At Zi Mansion
Liam entered the hall where Kang Manchu stood, surrounded by his men. The scene was grim—every member of the Zi family was tied up, rendered helpless. The room was filled with a suffocating tension, and in the center of it all, Zi Yu Ming, Kang Manchu's legally wedded wife, lay collapsed on the floor. Her face was pale, her body limp from the overwhelming truth she had just heard from the man she thought was her partner in life.The truth had shattered her world: neither of her sons were Kang Manchu's. She had spent her entire life devoted to him, helping him grow his power, and in doing so, had unknowingly betrayed her own family—the Zi family.
The very empire she and her father had worked so hard to elevate to the number one position in the country had been handed to Kang Manchu on a silver platter. This can't be true, she thought, her mind spinning. This has to be a lie.For years, Zi Yu Ming had cursed Zi Haoran, her true son, never giving him love or warmth. She had reserved all her affection for Shilin, whom she believed was her and Kang Manchu's child, the son they had created with love.
But now, everything felt like a cruel joke. The son she had cherished was not Kang Manchu's, and the man she had trusted had been using her all along, not to secure a bright future for their family, but to grow his own empire by manipulating her into accumulating shares and power.
Her mind reeled as Kang Manchu continued to unveil the truth of his deception. Behind her back—and the entire family's back—he had orchestrated a plan so intricately woven that she hadn't seen the betrayal coming. He never loved her; his heart had always belonged to someone else, and he even had a son from that previous relationship long before they ever married.
As if that weren't enough to break her spirit, Kang Manchu revealed that her college sweetheart, the man she had once truly loved, had been manipulated as well. Kang Manchu had forced them apart, feeding her lies that the man had left her, while telling him that she wanted nothing more to do with him. Her life had been nothing but a tragic farce orchestrated by the man she thought she knew.
And now, the son she had hated—Zi Haoran, the boy she had pushed away and wished ill upon for so long—was facing death at any moment. Tied up, weakened, and helpless, the realization of her mistakes hit her like a tidal wave, driving her to madness. She tried hitting her head against the wall in a desperate attempt to escape the nightmare she found herself in, but all it did was bring more pain.
As the weight of her own decisions bore down on her, Yu Ming's body gave up, and she collapsed under the strain of it all. The room fell silent, with the family left in shock, while Kang Manchu finally spoke freely—saying and doing what he had wanted for years.
For the first time, Kang Manchu allowed himself to express the full extent of his manipulation. His carefully crafted mask had been in place for so long, even he hadn't realized how much effort it had taken to keep up the charade. Now, with the truth out in the open, there was a strange sense of liberation for him. He had always been the villain in this tale, but his desperation had rooted somewhere—his path of destruction hadn't come from nowhere.
His parents had been ambitious, and when they couldn't fulfill their own dreams, they had forced those dreams onto him. Even though he had fallen in love with another woman, and she had gotten pregnant with his child, he was trapped in the web of family expectations. By the time he had discovered the truth—that his son was already 12 years old—he didn't know how to process it.
Now, standing over the shattered remains of the Zi family, Kang Manchu had everything he ever wanted. But as the weight of the past pressed down on him, he wondered if it had all been worth it.
By this time, the Zi family had begun searching for a suitable candidate for their heir, Zi Yu Ming. They had promised a generous dowry, knowing she was already divorced and had a son.
Her former lover had tried to reconcile with her, but Kang Manchu skillfully manipulated them both.
One night, all three found themselves heavily intoxicated. Kang, a close friend to both, stumbled upon them at a party. Despite the chaos around him, he remained sober, haunted by his own misery. His parents would never allow him to marry or even consider a simple girl from Europe. In the haze of that night, Zi Yu Ming ended up sleeping with her former lover once again. The next morning, Kang deceived her into believing that it was him she had slept with. Trapped by guilt and confusion, she agreed to marry him, and soon after, she became pregnant with Kang Shilin.
HisHer lover, already battling the grim realities of stage 3 cancer, was too afraid to face the truth and disappeared.
Kang saw an opportunity. Desperate to secure his family's future and provide for his ailing lover wife and son, he used the fact that her lover had abandoned her after getting her pregnant with Kang Shilin.
He had witnessed their drunken state that night, and though his heart ached with the weight of his own sorrows, the knowledge that his parents would never accept the woman he truly loved added salt to the wound.
The truth, when it finally reached her, must have hit her like a tidal wave. The unbearable agony of not only being deceived but also the grief of being unable to save either of her sons would have crushed her completely.
Kang Manchu, with cold indifference, moved closer to her lifeless body. He nudged it with his foot, hoping to rouse her, fully prepared to savor the sight of her awakening to the torment he so desperately wanted her to feel. But she didn't stir.
Leaning in close, his voice dripped with malice as he whispered in a devilish tone, "Now is your time to truly pleasure me. Wake up, darling."
The menace in his voice sent chills through the room. Family members and staff alike, who had gathered in the hall, recoiled in fear at the sheer disgust, anger, and ruthlessness that emanated from him.
[===o===o===]
WDD Mini Series: "Help, I'm in a Novel!"
( A hilariously chaotic series of banter where the characters double as their own story's spectators, breaking the fourth wall with mischievous humor, exaggerated emotions, and side-splitting commentary about their tangled, dramatic lives. )
Title: "See? I'm Not That Bad! (눈_눈)"
ZH:
"Wifey, you're seeing now, right? I'm not nearly as evil as Kang Manchu. I'm basically a saint. (ಠ_ಠ)"
HX:
"Saint? You called me disgusting and divorced me. Great start, Haoran. (¬_¬)"
ZH:
"But I didn't manipulate lives or destroy families! That counts for something, right?! (눈_눈)"
HX:
"It counts for why I kissed Liam. Hmph."
ZH:
"..." (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
[===o===o===]