanding. Xiao Xuan isn’t some curse," Lin Qingwan said, choking back tears.

"What misunderstanding?" Jiang Shuqin sneered. "Look at everything that’s happened since you brought him back into this family!"

"Ever since Lin Xuan returned, our family hasn’t known a single day of peace. Your father cheated, I lost my unborn son, and Li’er—he’s been turned into a eunuch!"

"And now, Lin Xuan has founded a company called Skyline Group, directly competing with Starlight Group, trying to ruin us!"

"I regret not strangling that cursed child back then. If I had, none of this would have happened!"

Lin Qingwan clenched her fists.

But if they hadn’t treated Xiao Xuan so terribly, he wouldn’t have retaliated.

And as for their father’s infidelity and their mother’s miscarriage—what did those have to do with Xiao Xuan?

Yes, Xiao Xuan had exposed Li’er’s crimes, but there was no proof he was behind Li’er’s kidnapping or castration.

"Mom," Lin Qingyan said, her eyes also red. "How could you believe those fortune-tellers? They’re nothing but frauds. Everything you mentioned could just be coincidence."

"What coincidence? It’s obvious!" Jiang Shuqin scoffed coldly.

"All of you—my own daughters—are standing here accusing me, siding with Lin Xuan against your own mother. Fine! If you’re so righteous, then don’t acknowledge me anymore! Leave this family, just like Lin Xuan did!"

With that, Jiang Shuqin stormed upstairs.

Lin Li, looking worried, said, "Eldest Sister, Second Sister, Third Sister, Mom doesn’t seem well. I’ll go check on her."

"Alright," Lin Qingwan nodded.